MS shareholder meeting shows share worries

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer today warned at a yearly shareholders' meeting that the company needed to improve the standing of Windows in the future. The executive was emphatic that Microsoft was still in a comfortable position with "96 out of 100" choosing Windows worldwide but acknowledged that Apple had cut into Microsoft's share in the past year. He downplayed the amount, labeling it a "a couple of tenths of a percent" but added that even the claimed amount was significant and worth fighting for.

"That [dominant position] doesn't let us rest on our laurels," Ballmer said. "Every tenths of a percent matters."

He also claimed that Windows PCs were chosen 83 percent of the time even in the high-end US market that Apple prefers, though this partly contradicts outside market research. Apple at last report controlled 91 percent of premium notebooks in the US and also typically enjoys a disproportionately large share of premium desktops in the country.

The long-time employee wouldn't elaborate on Windows 7's sales other than to reiterate the previous statement of record short-term sales and to characterize the OS as off to a "fantastic start."

Ballmer was equally nebulous regarding Microsoft's answer to Android and the iPhone. He noted that Windows Mobile currently has more market share than Android and that Microsoft wants a "leading position" in the smartphone market but didn't put much emphasis on Windows Mobile 6.5, instead promising that the firm is investing in its future and its belief that a device-independent mobile OS is the right approach.

The comments come at a time of mixed results for Microsoft. While it has ended some longstanding weaknesses in the past few months by shipping Windows 7 and the Zune HD as well as launching its Bing search engine, its calendar 2009 has been dominated so far by three consecutive revenue drops as some buyers actively avoided Windows Vista and the poor economy affected both this and the Xbox line. Apple meanwhile has seen large revenue increases at the same time as its rapidly growing iPhone business has been supplemented by above-average jumps in computer shipments compared to the industry. [via CNET and Seattle Times]

By Electronista Staff