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Microsoft is facing the prospect of increased competition from Google and Apple in the market for personal computer software, CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts at a meeting in New York.Microsoft is facing the prospect of increased competition from Google and Apple in the market for personal computer software, CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts at a meeting in New York.
He predicted Google’s open-source Android operating system will probably be used on laptop computers, potentially challenging Microsoft’s currently pervasive Windows.
Ballmer said Microsoft is also concerned by the growth of Apple Macintosh sales, especially in the US. Apple has become the No 4 seller in the US – behind Acer and just ahead of Toshiba – with 8 percent of the market, up from 6.7pc a year ago, according to IDC; and it relentlessly pillories Microsoft in its “I’m a Mac – I’m a PC” series of TV ads..
The Bloomberg financial news service notes that a move into the computer OS market by Google would intensify rivalry between it and Microsoft, which already compete in areas such as Web search.
Bloomberg predicted Asustek, the biggest maker of low-cost netbooks, would develop an Android-based PC possibly by the end of this year.
So far Microsoft has managed to keep open-source Linux systems at bay on popular PCs. In Australia, Asus offers netbooks with a choice of Linux or Windows – but Microsoft pressure (and public demand) sees that most retailers principally stock Windows-powered models, while in many cases the Linux version is more expensive, despite the lack of licensing fees for the software.
Ballmer, whose takeover attempts were rebuffed by Yahoo last year, said he’s still looking for a way for the two companies to “pool resources” to compete with Google. However a CNBC report said Ballmer’s approaches are being “rebuffed and ignored” by Yahoo’s new CEO Carol Bartz.
