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"And even as Android’s market share has increased, iOS’s profit share has increased too." This is not correct, iOS's profit share peaked in 2011. At any rate I

by Steko 14y ago

"And even as Android’s market share has increased, iOS’s profit share has increased too." This is not correct, iOS's profit share peaked in 2011. At any rate I agree iOS is doing fine. I disagree with the bigger conclusion about Microsoft. Windows 8/RT/WP 8 literally just launched. Should we have judged the iPhone a failure based on Nokia's dominant profit position less then 6 months after the iPhone launched? That would be silly.

habitue 14y ago
The thing is, the iPhone offered something Nokia was not offering, there was room to grow. Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling, they are playing catch up. They've muscled their way into markets late in the game before, but they seem to be getting less adept at it over time.
- jmcdonald-ut 14y ago
  To say Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling is a matter of opinion. They are going to be the first company to offer the most consistent experience across phone, tablet, and computer. I'm not concluding whether or not they will be successful, just saying that Microsoft may indeed be offering something compelling and new to consumers with tech devices (consistency).
  - jmillikin 14y ago
    > They are going to be the first company to offer the most > consistent experience across phone, tablet, and computer. I'd argue that Apple got there first, with the addition of virtual desktops and Launchpad to OS X.
    - jgh 14y ago
      Sure LaunchPad kinda looks like iOS, but it's not really the same thing.
      - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
        Definitely. As it stands now, I have two completely separate experiences on my Windows 8 laptop (desktop and metro), whereas I just have one on my Macbook Air that is approaching an iOS experience ever so slightly on each new OS X version. I'm not sure what position is being argued though. It seems like Apple is converging faster than Microsoft.
  - martinced 14y ago
    Most people do not want that consistent experience and do not care about it. My girlfriend is working in a SME where they rely on a desktop app essential to their business which only runs on Windows... So they're forced to used Windows. Yet no one there buys Windows phones or tablet: they don't want to hear about it. A person there is perfectly happy buying a MacBook or MacBook Air (despite being forced to work on Windows), a Samsung smartphone "because it's cheaper than an iPhone" and an iPad or an Android tablet. They don't care about having "all iOS" or "all Windows" or "all Android". Nada. Zero. People don't want that. The only thing they do care about is being able to run their webapp from everywhere. Best sentence heard today? "The company selling us the software (previously Windows-only) we need has now put the application in the cloud and we can use from any browser. We'll at last be able to use our Mac to work and get rid of Windows!". The webapp revolution is under way and it's changing the way SMEs (the real backbone of the economy btw, representing more money than the corporate world) are using computers. They know they've been stuck in the Windows and Office milking cycle and they don't like it. People in SMEs are starting to realize that there's a way out and Microsoft-shops throughout the world who previously could survive by selling Windows-only software are now forced to move "to the cloud" or become irrelevant. Because the demand from the users is there. Karma is a bitch. And it's coming right into Microsoft's face.
  - Shorel 14y ago
    I hope Ubuntu gets there first.
- Steko 14y ago
  "Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling, they are playing catch up" This assumes the market only wants new and not catch up. On the contrary, I think Android is where it is because Android caught up and delivered an iPhone-esque experience faster and better than competitors. WP7 was newer and more original but flopped in the market against Android because of the above, among other reasons.

by Steko 14y ago

habitue 14y ago

The thing is, the iPhone offered something Nokia was not offering, there was room to grow. Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling, they are playing catch up. They've muscled their way into markets late in the game before, but they seem to be getting less adept at it over time.

jmcdonald-ut 14y ago
To say Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling is a matter of opinion. They are going to be the first company to offer the most consistent experience across phone, tablet, and computer. I'm not concluding whether or not they will be successful, just saying that Microsoft may indeed be offering something compelling and new to consumers with tech devices (consistency).
- jmillikin 14y ago
  > They are going to be the first company to offer the most > consistent experience across phone, tablet, and computer. I'd argue that Apple got there first, with the addition of virtual desktops and Launchpad to OS X.
  - jgh 14y ago
    Sure LaunchPad kinda looks like iOS, but it's not really the same thing.
    - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
      Definitely. As it stands now, I have two completely separate experiences on my Windows 8 laptop (desktop and metro), whereas I just have one on my Macbook Air that is approaching an iOS experience ever so slightly on each new OS X version. I'm not sure what position is being argued though. It seems like Apple is converging faster than Microsoft.
- martinced 14y ago
  Most people do not want that consistent experience and do not care about it. My girlfriend is working in a SME where they rely on a desktop app essential to their business which only runs on Windows... So they're forced to used Windows. Yet no one there buys Windows phones or tablet: they don't want to hear about it. A person there is perfectly happy buying a MacBook or MacBook Air (despite being forced to work on Windows), a Samsung smartphone "because it's cheaper than an iPhone" and an iPad or an Android tablet. They don't care about having "all iOS" or "all Windows" or "all Android". Nada. Zero. People don't want that. The only thing they do care about is being able to run their webapp from everywhere. Best sentence heard today? "The company selling us the software (previously Windows-only) we need has now put the application in the cloud and we can use from any browser. We'll at last be able to use our Mac to work and get rid of Windows!". The webapp revolution is under way and it's changing the way SMEs (the real backbone of the economy btw, representing more money than the corporate world) are using computers. They know they've been stuck in the Windows and Office milking cycle and they don't like it. People in SMEs are starting to realize that there's a way out and Microsoft-shops throughout the world who previously could survive by selling Windows-only software are now forced to move "to the cloud" or become irrelevant. Because the demand from the users is there. Karma is a bitch. And it's coming right into Microsoft's face.
- Shorel 14y ago
  I hope Ubuntu gets there first.
Steko 14y ago
"Microsoft isn't offering anything new or compelling, they are playing catch up" This assumes the market only wants new and not catch up. On the contrary, I think Android is where it is because Android caught up and delivered an iPhone-esque experience faster and better than competitors. WP7 was newer and more original but flopped in the market against Android because of the above, among other reasons.