"What's gonna happen to us?"

As many have found out, through commercials, internet ads and by word-of-mouth, smart phones and personal tablets are all the rage in technology. Why do we like these machines so much ? The answer is relatively simple: convenience. The majority wants to be able to social network, email, communicate and do all the things that a personal computer (PC) can do while being completely mobile. We want all the power of a PC in an easy-to-use, easy-to-transport packaging.  If we can have the vast functions of a computer in a cell phone, why wouldn't we? And with thousands of useful and entertaining smart phone and tablet apps, everything we need is in our pocket. Some of the driving forces behind this trend that I have noticed include these apps, 4G technology and touchscreen technology. Everyone is after the "lastest and greatest."
However, according to this article, http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/19/technology/intel_pc_sales/index.htm,PC's aren't going to go down without a fight. They're putting up a good one, too. As the article states, the company Intel, though seeing "slumping demand" for PC's in the United States and Canada, has seen great increases in demand world-wide. China has become number one in the personal computer market in the last quarter.
Though it seems PC's aren't necessarily suffering, they are in no way reaping the benefits that media tablets like the iPad are. And experts are guessing that the demand for these tablets is only going to continue to rise: http://www.itchannelplanet.com/trends/article.php/3908851/Media-Tablet-Sales-Worldwide-Expected-to-Jump-181-Percent-in-2011.htm.
Though this article seems like 'old news,' it shows that really, we've seen this trend already. Companies, like Apple, are continually producing products like these that make our lives supposedly easier. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-apple-research-idUSTRE72D30020110314
It's going to get even bigger from there. Many wonder what this will mean for the personal computer industry, though it seems to be maintaining itself--how much longer can it do this? Will PC's become arbitrary? Doubtful, but it will be very interesting to see where this trend takes us as consumers, and where technology will go from this point on.
As an owner of a smartphone (a BlackBerry Torch), I feel like I will never have a reason to use anything other than it and my laptop--they seem portable enough. I wonder if I'll jump on the bandwagon of tablets...we'll see!

What Will Happen to Apple?

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California. The company established on April 1, 1976 and officially incorporated on January 3, 1977, designs, produces and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. Apple’s revolutionary and best-known products include the Macintosh line of computers which was first released in 1984, the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007, and the iPad in 2010. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, iTunes, iLife, iWork, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, Safari web browser, and iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. 

As we all know, the creator of this revolutionary company, Steve Jobs, passed away this week. Now, many wonder if Apple Inc. will continue to be successful. In this article, Bill Stepp and Cecil Henderson discussed how Apple will sustain itself after the lost of the creative engineer.  http://lorton.patch.com/articles/the-lorton-perspective-steve-jobs-and-the-future-of-apple 

Many also wonder what's next in the line of Apple products. Production of the iPhone5 will continue as planned and will be released as previously announced, early next year. Really it seems that Apple will go on and continue the projects that were left behind by Jobs.  

Much like how Disney mourned Walt Disney's death and fell behind in the markets, as Steve Case discusses in this interview with PBS News Hour, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/remember/july-dec11/jobs2_10-06.html, many believe that the employees of Apple will obsess over the loss of their visionary and lose track of their goals. Case, suggests that they do not do this, but rather, remember Jobs and carry on--as the rest of the world should do as well.