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@ 2013/02/15Microsoft could be in hot water if its mobile plans fail.
According to Reuters, the software giant has no Plan B if it all goes to hell in a hand basket, and so far Plan A looks like it's Steve Ballmer's operation Barbarossa.
So far, Vole has not dented the mobile market which is dominated by Android. Now, a top executive has hinted that the company will not stop trying and does not have an alternative strategy.
Microsoft's CFO Peter Klein said at the annual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco that the company is very focused on continuing its success in PCs and taking that to tablets and phones.
Klein said that the closest thing Vole had to Plan B was tarting up Plan A.
He said Microsoft was going to evolve this generation of Windows to make sure the company has the right set of experiences at the right price points for all customers.
Microsoft now has two versions of its own Surface tablet on the market and released its newest Windows phone software last year. While both have good reviews, Vole has not made big inroads into either market.
Gartner thinks that Microsoft sold fewer than 900,000 Surface tablets in the fourth quarter, which is a fraction of the 23 million iPads sold by Apple.
Windows has three percent of the global smartphone market, which is double its share a year ago but behind Google's Android with 70 percent and Apple with 21 percent.
Klein claimed Microsoft was working with hardware makers to make sure Windows software is available on devices ranging from phones to tablets to larger all-in-one PCs.
He said the cunning plan is not just about lowering or raising prices.
Klein said only that Microsoft was "well set-up to deliver the most versatile set of experiences across form factors" which could mean anything. He did mention that Microsoft's $2 billion loan to Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake to take PC maker Dell private, was simply part of its efforts to support the "ecosystem" of PC makers.
He said that Microsoft had a long history of participating and supporting the ecosystem and that takes different forms.
Often it takes the form of co-marketing, sometimes in helping with development. Microsoft's ability to support the ecosystem, particularly one that is innovating on devices and platforms, is a good thing, Klein said.
According to Reuters, the software giant has no Plan B if it all goes to hell in a hand basket, and so far Plan A looks like it's Steve Ballmer's operation Barbarossa.
So far, Vole has not dented the mobile market which is dominated by Android. Now, a top executive has hinted that the company will not stop trying and does not have an alternative strategy.
Microsoft's CFO Peter Klein said at the annual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco that the company is very focused on continuing its success in PCs and taking that to tablets and phones.
Klein said that the closest thing Vole had to Plan B was tarting up Plan A.
He said Microsoft was going to evolve this generation of Windows to make sure the company has the right set of experiences at the right price points for all customers.
Microsoft now has two versions of its own Surface tablet on the market and released its newest Windows phone software last year. While both have good reviews, Vole has not made big inroads into either market.
Gartner thinks that Microsoft sold fewer than 900,000 Surface tablets in the fourth quarter, which is a fraction of the 23 million iPads sold by Apple.
Windows has three percent of the global smartphone market, which is double its share a year ago but behind Google's Android with 70 percent and Apple with 21 percent.
Klein claimed Microsoft was working with hardware makers to make sure Windows software is available on devices ranging from phones to tablets to larger all-in-one PCs.
He said the cunning plan is not just about lowering or raising prices.
Klein said only that Microsoft was "well set-up to deliver the most versatile set of experiences across form factors" which could mean anything. He did mention that Microsoft's $2 billion loan to Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake to take PC maker Dell private, was simply part of its efforts to support the "ecosystem" of PC makers.
He said that Microsoft had a long history of participating and supporting the ecosystem and that takes different forms.
Often it takes the form of co-marketing, sometimes in helping with development. Microsoft's ability to support the ecosystem, particularly one that is innovating on devices and platforms, is a good thing, Klein said.
