Analysts: Microsoft Not Tardy for the Tablet Party
By Ed Oswald | Friday, May 27, 2011 at 1:08 pm
Steve Ballmer at CES 2010 with "Slate PCs"
Microsoft may still have time to make its mark in the tablet market, some analysts are saying. Although Apple still has the lion’s share of the business at the moment, it’s still so new that there’s plenty of room for growth.
Citigroup research analysts said in a recent note that it expected the next version of Windows to ship between January of next year and March 2013. It noted that Microsoft could ship the tablet version first, enabling it to garner significant share in 2013 and beyond.
The biggest problem obviously is the operating system itself. So far, iOS is really the only platform that has been optimized for tablet use. Android is only just now able to provide a decent experience through the release of Honeycomb, so Microsoft wouldn’t be too far behind.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the battle in 2012 in tablets isn’t between Android and iOS, but rather Microsoft’s tablet OS and Android: the Redmond company may be smart to take on the “low hanging fruit” first before moving onto bigger battles.
Certainly, Microsoft is showing some promise in what has already leaked out on Windows 8: features seem built from the get-go to keep in mind the special usage considerations of the tablet interface. That’s a good sign.
Indeed, Citigroup marks the interface as the most important factor in its forecast — oh yeah, and price too. That’s something that some Android manufacturers haven’t seemed to get the memo yet on.
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May 28th, 2011 at 2:56 am
Total fiction. Wishful thinking. They made Windows tablets for over 10 years and nobody wanted them. They failed to compete with iPod for 10 years. There is no help coming for Microsoft. They have lost high-end PC's to the Mac and low-end to iPad. Even if the most rosy scenario comes true for Microsoft, they still don't compete. Consumer PC sales are down 25% since iPad. Apple has the design lead, technology lead, and economies of scale. Nobody is going to come close, same as iPod.
The big events in tablets in 2013 will be iOS 7 and 200 million iPads sold. Not anything to do with Microsoft's desktop PC OS which still doesn't even run right on portables, let alone mobiles.
May 28th, 2011 at 7:11 am
"Although Apple still has the lion’s share of the business at the moment"
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By 2014 Apple OS will be in a minority position with Android OS owning the tablet space. Same thing that happened with smart phones, only by a higher % for Android in tablets.
May 30th, 2011 at 10:00 am
This reflects analyst's predictions.
May 31st, 2011 at 10:28 am
Nope. Search some more.
February 9th, 2012 at 4:38 am
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the battle in 2012 in tablets isn’t between Android and iOS, but rather Microsoft’s tablet OS and Android: the Redmond company may be smart to take on the “low hanging fruit” first before moving onto bigger battles.