Thursday, May 09, 2013

I Didn't Know Bill Gates Was Psychic

It's been a long time since I actually found myself laughing out loud while reading the news, but that's exactly what happened (more than once) when I stumbled across an article in The Guardian yesterday.

The article was entitled "Bill Gates Predicts iPad And Android Users Will Switch To PC Tablets" and went on to describe how Gates believes that the future of mobile computing will be shaped by Microsoft Corporation (MSFT). According to the article, Gates predicts that future mobile electronic device sales will predominantly consist of PC-tablet hybrids, namely his company's Surface and Surface Pro.

In the midst of a few more chuckles, some eye rolling, and never-ending head shaking, I managed to finish the article. Does Gates really believe that his company's Windows 8 tablets will suddenly take off in popularity and surpass the public's current preference for Androids and iPads? Gates described Windows 8 as "revolutionary" because it's Microsoft's attempt at furthering the evolution of computing by combining the more desirable features of tablets and smartphones with those of the traditional PC.

While that surely sounds like an intelligent concept, however vague it might be, the fact still stands that from a sales perspective, Windows-powered phones and tablets just aren't as popular or versatile as Google's Android devices or Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iDevices.