HP selling off hardware division

Simon_Palmer

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19 Aug 2011 - 5:53 PM

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So HP (Hewlett Packard) is selling off it's hardware division and turning to software instead. Yup, that's right the largest supplier of PCs in the world is selling up because there is no cash in it.

Last year PSG (Personal Systems Group) the HP division that makes PCs generated over $ 41 billion for HP, but only made $ 2 billion in profit, roughly $ 40 per PC. 2 bill sounds like soooo much money but not at those levels, it's a ridiculous outlay for so little back.

The PC market in the West is shrinking at an alarming rate and "the tablet effect is real".

So thoughts??

Apple have got it right, all those that bemoan Apple's business model of making PROFIT on hardware are bonkers?

HP must be bonkers?

What do you think?

cameracat (e2 Member)

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19 Aug 2011 - 7:04 PM

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I'm sure that anyone running their own business would agree that you have to make a profit, Or why bother being in business at all.....!!!

That said, There is a massive difference between making a decent profit and plotting to " Rip " customers off, Or drip feed them with toys followed by newer toy, All tied to a particular brand..!!!

It was bound to happen one day, The market is saturated, Almost everyone who wants a computer has one, Even those who don't want them find they are being forced into owning or at least using them.

The battle for survival in PCs will continue minus HP hardware, Dell and others will mop up, Then it will be business as usual.....

When the same thing happened in the " Television " makers industry, They had a plan, Change the screen format, Then technology came along to help in the guise of TFT/LCD, The rest as they say is history.....!!!!!!!!!!

So what will the surviving computer brands come up with, We have seen faster this and faster that, Smaller, Larger, Colourful, etc etc etc...

One thing they can learn from Apple is that whatever it is, It should be the next must have, Fashionable toy that you just can't live without......

Look out world.....

StrayCat (e2 Member)

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19 Aug 2011 - 7:38 PM

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Well, in my case, a pad won't do what I need, and a laptop that would cover what I need would cost 3 times a similarly equipped desktop. A mobile phone for us is just that, a phone. I have never had texting, and don't need it, and the new games I see reviewed on TV are a sad way to spend one's life. So, the desktop is still my gadget of choice. I feel truly fortunate, not having been caught up in all the "must have" toys. I see them as a complete waste of time and money. Harumph!

Jestertheclown

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19 Aug 2011 - 9:24 PM

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Make that +2.

rhol2 (e2 Member)

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19 Aug 2011 - 9:47 PM

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Quote: The PC market in the West is shrinking at an alarming rate and "the tablet effect is real".

Is it really? You got any stats for that?
Most people I know who have a tablet still have a computer as well and I would have thought vast numbers of PCs are shipped to corporates rather than privet individuals..

but I could be wrong.

Are you hedging your bets?(Sorry!)

davewaine

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20 Aug 2011 - 6:11 AM

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Go back a century. The cinema arrived to ring the death knell of the theatre - yet we still have live theatre. Half a century ago the arrival of television rang the death knell for the cinema - yet we still have cinemas. More recently the computer arrived to sink the typewriter - but you can still buy a typewriter (which, itself, failed to make the pen redundant). The moral of this story is that very few things disappear altogether. The market adjusts. I have an iMac, which I use for virtually all my computer-related activities. The one exception is exam marking, which has to be done on Windows because the supplied software is Windows-only. Therefore I also have a Windows 7 netbook to cover that (and it also lets me onto the Net when the family are hogging the Mac). I also have a Kindle (which has not consigned traditional books to history). Much as I like the look of an iPad and its rivals, I really don't know that I would find much use for one since I can already do much of what it is capable of one way or another. When not taking photographs, I write novels and, believe me, a proper keyboard and a big monitor is a huge advantage when typing in large quantities of text. The market for desktop PCs may be shrinking, but it won't disappear altogether because there is a need for them. Besides, they will all wear out sooner or later and need replacing.

Big Bri

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20 Aug 2011 - 10:13 AM

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It was obvious something like this was coming when Leo Apotheker took over from Hurd as CEO. He's a software guy. They have not yet decided on how the PC business gets spun off, but it seems the tablet and phone businesses are just going to be shut down. I got the news on Thursday night, after ordering a Touchpad on Thursday morning! :S

HP grabbed the "largest PC manufacturer" title by consuming Compaq, which had itself consumed DEC (remember them? I used to code on a PDP 11 ) However, HP PCs are actually built by pretty much the same sub-contractors that build Dells, Acers and other top brands, so I am sure even if HP just pulled out of the PC market, the same people would end up building more for other makes and the global market wouldn't change much.

I work in IPG, so am more interested in what he's going to do with our printer divisions......

keith selmes

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20 Aug 2011 - 11:07 AM

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Tablets aren't a fad, although, for most people they are not a PC replacement.
Many people dislike reading lengthy documents at their PC, and equally don't want piles of printed paper - and may find a tablet is cheaper than printing. Also there are people who have to do on line form filling instead of paper form filling, and again, a tablet is greatly preferable for read mostly situations. With the usual caveats about the environmental effects of computer production and disposal, it my also turn out more sustainable than printing and shifting paper around.

Some people will probablly use tablets as a PC replacement, especially in a protective case with usb keyboard attached.
When you want to read or watch, rather than type, you take it out of the case.
Some will have a tablet for travelling, rather than a laptop or netbook. If its mainly for reading emails and web pages, and a phone screen isn't big enough, a lot of people will prefer a tablet to a netbook.

Bottom line, when you are mainly reading and browsing, and doing little typing, a tablet is so much easier to carry around and so much easier to use. And with more data and applications being in cloud space, and hence not location dependant, it seems a natural trend.

I won't be ditching my PC though. I find even netbooks and laptops unpleasant if I have to do much work on them, and in any case, people taking their photography at all seriously will usually want a full size PC (including Apple ), as will architects, graphic designers, anyone doing 3D work, any major number crunching etc.


Quote: I think tablets are a passing fad

But you have an e-reader of some kind ? Apart from reading in the sun, you can do the same with a tablet, and more. Its a personal choice, but I found a Kindle mostly useless and frustrating, and in future I will probably either read tablets or real books.