Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, alongside Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski, spoke with CNBC Business News’ Scott Wapner today regarding a variety of subjects, including Microsoft’s Zune and Apple’s iPhone and iPod:
Wapner: Steve, let me ask you about the iPhone and the Zune, if I may. The Zune was getting some traction and Steve Jobs goes to Macworld and he pulls out this iPhone. What was your first reaction when you saw that?
Ballmer: (laughs) $500 full-subsidized with a plan! I said that is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard which makes it not a very good email machine. Now, it may sell very well or not, I, you know. We have our strategy, we’ve got great Windows Mobile devices in the market today, we, you can get a Motorola Q phone now for $99, it’s a very capable machine, it’ll do music, it’ll do, uh, Internet, it’ll do email, it’ll do instant messaging. So, I, I kinda look at that and I say, well, I like our strategy. I like it a lot.
Wapner: How do you compete with that though? He sucked out a lot of the spotlight in the last few weeks because of what happened at Macworld, not only with the iPhone, but with the new iPod. How do you compete with that, with the Zune?
Ballmer: Right now, well, let’s take phones first. Right now we’re selling millions and millions and millions of phones a year, Apple is selling zero phones a year (half smile). In six months, they’ll have the most expensive phone by far ever in the marketplace (laughs) and let’s see (shrugs), you know, eh, what’s the expression, let’s see how the competition goes. In the case of music and entertainment players, Apple ob.., uh, absolutely has a preeminent position. We said we wanna be in this market, there’s a lot of reasons why there’s synergy with other things that we’re doing, we think we’ve got some unique innovations – particularly what we’re doing with community, with wireless networking. And, we came into the market, a market in which they are very strong, and we took, I don’t know, but I think most estimates would say we took about 20-25% of the high end of the market. We weren’t down at some of the lower price points, but for devices $249 and over we took, you know, let’s say about 20% of the market. So, I feel like we’re in the game, we’re driving our innovation hard, uh, and, uh, okay, we’re not the incumbent, he’s the incumbent in this game, but, uh, at the end of the day, he’s going to have to keep up, uh, an agenda that we’re gonna drive as well.
Wapner: You still feel like you can be very competitive in that space?
Ballmer: Sure. Absolutely. If we didn’t think there was transformation going on, we woudn’t be playing.
Full CNBC video: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=167100574
MacDailyNews Take: It is very evident that Ballmer has nothing. That he goes straight into FUD mode with the outright lie that Apple’s iPhone is “the most expensive phone by far ever in the marketplace” shows fear. Apple’s iPhone does have a keyboard, of course, as Ballmer probably knows full well; maybe not, as he seems to lack understanding about prices, DMP market share, and more.
Microsoft’s Zune is a primitive device to begin with; next to an iPhone, it is even more of a joke than it is now, if that’s possible. Today’s so-called “smartphones” with Windows Mobile and other operating systems look like last decade’s technology next to Apple’s iPhone.
Ballmer can bluster all he likes with nonsense such as “we’re driving our innovation hard” and babbling about some unknown “agenda” that Microsoft’s supposedly “gonna drive,” but he has nothing of substance to offer.
Microsoft should be embarrassed at their total lack of innovation and Microsoft should be embarrassed that they even have Steve Ballmer as an employee, much less as their CEO.
Related articles:
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
The Motley Fool: Apple makes Microsoft’s Zune a paperweight – January 10, 2007
RealMoney’s Comeau predicts: ‘Microsoft will kill the first Zune media player by midyear’ – December 16, 2006
Microsoft Zune plummets to 5th place in U.S. digital media player market share with 2.1 percent – December 04, 2006
OK Mr Ballmer lets do some math. Apple sells a phone for $500 and the profits go to Apple. Motorola sells a phone for $100 with Windows Mobile installed. What’s Microsoft’s cut?
It’s all clear now. Ballmer is Zune Tang!
The High end of the market is 1/20 000 000 in fact Balmer is the high End
ballmer forgot one last thing: the zune is also fully subsdizied mp3 and its not a phone DUMBASS BALLMER
Ballmer should be laughing at the price of Windows Vista, hence $399!
Well, you guys FINALLY figured me out. This is Steve Ballmer and I have enjoyed adding some life to your message boards. I am happy to have converted some of you over to my social, the Zune.
Steve
Microsoft Resident Fat Ass and Embarrassing Pig
What do you expect him to say?
