Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | December 7, 2011, 8:38am PST

Summary: It’s all to do with having an open application environment.

According to IT research firm Canalys “Apple is on track to become leading global PC vendor.” How did Canalys come to this link-baiting conclusion? By reclassifying the iPad as a PC.

Ummm … but is the iPad really a PC? Of course it’s not.

Patrick Moorhead, former AMD VP and now president of Moor Insights & Strategy, offers up a list of the nine characteristics that define a PC, and a further five conditions that need to be met. By following these simple rules you see why a Dell Vostro 260 is a PC, and why an iPad or a Samsung Smartfridge or the dashboard of a BMW 1 series isn’t a PC.

One of Moorhead’s conditions for a PC that I found interesting was this one:

Open application environment where users can load, side-load without having to jail-break

In other words, a test of whether you new toy is actually a PC or not is where do your applications come from. If you can installed them from a variety of media (CD/DVD/digital download) from any place, then it’s a PC. If they all have to come from the one place, that’s not a PC you’ve got there.

Based on this condition, the iPad is not a PC.

But by this definition, Windows 8 tablets aren’t PCs either. Why? Because it seems that the classic desktop won’t be part of Windows 8 ARM, and that means it will only run Metro apps, and the only source of Metro apps will be Microsoft’s app store.

In other words, it’s a closed application environment.

Note: It’s not just the fact that it will have a closed application environment that mean that Windows 8 tablets aren’t PCs, but to me it’s the most significant.

Why do I make this point about Windows 8 tablets? Because it’s important that potential buyers realize that a Windows tablet aren’t PC replacement devices. Sure, you can both consume and create content on tablets (whether they be powered by iOS, Windows or Android), but they’re not PCs. Don’t think you can swipe your PC into the nearest trashcan (or recycling center) and replace it with tablet. That’s just not going to happen.

I agree with Moorhead, it’s time to stop the madness. If tablets are classed as PCs then why not smartphones? Or smartfridges? Or digital watches?

Stop the madness!

Related:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “Hardware 2.0”

Two-thirds of 'lost and found' USB flash drives infected with malware

Six Android issues that Google doesn't want to address

Topics

PC, Apple iPad, VP, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Desktops, Hardware, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Full Bio
Disclosure
Contact

Vendor HotSpot

The 360° Conversation around Cloud Computing

TECH VISUALIZER brings the social conversation to life... powered by Brocade

Learn More »

Related Discussions on TechRepublic

Did you know you can take part in these discussions with your ZDNet membership?

Ask a Question Start a Discussion

Comments

Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Follow via:: RSS; Email Alert

Just In

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

kris_stapley@... 21st Dec

Considering PC stands for Personal Computer... they're all PC's. This yahoo just created his own definition!

View in thread

Please Select
Please Select

0 Votes

+ -

True, iPad is NOT a PC

Tim Acheson 7th Dec

However, a Windows 8 tablet arguably is a PC.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

jeremychappell 7th Dec

@Tim Acheson Did you even read the article? No.

Does that make your comment pointless? Yes.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

And iPad is 'post-PC' device

dderss 7th Dec

@jeremychappell:

At the same time, aside of from where applications come, netbooks might be less PC than iPad (in price, too), yet Gartner/Dataquest and IDC consider these barely useful devices -- which a lot slower in responsiveness comparing to iPad in simple applications and can not really run any real PC-class applications -- as PCs.

So both Canalys and Garnter/Dataquest/IDC are wrong.

0 Votes

+ -

True

toddybottom 7th Dec

@Tim Acheson
The x86 Windows 8 tablets are unarguably PCs, at least according to the best information we have today.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

bitcrazed 7th Dec

@toddybottom My x64 Samsung Win8 slate is DEFINITELY still a PC.

We still don't know is MS will or won't enable the traditional desktop on ARM tablets, so stating that Win8 ARM slates, tablets, transformable laptops, laptops and servers aren't PCs is just ... premature at best.

0 Votes

+ -

Perhaps we need new terminology for Windows capable tablets...

adornoe@... Updated - 7th Dec

and perhaps we can refer to them as WinTablets, or TabletPCs.

A better name: proTablets, for professional tablets, or "productivity" tablets. As we all know, the iPads and Android tablets cannot be used for "professional" work, or for productivity.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

tonymcs@... Updated - 7th Dec

@Tim Acheson

So if I take my ACER convertible tablet/netbook running Win 7 (must be a PC right?) and install the Win 8 beta in Feb, does it stop being a PC?

