In Nintendo's case it would actually be a terrible move. The majority of their profit is driven by hardware sales and software exclusively released on their own hardware. Additionally, none of their software is suited to a device without tactile controls.
The wii is a very good system - it's the online experience that is lacking. They should borrow from the app store rather than acquiesce to it.
Wii sales have dropped like a stone, and so have DS sales. While 3DS sales have tripled recently due to a few new games, it's still a small number. While hardware sales are very important to them, they make a great deal of money through royalties from their own games and licenses from others.
Their main problem with licensing is that their games cost $25 and even more, while iOS games average just a couple of bucks, with the best costing $10.
They are in a pickle, having lost almost a billion dollars the first half of their fiscal year. The WiiU is looking to be a dog, and won't be out until mid 2012.
They've got a lot of problems, and for the past two years, they've been blaming Apple for that.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
It's not gaining traction at all. Ballmer, (remember him?) said recently that WP7 sales went from "very small to very small". It's been out for a year now, and no growth at all. The iPhone sold almost 14 million in the first 12 months, and that was for one, expensive phone model. WP7 has four manufacturers, including the two most popular Android manufacturers, HTC and Samsung, and 9 phone models (now more with Mango), and is estimated to be selling at a pace of between 1.25 and 1.75 million a quarter.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
You think win phone7 is gaining traction pretty rapidly? Compared to what? I'd like to see you make a case for that statement instead of just making the statement itself. Do you mean you think other companies are in fact being smug and that will be an opportunity for gaining traction?
Here is the reality. As consumers, we want the most choice with the fewest issues / boundaries. Bringing office to ios removes one reason that some business users may have from not adopting the iPad. This is obviously good for Apple
The good news for Microsoft is that they can make money selling software to iPad users, after all, they are a software company.
From a WP7.5 and Win8 perspective, it's not bad news. Microsoft give away their mobile office for free with WP7.5, it won't be free for other platforms.
One of the things I like about Microsoft is that they (usually) won't kill one business for the sake of another. Arguably Sony hurt the PS3 by including a Blu-Ray player in it; the price was very high early on and they let Microsoft get a big lead. It was more important for Sony to win the video format wars than the console wars, so they stuck to their guns. You could argue that it was strategic .. blah blah blah, but in the end they are number 3 in that space where they could have been number 2 (if you count Wii).
In all fairness, Apple really doesn't (and never has) contributed much to other platforms.
There is no Mobile Office software, so MS didn't give it away with WP7 phones. What they have is a very primitive app that doesn't allow you to edit anything, just to view it. That's what they're giving away.
I agree about Sony and the PS3. But Sony gained a lot with that. They killed HD-DVD which MS backed. It's doubtful that MS has gained much with the XBox, as it's cost them $9 billion over the years, with little to show for it. They're making modest profits on it now, but it will never come close to maki g up the losses. Sony is estimated to have lost $3 billion on the PS3 after having made $8 billion on the older models. But they are making big money on Blue-Ray while losing money in other places, such as with their Tv's. They are also making modest profits on the PS3 now.
It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that they're selling the same product now that was introduced 5 years ago? Even the Wii Family Edition (which isn't even available worldwide) offers nothing significantly new compared to the older version.
The only reason that Wii sales continued as long as they did was that their supply situation was so messed up that until a year or two ago, finding one in a store was nearly impossible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by erio
Oh no, Ribbon is coming! iPad will feel like 7" tablet... hahaha!
I really hope that Microsoft learns that you don't simply port a full blown desktop Office to a tablet - but I'm not holding my breath.
I would pay $15 for a full blown version of Excel on my iPad2, but i don't want or need Word, Outlook or PowerPoint, so I hope MS make it possible to buy the individual packages.
Sony is estimated to have lost $3 billion on the PS3 after having made $8 billion on the older models. But they are making big money on Blue-Ray while losing money in other places, such as with their Tv's. They are also making modest profits on the PS3 now.
You know where Sony's money comes from? TV's? Blu-ray? Gaming? Movie/music content?
It's crazy to think about since most people see Sony as a "consumer electronics" company, but Sony would be way better off if they actually sold off their "consumer electronics" division.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
How is it gaining traction? Windows Phone is a total failure. The UI is horrid and unusable. Best thing is they are going to force people to use that horrid UI in Windows 8. This will drive more people into Apples waiting arms. It is fun to hear how shocked converts are the first few days with a Mac. I always hear the same thing...something along the lines of..."wow, i never knew Windows was so bad. This is amazing!"
