Can the PC Be Saved? – Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), Dell Inc. (DELL)

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)

Seriously, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is a real headache for the investor. There are troubles all around for the PC maker. Does it go private, does it stay public but offer a sop to large investors? What? It’s a confusing situation.

What isn’t confusing is that the firm is said to have made moves to lock up production on new touchscreen technology that allows its products to not only provide the same experience as existing touchscreens but to enhance it with stretching and bendable screens that are harder to break and easier to work with. That could be a bit of a game changer for the firm from Texas and also might explain why so many big players are spending so much time arguing over ownership, control and direction for a firm most had written off.

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)

Another firm that a lot of people had written off, Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) is fighting the PC wars to the bitter end. The firm famously has Meg Whitman – formerly of eBay and a run at the California Governor’s Office – as CEO and President. It’s been a rough ride for HP, but the last several months have been good. Since things stabilized over there the shares have climbed almost 80% since mid-November. If Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) can gain some ground using newer, tablet-like screen on its next generation of business PCs there’s real room for a renaissance by the sometimes stodgy technology firm.

What we’re seeing here is the merging of the tablet culture – this thing that’s grown up in just a few short years that sees everyone and their brother using them to not talk to people at coffee shops – and the business-oriented PC culture. People want the convenience of tablets, sure. But they also want the power that PCs bring to the table and that’s something tablets have yet to be able to provide. Most tablet manufacturers, by focusing on the consumer and entertainment markets, have left a market space that can be moved into by these larger and more established business PC firms. I think they’re going to be glad to do so.

The article Can the PC Be Saved? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Nate Wooley.

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