So rotating the screen causes multiple personality disorder?

Oh and it's certainly powerful enough to run Office and multiple apps and has been used as a business computer for some months, certainly much more useful than an iPad - higher res and a real keyboard.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Who cares?

toddybottom 7th Dec

What does it matter to anyone other than to those who jerk off to marketshare figures? That seems to be the only reason why anyone wants to categorize (or not categorize) the iPad as a PC.

And even with these definitions, my iPad is a PC:
- display greater than 5": yes
- physical keyboard: yes (I have a bluetooth keyboard)
- physical mouse or trackpad: yes (the whole screen is a trackpad)
- light enough to be picked up by an average age adult: yes
- open application environment where users can load, side-load without having to jail-break: while I totally disagree with the requirement that a PC must be able to side-load applications, developers are able to side load applications without jailbreaking (I believe this is true)

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

jeremychappell 7th Dec

@toddybottom I don't agree with your conclusion, but you are correct developers can load their applications onto their own iPads.

I just don't think that this "not a PC" is an issue for most people (once they actually think about it).

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

I think we agree with each other on that point

toddybottom 7th Dec

@jeremychappell
"I just don't think that this "not a PC" is an issue for most people (once they actually think about it)."

Absolutely right. The only people who care are those who want to show that Apple has a higher (or lower) marketshare in whatever market they define as important. It is all so ridiculous and artificial.

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

TsarNikky 7th Dec

@toddybottom
The fact you have a separate physical keyboard, makes your setup a two-piece configuration--CPU/display and keyboard. (Sounds very close to a traditional notebook or desktop.)

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

kenosha77a Updated - 7th Dec

@TsarNikky

Part of the "common definition" of a PC requires that the device can be expanded using third party hardware peripherals and/or thru software applications.

In all the points toddybottom and jeremychappell highlighted, the iPad could be classified as a PC. As far as having third party software apps side loaded onto the iPad without jailbreaking the device, I can't recall seeing an iPad specific iOS app sold outside the Apple App Store environment for an unjailbroken iPad.

I suspect that if you are an iPad App developer, a person could side-load an app by first enabling the iPad "developer" mode. (I did this on my first gen iPad in order to try out the multi-touch gestures now available in the iOS 5 release.)

But that would be beyond the ability of the average iPad consumer. (Besides, not to many persons would pay the additional 100 dollars to become an Apple iOS developer.)

Still, side loading apps is a possibility without the requirement to jailbreak the iPad first.

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

jeremychappell 7th Dec

Okay, I've argued this similarly myself (I said you can't use the device to program the device - which is VERY similar).

But does that matter?

Here's the thing, there is an upside to not being a PC - no malware.

Is there a downside? Sure, you can't create apps for it without extra stuff. But most users wouldn't have a clue how to build apps anyway (C++? C#? Objective-C? And that's the EASY part - learning the Frameworks, that's the hard part).

So does it even matter, for most users?

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

bitcrazed 7th Dec

@jeremychappell If you think there's no malware for iOS/'droid, you just aren't paying attention. Or are you siding with SJVN, stating that Win8 isnt a PC and therefore asserting that Win8 will have no malware?

All computing devices of any stature have vulns and have/WiLL have malware.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

Cylon Centurion 7th Dec

@bitcrazed

Lmao. Android is *riddled* with malware.

0 Votes

+ -

Agree completely

use_what_works_4_U 7th Dec

@bitcrazed
One day the virus in your refrigerator won't be growing in that bowl in the back corner, it will be growing in the ICB that controls the temperature and orders more milk for you whenever you run low!

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

Ididar 7th Dec

People will define the categories how they want to define them. During one of Apple's press conferences they declared themselves as having the most "mobile devices" because of how they chose to define mobile devices. They were, of course, including everything except their desktop computers. Every laptop, iPod, iPad, and iPhone went into the list while Nokia's cellphones (dumbphones) didn't make the list as far as Apple was concerned. I guess it didn't make their qualification of "device".

That said, the definition of "PC" in this article is as arbitrary as the one used by Canalys.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

Cylon Centurion 7th Dec

"Don???t think you can swipe your PC into the nearest trashcan (or recycling center) and replace it with tablet. That???s just not going to happen."

