The desktop still exist though, but it appears to be developing into a different beast. While, portable computing may not be all it is cracked up to be.

Portability. Mobility. Wireless.

These terms are everywhere with the evolution of handheld and portable PCs. From various reviews and articles about mobile devices, one wonders if the desktops are dieing.

In January 2004, Meta Group launched a study about the decline in the use of desktop. Meta hopes the popularity of desktops to fall as new technologies generation adopted. Meta even assumes that by 2006, about 45% of corporate users will be mainly rely on a desktop machine, but 40% will depend on notebooks or tablet PCs.

The report is only one of the speculations that the fall of the desktop era is near, and it surely won’t be the last. Though, the key word to remember in this report is “corporate.” Many corporations have started to look the advantage and prices of handheld devices, tablets, blades, and smart displays. Their employees may not require what today’s desktop offers.

In past few years, each new device has threatened to replace the desktop from its dominant computing position. In 2000, PDAs were supposed take place of the desktop PCs in future. In 2001, the same news was about the notebooks taking place of the desktops. And now rumors are about the tablet PC trying to take place of the desktops. But still the desktop still exists.