Acer Says Tablets and Ultrabooks are a Fad

According to Acer founder Stan Shih, ultrabooks and tablet PCs are nothing but a fad.  In a world where mobile devices seem to be getting smaller and smaller everyday, and sales figures of tablets are going though the roof, can he really back up this claim?

Shih said that the “fads for ultrabooks and tablet PCs are both short-term phenomena and urged companies in the notebook supply chain to come out with more value-added products through innovation.” according to a Digitimes report.

While he was ready to offer some credit to Apple for thinking outside the box with the original iPad, he didn’t share this praise with other tablet manufacturers.  These statements by Shih came as a surprise to many people, as Acer have plans to relese their own 7 inch tablet soon.  This device is expected to sell for $345, and Acer are hoping it will fill a gap in the sub $500 tablet market.

We will just have to wait and see whether tablets become a long term phenomenon or not, although at the moment, sales continue to rise all around the world.  However, it is understandable why Shih and Acer are questioning the value of tablets, because for many people, they are acting as a replacement for cheaper Acer laptops.

More and more people are using mobile computers predominantly to go online, and do not require all of the resources and connectivity of traditional laptop designs.  While there will always be a market for expensive and powerful notebooks, tablets are eating more and more into the cheaper end of the laptop market, and calling them a fad is probably nothing more than wishful thinking by Shih.