Will the desktop survive?

Don’t be silly of course it will because no matter how popular we might be led to believe that mobile is taking over the world the fact is that the desktop will always have its place. At least that is what the folks at AMD and Via are trying to convince themselves of in a recent interview of Patrick Moorhead and Richard Brown, VP of AMD and VP of Via respectively.

“I think you will see the resurgence of the small form-factor desktop,” said Patrick Moorhead, a vice president at Advanced Micro Devices.

[….]

“Companies are tending to go back to desktops,” said Richard Brown, a vice president with Via. “That’s certainly what we’re seeing.”

The one interesting fact that Mr. Brown pointed to was the growth of the desktop in Asia

Many consumers in Asia made their way to the PC revolution for the first time by receiving a small laptop or netbook at work. Now, they’re looking for some more beef as they use computers at home for work and entertainment.

“In China and elsewhere, those people have started to desire a real computer when they get home,” Mr. Brown said. “They want a bigger screen and more power. The desktop offers that.”

Personally I agree that desktops will be around for a very long time. I know myself that three is no way that I would willingly give up the power of the desktop nor the availability of using multiple monitors.

I do believe though that as with laptops and other mobile device that the desktop could be due for – as they say in the movies these days – a reboot. Whether it be more powerful and versatile all-in-ones or even a different way of putting all the pieces together instead of in a tower that sits on your desk at some point I think the desktop as we know it will change radically.

But change doesn’t mean that it will be going away in fact we could end up seeing a swing back as our lives become even further intertwined with our computers and the Web.