Microsoft CEO pans Apple's Mac sales, admits 'very small' Windows Phone sales
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer this week boasted that sales of Windows PCs continue to vastly outperform the Mac, but also conceded that his company's mobile phone business has not done much to improve its market share.
Ballmer's comments came at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2011, with the keynote delivered on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Calif. A transcript of the speech is available from Microsoft.
In the address, Ballmer highlighted sales of 350 million Windows-based PCs in the last year, and used the number to criticize Apple without referring to the company by name.
"We've got a lot of competition in the Windows business," Ballmer said. "But we're driving hard with just in the last year alone 350 million -- 350 million -- new PCs sold. That might compare with numbers from other guys that are in the 20 million range. Now, 20 is too much, but 350, last time I checked, is a lot more than 20."
In the last four quarters, Apple has reported sales of 15.22 million Macs. Those sales crossed the 4 million milestone for the first time in holiday 2010, reaching 4.1 million.
Ballmer's only mention of any apple in his keynote came in reference to the fruit, when he made a joke about the next version of Windows Phone, codenamed "Mango."
"Now Mango, to most people in the room, is a fruit," he said. "I like it better than apple, personally."
When talking about the revamped Windows Phone 7 platform, which launched late last year to lukewarm reviews, Ballmer admitted that Microsoft's presence in the market remains tiny.
"Phones, we've gone from very small to very small, but it's been a heck of a year," Ballmer said, earning laughter from the crowd. "And you're going to see a lot of progress in that market competitively as we move forward."
Unlike with Windows on the desktop, Ballmer also declined to give any specific sales figures for Windows Phone, instead saying that Microsoft has sold "millions of phones" in the last year. But the CEO said his company has high hopes for the Windows Phone platform going forward, with more than 20,000 applications available for the platform and positive responses from users.
He also highlighted predictions made earlier this year by Gartner and IDC, which forecast that Windows Phone will be the No. 2 platform on the mobile market by 2015. And he highlighted his company's partnership with Nokia, in which the Finnish handset maker will adopt the Windows Phone platform and abandon its own Symbian mobile operating system.
"We know we've got a lot to do, but like the cloud, like NT many years back, we're all in when it comes to mobile devices," Ballmer said in closing. "And whether it's phones, or slates, or PCs, or console devices, we're certainly pushing extremely far, and extremely fast."
Ballmer's comments came at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference 2011, with the keynote delivered on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Calif. A transcript of the speech is available from Microsoft.
In the address, Ballmer highlighted sales of 350 million Windows-based PCs in the last year, and used the number to criticize Apple without referring to the company by name.
"We've got a lot of competition in the Windows business," Ballmer said. "But we're driving hard with just in the last year alone 350 million -- 350 million -- new PCs sold. That might compare with numbers from other guys that are in the 20 million range. Now, 20 is too much, but 350, last time I checked, is a lot more than 20."
In the last four quarters, Apple has reported sales of 15.22 million Macs. Those sales crossed the 4 million milestone for the first time in holiday 2010, reaching 4.1 million.
Ballmer's only mention of any apple in his keynote came in reference to the fruit, when he made a joke about the next version of Windows Phone, codenamed "Mango."
"Now Mango, to most people in the room, is a fruit," he said. "I like it better than apple, personally."
When talking about the revamped Windows Phone 7 platform, which launched late last year to lukewarm reviews, Ballmer admitted that Microsoft's presence in the market remains tiny.
"Phones, we've gone from very small to very small, but it's been a heck of a year," Ballmer said, earning laughter from the crowd. "And you're going to see a lot of progress in that market competitively as we move forward."
Unlike with Windows on the desktop, Ballmer also declined to give any specific sales figures for Windows Phone, instead saying that Microsoft has sold "millions of phones" in the last year. But the CEO said his company has high hopes for the Windows Phone platform going forward, with more than 20,000 applications available for the platform and positive responses from users.
He also highlighted predictions made earlier this year by Gartner and IDC, which forecast that Windows Phone will be the No. 2 platform on the mobile market by 2015. And he highlighted his company's partnership with Nokia, in which the Finnish handset maker will adopt the Windows Phone platform and abandon its own Symbian mobile operating system.
"We know we've got a lot to do, but like the cloud, like NT many years back, we're all in when it comes to mobile devices," Ballmer said in closing. "And whether it's phones, or slates, or PCs, or console devices, we're certainly pushing extremely far, and extremely fast."
Comments
"We've got a lot of competition in the Windows business," Ballmer said. "But we're driving hard with just in the last year alone 350 million -- 350 million -- new PCs sold. That might compare with numbers from other guys that are in the 20 million range. Now, 20 is too much, but 350, last time I checked, is a lot more than 20."
"Objects in mirror may be close than they appear"
Ballmer should perhaps spend less time looking in the rearview mirror at the rapidly approaching Applemobile and more time paying attention to where he is going. He keeps driving his car into the ditch.
Mangos are a lot messier than apples to deal with.
