The continuing growth in the tablet PC market is hitting traditional hard disc drive manufacturers hard, according to latest reports.
Hard drive brands such as Seagate Technology and Western Digital Corp are set to face lower profits in the future as more computer buyers opt for tablet PCs such as Apple's iPad instead of traditional laptops.
Flash versus HDD
Tablets use rugged flash memory with fast boot times instead of traditional hard drive tech, with a number of other major manufacturers including Hewlett-Packard and Research in Motion (RIM) soon to release their own tablet PCs into the market.
Wedbush Securities Analyst Kaushik Roy claims that the threat from the growth in the consumer demand for tablet PCs has been taken into account by hard drive makers in recent months.
Roy told Reuters:"People haven't really realized the extent or the depth of the situation.
"You've got to believe that some people who would have bought a laptop before are now going to move to the tablet."
BlackBerry maker, Research In Motion Ltd plans to launch the PlayBook in early 2011, with overall tablet PC sales likely to top 15 million units in 2010 and grow considerably to over 48 million units in 2011, according to data from research company iSuppli.
Via Reuters
