Edible Apple

Despite what some people have been saying, Microsoft did little to nothing to steal any of Apple’s tablet thunder when it unveiled a slew of new Tablet PC’s running Windows 7. In fact, Microsoft’s gameplan regarding tablet PC’s exemplifies Redmond’s typical focus on quantity over quality.

While outlining Microsoft’s vision of a world filled with Tablet PC’s, Steve Ballmer stated:

You have the open Internet, you’ve got paid-TV services, but no matter what the source of the content, what kind of content, video, text, whatever, Windows PC’s will absolutely offer the greatest variety and the most interesting content and entertainment experiences in the world.

Notice how Ballmer didn’t say they’re aiming to release the best products or the best experiences. On the contrary, they’re shooting for the greatest variety, which is a strategy that hasn’t really worked out for them in the smartphone market. Microsoft seems so hell bent on getting Windows Mobile onto every device imaginable that they’ve somehow managed to fumble the one thing that should be driving the brand – creating innovative software people actually want to use.

Microsoft, for whatever reason, is stuck in the 90’s where putting Windows everywhere was the answer to everything. The tech landscape has since changed, and yet Microsoft still hasn’t responded accordingly. In the meantime, a number of traditional Microsoft partners have left for the greener pastures of Android, and until the folks in Seattle put an emphasis on the quality of their OS over the quantity of handset partners they work with, their market share will continue to decline.