[Windows RT General] e.mote:
>Apple's stock price is diving, but they're still bringing in great profits because, as you mention, they have very high margins. Samsung is the only Android vender making an amount within the same order of magnitude from Android that Apple is from iOS.

Apple won't go to the poorhouse. It will still command the highest margin for its products, because of its brand strength, customer loyalty, and product quality. But there is no denying of the ever-rising competition which has the one ace that Apple doesn't: ecosystem diversity--different products for different wants, at different price points. Apple, no matter how good it is, can't cater to everyone by its lonesome self.

We've seen this before. It's a reprise of the old Windows-vs-Mac play. As happened with Macs, iProducts will retain their premium niche, but it will become that, a niche. This is what MS is striving for, to become Apple. But instead of coming out with hit products, MS' "innovation" is by pushing "services" (read: software subscriptions).

Comparing individual vendors to Apple is the usual strawman in the Apple-versus fanfare. It's ignorant of the fact that Android's (and Windows') strength stems from the whole eco, and not from any particular vendor.

>As a side note, MSFT is down about 12% from where they were 12 months ago, which isn't good... but they're also *up* 8% over the last three months (during all which time Win8 has been out), and the trend is definitely positive.

Investors are more on the ball than you think, and Windows 8's impact was priced into the stock much earlier than its official release date--probably as soon as the feature-frozen CP release, when folks got a good look at Win8's direction and the user reaction to it.

BTW, a 3-month change doesn't a trend make. It's called a fluctuation. MS stock has mostly flatlined for the past millenium or two. If Blue can't make the grade for this last-chance stand, even flat would be optimistic. More likely is that we'll see the wholesale ouster of MS management, starting with Ballmer. 2014 isn't too far away.

>Do you have any studies that support your claim that Android malware hasn't hurt the platform?

That's not how it works. You bring up the claim (that malware affects Android adoption), you provide the support. As you said, anecdotal reports != data.

This isn't to say that Android is all roses and song. All platforms have their issues. You mentioned piracy, but that affects all platforms, albeit to varying degree. For Android, the largest impediment to mainstream adoption is spotty and tardy OS update, which is vendor-dependent. The second largest issue, IMO, is how Goog can breach the desktop, since unlike Apple/MS, it has no desktop OS. Chrome OS is a non-starter. Goog will need to solve these before long. Perhaps the change in Android's leadership is for this purpose.

For this year, the living room looks to be the next battle. MS will bring XBox 720 with greater integration, Apple should do the same with iTV, and Goog has made noises about Miracast capability w/ its 4.2 release.

>As for Windows malware not affecting its market share (and those of its competitors), Apple and their marketing department would beg to differ with you there

Seriously? Have we reached so low that we're now quoting marketing flacks? Was fun while it lasted, eh?