Good news since I skipped Office 2011. If Office 2013(??) for Mac is around the corner I'll just wait for it and maybe even get the iPad version as well.
Now when does Apple intend on releasing a new version of iWork? Among many things, I want ODF support.
I have been using an iPad 2 for a few months now, and two weeks ago took it along to a conference. It worked very well as a note-taking tool, and the automatic posting of the resulting notes to my e-mail inbox on my Mac(s) was very useful.
.
.
.
But for my purposes, the iPad simply isn't a "serious" production machine. "Your mileage may differ," of course.
I totally agree with you that the iPad is a different kind of computer to a Mac/PC and the kind of functionality you get out of an iPad isn't the same as as Mac/PC.
I think Microsoft understands this. They aren't going to try and cram Office 2010 with the ribbon an all onto an iPad. Microsoft will fit the functionality to the device.
Office on iOS would fit in well with small business or enterprise, especially if they are using something like Office 365 to manage their data.
I'm not so sure how important it is for home users though. As crap as software like iWork and Google Docs are they are also very cheap/free.
If all you need Office for is to do a couple of shopping lists and for your 8 year old to do a school report it would be hard to justify the cost of Microsoft Office.
Amazing ! Times when S Jobs had to make compromises to have Microsoft products on Mac are over. The balance of power is reversed, and the one who depends on the other is not the same ...
Are you saying that M$ depends on Apple?
You are delusional.
Yeah, it's an exaggeration to say Microsoft "depends" on Apple, certainly not for survival. I mean, Microsoft would have happily coasted along setting Windows Mobile and pen-based UMPCs if Apple hadn't rocked the status quo, and Microsoft would have done just fine selling us new copies of the same old Office year after year, now with jazzier toolbar icons.
On the other hand, think of this way: this is the first time in forever that Microsoft has expanded MS Office to a new platform. Microsoft might not "depend" on it, but you have to credit Apple for creating a new hardware platform (iPad) that in just under 2 years got big enough for Microsoft to justify porting Office to it. That is no small feat. How many Microsoft challengers have tried to do that over the years? OS/2? Linux? Chrome OS?
Amazing ! Times when S Jobs had to make compromises to have Microsoft products on Mac are over. The balance of power is reversed, and the one who depends on the other is not the same ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Not sure Apple needs MS Office though! Ever tried Neo Office? Or Open Office?
I certainly did and I will buy Office for the Mac as soon as I work at the university, which is tomorrow. I'm a bit fed up with all the things that just don't work right.
"If we want to move forward and see Microsoft healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Microsoft to win, Apple has to lose. "
Agreed. With the pathetic offering that iWork is, Apple still needs Office.
Apple seems to have given up on iWork for OSX and not bothered to tell anyone. We've not heard anything for over 3 years now. I would dearly love to finally cut all links to MS but I need a good office suite for work. The only thing I really hate about Apple is how they seem to lose interest in a product without warning and leave their customers high and dry.
I don't care about iWork for iOS. I don't use my iPhone or iPad all day every day for work. But I do use my Mac all day every day. Just for once Apple should start thinking about it's customers instead of it's seemingly relentless pursuit of profit/cash.
I like Excel, but in my opinion, an iPad version without the features of cloud storage and availability would really handicap it for an iPad user. Currently, an iPad user who also has a Mac can put Numbers on both machines and have their files at the ready anywhere they go.
I like Excel, but in my opinion, an iPad version without the features of cloud storage and availability would really handicap it for an iPad user. Currently, an iPad user who also has a Mac can put Numbers on both machines and have their files at the ready anywhere they go.
Although I don't see Microsoft putting all the Office features into an iOS version, I would bet that the cloud Office 365/SharePoint and SkyDrive integration would be one of them.
They have been doing it in Office 2010 for 18 months now and it's one of the features they brought into the limited Office Hub in Windows Phone 7.
If you didn't on Office for PC/Mac you could even use the Office Web Apps on your desktop then open those files on your iOS devices when required.
I'm not sure if they will link into the iCloud documents API as well. Probably not though.
