According to the Deloitte (News - Alert) consulting firm in its latest Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions report, sales of tablets and smartphones will outnumber personal computers this year as consumers begin using a wider variety of devices to access the Internet.

"Deloitte predicts that in 2011 more than 50 percent of computing devices sold globally will not be PCs," they said.

Sales of smartphones and tablet computers would come to 425 million, tablets are expected to rack up 50 million sales and smartphones 375 million. However, the PC era, with sales well above 390 million, is far from over as they will remain the workhorse computing platform.

"When looking at the future of computing devices, 2011 may well mark the tipping point as we move from a world of mostly standardized PC-like devices, containing standardized chips and software, to a far more heterogeneous environment."

Expect at least two distinct chip architectures and at least five different operating systems with more than five percent market share to emerge. With software available allowing tablets to become integrated to secure business networks, 2011 is also to be a breakthrough year for tablets in the workplace according to Deloitte, with more than 25 percent of sales in 2011 going to companies.