[A895]

I don't know if it'll make a huge marketshare dent but Apple's upcoming large screen phones will definitely make a killing in the market. They've maxed out their existing user base and are coming around with a new pass at them.

And if they really do a big screened device they may sway some millions of Android owners who use Android devices for the bigger screen. This fall will be a very interesting time in the smartphone market. I am personally getting another Moto X (mines broke) and then I will get a Moto G for games. Then I will get a Moto 360 to round it out. Heck, I may get a Moto E just to have the whole family.

But back on topic, Apple will definitely take a bite of Android and WP if the rumors are true.

[prasath1234]

But it still android will have huge market share due to Moto e type of smartphones.

[A895]

But it still android will have huge market share due to Moto e type of smartphones.

Android does have the low end on lock, but the iPhone 6 will challenge everyone on the high end this fall.

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[BrackleyDave]

I think if you were to use one word to describe Microsoft recently it would be "Late"

They were Late to the mobile phone market - although rather bizarrely they were actually early to smartphones with Windows Mobile, but then managed to destroy that market share by scrapping the original windows mobile 6 in favor of Windows Mobile 7, and then again by moving to Windows Mobile 8.

Tablets. Again, a market that they were early to, but when the ipad came along they took nearly 3 years to come out with a rival product to go up against it (and don't even get me started on what went wrong there - $$$ and Windows RT)

Cortana. Again, late to the party, although it seems as though Cortana might actually be fashionably late and wearing a prettier dress than Siri.

XBox. Not technically late, as it launched at pretty much the same time as it's rival, it's pre-launch marketing was a shambles and some U-Turns happened too late in the day to prevent the slightly dampened launch.

Windows 8. Windows 8 is a technically very advanced operating system, but it was let down by it's poor user experience at launch. Finally Microsoft have listened to people and starting to change things with updates 8.1.1.1.1.1, but maybe it's just too late to save the 8 brand and a wholesome new "9" might be the only way out of this marketing pickle

Windows RT. The evil b*stard twin of Windows 8 which shares all of the annoying traits and none of the good ones. It's a stupid stupid idea that should have never seen the light of day, and it should be put to sleep asap before it's too late. If MS want to persist in trying to sell us fondleslabs, why not scale up windows phone instead rather than scaling down full fat windows.

Believe it or not I'm a big fan of Microsoft and Windows and have been using Windows for 15 years as a developer and have bought original XBox, 360 and Bone, so I really want MS to succeed.
For me the biggest appeal of Microsoft products has been the flexibility and compatibility, but in recent years it's like they're trying to ape Apple's success by directly copying everything they do (closed systems, app stores, controlling hardware specs etc) and it's just not working.

Go back to what you're good at and stop trying to control everything.

[prasath1234]

But apple iPhone 6 will only sale well in us where people buy phone in contract.in countries where people buy by paying outright price.iPhones will be hardly selling.

[radmanvr]

Microsoft doesn't have to "recover".

What if I told you Microsoft can still be selling their products without having to be number 1 all the time.

Why is everyone under the illusion that Microsoft is not successful?

[A895]

Microsoft doesn't have to "recover".

What if I told you Microsoft can still be selling their products without having to be number 1 all the time.

Why is everyone under the illusion that Microsoft is not successful?

Its not that they aren't successful, its the fact how successful they are now can't sustain for that long. They have to do more and that's where the problem lays. WP has slow growth, enterprise is BYOD in a lot of places, and being business and enterprise only isn't a good business move (see BlackBerry for proof) so what do open to do next? What new and exciting do they have coming? Those are the questions. Apple is conservative, and Google is just future forward. What is Microsoft?

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[fardream]

I personally think Windows and Xbox are not in any bad situation. On the other hand Windows phone is in a dire situation - games app, music app, not working live tiles - you would thing a product that will ship on a phone in 3 days will be much more polished. They are late to the party, and they are show to catch up - I honestly think Joe belfiore should be fired

[Mike Gibson]

Microsoft doesn't have to "recover". What if I told you Microsoft can still be selling their products without having to be number 1 all the time. Why is everyone under the illusion that Microsoft is not successful?

The concern is that MSFT is killing their core platform of 1.5 billion users by making horrible decisions. Idiotic things like putting Metro on big screens, throwing millions of manhours of Win32 developer experience by introducing the incompatible WinRT API, the incredibly idiotic design of some of the WinRT API, etc.

