TechRepublic has a great article about Microsoft’s opportunity to be the comeback kid in 2012. Considering what Microsoft has done right this past year and assertions from the tech community from as far back as May 2010 that Apple is in fact “losing it’s cool”, is Microsoft set to spark a comeback in the coming year?
From the article:
Last April, Nielsen reported that its research showed Android, not iOS, to be the most desired smartphone operating system. Then in August, the iPhone lost its spot at the top of the smart phone mountain when sales of Android devices surpassed those of the iPhone, and just last week, the number of daily active users of Facebook on Android went past the number of Facebook users of the iPhone app.
While this might seem like good news for Google, Microsoft actually makes money on the sale of Android phones. Pair that will the fact that the market seems to be looking for alternatives to Apple’s expensive iDevices and there is clear opportunity for Microsoft to take advantage of.
What Microsoft did right in 2011
Microsoft made some big decisions that give it a unique opportunity to turn it around in the coming year.
What hasn’t gotten quite as much attention, perhaps, is the fact that Microsoft has made some decisions in 2011 that have the potential to pay off nicely. The acquisition of Skype earlier this year is timed right – at a period when many are abandoning their landlines and dissatisfied with their cell phone carriers. The time is ripe for an explosion in Internet-based calling and Skype is already one of the most popular applications for that. If Microsoft integrates it seamlessly into Windows 8 and manages to get it onto their Windows phones as an alternative to using expensive cellular minutes, it could be a fantastic feather in the company’s cap.
Skype is quite popular, but the article also points out the introduction of Kinect which Microsoft looks to take advantage of a new entertainment aspect competing against current market competitors like Apple and Google TV(which haven’t sold too well). Introducing Windows 8 reflects Microsofts understanding that”[...]building a new interface that’s truly touch-friendly (and not just a “touchable” version of the old familiar desktop) wasn’t only theright decision; it was the only logical decision.” At least that’s the opinion of the author.
Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think about what’s ahead for Microsoft and the rest of the tech industry!
Be sure to check out the rest of the article to see where Microsoft can go in 2012.
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