The iPad continues to sell as fast as Apple’s manufacturing partners can build them, and other vendors are bound to get in on the action as well once they realize they’re doing it wrong. After all, just about every visible analyst has gone on record with the belief that the tablet market will explode over the next few years. Interestingly, however, several analysts also agree that the explosive tablet market will have very little impact on personal computer sales, and new data from a recent survey reaffirms this notion. Private equity firm Robert W. Baird & Co. recently conducted a survey of 1,114 consumers found that only 6% believe they can do without a PC today. Another 11% say they might be able to live without a PC in the future, but 83% say PCs will live on as a commodity for the foreseeable future. Among the respondents who were current or future tablet owners, 74% said they still need a PC despite owning a tablet. Finally, Baird found that 93% of current tablet owners surveyed use Apple’s iPad. Among prospective tablet buyers, the iPad held the interest of 94.5% of respondents followed by HP’s TouchPad (10.4%), Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 (8.3%), Motorola’s XOOM (8.5%) and the HTC Flyer (4.3%). Two charts showcasing Baird’s findings follow below.
