The major lessons they’ve learned through their own experience and by observing Apple is that the strategy that vaulted Windows to its unassailable market share back in the ’80s won’t ever work again. They can’t release an operating system and then trust hardware manufacturers to implement it well. Success in tablets will require true end-to-end control, starting with the OS and the hardware and extending even to the sort of apps that are permitted to run on it.
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That’s the possible sleeping giant. Microsoft seems to want to remain relevant, and seems to be willing to do what they need to do to avoid becoming Digital Equipment Corp. What do you think will happen when the company does what’s necessary to built phones, tablets, and e-readers that work more closely with the world’s single most popular operating system than any other?
Ihnatko: What to expect from Microsoft announcement
