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Microsoft 'missed the boat' on smartphones - Ballmer
2013-09-20 13:31:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has admitted that the company was too focused on Windows PCs under his leadership and 'missed the boat' on smartphones, reports Reuters. Speaking to investors and analysts at an annual meeting on 19 September, Ballmer called on investors to support his vision of the company as a unified devices and services company. He explained how the company would continue to push into making its own hardware and promote services rather than products. Qi Lu, executive in charge of applications and services, also suggested that the Office suite of applications would eventually be available on the iPad. He said that the company was working on 'touch first' versions of core Office applications including Excel, Word and Outlook. These would initially be available on Windows devices, before extending to platform that were 'ready and financially sensible'. CFO Amy Good used the meeting to explain that Microsoft would start reporting quarterly financial data in five new blocks based around themes in October, rather than products such as Windows or Office.
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Category:Telecommunications