This line just makes too much sense.

Now I'll sit patiently, and wait for the Mobile News blog on *why* you should be throwing your PC away.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Uhhh.....

rhonin 7th Dec

@Cylon Centurion
It's broken
It burned up
It died and I bought a new one

/S

chuckle grin

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

radleym 7th Dec

@rhonin ...or a new version of Windows.

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

wb923 7th Dec

This is Great, now I know why my samsung 7 tab with win7 was so expensive, It's 2 in 1, Win7 = PC, Win8 (metro mode) = tablet, Win8 desktop mode = PC.. No wonder people buy ipads, they are a lot less confusing..

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

I fully disagree with your conclusion.

Bruizer 7th Dec

Tablets are the most personal computers there are and the side loading mindset is so 1990's.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

timiteh Updated - 7th Dec

I agree IPad is not a PC.
Depending of what kind of tablet considered, some Win 8 tablets won't be PC while some other will.

Seriously, part of this confusion come from Microsoft to find excuses for why they are late to the tablet market.
The iPad is not a PC nor are Android based Tablets.
By bringing them into the category of PC, Microsoft just intend to show that they are still the king of the PC hill and that the iPad represents but a small fraction of the whole PC market.
I find this useless and silly.
Instead of wasting their time and energy on such pathetic attempts, they should focus on having the right strategy for each market they intend to target.
At the moment i begin to question this strategy and i am not too pleased by the excessive focus of Windows 8 toward Tablet/slate form factor.
Metro is great for tablet but i would have liked also an advanced though optional 3D/Holographic UI for hardware powerful enough which could be coupled with kinect.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

that is just totally wrong.

doh123 7th Dec

Just because you twist.. and quote other people who twist... definitions to meet your own agenda, doesn't mean you are right.

A PC is a Personal Computer.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/personal+computer
personal computer???
noun
a microcomputer designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC

personal computer
??? n
a small inexpensive computer used in word processing, playing computer games, etc

personal computer (p??r's??-n??l)
A computer built around a microprocessor for use by an individual. Personal computers have their own operating systems, software, and peripherals, and can generally be linked to networks.

you can search for many many more web definitions by credible sources.

Its a computer, and its personal to you... yes its a PC. Is an iPhone a PC... technically YES it is... but there is no reason to call it that, as its not specific enough.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

A bit broad....

rhonin 7th Dec

@doh123

So by your reply my Casio watch with basic pda function is a pc.......
Never mind it has dead batteries......

Sorry, not seeing it.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

kenosha77a 7th Dec

@rhonin

Well, if your Casio watch was functional then ....

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

Falkirk 7th Dec

Good post, doh123. A definition should be used to describe a category. A category should never be used to describe a definition.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

This only proves that Patrick Moorhead is a moron.

BillDem 7th Dec

PC literally stands for "personal computer." Anyone with a brain could argue that few computers are more personal than a thin tablet you carry everywhere. Creating a set of arbitrary rules to redefine the term "PC" simply shows limited thinking or a personal agenda. The only thing his list proves is that Patrick resists change more than most. He seems to be a backward thinker who wants to create rules which inhibit the future evolution of computers, most likely because things are moving too quickly for his own tastes or he has a vested interest in getting people to continue to think desktop computers are the only true PC.

The definition was literal when the term was coined during the age of dumb terminals and massively shared mainframes. Personal computers are self-contained, complete computers used by individuals to accomplish their specific tasks. They are not shared with others, like mainframes. They are used by one person. Nearly every CPU-based device we own and use today is literally a PC.

The number one reason his definition is incorrect -Patrick's definition is including elements of the operating system (open platform for software loading) in the definition of the PC. The operating system is software, not hardware. A personal computer is a personal computer, regardless of the operating system running on it. Otherwise, the definition could just as easily be "any computer which runs PC-DOS" since Windows (or OS X) didn't exist when we started calling them "PCs."

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

This point is moot

Qbt Updated - 7th Dec

By the time Windows 8 ships, x86 hardware will be power-efficient enough that you can get a very capable Windows 8 "tablet" with enough battery life which will allow you to switch to the "classic" desktop. Making them true PCs by your own definition.

