By Luanne Teoh on 07-22-2011

Like the black and white TV, is this the death of the PC era?

Apple’s stock this week jumped to its highest price ever after record sales of the iPhone and iPad in the second quarter of 2011 and record revenues of $28.6 billion. According to Apple COO Tim Cook, iPad sales are nibbling away at the Mac market share.

Apple shipped a record 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent increase over the same quarter last year when it shipped 3.3 million. Meanwhile, it shipped about 3.95 million Macs in the third quarter, a 14 percent increase from last year. iPad 2 demand continued to exceed supply in the most recent quarter, cutting into Mac sales.

Revenue for the iPad and related products and services was $6 billion versus about $5 billion for Macs. But a more significant comparison is MacBooks. MacBook revenue was about $3.525 billion, a significantly smaller portion of iPad sales. The iPhone is still Apple’s most important product, with 20 million units sold during Apple’s third quarter accounting for almost half of its $28 billion in revenue.

While there has been many conflicting reports and speculation in the last couple of years over the death of the PC — Apple’s recent sales numbers on the iPad is no speculation. The explosive growth in mobile device growth, decline in smartphone and tablet prices plus global 4G penetration will only spur the adoption of mobile devices.

According to Gartner research director George Shiffler, “We expect growing consumer enthusiasm for mobile PC alternatives, such as the iPad and other media tablets, to dramatically slow home mobile PC sales, especially in mature markets.”

Here are some noteworthy trends we have noticed to give you an idea of the direction of the mobile industry as a whole.

• Sequoia Capital — Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capitalists first mobile browser investment into MoboTap, maker of the Dolphin browser
• The location based service industry is worth $10 Billion
• Mobile commerce has been a game changer for big names like Starbucks, eBay and Taco Bell.
• Mobile advertising market is worth $2 Billion

According to Morgan Stanley, in the next 5 years, more people will connect to the internet via a mobile vs a PC. Here is a pretty cool video which shows us the evolution and direction of mobile devices.

The use of the term “mobile devices” are meant to include both mobile phones and tablets for the purpose of  presenting an alternative to a PC.

About Luanne Teoh

Luanne is a senior correspondent for BizTechDay focused on Small Business Tech, Mobile and China based in San Francisco. Apart from a keen interest in technology, Luanne is also and avid explorer of the globe, cultures and people.

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