Ballmer: Tide has turned on Apple, "paying $500 more to get a logo on it" won't work

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mazda 3smazda 3s
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Just saw this over at Engadget. Ballmer sure does boast a lot, but does he actually make sense this time around? People are holding closer to their wallets these days which does explain the surge in netbook sales.



Quote:

"Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction," Ballmer said, via webcast. "The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be."



Whole story here:



http://www.techflash.com/microsoft/M..._41492832.html

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    irelandireland Posts: 17,802member
    He's just playing the market, or trying to. His usual crap.
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  • Reply 2 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    While budgets are tighter, and more expensive upfront options will, of course, be looked at more closely, I think this is normal Ballmer ranting.



    For one thing - if I were a MS stockholder, I think I'd be rather concerned that he's completely discounting the value of the software in that purchase. That says that either he doesn't value their own major products, or that he doesn't want to bring a comparison to the table. In either case, it's a lack of confidence.



    A computer is much more than just the chips and wires, and Ballmer knows that - or at least he should. Chalk this one up to the usual blatherings of the bald one.
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  • Reply 3 of 12
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Apple sales seem to be holding up a lot better than Microsoft sales. Current Analyst estimates are -7% for Apple this quarter and -17% for Microsoft (from finance.yahoo.com).



    Not only that, but the Analysts are always way to low in estimating Apple earnings.
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  • Reply 4 of 12
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Well, Windows and MS Office cost $500 and really aren't anything more than a logo.



    Netbooks seem to come mostly with Linux. Funny thing.
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  • Reply 5 of 12
    mazda 3smazda 3s Posts: 1,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Netbooks seem to come mostly with Linux. Funny thing.



    Did you just make that up? 90% of netbooks come with Windows XP.



    Quote:

    Baker, of NPD Group, says he’s not sure yet whether netbooks are a success story or a fad.



    “They’ve been ramping up nicely, but it’s too early to say what the long-term or medium-term impact of them is going to be,” he said.



    One thing is for sure, he said: Putting Linux on them is not going to help sales. He estimates that 90 percent of netbooks sales are devices that have Windows XP on them.



    “Linux just isn’t a platform for the mass market,” he said. “All the early reports of lots of returns of Linux netbooks were because people bought them with that and didn’t know what to do with it.”



    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28627170/



    Another report:



    Study: Windows clobbers Linux on netbooks with over 90% share



    Quote:

    There's been a lot of talk -- including from me -- that Linux is hurting Microsoft because of its big market share in netbook sales. But recent figures from the research firm NPD Group show that it's a myth. Windows now has more than 90% of all netbook sales. The game is over.



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  • Reply 6 of 12
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    The tide has not turned, it's just the current isn't as surging as it is before. But Apple is still well in the game, and they are still profitable this year, I reckon. We'll see.



    In any case Monkey Boy still doesn't get it.
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  • Reply 7 of 12
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,009member
    Quote:

    The economy is helpful



    I like this line.

    Is he really saying that what Microsoft needed to be able to compete with Apple is a global financial meltdown followed by a recession the likes of which hasn't been seen in 80 years?



    That is a rather sad boast he is working on there.



    Don't get me wrong--I would love it if Apple lowered prices and kept the "switching machine" humming through these difficult times. But seccond-guessing Apple these last 10 years or so has been a rather fruitless persuit. They are more interested in long term profit and sustainability than a short term play for market share.
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  • Reply 8 of 12
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Didn't Ballmer chastise Apple's iPhone saying something to the effect, " $500 for a phone!!?"



    How many times does he want to go down this road? You'd think he'd learn by now to keep his big trap shut.
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  • Reply 9 of 12
    futurepastnowfuturepastnow Posts: 1,772member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by satchmo View Post


    Didn't Ballmer chastise Apple's iPhone saying something to the effect, " $500 for a phone!!?"



    How many times does he want to go down this road? You'd think he'd learn by now to keep his big trap shut.



    Was that before or after Apple cut the iPhone's price by $200?
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  • Reply 10 of 12
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    Was that before or after Apple cut the iPhone's price by $200?



    This video was posted in Jan 2007, so I suspect it's before the price cut.



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5oGaZIKYvo
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  • Reply 11 of 12
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    I count 7 Microsoft and Windows logos on the casing of this dell laptop here at work. At home, my iMac has just one.



    Ah, I see. Balmer is totally correct.



    The Apple logo costs more because you get fewer of them per computer.
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  • Reply 12 of 12
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 926member
    Saying the logo is an extra $500 is a distraction, the real deal is the Operating System. Just another attempt to make people overlook the Windows vs Mac OS X...



    I pay extra and hurt when buying a MacBook. There are two laptop models like out there but I have to use OS X. The toughbook by panasonic, and a tablet model I saw this one guy have with a swivel screen. These are tempting but I am not in the mood to hack the Mac OS to get to work... every update etc



    Laters...
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