Google Exec: Desktops Will Be “Irrelevant” in Three Years. When Will Laptops? (Poll)

Speaking at a recent event in Ireland, Google’s European Sales and Operations VP John Herlihy may have provided a glimpse of Google’s broader vision when he proclaimed that in three years, desktop computers will be “irrelevant.” While one has to ask about offices, schools, and other late, budget-constrained adopters, desktop computers are an easy enough target for futurists, but Herlihy’s mobile-centric remarks didn’t seem to give laptops that good a chance, either:

Irish tech journal SiliconRepublic captured Herlihy’s remarks:

“In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs,” Herlihy told a baffled audience…

…Mobile makes the world’s information universally accessible. Because there’s more information and because it will be hard to sift through it all, that’s why search will become more and more important. This will create new opportunities for new entrepreneurs to create new business models – ubiquity first, revenue later.”

All of this gives Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC an added layer of urgency: While Google may want to dominate both the cloud and its portals of entry, an iPhone-dominated mobile landscape in the present would ensure that Apple captures both ubiquity and revenue. Google could always try to step in and hawk $2000 unibodies, but given the trend lines of Herlihy’s speech, that hardly seems to be on their agenda either.

When, if ever, do you think laptops will become irrelevant?

(SiliconRepublic via Gadget Lab)