Robert Scoble Throwing Dirt on Microsoft's Grave
Regular readers of my column in Redmond Channel Partner magazine and this blog know that I'm pretty enthusiastic about Microsoft's direction as the company responds to the explosive emergence of smartphones and tablets. Microsoft has chosen to play a long game, and I think it's got a shot.
But don't let it be said that I won't note an opposing perspective. Robert Scoble, the influential blogger and one-time Microsoft evangelist, thinks Redmond is dead, dead, dead.
In an item on Friday, Scoble threw shovelfuls of dirt on Microsoft's grave in the tablet market.
He starts off this way:
"Android tablets will be a bigger deal than Windows 8 tablets.
"After meeting with Japanese OEMs for my CES previews I just don't get how Microsoft can subsidize Windows 8 to compete with the Android tablets."
Read Scoble's whole piece here. He makes some good points about developer attitudes, price pressures and even iPad momentum in the enterprise. I think he's undervaluing Microsoft's cross-(Microsoft)-platform strengths, but he points out real hurdles that Redmond will have a very tough time clearing.
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 19, 2011