My suspicion is that some of the well designed convertibles will become more popular than simple slates because of the much more useful utility of having a full-featured laptop/tablet that can run "classic" applications when needed, while also providing finger capability when needed.

It will only be the smallest and lightest form factors that will need to go the ARM route.

The same thing happened with netbooks. The original concept was that you sell very cheap hardware that can only do minimal processing, enough for typical web type activities. What those people failed to realize at the time was that two years later even the cheapest hardware could easily run a full-featured OS, making the whole "netbook" concept obsolete. The same will happen with tablets. History is about to repeat itself.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Not a Traditional PC but I don't want a PC

rhonin 7th Dec

What I want is a device I can execute basic pc functionality without all the overhead.
I can kind-of do some pc type functions on my tablet(s) - iPad2 and Transformer.

Let's take this a bit further though....
If I get a Transformer style tablet running Win8 Metro, attach to my Transformer style dock, use the extra connections to attach external devices and use one of them to load information / apps; does this make it now a pc?

plain

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

SaxonXXX 7th Dec

Computer
A programmable machine that performs high-speed processing of numbers, as well as of text, graphics, symbols, and sound. All computers contain a central processing unit that interprets and executes instructions; input devices, through which data and commands enter the computer; memory that enables the computer to store programs and data; and output devices, such as printers and display screens, that show the results after the computer has processed data.

Why all of a sudden are we trying to change the definition of what a computer is?
An iPad is a computer, so is a calculator and so is a smartphone.

Now the question becomes is an iPad personal, well yes, but we don't call a smartphone or a calculator a PC, so an iPad can be a PC or not by definition, or by the context of someones point of view.

From my point of view the iPad is to limited to replace a desktop/laptop but my wife on the other hand runs her whole digital life from her iPad, so to her an iPad is a PC and she has no need for a traditional desktop/laptop PC. It's all a matter of context at the end of the day.

Or as toddy bottom so eloquently put it, "What does it matter to anyone other than to those who jerk off to marketshare figures?"

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

TsarNikky 7th Dec

Yea, verily! It is about time that respected and credible sources are finally publicizing that Windows-8 is not for PCs; but, instead for tablets. Pity, that Microsoft has not "come clean" with critical fact. It would have been so much better if Microsoft has been honest and just come out and say some like "Windows-8 is for tablets. Windows-9 is under development and will be for PCs." This would have been the decent thing to do--minimizing the needless anguish already created, and allowing computer users (personal and business) to plan accordingly.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Here's what makes a PC:

Joe_Raby 7th Dec

Is the OS embedded and difficult to impossible to modify, or is it switchable by the user through a conventional installation routine?

If it's embedded, it's a device, hence iOS and Android products are devices.

Since a user can, BY DESIGN, wipe a drive and reinstall a different OS, it's a computer, hence Mac's, Windows, and Linux (don't lump Android into this either) computer products are PC's.

Now the question about WoA is whether or not it is more like an embedded version of Windows, or a conventionally installed version. An x86 Windows product, whether it be a tablet or not, is still a PC, since it can be docked and work with all of your existing Windows 7 software, and the OS can be wiped and reinstalled without circumventing design restrictions that prevent reinstallation. In the case of iOS and Android devices, you can't install an alternate operating system (without using ROM firmware hacks and such that the hardware manufacturers never intended).

iOS is like the embedded version of OS X. Android is an embedded version of Linux. Microsoft has their own embedded versions of Windows. Is the ARM version designed to be embedded? If so, it's a device. Or if it's designed to be removable, and you could load your own version of some other operating system, like an ARM version of Ubuntu, it's a PC.

Remember the 'P' in Personal Computer. It refers to the fact that you can use a computer they way you want. The computer is the hardware. If you can use it as a piece of hardware with whatever software (including operating system) that you want, easily, that's what a "PC" is, in my opinion.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Then some Windows 8 desktops / laptops will not be PCs

toddybottom 7th Dec

@Joe_Raby
If we believe the hysterical screaming coming from FOSS over secure booting, some Windows 8 desktops / laptops (those without the option to disable secure boot) will not be PCs either because they will not allow the user to change the OS.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Bad definition leads to poor conclusion

Michael Alan Goff 7th Dec

iPad is a PC.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

jonathan@... 7th Dec

A tablet is a convenience. A USB beverage cooler is a convenience. One cannot confuse their computer with a fridge, not their fridge with a computer, even though both use similiar technologies

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

gwlaw99 7th Dec

For me, what makes an iPad not a modern PC is the lack of a real file system, lack of real multitasking, and having to run everything though iTunes. If these issues were addressed, then it would be a PC in my mind. Just not a very powerful one (Ever try to use one of the advanced iPad Photoshop alternatives? Incredibly slow).