MSFT is coasting on previous success. They swallowed the WinRT/Metro poison pill ... it just hasn't started kicking in yet. Remember those movies where the main character discovers he was poisoned and only has 24 hours to live?

[A895]

The concern is that MSFT is killing their core platform of 1.5 billion users by making horrible decisions. Idiotic things like putting Metro on big screens, throwing millions of manhours of Win32 developer experience by introducing the incompatible WinRT API, the incredibly idiotic design of some of the WinRT API, etc.

MSFT is coasting on previous success. They swallowed the WinRT/Metro poison pill ... it just hasn't started kicking in yet. Remember those movies where the main character discovers he was poisoned and only has 24 hours to live?

This is what NY thought is as well. The bulk of their money is from previous stuff before Windows 8. They can take the slow money from Windows 8 and WP8 for now, but how much longer, when they are expected to receive even more competition. ChromeOS is getting backed by Intel and expect to have core i3+ Chrome books soon, Android keeps becoming more successful and Apple is still raking in all the money, Samsung is the biggest smartphone manufacturer on the planet and lists profits are second only to Apple. Competition is getting fierce.

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[mariusmuntean]

I own some MS products and I am quite happy with them although there are things that could get much better such as: Nokia phones to have much more quality inside. There are too many issues because faulty firmware or hw, just too many. Wp8.1 needs lots of fixes until public release.
I was using iphone and a S4 before jumping to 1520 and I do not regret it. I am using onedrive, outlook email, I have a xbox360 and planning to buy a surface rt tablet although I already own an ipad air which is great. Regarding PS3 or 4, well let's say I don't trust Sony's optical drives and their online service security. As a notebook I oen a macbook pro because it's much more reliable. So there it is, I have products from 2 competitors, it's just the way of personal choice everyone has. And no, MS won't die :) Iphone has great quality build, secured and fluid OS but screen size is a problem for me plus that I cannot freely choose between 2g-3g-4g bands. Android is too much malware vulnerable and fragmented despite it's personalizable concept. The only thing I would ask MS to do is to be more carefull with wp bugs and now with Nokia phones to avoid issues that would drive users away

[A895]

Out of everything I say and anyone else says I can only say all this competition is tech is only going to let the consumers win. Every high end phone so far this year looks good and have modern internals, smartphone market is bugger than ever and the RAC to the bottom has phone like the Moto G and E coming out with the OnePlus One coming soon. Its a fantastic time to be a techie, so many choices.

Also, regardless of what is said the only company doing poorly is BlackBerry everyone else looks to have a good 2014. Can't wait to see what new WP8.1 smart phones hit and what new laptops will come out.

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[Tepid]

MS has done a poor job in relating fully the capabilities of a Win8.x Pro Tablet for business.

When people start getting further into BYOD, sorry, ChromeOS and iPads aren't going to cut it.
When you need certain full desktop software to run certain things, You aren't going to be doing that on those platforms.
Surface Pro's and Pro Tablets running Windows 8.X Pro are where they will be.
I am seeing this happen personally.

Sure, you will have some that will buy those devices (ChromeOS and iPad's)
When business starts to realize they can carry one Tablet, instead of a Laptop and a Tablet.
Or dock their tablet on a desk and then take it with them and have full desktop support.
You will see Win8.x Pro Tablets start to take a bigger share.

For consumers, again, spending the money on a Surface type tablet running Win8.x Pro, is just as good or better than
owning a desktop and a Crippled ChromeBook or iPad, and trying to go out and do all the stuff you might want to do on your Desktop

However, I will say that there is a large majority of people who are nothing more than consumers of content, true
Many of them jump on the cheap crap and believe they are satisfied, in reality, show them what a real Tablet can do
and the cost savings in general, and you could see that change.

That's the take I want to give out.

In true unadulterated real reality, people will go for the cheap crap believing they are saving money, when in the long run, they are actually spending 4 times the amount.

But the advantages of a Win8.x Pro Tablet are enormous compared to the others.

Can MS Recover? Yes, and they are.

Many of the people who read, heard, have seen Windows 8 and the GUI and were turned off by it are actually
liking it once they actually start using it.

And to say one hates Windows 8 but have no issues using an iPad or ChromeBook, says a lot more about them than anything else.
The word hypocrite comes to mind pretty dang easily.

