There has been quite a buzz of late around the idea of us entering a ‘post-PC era’, or possibly already living in one, ever since Steve Jobs used the term at the iPad 2 launch roughly seven months ago. Nobody is denying that millions of people each day spend increasingly more time on smartphones and tablets, but does that mean that PCs are obsolete?

Many believe that the not-so-distant future will be a world where there are no more PCs and everyone will use a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. But should we be discounting the PC altogether as an important tool in the future of computing? According to Forrester Research, the answer is no. Their forecasts show consumer laptop sales growing at a CAGR of 8 percent between 2010 and 2015, and desktop sales only declining slightly.

So in the evolving mobile computing space, how is the PC going to adapt to live up to the forecasts, especially with the impending cloud rolling in? Companies like Microsoft, who have been the PC industry for over 25 years, are having to come up with ways to incorporate the shift from PC to mobile.  In early September, Microsoft showcased its new Windows 8 OS with features such as a “metro” style interface that allows users to take advantage of touch input, but can function equally with a keyboard and mouse. With these types of features, it looks as though we are not entering a post-pc era, but more of a hybrid era where PCs and mobile devices work together seamlessly.

Do you think we’re entering a post-PC era? Are you close to working without a PC or do you already live without a PC?