Microsoft's Sneak Attack On Apple: SkyDrive, Not Surface

New submitter curtwoodward writes "Microsoft won't become a hardware company — unless you count mice and keyboards, former Microsoftie Charlie Kindel argues — because that would mean competing with Apple on its terms. But Kindel says Microsoft may be embarking on a totally new business model by seeding its connected software services across all platforms. You saw more evidence this week with the release of SkyDrive for Android. 'For that to work, it can't just be Windows,' he says. 'As a matter of fact, to beat Apple, it has to work really well on Apple devices.'"

Ohrly?

[dnaumov]

'As a matter of fact, to beat Apple, it has to work really well on Apple devices."

So what happens when it starts doing "too well" and gets banned from the AppStore for violating it's guidelines?

Memo to Microsoft

[Sparticus789]

"As a matter of fact, to beat Apple, it has to work really well on Apple devices."

Yes, please. Try fixing MS Office and Outlook for Mac before embarking on a SkyDrive project.

Re:Not a hardware company?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or Surface (Either the old Big-Ass-Table, or new Tablet things). But that's missing the author's point. Those are afterthoughts, ways of getting the software out there.

Apple is a hardware company that uses software to move their hardware.

Microsoft is a software company that's now making hardware to move its software.

Re:Not a hardware company?

[greeze]

I think they think of the Xbox as a platform for which they sell licensing, content, and advertising space. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'd be surprised if they're making much money on sales of the Xbox hardware alone.

Re:Ohrly?

[sinij]

Lawsuits and probably retaliatory banning of itunes from all Win devices. MS isn't some shoestring app. developer.

Re:Not a hardware company?

[Missing.Matter]

I think the distinction lies in where and how the company is making money. Apple, despite taking a cut 30% cut on apps and all its iTunes sales, still makes the vast majority of its profits through physical hardware sales. Microsoft still makes the vast majority of its money through software sales and services. With the Xbox in particular, the opportunity for revenue lies in software and media services, especially as the console is starting to transition into more of a general living room entertainment device rather than a gaming device. Even Microsoft is experimenting with selling the hardware as cheap as possible and subsidizing it with an Xbox live subscription, which hopefully leads to future media purchases.

And as for the surface, I think it's already done its job. The majority of the tablets revealed over the past week by Asus, Samsung, and Sony are all very Surface-like (in that they all focus on hybrid design for work rather than pure content consumption slates), as opposed to being iPad clones like the earlier Android tablet generation. To me, Surface appears to be Microsoft's attempt to steer the tablet space in a different direction rather than an attempt to claim the tablet space with their own hardware.

Re:Hotmail for storage?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm having a hard time figuring out how they could expect people to want or trust their cloud services.
The concept seems to go against instinct.

http://gigaom.com/2009/10/10/when-cloud-fails-t-mobile-microsoft-lose-sidekick-customer-data/ [gigaom.com]

http://www.webmonkey.com/2008/04/microsoft_kills_playsforsure__screws_over_loyal_customers/ [webmonkey.com]