[radmanvr]

I think its because I do not understand wall street, stocks, and corporation but I feel like Microsoft should be allowed to operate as a mid tier company and not have to be pushed to be number 1.

[Tepid]

I don't think it has anything to do with being number one. I think people miss what they are trying to achieve and dismiss them as being to late, and then say they are done. Been said many times already in the past. MS isn't going anywhere, and they really don't have much to recover from. Win 8 was a misstep in GUI design, but the concept is solid, to say otherwise is disingenuous.

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[A895]

They are getting there. Time and patience is the goal, unfortunately people are flawed and want things now instead of waiting. I think by this holiday season there will be quite a few good choices in the mobile space with WP at the front. We already know what Android flagships are coming and we already know the iPhone is getting bigger.

[anony_mouse]

<Lots of text snipped>And to say one hates Windows 8 but have no issues using an iPad or ChromeBook, says a lot more about them than anything else.
The word hypocrite comes to mind pretty dang easily.

I started writing a reply to this post, but lost the enthusiasm after a few sentences. Anyway, it can be summarised as this: people who have a different opinion to you about technology products are not necessarily idiots. Your post suggests you have difficulties understanding other people's points of view and accepting that their needs, desires, experience and opinions may be different to your own.

BTW, don't underestimate the Chromebook. I didn't see the point of them myself until I borrowed one for a few days recently. They are really quite good - super fast, easy to use, cheap and much improved. If you want a cheap laptop, they are well worth considering. It wouldn't replace my Linux desktop just yet, but it was a fine addition.

[Michael Alan Goff]

I started writing a reply to this post, but lost the enthusiasm after a few sentences. Anyway, it can be summarised as this: people who have a different opinion to you about technology products are not necessarily idiots. Your post suggests you have difficulties understanding other people's points of view and accepting that their needs, desires, experience and opinions may be different to your own.

BTW, don't underestimate the Chromebook. I didn't see the point of them myself until I borrowed one for a few days recently. They are really quite good - super fast, easy to use, cheap and much improved. If you want a cheap laptop, they are well worth considering. It wouldn't replace my Linux desktop just yet, but it was a fine addition.

A) You missed the point of his post
B) You should start telling the average consumer about the greatness of the Chromebook. Not many are buying it.

[Tepid]

I started writing a reply to this post, but lost the enthusiasm after a few sentences. Anyway, it can be summarised as this: people who have a different opinion to you about technology products are not necessarily idiots. Your post suggests you have difficulties understanding other people's points of view and accepting that their needs, desires, experience and opinions may be different to your own.

BTW, don't underestimate the Chromebook. I didn't see the point of them myself until I borrowed one for a few days recently. They are really quite good - super fast, easy to use, cheap and much improved. If you want a cheap laptop, they are well worth considering. It wouldn't replace my Linux desktop just yet, but it was a fine addition.

There is no opinion about it.
Look at the Chromebook and iPad GUI's, and then look at Win8's, how different are they really?

Yes, that statement I made that you quoted did go right over your head.

as for cheap, fast, easy to use, sure, one can get a $199 special, but don't ***** when it breaks in a year.
As for functionality, If all your are doing is email, facebook and twitter, and some games,, you can get a Nook or Kindle and do that.

But if you want real computing power on the go, Chromebook's and iPads will never cut it, ever.

[A895]

A) You missed the point of his post
B) You should start telling the average consumer about the greatness of the Chromebook. Not many are buying it.

I read his post and it all hinges on the fact that:

1.) Businesses actually updated to Windows 8, when in reality a lot of businesses still use Windows 7 and below (my college still uses Windows 7 on their computers)

2.) Businesses will pay for Windows 8 tablets

3.) Businesses will allow the Windows 8 synergy (just have a monitor and allow workers to use a 2 in 1 tablet)

4.) Consumers will actually see logic. People are still stuck on the fact they want to spend $400+ on iOS tablets.

5.) People won't continue to be content consumers. We all know casual consumers make up the biggest buyers of tablets and smartphones and current Windows offerings pale in comparison to competitors.

I think some here need to stop looking at things like everyone is a cubicle worker/ regular office worker when in fact they are regular people working blue collars jobs (9-5) and the business positives don't apply to these heavy content consumers. That's why we need to stop selling Chromebooks short, there are a lot of people out there where all they do on a computer is in a web browser and Chromebooks are perfect for that.

