Microsoft exec jabs at Apple, tweets drawing of 'converged' toaster and refrigerator
Just before his company's Surface Pro 4 event, the head of Microsoft's Windows division took a shot at Apple, recalling disparaging comments its CEO Tim Cook made about "converged" devices like the Surface tablet a few years ago.
Cook made headlines back in 2012 during a quarterly earnings call, when he suggested hybrid tablet and PC devices offer too many compromises to be appealing to most consumers. At the time, Cook said that the tradeoffs found with devices like Microsoft Surface leave a mobile computer that "doesn't please anyone."
"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but, you know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user," Cook said.
Cook's three-year-old comments were on the mind of Microsoft's Terry Myerson on Tuesday morning, less than an hour before his company's Surface Pro 4 event in New York. Myerson took to Twitter to send a photo of a crudely drawn refrigerator-toaster hybrid at a handful of Microsoft-focused tech journalist.
"hope you enjoy the show today...pay attention -- some new things might pop up," Myerson wrote.
Microsoft is hoping that its Surface Pro 4 event will stifle some of the anticipation for Apple's own iPad Pro, a 12.9-inch high-end tablet that is set to become available in November. Like with the Surface Pro, Apple will also sell keyboard and stylus accessories to offer new, portable input methods with its own touchscreen tablet.
In addition to the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft is also set to unveil new flagship Lumia smartphones intended to compete with Apple's latest generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It can be streamed live from Microsoft's website.
Cook made headlines back in 2012 during a quarterly earnings call, when he suggested hybrid tablet and PC devices offer too many compromises to be appealing to most consumers. At the time, Cook said that the tradeoffs found with devices like Microsoft Surface leave a mobile computer that "doesn't please anyone."
"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but, you know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user," Cook said.
Cook's three-year-old comments were on the mind of Microsoft's Terry Myerson on Tuesday morning, less than an hour before his company's Surface Pro 4 event in New York. Myerson took to Twitter to send a photo of a crudely drawn refrigerator-toaster hybrid at a handful of Microsoft-focused tech journalist.
"hope you enjoy the show today...pay attention -- some new things might pop up," Myerson wrote.
Microsoft is hoping that its Surface Pro 4 event will stifle some of the anticipation for Apple's own iPad Pro, a 12.9-inch high-end tablet that is set to become available in November. Like with the Surface Pro, Apple will also sell keyboard and stylus accessories to offer new, portable input methods with its own touchscreen tablet.
In addition to the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft is also set to unveil new flagship Lumia smartphones intended to compete with Apple's latest generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It can be streamed live from Microsoft's website.
Comments
When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?
Let's see what they have to offer today...
Why do they have to? Is a product that doesn't take the world by storm automatically a failure?
It's sort of entertaining, but mostly makes for great troll food.
My recommendation is that non of these guys should throw stones when their own products have issues as well.
"Introducing the all-new Microsoft Refrigerator-Toaster Pro!"
Lame attempt to smear Apple with the China-only Xcode hack.
It's their struggle for relevance in a market that's left them behind years ago.
MS is just another app and cloud services company, competing with others for the consumer dollar, and milking their IT industry position – an industry which moves at a glacial pace to begin with.
Even their best hardware effort to date (Surface) is traction-less after several years of market exposure. MS is hyping a product that never really got off the ground, because shoe-horning a full desktop OS into a tablet results in neither a good tablet, nor a good notebook.
Why do they have to? Is a product that doesn't take the world by storm automatically a failure?
I don't know. Ask their shareholders. Ask their developers. Ask their Windows Phone (or whatever it's called this week) users. Ask anyone who's complaining about Windows 10.
The funny thing is Apple did copy some aspects of the Surface but that doesn't mean Apple was wrong. They were more right than MS. Microsoft could've sat out of this race for a few years and wouldn't have suffered terrible Surface sales but they didn't. They never do. They jump on a technology without thinking and suffer for it. That's why they will never take the world by storm for anything which is the definition of failure in the tech world.
As usual.. It takes Microsoft years to respond to competition. It took this poor MS executive three years to get Cooks joke.
People I know who work in a Fortune 500 company and are currently using a Surface are now looking at switching to the iPad Pro.
Microsoft should spend more time on attention to detail in their products and less on trying to mock Apple
Did they have a smartphone before Apple? Sure (Windows Mobile). Was it a great experience? No.
Did they have a tablet-computer hybrid before Apple? Sure. Was it a great experience? No (and yes, I've used a Surface Pro).
Obviously I can't comment on the experience of the iPad Pro relative to the Surface Pro having not used it. But I can clearly see the attention to detail that Apple has taken with it and have high hopes that it'll be much more than just a tablet with a keyboard.
We can mock MS for their success in the mobile space, but at least they've taken risks with a different user interface, which is more than one might say about Google and Android.
Errr... never?
All they ever did was rip off Steve's products and ideas and make them available on clones and thus cheap. It's the business model Google copied once they turned evil.
The pot shots that these guys take at each other is getting a little old.
It's sort of entertaining, but mostly makes for great troll food.
Anyone want a hot cup of "Toxic Hellstew"? Check out some of our recent security issues like with Xcode.
My recommendation is that non of these guys should throw stones when their own products have issues as well.
Lame attempt to smear Apple with the China-only Xcode hack.
Well I think you missed my point. I was not trying to smear anyone. Merely pointing out that no one's hands are clean.
But since you mentioned it, even Stagefright which is arguably the worst security flaw in Android is easily avoidable and has been patched on millions of devices. Even phones that are years old. I haven't seen any stories about it being actively used in the wild.
Most Android malware is also based in China, and Russia for what it's worth. And almost always requires the user to download from an untrusted source, just like the Xcode hack.
Why give anyone credit for a half-assed design and implementation?
wait, what vision? putting full Windows on an iPad-inspired tablet? that's just more Windows-everywhere, not vision.
The Xbox. That's about it.
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Poor Microsoft.
When was the last time they released a new revolutionary product that took the world by storm?
Let's see what they have to offer today...