Steve Ballmer sounded pretty confident when his company debuted the Surface tablet last fall. At one point, he even said "I don’t think anybody has done a product that is the product that I see customers wanting," implying that Microsoft had.
But I think by now, it's pretty clear that's not the case. Not only did the software giant have to eat $900 million in unsold Surfaces last quarter, but estimates based on a new SEC filing suggest that it's only sold 1.7 million of them since launch...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Thursday played Captain Obvious, telling Microsoft workers the company may have overestimated demand for its Surface tablets. Really? The revelation comes only after the software giant announced a nearly $1 billion writedown after slashing Surface prices.
Not willing to take such things as a sign to go off and do something else, Ballmer and operations chief Kevin Turner reportedly told a closed-door town hall meeting a new Surface is now being tested...
At least one critic is satisfied by Apple's efforts to slow a growing number of iPhone crimes. San Francisco's District Attorney, who earlier called on the iPhone maker to install a so-called kill switch in its handsets, now believes a feature in the company's upcoming iOS 7 shows "clear improvements" by the tech giant.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón made the comment Friday after testing Apple's Activation Lock feature alongside the Absolute Software's Lojack running on Samsung's Galaxy S4...
Last Friday, Apple confirmed it had snapped up HopStop, the brains behind a transit-navigation app which provides detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and biking directions. The move should complement Apple's troubled mapping solution as the company works toward folding HopStop's high-quality public transit data into its in-house Maps app.
Though an important capability, Apple initially felt content with third-parties tackling the transit navigation puzzle. Be that as it may, it's now come to our attention that the Windows Phone app has rather unceremoniously been pulled following the HopStop acquisition.
File this one under the 'business as usual' drawer: Apple similarly pulled Chomp for Android after acquiring the app discovery engine back in February 2012...
Microsoft just doesn't skip a beat when it comes to its fantasy that the Surface rivals Apple's iPad. Never mind the software giant had to reduce prices on its tablet because no one is buying the device. Never mind Thursday the company took a $900M writedown on those cheaper Surfaces that no one wants.
To mark all the features the Surface has (which no one except paid actors apparently want), the Redmond-based Windows giant has released another sneering ad pitting its tablet against Apple's. This is what lesser-known brands quite often do as they strive to piggy-back on the popularity of the Apple brand...
Microsoft last June unveiled its iPad contender, the ARM-powered Surface RT tablet. We've suspected all along that it hasn't been much of a smash hit.
Nine months later, the Windows giant admits defeat by announcing it will be taking an astounding $900 million loss over unsold Surface RT inventory.
The top dogs called it an “inventory adjustments”. Our take: these things would not have been collecting dust in the warehouse if they were flying off the shelves like hotcakes...
Apple is reportedly teaming up with Google, Facebook, Microsoft and a number of other tech companies that will demand dramatically increased transparency from the US government regarding surveillance by the NSA and other agencies.
In a letter to be published tomorrow, the alliance—which includes 63 companies, investors, and non-profit orgs—will call upon President Obama and congressional leaders to allow them to report more specifically on security requests...
Russia is one of the BRIC countries mentioned alongside Brazil, India and China as areas where demand for smartphones is increasing rapidly. Yet, recently, the last of Russia's big-three carriers stopped selling the iPhone, leaving it up to resellers and Apple's new online store to meet demand.
Why are Russian carriers saying no to the iconic handset - and adopting competitors, such as Samsung and Microsoft? The answer could be as simple as 1-2-3...
Despite the ongoing iPad-bashing in television commercials, Microsoft over the past month has managed to release brand new Office 365 for iPhone (check out our review) and SkyDrive Pro apps, while revamping and enhancing a cross-platform note-taking software, OneNote.
Today, the Windows giant has added another productivity app to its stable of App Store offerings, the Outlook Web App for iPhone and iPad.
Despite what the name might have you believe, it's a native app. The software offers the same email, calendar and contact functionality you get in Outlook Web App on the browser, "but with additional capabilities that are only possible through native integration of the app with mobile devices," such as notifications, Microsoft argues...
Microsoft's rumored smartwatch will reportedly compete with Apple's rumored iWatch by designing the product around Surface and Xbox technology, while giving it a cool translucent shell along with a variety of colorized removable wrist bands for a dash of fashion statement. Oh, and it will supposedly do LTE on its own.
Sources familiar with the matter told The Verge that prototype smartwatch testing at Microsoft has moved over to the Surface team. The move is likely in line with a recent company-wide reorganization effort that saw Xbox and Surface hardware divisions folded into a single unit, with former Windows chief Julie Larson-Green now responsible for all of Microsoft's hardware efforts...
As Apple fights to stay a recently-imposed import ban on some of its iOS devices, Microsoft is trying to push one forward. The Redmond company is suing the US Customs and Border Protection office for refusing to enforce an ITC order to block imports of Motorola phones.
In May 2012, the US International Trade Commission issued a ban on Motorola devices for infringing a Microsoft patent on syncing calendar events with other computers. The suit alleges Google has held secret meetings with US Customs, convincing the office to ignore the ban...
In an effort to spur struggling slate sales, Microsoft launched a TV ad campaign aimed squarely at the iPad. The strategy, which has spawned four commercials since May, focuses on highlighting the flaws in Apple's popular tablet in comparison with the Surface.
But despite the agressive campaign, Microsoft still seems to be having trouble selling tablets. According to a new report, the Redmond company is planning to drop the price of all Surface RT models by $150 later this month—a move in response to lackluster sales...