Tech is at a tipping point As smartphones replace dumb phones and tablets surpass laptops, the world is shifting to a more mobile world this year, CNN

Tech is at a tipping point

As smartphones replace dumb phones and tablets surpass laptops, the world is shifting to a more mobile world this year -- and it's not looking back.

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Tablets eclipse laptops

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Who needs a keyboard?

The trend in tech this year seems to indicate that very few people do -- as long as they can take their gadget with them wherever they go to surf the Web, catch up on email or comment on a friend's photo.

For the first time, there is now a greater demand for tablets than there is for laptops.

Tablets like Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and Amazon's(AMZN, Fortune 500) Kindle Fire are cheaper than laptops and allow consumers to do more on the move.

Experts from IDC, a technology research group, expect about 41.9 million more tablets to be shipped this year than laptops.

In fact, the number of tablets shipped are expected to surpass all PCs -- laptops and desktops -- by 2015. That's not surprising, considering shipments of PCs had a record-setting bad quarterearlier this year.

NEXT: Smartphones surpass dumb phones

BY KATIE LOBOSCO @CNNMONEY - LAST UPDATED JUNE 20 2013 07:06 AM ET