Authors: OPTS Display Team
Japanese tech giant Toshiba is struggling to stay afloat. The tech company’s overall health has deteriorated over the past two decades as it’s failed to keep up with the global technological landscape. For 8 decades, Toshiba was at the forefront of innovation and technology and rose to global prominence in the 1980’s and 90’s.
The company’s biggest achievement came in 1985 as they introduced the T1100, which was the first mass-market laptop and the world’s first “IBM compatible” laptop. There was scepticism around the laptop when it came to market in 1985, but it proved to be a big success as it’s use of the 3.5 inch floppy disk drive was unique and unconventional. The compatibility with the IBM software helped drive its success. Toshiba surpassed the sales target of 10,000 units and ultimately paved the path for the modern-day laptop.
By the early 2000’s the internet boomed and the need for a laptop became more common place which created the opportunity for lower-end manufacturers like Acer, Lenovo and Hp to tap into the laptop market and sell rival products at much lower prices. Toshiba’s place in the market continued to decline as more and more tech giants started to reach larger consumer bases and offer competitive prices.
While a pioneer in the computer industry, after 35 years, Toshiba is stopping production of Laptops and PC’s. In the last few years Toshiba has suffered huge loss. In 2013 Toshiba had its strongest year in computer sales, with 17.7 million units sold, while they dropped to 1.4 million sales last year. Toshiba pulling out of the computer/laptop space doesn’t come as a surprise but points to the rapid decline of the company’s overall health.
Toshiba has lost its prominence in the tech market over the years due to its competitors’ success. The likes of Apple, Lenovo and Microsoft have paved the way for portable laptops and have reached mass-markets. With Toshiba stepping out of the laptop space and Samsung stepping in, there is a real opportunity for Samsung to capture a highly penetrated market by offering a new and innovative approach to laptops/computers.
