Microsoft Plans to Enter Tablet Market by 2012 with Massive Media Campaign and Exclusive Production Deals to Combat Apple
At a time when tech firms are fighting for a decent market share in tablets against Apple, Microsoft seems to be absent again. The software company always enters the market late and lacks innovation – this time it won’t be entering the wars till 2012. Will it
Microsoft Tablet
be too late by then?
Microsoft claims that its strategy for 2012 will unleash wrath on competitors – especially Apple – since the Redmond based tech giant has changed its strategy from being an open-sourced tablet to a closed one like that of Apple. The Windows 8 branded tablet will be primarily aimed to compete against the Apple’s iPad brand. To enter the market with a bang, Microsoft has planned to release the tablet with excessive marketing, publicity and creative advertisements – something already seen in the failed Zune and the lucrative Xbox.
Another integral part of the strategy includes making exclusive deals with renowned partners like Texas Instruments and other Taiwanese OEMs. In some aspects, Microsoft is following Apple’s strategy step by step; the iPad producer has an exclusive partnership with the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn.
The information provided by Digitimes, if correct, will be a direct assault on Apple, and will deserve some retaliation. Microsoft has abandoned its own philosophy and has used Apple’s game on itself. Perhaps this is a sign that this tech giant has finally come out of its mold and started to use new tactics and provide innovation to the market.
However, many believe the war is lost before it even begins. Watching Apple dominate the tablet market has been irritating for Microsoft to say the least, but they will continue to do so, according to many users. They claim Apple’s strength lies in increasing portability and battery life, whereas Microsoft has been obsessed with input processes of handwriting and pen interface. Apple has been successful at branding and advertisement; Microsoft, on the other hand, has largely ignored this part –something that it hopes to change now. Moreover, Microsoft was perhaps too ahead of its time when it released a tablet in the 90’s but Apple predicted the time for tablets correctly and enjoyed a dominant market share.
It would be interesting to see how Microsoft views its previous failures and Apple’s success and translates it next year to fiercely combat in the tablet market. By using Apple’s strategy to combat the company itself, it might have a chance to gain a decent second place – which would still be frustrating for the company.
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