Microsoft ’s master executive on Thursday sought to address some unwashed questions raised by analysts , but his answers may not have been on the nose what they were looking for .
While Microsoft describe itshighest - ever quarterly revenuelast week , the company was also knock for lacking a well - developed strategy for ticket microcomputer , and for keep to struggle with some of its consumer businesses .
chief executive officer Steve Ballmer utter about those and other subject Thursday during Microsoft ’s one-year financial analyst get together at the company ’s HQ in Redmond .
He initiate the topic of slate by noting that Windows has been available on slates and tablets for geezerhood . While that ’s true , Apple , which has only just entered the market , has generated significant bombilation and sales with its iPad .
“ Apple has done an interesting problem of putting together a Cartesian product , ” Ballmer say , before hold that “ they ’ve sure as shooting sold more than I ’d like them to sell . ”
“ For us , the job is to say we have a batch of [ intellectual property ] and software and we ’ve done a lot of work on ink and touch modality , ” he said . “ We have catch to make things happen . Just like we had to make thing happen on netbooks , we have to with Windows 7 on slates . We ’re in the process of doing that as we verbalize . ”
He was not more specific , however . “ We ’ve got to push right now with our ironware collaborator . People will say , ‘ When ? ’ I ’ll say , ‘ As before long as they are quick , and it is task - one urgency . ’ Nobody is sleeping at the switch , ” he tell .
When force for more details during a question - and - answer period , Ballmer would only say that new slate will be out in “ not a heck of a long time . ”
Ballmer hinted that some devices that have been promised in the slate class might not materialise . He promoted an HP slating earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show , but Microsoft has said little about it since , and some percipient wonder about HP ’s committal to the twist since it purchased Palm .
HPlisted a Windows - based ticket deviceon its Website late , but it ’s unreadable if the company still plan to deal the ware . HP has say that it wants to use Palm ’s WebOS on tablet calculator .
“ There will be things we ’ve talked about in the past tense that may or may not ship and new thing that will ship , ” Ballmer say Thursday .
He downplayed the competitive threat from other operating system . In addition to WebOS , ironware makers are developing pill based on Google ’s Android software .
“ We ’ll get a caboodle of blaring . People will do thing with other operating system , ” he order . But he noted that Microsoft has a strong groundwork of applications for Windows and that users are conversant with the Microsoft OS . “ We have everything on our side if we do matter right , ” he say .
He did n’t go particularly implicated about Google , at one period referring to “ whatever weird collection of Android devices ” end up on the grocery .
Nor does Microsoft seem to be worried about giving up market share . “ We ’re not ceding any quad , ” said Kevin Turner , Microsoft ’s primary operating officer .
While the executives admitted that Apple is tough contest , they also point to some advantages a Microsoft slate might have . “ When you get your Windows 7 machine , it ’ll print , ” Ballmer say . The iPad lack a port that would tolerate a user to connect a printer .
But Ballmer encouraged psychoanalyst to consider its marquee products as consumer products . Microsoft ’s biggest consumer product is Windows , Ballmer contend , since more than two - thirds of PCs are sold to consumers . likewise , around two - thirds of Office software social unit are used by consumers , he said .
One unassailable point for Microsoft in the consumer marketplace is Xbox . The company has done well in gaming , with 42 million Xboxes in use and 25 million users of Xbox Live , he said .
Updated at 9:53 p.m. PT to add more details from the result .
