MORRISVILLE, N.C., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A U.S. computer company officer says predictions of the demise of the old-style home PC due to rapid development of smartphones and tablets are overblown.
David Schmoock, who heads North American operations for Chinese PC maker Lenovo, says he's seen little evidence tablet adoption is undercutting laptop sales.
"The tablet world is almost completely complementary to the PC world," Schmoock told Network World. "It really is a dual-device world."
He acknowledges some major readjustments in the home PC world, including computer refresh cycles that have grown longer because of an ongoing recession.
"There was a period of time in which people paused, just because of the economic recession: 'Maybe instead of 36 months, we'll go 48 months,'" Schmoock said.
However, those same business customers are beginning to complement their traditional PCs with tablet purchases, he said.
The various form factors in the mobile world -- screen size, input methods and such -- will likely consolidate more heavily while the PC market is mature and relatively stable, he said.
"I do think there will be more convergence between tablets and phones than I have seen between tablets and PCs," he said.