Comments
In Nintendo's case it would actually be a terrible move. The majority of their profit is driven by hardware sales and software exclusively released on their own hardware. Additionally, none of their software is suited to a device without tactile controls.
The wii is a very good system - it's the online experience that is lacking. They should borrow from the app store rather than acquiesce to it.
Wii sales have dropped like a stone, and so have DS sales. While 3DS sales have tripled recently due to a few new games, it's still a small number. While hardware sales are very important to them, they make a great deal of money through royalties from their own games and licenses from others.
Their main problem with licensing is that their games cost $25 and even more, while iOS games average just a couple of bucks, with the best costing $10.
They are in a pickle, having lost almost a billion dollars the first half of their fiscal year. The WiiU is looking to be a dog, and won't be out until mid 2012.
They've got a lot of problems, and for the past two years, they've been blaming Apple for that.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
It's not gaining traction at all. Ballmer, (remember him?) said recently that WP7 sales went from "very small to very small". It's been out for a year now, and no growth at all. The iPhone sold almost 14 million in the first 12 months, and that was for one, expensive phone model. WP7 has four manufacturers, including the two most popular Android manufacturers, HTC and Samsung, and 9 phone models (now more with Mango), and is estimated to be selling at a pace of between 1.25 and 1.75 million a quarter.
So far, Nokia's WP 7 phone sales are so so.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
You think win phone7 is gaining traction pretty rapidly? Compared to what? I'd like to see you make a case for that statement instead of just making the statement itself. Do you mean you think other companies are in fact being smug and that will be an opportunity for gaining traction?
Here is the reality. As consumers, we want the most choice with the fewest issues / boundaries. Bringing office to ios removes one reason that some business users may have from not adopting the iPad. This is obviously good for Apple
The good news for Microsoft is that they can make money selling software to iPad users, after all, they are a software company.
From a WP7.5 and Win8 perspective, it's not bad news. Microsoft give away their mobile office for free with WP7.5, it won't be free for other platforms.
One of the things I like about Microsoft is that they (usually) won't kill one business for the sake of another. Arguably Sony hurt the PS3 by including a Blu-Ray player in it; the price was very high early on and they let Microsoft get a big lead. It was more important for Sony to win the video format wars than the console wars, so they stuck to their guns. You could argue that it was strategic .. blah blah blah, but in the end they are number 3 in that space where they could have been number 2 (if you count Wii).
In all fairness, Apple really doesn't (and never has) contributed much to other platforms.
There is no Mobile Office software, so MS didn't give it away with WP7 phones. What they have is a very primitive app that doesn't allow you to edit anything, just to view it. That's what they're giving away.
I agree about Sony and the PS3. But Sony gained a lot with that. They killed HD-DVD which MS backed. It's doubtful that MS has gained much with the XBox, as it's cost them $9 billion over the years, with little to show for it. They're making modest profits on it now, but it will never come close to maki g up the losses. Sony is estimated to have lost $3 billion on the PS3 after having made $8 billion on the older models. But they are making big money on Blue-Ray while losing money in other places, such as with their Tv's. They are also making modest profits on the PS3 now.
Wii sales have dropped like a stone,
It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that they're selling the same product now that was introduced 5 years ago? Even the Wii Family Edition (which isn't even available worldwide) offers nothing significantly new compared to the older version.
The only reason that Wii sales continued as long as they did was that their supply situation was so messed up that until a year or two ago, finding one in a store was nearly impossible.
Oh no, Ribbon is coming! iPad will feel like 7" tablet... hahaha!
I really hope that Microsoft learns that you don't simply port a full blown desktop Office to a tablet - but I'm not holding my breath.
Sony is estimated to have lost $3 billion on the PS3 after having made $8 billion on the older models. But they are making big money on Blue-Ray while losing money in other places, such as with their Tv's. They are also making modest profits on the PS3 now.
You know where Sony's money comes from? TV's? Blu-ray? Gaming? Movie/music content?
Nope.
Life Insurance!
It's crazy to think about since most people see Sony as a "consumer electronics" company, but Sony would be way better off if they actually sold off their "consumer electronics" division.
Agreed. With the pathetic offering that iWork is, Apple still needs Office.
How is iWork pathetic? Care to elaborate on your troll? iWork is way better than the bloated over-priced Microsoft Office.
