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2014 looks like the year when smartphones finally crush PCs

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:44PM EST
PC Versus Smartphone Install Base

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While Steve Jobs declared the dawn of the post-PC era in 2007 he may have been a bit ahead of his time. After all, PCs to this day still have the largest install base of any computing device in the world. However, a new chart posted by Enders Analysis researcher Benedict Evans shows that this won’t be the case for much longer since smartphones’ install base looks set to eclipse PCs’ install base sometime in 2014. The growth in smartphone use has been truly astonishing, going from an install base of under 200 million in September of 2010 to more than 1.2 billion this past September. Tablets’ install base, by comparison, is now at around 200 million, so it will likely take quite some time before tablets’ install base catches up with personal computers. Evans’ chart follows below.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.