iPad (AAPL) Really Killing Microsoft (MSFT), PCs?

Recently Gartner has been getting a lot of press over their downwardly revised outlook for PC sales because of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, and how that will affect software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Gartner noted, "We once thought that mobile PC growth would continue to be sustained by consumers buying second and third mobile PCs as personal devices. However, we now believe that consumers are not only likely to forgo additional mobile PC buys but are also likely to extend the lifetimes of the mobile PCs they retain as they adopt media tablets and other mobile PC alternatives as their primary mobile device.

"We expect growing consumer enthusiasm for mobile PC alternatives, such as the iPad and other media tablets, to dramatically slow home mobile PC sales, especially in mature markets."

Gartner lowered their notebook computer sales outlook from a growth rate of 15.9 percent to 10.5 percent.

The only question in the short term is what the iPad and others can do, as at this time they are more of a toy and not able to perform the functions of their counterparts.

But as far as consuming media and lesser functions, there's no doubt they're going to take a bite out of PC sales, and Microsoft, from that point of view. Once they are able to do more, it could become even more serious, depending on Microsoft's response, which isn't going to be around the time students go back to school in 2012.