Ballmer: ‘Apple Sold More iPads Than I’d Like Them to Sell’

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave Apple a left-handed compliment Thursday, telling analysts the Cupertino, Calif company has “sold more than I’d like them to sell. We think about that.”

But Ballmer, who in 2009 infamously described Apple increasing Mac sales as a “rounding error” implied there is room for more players in the tablet market. Referring to the iPad, the Microsoft executive said “I don’t think there is one size fits all,” according to a transcript by Business Insider. “I’ve been to too many meetings with journalists who spent the first 10 minutes of the meetings setting up iPad to look like a laptop,” he added.

And just where is Microsoft when it comes to tablets? “We’re invested in touch, in ink. Mark up annotation, you see us try to bring it together to deliver slates and convertibles people will be exited about,” Ballmer said. A tablet “has job one urgency aound here, nobody’s sleeping at this point,” the exec said.

Is there a timeline? The software giant which recently canceled its Courier tablet could only promise it “will be shipping as as soon as they are ready.”

[AppleInsider]

DON'T MISS
Is the iPad the First Kneetop?

12 comments »

About the author

Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by Ed Sutherland.

Posted in News |

sangony
Balmer never stops amazing me. Every time I think he’s said the dumbest thing ever, he comes up with yet another brainless remark. Good thing I sold my MSFT stock when Bill retired.
Gizmoe
LOL @sangomy. Why does it seem like Ballmer is the last person to know anything in Micrsoft? Senile? LMAO. Added note: that has to be the funniest picture of him. LOL
Me
This guy represents the perfect example of a completely incompetent, under-visioned, unprepared and under-skilled human being who, was UNBELIEVABLY LUCKY to end up being the CEO of a multimillionaire corporation.
I wonder what was Bill Gates thinking… This guy can only still be Microsoft’s CEO because MSFT still has plenty money to loose. If he’d be the CEO of a small company, they’d already be ruined long time ago, and he’d now be selling hotdogs on a street cart. Or perhaps having his 5 minute fame doing Shamwow TV commercials.
No offense, jut my humble realistic cold analysis.
Gizmoe
♫ Get on your feet ♫ LMAO, priceless moment in technology history. In history period.
http://www.fuzzypig.com Fuzzy
Ballmer is a dinosaur. He’s a brash, used car salesman type who’s managed to sneak into the position of CEO by sheer luck. When MS was all “Kill the opposition! Dominate at any cost!” he was probably the righ guy, but to make it these days consumers aren’t quite so stupid. You need to be very clever to sell someone something they never knew they needed, Ballmer can’t do that. All Ballmer knows how to do is shout, shout and shout some more until he thinks people are listening. Most people in tech think he’s a buffoon and an embarrasing reminder of MS’s past glories.
http://tekunoloji.com Ballmer Schmidt Jobs
Why don’t people ever understand that the courier as far as we ge public know it was always just a concept. We have no proof that it ever even moved beyond the conceptual phase of design.
Just because J Allard left microsoft doesn’t mean it was real either.
Max D
Sweaty ol’ Ballmer wants Apple to die. Good luck, douchebag.
steven
Hes gonna get ousted sooner or later..whenever these Microsofties grow some balls and shit can his ass. They’ve gotta seen the lack of vision in this guy.
I mean..look at him.
Alex
Steve Ballmer = Gil Amelio
RickY
I just love how during in each his speeches he’s pulls off the act where he’s got such high confidence when he knows MSFT screwed and theres nothing they can do about it. Its like he doesn’t want to accept the fact their not #1 and there are other companies who are just “generally” better.
To me, i see nothing but propaganda. The MSFT era has ended – over time they’ve lost their touch as life goes on and other companies will take you over. There’s too much enthusiasm in B’s speeches – he’s such a dork.
Microsoft should either scrap his salary or him period. Just look at him. His face and the title CEO do not go together.
imajoebob
I’d bet the dog that MS comes out with Office for iPad before anybody comes out with a successful Windows-based tablet.
All this Ballmer bashing is a little extreme. He’s not a complete idiot. My impression is that Ballmer is the classic junior partner when it comes to running a business. Bill had the ideas, Steve knew how to get it done. And he was pretty ruthless, which is not necessarily a bad thing. To compound the loss of Gates, most of their ideas were knowing which innovations to steal from somebody else. Now Ballmer is left without anybody telling him what to steal, so he’s just trying to drive the bus without a map or even a destination.
Ballmer was the guy Microsoft needed when they were the predator, but now that they’re the prey he’s at a disadvantage.
http://thebigappleblog.com David
Maybe Apple wouldn’t have sold as many iPads if Microsoft didn’t scrap the Courier. Ballmer says he is completely committed to a windows based tablet and that it is a high priority yet he allowed the company to scrap such a beautiful and exciting device. No matter what tablet Microsoft releases I will compare it to the Courier.