[A895]

There is no opinion about it.
Look at the Chromebook and iPad GUI's, and then look at Win8's, how different are they really?

Yes, that statement I made that you quoted did go right over your head.

as for cheap, fast, easy to use, sure, one can get a $199 special, but don't ***** when it breaks in a year.
As for functionality, If all your are doing is email, facebook and twitter, and some games,, you can get a Nook or Kindle and do that.

But if you want real computing power on the go, Chromebook's and iPads will never cut it, ever.

That's the point, not everyone needs all that extra power. Some people all they use is tablets and smartphones for all their internet use. A chromebook does all the internet stuff in a laptop form factor at a low price, that are easy to use and replace if anything goes wrong.

[Michael Alan Goff]

I read his post and it all hinges on the fact that:

1.) Businesses actually updated to Windows 8, when in reality a lot of businesses still use Windows 7 and below (my college still uses Windows 7 on their computers)

2.) Businesses will pay for Windows 8 tablets

3.) Businesses will allow the Windows 8 synergy (just have a monitor and allow workers to use a 2 in 1 tablet)

4.) Consumers will actually see logic. People are still stuck on the fact they want to spend $400+ on iOS tablets.

5.) People won't continue to be content consumers. We all know casual consumers make up the biggest buyers of tablets and smartphones and current Windows offerings pale in comparison to competitors.

I think some here need to stop looking at things like everyone is a cubicle worker/ regular office worker when in fact they are regular people working blue collars jobs (9-5) and the business positives don't apply to these heavy content consumers. That's why we need to stop selling Chromebooks short, there are a lot of people out there where all they do on a computer is in a web browser and Chromebooks are perfect for that.

We aren't the only ones selling Chromebooks short. The entire market is, as they're barely a blip on the radar in the consumer market or even the business market.

Also, you do know that a lot of companies don't roll out every new OS... and it has little to do with the quality of the OS.

[A895]

We aren't the only ones selling Chromebooks short. The entire market is, as they're barely a blip on the radar in the consumer market or even the business market.

Also, you do know that a lot of companies don't roll out every new OS... and it has little to do with the quality of the OS.

I didn't say anything about quality, rolling out a new OS in a business or hell in government buildings take years. Chromebooks are barely a blip, as they have no marketing or mind-share and it's still relatively new compared to other computer OS's. They just started to really get any attention from OEM's last year. Now this year, a bunch of OEM's that make Windows computers are looking at making ChromeOS devices and Intel has committed to making i3 processors and up for Chromebooks this year. The potential to take Windows market-share is great, that is why Microsoft is so concerned with Chromebooks right now.

[Michael Alan Goff]

I didn't say anything about quality, rolling out a new OS in a business or hell in government buildings take years. Chromebooks are barely a blip, as they have no marketing or mind-share and it's still relatively new compared to other computer OS's. They just started to really get any attention from OEM's last year. Now this year, a bunch of OEM's that make Windows computers are looking at making ChromeOS devices and Intel has committed to making i3 processors and up for Chromebooks this year. The potential to take Windows market-share is great, that is why Microsoft is so concerned with Chromebooks right now.

The hardware isn't the biggest issue with Chromebooks, the fact that is runs a browser with a few web apps is. And yes, I know it can (kind of) be used offline.

It doesn't matter if OEMs start making more of them. Plenty have made them so far, really, and the market hasn't exactly been eating them up. Why should people buy a 300$ Chromebook when they could just as easily buy a crappy 300$ Windows laptop that runs similarly to what they know. Even Windows 8 is more likely to look normal to the average consumer.

[A895]

The hardware isn't the biggest issue with Chromebooks, the fact that is runs a browser with a few web apps is. And yes, I know it can (kind of) be used offline.

It doesn't matter if OEMs start making more of them. Plenty have made them so far, really, and the market hasn't exactly been eating them up. Why should people buy a 300$ Chromebook when they could just as easily buy a crappy 300$ Windows laptop that runs similarly to what they know. Even Windows 8 is more likely to look normal to the average consumer.

Windows 8 start screen is not going over well with consumers and you know it. Windows 8 is turning to Windows 7.5 now. I would be beyond hesitant to let someone get a slow POS Windows laptop instead of paying $199 for a laptop that will be fast and have linger battery life.

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