Is Microsoft the New Apple?
Sometimes it pays to read the fine print. Ed Bott has made a career out of it. Last year he read a Microsoft 10-K investor report and saw the company mention devices, leading him to predict that Microsoft would enter the hardware game. That may sound like bragging but I've known Ed for over two decades. And if it's bragging, he's got the chops to back it up.
Bott dissected the latest 10K and saw references, again, to hardware. Ed's analysis is that Surface is just the tip of the hardware iceberg. Last year its 10-K mentioned hardware eight times. This time it was around 15. Last year it used the word "device" on 11 occasions. Now we see it 25 times.
Now it's time for me to predict the future. I think Microsoft watched the incredible success of Apple blending hardware and software, and had its own success with the Xbox experiment. This will lead Microsoft to decide it wants to be a hardware company!
Do you see Microsoft trying to be more like Apple? Forward your best analysis to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 08/13/2012 at 1:19 PM