Everyone knows that Microsoft and Apple are top tier competitors- they always have been. But just over the last few years, it seems Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) trumps Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in most areas. But that doesn’t mean that the once-reigning computer is ready to through in the towel. The company’s chief executive officer Steve Ballmer recently sat down with CRN to talk about the future plans of his company. He summed it up nicely with the following quote, “we are not going to let any piece of this [go uncontested] … not the consumer cloud. Not hardware software innovation.”
Ballmer futher summed up his stance when he said Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) wanted to make sure that they didn’t leave any space uncovered to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Earlier during the Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, he made a confirmation that the Windows 8 and Surface Tablet would arrive in October.
There will be two different Surface tablets: Windows RT and ARM CPU. Both tablets will feature 10.6 inch by 16.9 inch displays and ClearType HD display technology. The Surface can be used as your typical tablet or it can be connected to a keyboard cover which will turn the tablet to a regular PC. Rumors have it that these computers will follow Apple’s pricing route and charge a small fortune for each tablet.
Despite minimal hype and lackluster features, Ballmer believes in Surface, “Look, we’ll see what happens. We have good partners with Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), [HTC] in the phone space. I love what we’ve got going on with the Surface. We are going to focus on Surface and our other Windows 8 Tablet partners and see if we can go make something happen.”
This wasn’t the first time Microsoft has stepped into the tablet market. The company has previously teamed up with various PC makers to create different Windows based tablets. This will be the first time that Microsoft has created their own brand of tablet computers.
It sounds like Microsoft is overly ambitious. While there is nothing wrong with trying to create your own brand of tablet computers, there is something to be said about the fact that they’re losing focus. Everyone knows that Microsoft is a name that’s synonymous with cheap and their history as a company hasn’t been the best. It’s going to take a miracle to change people’s perceptions before the big unveiling. At best, they may still not sell enough tablets to be considered an actual competitor. I think Microsoft should keep their focus on the PC market instead.
