Was 2010 Microsoft's year?

[GodlessAstronomer]

Most of the media attention in the tech sector this year went to Apple. They had the iPad, iPhone 4 (including the media storm of antennagate) and the Macbook Air 2, among other things. They also overtook MS in market cap.

But consider what MS did this year.

• Windows 7 became the best-selling OS of all time, by a wide margin.
• Windows Phone 7 handsets sold faster than either Android or iPhone handsets in the same period.
• Kinect is the fastest selling gadget of all time, outselling the iPad despite being on the market for a much shorter period of time.
• Silverlight has exploded in the enterprise/line of business sector, becoming MS's fastest growing client technology ever.

I'm not taking anything away from Apple - they have had a wildly successful year. My contention is that MS has been the relative "sleeper" success of 2010.

 

[Corporate Thug]

yet they can't get their stock to move...

 

[Dominato3r]

They need a change in image more than anything.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

They need a change in image more than anything.

Why? They seem to be doing just fine without it.

 

[rudeguy]

I <3 Windows 7 but that came out in 2009 didn't it?
WP7 has its own thread in GGP. All I will say is they screwed up.
Kinnect is cool...it will be better when there is nrop for it.
Silverlight is..well...I guess I use it for Netflix.

So...another year for MS. No real innovation other than improving on the Wii's motion sensing.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Put on your flame suit bro - it's still uncool to favour MS.

 

[sjwaste]

Of all of that, I only have the Kinect and it is very cool. Still running Vista, happily - I might be the only person who's still saying that.

This year I'll probably go to Windows 7.

 

[shortylickens]

I made the transition to Win 7 unhappily. They shoulda just dolled up XP or fixed Vista.
Next OS will likely be Linux.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Yes, the Kin ONEm and TWOm were a HUGE success! Total sales were greater than 503!

 

[Mike Gayner]

Yes, the Kin ONEm and TWOm were a HUGE success! Total sales were greater than 503!

Apparently logic isn't your strong suit. One failed product in a huge company like MS =/= a failed year.

 

[jman19]

Put on your flame suit bro - it's still uncool to favour MS.

It's also uncool to spell favor with a "u."

 

[Lifted]

• A Windows release is nothing special (Vista R2). People can't run XP forever.
• Windows Phone 7 is not overtaking iOS, Android, or Blackberry anytime soon.
• On the business side it's business as usual.
• Kinect is neat, but it's no iPhone.

They certainly executed better than previous years, but it was no Apple success story, that's for sure.

Stock Prices:
Dec 31, 2009 - Dec 31, 2010

Apple +54&#37;
Microsoft -10%

 

[Lifted]

I made the transition to Win 7 unhappily. They shoulda just dolled up XP or fixed Vista.
Next OS will likely be Linux.

Sure it will. I hear Steam will be on Linux any day now.

 

[shortylickens]

Sure it will. I hear Steam will be on Linux any day now.

I dont like Steam. And I really need to give up video games any day now.

 

[Lifted]

I dont like Steam. And I really need to give up video games any day now.

But I hear Linux has inferior porn.

 

[shortylickens]

But I hear Linux has inferior porn.

You wont believe this but................

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Apparently logic isn't your strong suit. One failed product in a huge company like MS =/= a failed year.

What about the failure of the Bing Cashback program?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Windows 7 is a valid point however Windows Phone 7 is insignificant compared to how successful Android was in the past year. With sub $200 phones on the way it won't be long until Android is the dominant mobile OS worldwide.

 

[sammyunltd]

• A Windows release is nothing special (Vista R2). People can't run XP forever.
• Windows Phone 7 is not overtaking iOS, Android, or Blackberry anytime soon.
• On the business side it's business as usual.
• Kinect is neat, but it's no iPhone.

They certainly executed better than previous years, but it was no Apple success story, that's for sure.

Stock Prices:
Dec 31, 2010 - Dec 31, 2010

Apple +54&#37;
Microsoft -10%

When Jobs will retire/die, Apple's stock will drop by at least 30-40%.

Moreover, most of Apple's rise is due mostly to hype/Steve Jobs. Microsoft's fundamentals are far stronger than Apple's.

And OP forgot to mention Bing's success as another success story for MSFT.

 

[Lifted]

What about the failure of the Bing Cashback program?

Bing is a failure with half the traffic that Yahoo gets. It's been stuck in the low 3.x% for the entire year, with no sign of gaining further traction.

 

[Lifted]

When Jobs will retire/die, Apple's stock will drop by at least 30-40&#37;.

Moreover, most of Apple's rise is due mostly to hype/Steve Jobs. Microsoft's fundamentals are far stronger than Apple's.

And OP forgot to mention Bing's success as another success story for MSFT.

Bing is a success? How so?

While I don't agree that Apple's rise in revenue/profits is based on hype, the P/E is obviously based on Job's insight/innovation/leadership. Without Jobs at the helm, I think Apple revenue and stock will take quite the dive.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I made the transition to Win 7 unhappily. They shoulda just dolled up XP or fixed Vista.
Next OS will likely be Linux.

 

[busydude]

Bing is a failure with half the traffic that Yahoo gets. It's been stuck in the low 3.x% for the entire year, with no sign of gaining further traction.

O rly?

On July 29, 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced that they had made a 10-year deal in which the Yahoo! search engine would be replaced by Bing. Yahoo! will get to keep 88% of the revenue from all search ad sales on its site for the first five years of the deal, and have the right to sell adverts on some Microsoft sites. Yahoo! Search will still maintain its own user interface, but will eventually feature "Powered by Bing" branding.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8174763.stm

 

[Lifted]

O rly?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8174763.stm

You call that a success? Bing traffic hasn't moved since 2009. Microsoft getting 12% of revenue from Bing search results on Yahoo's site is supposed to be a success? That's a 12% cut from 6% of all search engine traffic. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I find it a stretch to consider that a success when Google is getting 100% of the revenue from their 85% of search engine traffic.

 

[busydude]

You call that a success? Bing traffic hasn't moved since 2009. Microsoft getting 12&#37; of revenue from Bing search results on Yahoo's site is supposed to be a success? That's a 12% cut from 6% of all search engine traffic. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I find it a stretch to consider that a success when Google is getting 100% of the revenue from their 85% of search engine traffic.

Its not a total failure as your earlier post suggested.. bing now powers both its own and Yahoo's search engine. How much of a success is that? I don't know, but its definitely not a failure.