Microsoft does have a fast OS with an innovative UI that runs native code, it's called Windows Phone 7, it's gaining traction pretty rapidly. And before everyone starts on the 1% market share etc. Kin etc. Think about how smug Nokia were when the iPhone first came out .. and see how well that turned out.
Now when does Apple intend on releasing a new version of iWork? Among many things, I want ODF support.
I have been using an iPad 2 for a few months now, and two weeks ago took it along to a conference. It worked very well as a note-taking tool, and the automatic posting of the resulting notes to my e-mail inbox on my Mac(s) was very useful.
.
.
.
But for my purposes, the iPad simply isn't a "serious" production machine. "Your mileage may differ," of course.
I totally agree with you that the iPad is a different kind of computer to a Mac/PC and the kind of functionality you get out of an iPad isn't the same as as Mac/PC.
I think Microsoft understands this. They aren't going to try and cram Office 2010 with the ribbon an all onto an iPad. Microsoft will fit the functionality to the device.
If you look at the preview of Windows Live for Windows 8 and the Office Hub on Windows Phone you will get a sense of what I'm talking about.
Office on iOS would fit in well with small business or enterprise, especially if they are using something like Office 365 to manage their data.
I'm not so sure how important it is for home users though. As crap as software like iWork and Google Docs are they are also very cheap/free.
If all you need Office for is to do a couple of shopping lists and for your 8 year old to do a school report it would be hard to justify the cost of Microsoft Office.
Amazing ! Times when S Jobs had to make compromises to have Microsoft products on Mac are over. The balance of power is reversed, and the one who depends on the other is not the same ...
Are you saying that M$ depends on Apple?
You are delusional.
Yeah, it's an exaggeration to say Microsoft "depends" on Apple, certainly not for survival. I mean, Microsoft would have happily coasted along setting Windows Mobile and pen-based UMPCs if Apple hadn't rocked the status quo, and Microsoft would have done just fine selling us new copies of the same old Office year after year, now with jazzier toolbar icons.
On the other hand, think of this way: this is the first time in forever that Microsoft has expanded MS Office to a new platform. Microsoft might not "depend" on it, but you have to credit Apple for creating a new hardware platform (iPad) that in just under 2 years got big enough for Microsoft to justify porting Office to it. That is no small feat. How many Microsoft challengers have tried to do that over the years? OS/2? Linux? Chrome OS?
Amazing ! Times when S Jobs had to make compromises to have Microsoft products on Mac are over. The balance of power is reversed, and the one who depends on the other is not the same ...
Not sure Apple needs MS Office though! Ever tried Neo Office? Or Open Office?
http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php
http://www.openoffice.org/
I certainly did and I will buy Office for the Mac as soon as I work at the university, which is tomorrow. I'm a bit fed up with all the things that just don't work right.
AND, if Tim says, NAAA , as he should, then what? Hey Bomber...POUND SAND !!!
Tim won't say NAAA because why should he? Office on the iPad means more iPads being sold. I don't think Tim will have a problem with that.
"If we want to move forward and see Microsoft healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Microsoft to win, Apple has to lose. "
Is this Ballmer's quoting ?
Agreed. With the pathetic offering that iWork is, Apple still needs Office.
Apple seems to have given up on iWork for OSX and not bothered to tell anyone. We've not heard anything for over 3 years now. I would dearly love to finally cut all links to MS but I need a good office suite for work. The only thing I really hate about Apple is how they seem to lose interest in a product without warning and leave their customers high and dry.
I don't care about iWork for iOS. I don't use my iPhone or iPad all day every day for work. But I do use my Mac all day every day. Just for once Apple should start thinking about it's customers instead of it's seemingly relentless pursuit of profit/cash.
I like Excel, but in my opinion, an iPad version without the features of cloud storage and availability would really handicap it for an iPad user. Currently, an iPad user who also has a Mac can put Numbers on both machines and have their files at the ready anywhere they go.
Although I don't see Microsoft putting all the Office features into an iOS version, I would bet that the cloud Office 365/SharePoint and SkyDrive integration would be one of them.
They have been doing it in Office 2010 for 18 months now and it's one of the features they brought into the limited Office Hub in Windows Phone 7.
If you didn't on Office for PC/Mac you could even use the Office Web Apps on your desktop then open those files on your iOS devices when required.
I'm not sure if they will link into the iCloud documents API as well. Probably not though.