Hewlett-Packard Bows to 'Post-PC' World

Hewlett Packard Company's decision to exit the PC business it has been a major player in shows us something about the state of the PC industry, the challenges of matching Apple, yet again, in devices and the fierce rivalry in operating system ecosystems.

The "post-PC era" is simply a reflection of the fact that mobile devices like Apple's iPhone and iPad are good enough for what most consumers, and many people at work, actually need to do. Consumers access websites and play simple games. Business users often only need to make presentations or check email and websites. All of those things can be done on smart phones and tablets. It isn't so much that "PCs" are unnecessary. Some tasks still require the older mouse-keyboard input, more processing power, memory, input and output support.

But most of the things most people seem to want to do can be done on a tablet or smart phone, since actual content creation requirements are relatively simple, most of the time. "PC" devices mostly are called upon to serve up video, audio, games or other content, most of the time. Heavy content creation is a relatively rarer need.

HP had hoped WebOS would give the company more traction in smart phones and tablets, but management apparently believes that hope is now dashed. Nokia already has surrendered on Symbian, so the operating system battle mostly revolves around Apple's iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows and Research in Motion. Many observers say RIM will be next to fall.

Hewlett-Packard Bows to 'Post-PC' World