| Author | Message | ||
     Gamingfan Side Hero Username: Gamingfan Post Number: 6119 Registered: 08-2012 Posted From: 59.93.104.175 Rating: N/A |
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/139499-microsofts-indec isive-future-as-a-software-hardware-service-company Microsoft is a software company. For nigh on three decades, Windows and Office have been the bread and butter of the Redmond, Washington company. However, the last decade has seen increasing success and competition from both Apple and Google. Now, it seems as if the mammoth software business just isn’t enough to keep Microsoft at the top of the game. With Xbox, and now Surface, we’ve seen Microsoft go further and further down the rabbit hole of hardware products, and it is becoming clear that Microsoft’s future isn’t just that of a software company. Competition The Wall Street Journal recently published an article outing Microsoft as actively working with Asian suppliers to manufacture a home-made smartphone While this is very far from an announcement, the intent is clearly there. Apple is making an obscene amount of money by selling its own hardware, and it’s clear that Microsoft wants in on that. The problem remains that Microsoft is dedicated to having both desktop and mobile operating systems available for licensing by third parties. These moves into the hardware market clearly put Microsoft in the awkward position of competing with its partners. Instead of trying to have its cake and eat it too, Microsoft needs to decide what it’s going to be. Is it a software and hardware company like Apple, or is it a software company like it has been all of these previous decades? Its previous software-only endeavors in the mobile market have been less than successful. Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile didn’t launch Microsoft back into market domination. If it wants to make world-class devices, it needs to leave the previous model behind. Indecision Microsoft’s most well-known and successful hardware venture would undoubtedly be the Xbox line of game consoles. Originally launched in 2001, the original Xbox did okay in the US market, but it didn’t set the world on fire. Just four years later, the Xbox 360 has done extremely well in every major market with the notable exception of Japan. It’s safe to say that this is a successful product line, but Microsoft doesn’t license the Xbox 360 software to hardware companies. The Xbox 360 is a hardware and software combination owned and controlled solely by Microsoft. Its success doesn’t logically transition into success in the phone and tablet market as Microsoft is currently playing the game. If Microsoft wants to be competitive with Apple and Google in the mobile market, it needs to stop pussyfooting around. With Steve Ballmer at the helm, Microsoft just doesn’t seem to be able to make a decision — just look at the Surface. It’s an ARM-based tablet that runs a new GUI except when it runs the old Desktop. There is an Intel version on the way, and Microsoft is hoping developers will release both Metro and Desktop apps. Even the attachable keyboards aren’t consistent. Microsoft couldn’t decide to make it using touch-based technology or traditional key-based technology, so they did both. How can Microsoft expect consumers to know which Surface they want if Microsoft itself can’t even decide what the Surface is? The Xbox was successful because it was a distinct product with a clear vision driving it. The Surface is not, and that is why it has an uphill battle to fight. If Microsoft continues this trend in the phone market, it will have the exact same problems. yedarilo godarila nalo alaaa aapedela, ne parichayam lona ponda janma maralaaaa. If you want a boy to love you for a lifetime, love his heart, not his money.If you want a girl to love you for a lifetime, love her soul, not her body. |