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

"If you can installed (sic) them from a variety of media..."

msalzberg 7th Dec

"If you can installed (sic) them from a variety of media (CD/DVD/digital download) from any place, then it???s a PC."

No CD or DVD on the MacBook Air, so I guess it doesn't count as a PC, either.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

You aren't very smart

toddybottom 7th Dec

@msalzberg
I shouldn't have to tell you that external optical drives work just fine on the MacBook Air.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

I think he was making fun of the definition

Michael Alan Goff 7th Dec

@toddybottom

not the MBA.

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

Ken_z 7th Dec

Compared to the CPU "power", graphics, memory, storage and OS of your first PC, how does the iPad compare? My first computer was a DOS based 286 powerhouse. My wife's iPad would kick its ass without a problem.

The iPad is a computer and it is a computer that is selling very well.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

kenosha77a 7th Dec

@Ken_z

Interesting observation. Too bad you didn't post this comment at the beginning of this Talkback session.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Depends what you mean by PC

keebaud@... 8th Dec

A restrictive software source does not define the device, only the operating system running on the device.
The classic definition of a PC should be defined by it's function. My definition would include;
1) The device would not be mobile
2) The device would be mains powered
3) The device would have a keyboard for data entry
4) The device would have a visual display
5) The device would be electronic in function
6) The device would be able to store information
7) The device should be intended for use by an individual
A laptop is not a PC by this definition. Neither is an internet kiosk, a mobile phone, a tablet or a watch.

In the strictest sense however, a Personal Computer would be any electronic device intended for use by a member of the public that is designed for taking data, processing that data, and displaying a result. Which would include watches, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Tablets replacing PC's

TexasJetter 8th Dec

"Don???t think you can swipe your PC into the nearest trashcan (or recycling center) and replace it with tablet. That???s just not going to happen."...
Totally disagree with this statement. It is already happening (even with iPads), of course the question is your definition of 'tablet'. You can't tell me that one could not "replace" their PC with an Asus Eee Slate (running Windows 7), but is that a PC or a Tablet? Regardless, for some users who primarily use their computer as an email/basic word processing tablets can be a viable replacement.

I also think you are incorrect in the Windows 8 based devices not being PCs (based on a closed application installation). Your coworker Mary Jo Foley just published an article today indication that Microsoft will allow business users a way to distribute private Metro apps. So users (at least business users) will be able to load custom applications, even on ARM based tablets.

In the end who cares what it is called, it is what you can do with it that matters. Windows 8, iOS, Android x is only a means to an end.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Tablets, desktops, and smartphones are PCs

mookiemu 8th Dec

PC stands for personal computer and that makes most desktops, tablets, and smartphones to be PCs.
They all runs applications intended for personal computing.
To be clear, the ipad is a PC. The ipad is not a desktop PC (unless you put it on a stand and add a keyboard and a mouse, and work with it at your desk happy

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

RE: The iPad is not a PC, and neither are Windows 8 tablets

edkollin 8th Dec

@mookiemu Agree. The IPAD is a tablet PC

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

According to this logic, Chromebooks aren't PCs either

ssaha 8th Dec

since they cannot load apps. They should be classified as terminals, and pretty dumb ones at that, as nothing is actually stored on the machines themselves.

Reply
Flag

0 Votes

+ -

Evolution of the PC

shoebaccaMS 8th Dec

Not sure if you know this but technology changes over time. Just because it's not the old-fashioned sit down and write a document, it is still a personal computer.

The purpose of the device is to process information that an individual inputs into the system and to retrieve information later. The fact that you own and enter your information into the one device makes it a personal computer.

Old computers used to be organized as what today would be called a "cloud" environment today where all information was distributed into servers and retrieved later by many users. The differentiating factor is that the endpoints, or terminals, did not actually have the ability to do any computations without the old cloud. Today, the client contains your information, regardless of the device. It's personal and it has all the capabilities you need to compute what you intended in the one device and still the cloud to leverage when you don't.

Eat it. happy