CHART: The iPad And Other Tablets Are Turning Out To Be Far More Important Than PCs Ever Were

We all know PCs as those ubiquitous devices that first invaded the workplace and then our homes. They still dominate offices today. Tablets like the best-selling iPad from Apple feel more additive to the computer environment, and they have found a strong niche as a coffee-table or leisure time device.

But this chart from Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker argues that tablets have already, by one measure, surpassed the sales numbers of both PCs and laptop-style notebook computers. More tablet units are shipped per quarter and sales growth for tablets is sharper than it ever was for PCs or laptops.

That, arguably, makes tablets a much more important device in the way we use computers than the PC was: