In a TV interview with CNBC, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told viewers that a lot of “iPad-type device” users are “frustrated” with their purchases. He thinks this is bad for the tablet market and that the quality of content creation options available to iPad and Android users alike, are limited. The answer, of course, is Windows 8; the current Microsoft Surface tablets and the upcoming wide range of Windows 8 powered devices which blur the lines between tablets and PCs.
Mr Gates was talking on the CNBC “Squawk Box” show alongside Warren Buffet and discussed the computer industry, tablets and PC markets. The specific part of the interview where Bill Gates talks about iPad user frustration starts at about 8-minutes in within the linked clip.
“With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to gain market share in what has been dominated by the iPad-type device. But a lot those users are frustrated. They can't type. They can't create documents,” opined Microsoft Chairman Gates. “So we're providing them something with the benefits they've seen that has made that a big category but without giving up what they expect in a PC.” He went on to plug the Surface “If you have Surface or Surface Pro, you have the portability of the tablet but the richness of terms of the keyboard, Microsoft Office of the PC”. Looking to the future Gates said upcoming Windows 8 devices would blur the lines between tablets and PCs even further.
Apple to fall?
The interviewer went on to ask Gates about Apple’s stock price which peaked at around $700 last September but is currently only around $450. Specifically the question was whether Apple has now started a “lost decade” where growth is much slower and the firm is seen to tread water. Gates answered that industry commentators are perpetually predicting falls from grace so when someone eventually stumbles they are proved right.
China crisis
The interview wraps up looking at prospects in China where Microsoft estimate a huge 77 per cent of the Windows and Office software is pirated. Gates says “Well, China has been a disaster if you say per unit of your product that gets used, how much do you get paid.” China is different to many places in the world because government institutions, state owned enterprises and large businesses all use pirated software. Things are improving, “fairly slowly”, so the pressure must be kept on companies and governmental bodies said Gates.
