Some questions just answer themselves, don’t they? (Don’t answer that.)
Writing for CNNMoney, Hibah Yousuf asks “Can Microsoft dethrone Apple?” (tip o’ the antlers to Tay Bass)
Hibah, please! Isn’t a better question whether or not Microsoft will do it by next Tuesday or next Wednesday?
Think the death of PCs will kill Microsoft too? Not so fast, says asset manager Cole Wilcox.
Wait until you hear what Microsoft’s sure-fire strategy for winning is. It’s a gigantic win sandwich fully of winny goodness.
Wilcox thinks Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) could reemerge as the most valuable company in the world, dethroning Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), over the next five years.
Five years? Oh, it should happen a lot faster than that. Heck, the Macalope heard Windows Phone is going to overtake Android by the end of the year.
Wilcox said too much is being made of the shift from PCs to tablets and other mobile devices.
All that crap about Microsoft’s business model being pulled out from under them, that’s just hot air. Everyone knows the new big trends are monolithic office suites and kickstands, two areas in which Microsoft is a leader.
He thinks Microsoft has a bright future due to its growing presence in cloud-based software platforms for big businesses.
Well, that’s not a bad business. It’s not the kind that makes you a pile of cash the size Apple’s sitting on, but it’s nice. If you like that kind of thing.
But here’s the APPLE KILLAH!
Wilcox said that Microsoft’s potential “game-changing” play could be so-called dual-boot devices, phones and tablets that can run both Microsoft’s Windows mobile platform and Google’s (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android.
BOOM. Take that, Apple, Google, Samsung, and possibly the Environmental Protection Agency for some reason!
OK, when, in the history of technology, has the ability to dual-boot made anything a “game-changer”? Dual-booting is, at best, a stop-gap solution. No one wants to dual boot in perpetuity.
Details are slim, but reports earlier this month suggested that that Microsoft has asked HTC to load Windows Phone as a second option on its Android-based smartphones. Microsoft is also said to be in talks with Samsung and Huawei to build dual-boot tablets.
Dual-boot 4evah! That’s a sure-fire winner. Who wouldn’t want that?
Wilcox is clearly in the minority.
“We are a minority but we will not be ignored! There are literally dozens of us … uh, well, there’s me. And my cat, Mr. Sniffins.”
After all, it’s still not clear who will replace Steve Ballmer as CEO.
Yeah, you’d think a little question like “Who the heck is Microsoft’s next CEO going to be?” might cloud the company’s future a tad. You’d think that because you’re not a Wall Street asset manager.