Quote:
Originally Posted by WatchAdam
But I wonder if the Pro version will be more than I want to spend...
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My preferences aside, when it comes to Microsoft positions in this "battle of the tablets", I think that it is fair to say that they operate under:
- direct price pressure from Apple. Apple software infrastructure is not cheap, but it comes bundled in the price of the complete system. Whatever Microsoft does, they have to be very sensitive to the end price of tablets that will be offered by Samsungs and Nokias of this world. At first, the price tag of ARM Win8 has to be low.
- conceptual competition with Android. Unlike Apple, which is not offering a platform to third parties, Android does.
If I am not mistaken, Microsoft is betting that apps availability in this stage of the game is a direct confrontation with the Google(and allies). If and when they succeed in replacing Google as a "number 2", they can then hope to challenge Apple positions. But they can not go after Apple until that position is secured, they need to line up majority of hardware manufacturers behind them first, broadening the hardware variety (and pricing) for the complete systems running Win8.