Microsoft Is a Dying Consumer Brand 585
Taxman415a noted a CNN story on the dying Microsoft brand where they talk about "The less than stellar performance of, and problems in, nearly every consumer division. It cites StatCounter's data showing IE's market share falling below 50%, and is even smart enough to note that's just one statistic with various problems, though the trend is clear. It also seems that MS doesn't want to compete with Android, so it plans to charge royalty fees to handset makers to discourage them from using it in their products. The conclusion is that MS will just be a commercial, not consumer company."
The article has some serious errors in it! (Score:4, Informative)
Also, it states that Microsoft wants the vendors to use Windows Mobile on their Netbooks and Tablets, which is also not true. Currently, Microsoft is using Windows 7 for those devices, not Windows Mobile, which is for their older handsets. There is no Windows Phone OS 7 based software for Tablets or Netbooks either.
Bill
Re:Microsoft's problem summed up: (Score:4, Informative)
Bill
Re:Ford did drop Microsoft plugs from their ads (Score:4, Informative)
It seems now they don't do that.
I just watched a commercial for the 2011 Ford Fiesta... and lo and behold it talked about Sync, Powered By Microsoft.
I guess that kind of debunks that myth.
By the way, you can also see it on their website here. [fordvehicles.com]
Bill
Re:Really??? (Score:3, Informative)
I don't understand how people like you are judging these statistics.
So the Wii has sold more units than the 360 or the PS3 - which ultimately makes both of them failures, right? I mean, there's no POSSIBLE way either of them could be a success if they weren't number one, right?
Look at that, almost 44 Million units sold. That can't possibly be any indicator of how well its doing on its own. No, you HAVE to look at Nintendo's statistics to gauge success. You can't be making money if you don't sell more than your competitor! You can't both be making money.
Because NO household has EVER purchased more than ONE console.
And also... looking just a bit further down the page... Second place in the weekly hardware chart... and the #1 top selling game was a 360 game!
But nope: ITS A FAILURE.
Re:Microsoft's problem summed up: (Score:2, Informative)
Windows 7 Mobile isn't a new OS. It's Windows CE.
Re:Ford did drop Microsoft plugs from their ads (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Microsoft a Dying Brand? On which planet are yo (Score:3, Informative)
That doesn't say something of the BRAND Microsoft. People are using Microsoft because the market dictates the use of Microsoft products, not because they have warm fuzzy feelings about Microsoft. As a brand Microsoft has a piss poor image by a lot of consumers imho.
Re:Really??? (Score:5, Informative)
MS has been an also ran in the mobile OS market for as long as it's been in it
Did you already forget how WinMo owned Palm back in the day? Or do you think that the mobile market only started with iPhone?
As for potential of WP7, it's too early to tell either way. We'll see when the sales figures for the first quarter come in.
Re:Microsoft's problem summed up: (Score:4, Informative)
MS wants to build everything off of Windows. That's where Apple was smart, they created different OS for the hand held devices.
You realize that Windows 7 and Windows Phone have absolutely nothing in common, right? Not even the kernel, much less UI. In fact, OS X and iOS share significantly more components.
The branding is confusing, though. Maybe the phone version should've been called "Tiles" instead. ~
Re:Really??? (Score:0, Informative)
Actually the Xbox 360 is also dominating the gaming market in Europe, which means it is lot more "dominating" than for instance the Apple iPhone, which only rules the coastal regions of the US.
Re:False (Score:3, Informative)
You haven't gone back far enough. http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-microsoft-operating-income-by-division-2010-2#comment-4b73deb8000000000031ec9b [businessinsider.com]
Re:Microsoft a Dying Brand? On which planet are yo (Score:5, Informative)
Just curious as what kind of Universities you people hang out at? I've graduated from three Universities (Penn State in 1998, Manchester in 2005, then Texas in 2009) and they all were overwhelmingly (9 of every 10 computers) Mac OS based (at least in the Colleges of Liberal Arts, Natural Sciences, and Education, respectively)
The community college system that I work in uses Windows for some administrative stuff, but the academic side is nearly 100% OSX as well. Ditto for Texas State University down the road.
And before you dismiss this as Hoidy-Toidy Mac-usin College Folk...this is Texas, after all.
Re:Microsoft a Dying Brand? On which planet are yo (Score:3, Informative)
No, there are people who's PERCEPTION is that the market dictates it. I made lots of money for 1995-2005 using zero Microsoft products in the tech industry (Macs and Macromedia + Adobe).
The market dictates you need a tool to access email, write a document, or produce a spreadsheet. Consumers dictate which product they THINK they have to have.
Re:Really??? (Score:5, Informative)
Apple's profits last quarter - 4.308 Billion
MS profits last quarrer - 4.518 Billion
From finance.google.com
Re:Really??? (Score:2, Informative)
From Wikipedia:
1. Wii – 70.9 million as of 31 March 2010 (2010 -03-31)
2. Xbox 360 – 41.7 million as of 23 July 2010 (2010 -07-23)
3. PlayStation 3 – 38.1 million as of 30 June 2010 (2010 -06-30)
Yeah, clearly dominating with 40% less sales than Wii.
Re:Japan is not Xenophobic (Score:1, Informative)
The iPhone's success in Japan has much more to do with the lack of a compelling competitor in the smart phone space in Japan, due to their carriers insistence on non-gsm protocols over the last decade. (to lock out foreign competition) So then, at present: Android? Nope. Palm? Nope. Symbian? Nope. The iPhone is the first mass market (and compelling) smart phone to be given equal access on Japans cell networks, and consumers are simply responding to a choice they've never had before.
Apologies for spelling and grammer.