The International Data Corporation (IDC) has reported that for the first time in history, smartphones have outsold computers. It was estimated that a record-breaking 92.1 million computers were shipped in Q4 2010 and 100.9 million smartphones were shipped in the same period, pushing the smartphone sales above the PC sales for the first time. This increase in sales shows that the world is finally starting to embrace smartphones – especially with platforms like Android opening up to the low-end consumer market, making smartphone accessible to everyone. But let’s not forget that phones are usually cheaper than computers, and the lifespan of a computer is usually longer than that of a smartphone (which usually gets replaced every 2 years, while a computer’s lifespan can last longer than that), not to mention people constantly upgrade their computers – be it due to problems or just for performance, while smartphones don’t have that option. But the numbers aren’t anything to laugh at. In the future we’ll probably be seeing smartphones in the hands of everybody in the world. How many of you chose to get a new smartphone instead of a new computer last year?