Windows sales are greater than the Mac. Been like that since Windows 3.1.
The guy is hung up on desktop Windows (and Office) and that really is Gates legacy.
MS has done about nothing (of any real significance) under Ballmer with exception of maybe the XBOX 360.
all apple needs to do is come out with a laptop priced the same as its mac mini. That would get innovation satarting from microsoft as 45% of all computers sold are apple. And it wouldn't hurt their brand name cause they already have a cheap computer. Ballmer is a joke of a ceo anyways...he's like a 12 year old kid mocking apple in computer class while he's running a company that hardle even competes with apple
What's weird is it doesn't make sense. Ballmer is right...Windows PCs outsell Macs more than 10 to 1. Yes, Apple is kicking ass in the mobile segment. But why even go after "the other guys" like that? It's got to be some sort of psychological disorder. Otherwise you'd think Ballmer would lead M$ in a direction that compliments Apple's market rather than competes with it. M$ should focus on its core business...Windows PCs, Office, Exchange and the Xbox division. They should embrace the Mac success, expanding their Mac Business Unit. You want to offer a Windows phone OS? Fine...go for it. But focus on making apps for the already dominant market players...iOS and Android. M$ can easily have a symbiant relationship with Apple. They certainly don't need monkey boy up there constantly bashing Apple.
"We've got a lot of competition in the Windows business," Ballmer said. "But we're driving hard with just in the last year alone 350 million -- 350 million -- new PCs sold. That might compare with numbers from other guys that are in the 20 million range. Now, 20 is too much, but 350, last time I checked, is a lot more than 20."
And, bottom line, Apple's market cap is significantly higher than Microsoft's.
End of discussion.
Ballmer is an embarrassment.
"We've got a lot of competition in the Windows business," Ballmer said. "But we're driving hard with just in the last year alone 350 million -- 350 million -- new PCs sold. That might compare with numbers from other guys that are in the 20 million range. Now, 20 is too much, but 350, last time I checked, is a lot more than 20."
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In the last four quarters, Apple has reported sales of 15.22 million Macs. Those sales crossed the 4 million milestone for the first time in holiday 2010, reaching 4.1 million.
Hum, excuse me Ballmer, but who's making all the profits???
But why even go after "the other guys" like that? It's got to be some sort of psychological disorder. Otherwise you'd think Ballmer would lead M$ in a direction that compliments Apple's market rather than competes with it. M$ should focus on its core business...Windows PCs, Office, Exchange and the Xbox division. They should embrace the Mac success, expanding their Mac Business Unit. You want to offer a Windows phone OS? Fine...go for it. But focus on making apps for the already dominant market players...iOS and Android. M$ can easily have a symbiant relationship with Apple. They certainly don't need monkey boy up there constantly bashing Apple.
The problem MS has is that it's huge and businesses like Apps for iOS just wouldn't materially affect its bottom line, in the way that say 100mil WP7 phones a year would if it could only get people to buy them. The desktop is stagnant, and all the trends are against windows there. The rise of China. The rise of thin-clients. The rise of notebooks as primary computers. Notebooks are a little better, but there we see windows losing out to linux/chrome powered netbooks at one end, and MBP/MBAs at the other - and Tablets may end up eating a big chunk of that market.
Productivity software? Increasingly people find that google docs or iWork is enough, very few people really need the pivot table power of Excel or the monstrosity that is Word. Lets not even talk about Powerpoint.
MS can only choose between fighting on Apple or Google's turf, or becoming a stagnant 'cash-cow', that slowly dwindles into irrelevancy.
"Objects in mirror may be close than they appear"
Ballmer should perhaps spend less time looking in the rearview mirror at the rapidly approaching Applemobile and more time paying attention to where he is going. He keeps driving his car into the ditch.
Especially if your foot is to the floor and you're in reverse.
all apple needs to do is come out with a laptop priced the same as its mac mini.
This subject has been beaten to a pulp. You must be new here.
It's called an iPad. Buy it with an external keyboard if you want a netbook. Apple will not come out with low priced junk for the sake of markets share. That's not how operate.
There's also the 11" Macbook Air. Considering how hard a time Apple has keeping them in stock, they are selling pretty well.
Just look at the performance of the other low-cost PC makers to get an idea of why Apple isn't entering the bottom-of-barrel club.
Dear Microsoft -know your enemy - it's NOT Apple!
And, bottom line, Apple's market cap is significantly higher than Microsoft's.
End of discussion.
Ballmer is an embarrassment.
More importantly, Apple's revenue has surpassed Microsoft's on a quarterly basis. And in recent quarter, even Apple's net profit is greater than Microsoft's.
May Ballmer remain CEO of MS for as long as it takes.
I wonder what Gates thinks of all this, while we're witnessing Ballmer drive the company into the ground.
Maybe he should hire Jon Rubenstein. That way the process can be accelerated.
(How someone can so thoroughly kill WebOS is beyond me. But give something great to an also-ran box-maker and the results are predictable.)