“Yes, Apple is beating us on every front and we have no hope, to, uhh, catch them. They’ve turned the tables on us, um, we used to be able to innovate after they made a new product. We’d get it saturated into the market in no time. But, lately, they’ve uhh, been able to saturate the market before we could copy, err, innovate a new product. We’re basically, screwed. But we have so much money that it really doesn’t matter, for a long while. Our strategy right now has become to wait it out and hope our money lasts longer than Apple’s current run of success.”
This guy is an embarassment to the company. He is very bad with the media and just makes a fool of himself everytime he opens his BIG Mouth. Apple has a very solid agenda and it looks like Microsoft has absoulutely nothing!
Neverfade,
The loud static you’re hearing IS Ballmer.
Bill Gates should be worried having this moron as CEO of M$!!! iPhone has no keyboard? Most expensive cell phone? Come on! do some home work before you speak, monkey!!
I used to have a manager at a place I worked at who would always put on an insta-smile when he was kissing ass or lying. Then he would immediately revert to his fat grumpy face.
Remind you of anybody?
Just wait… Once the iPhone is released, Apple will come out with the real “iPod video” which will look very similar to the iPhone but will have screen where the speaker at the top and home button at the bottom are. It’ll be a little thicker to accommodate the new 100GB HDD and also keep the wi-fi and Bluetooth. The interface will be exactly the same multi-touch UI as the iPod interface on the iPhone. This iPod video will blow away the current Zune and any future Zunes.
Microsoft will lose ground on the following fronts: Windows Mobile, Windows OS (in the consumer space), Zune, Windows Media, Xbox (only decent product MS has EVER made, except SQL Server).
Well, one thing that you can say is that Microsoft has worked hard to create software for mobile products. Apple is way behind in this technology, that’s true. But, Apple also is putting their minds to this, and I see them catching up quick with what Microsoft has done, and iPhone has a lot of promise. So, Balmer is definitely doing some negative spin to keep going.
Where, oh where, did Ballmer get this idea that Zune took 20-25% of the music player market? Oh, I’m sorry, the “high-end” market? Where? Who said that? He’s either delusional or he’s getting bad info. Jesus! How did the reporter let that go by? Reporter, my left butt cheek. Shill. Somebody give this man a pill. I don’t care what kind. Just give him a pill and send him out the door.
Things that make you go “Sheeesh!”.
He’s saying that Apple won’t sell very many phones. Correct if I’m wrong. But, isn’t Apple only shooting for 1% of the market? which happens to be 10 million phones. Correct me again. Didn’t MS say that the strategy for Zune was to take a SMALL chunk of iPod? He’s condemning Apple for basically the same strategy they themselves implemented.
He also said ‘uh’ a lot which means he’s shooting from the hip.
I just love watching Steve Ballmer speak, especially his large head otherwise known as the Dome of Solitude.
It took me 1 minute to find a whole list of phones that cost more than the iPhone:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6452_7-0.html?filter=100021_14573797_
Ballmer either didn’t see the iPhone presentation or he’s clearly in denial.
Ballmer – what a maroon. (Not a typo, that’s a Bug’s Bunny reference.)
you ignorant apple people are all the same…all fruits.
he said “$500 fully subsidized” is the most expensive phone ever; maybe, now-just maybe alluding to the fact that maybe the phone is more than $500…?
also, the iphone doesn’t have a keyboard; it has a touch screen that functions as a keyboard…the devil is in the details.
use some logic while constructing your argument, wicked zealots…
Ballmer: Biggest tool I have ever seen in my life.
a fully subsidized moto razr and slvr and krzr when released cost 300+dollars and thjey are just phones!
a FULLY subsidized Palm costs 399, and thats not the treo 750 that the 650(or on ballmer terms the old one), the moto Q when released cost $500 FULLY subsidized it has been out for about a year now and costs have been recovered.
“the most expensive phone ever in the marketplace” i dont think so, my blackberry 7100t (RIP) cost 499 with a contract extension from t-mobile in 2005. so fuck off
i thought he looked nervous in the interview.
I tried to think of something really erudite to write in response to Microsoft’s Ballerisms, but the only thing that came to mind was “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”
someone remind me..when exactly was Zune getting traction? i don’t seem to recall that..
I know, put a couple of those Zune bricks on the bottom of your boots on a snowy winter day and you’ll get some great traction!