Windows Phone boss ‘flattered’ by Android 4.0 copycat features

Microsoft’s head of Windows Phone Andy Lees recently said he was flattered by parts of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that appear to mimic features of Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango). “It’s always flattering when someone starts copying you ,” Lees told CNETAsia. Perhaps one of the most noticeable similarities is Android’s new ‘People’ feature, which provides a snapshot of any contact’s social network status — it is nearly identical to what Windows Phone 7.5 offers with “People Hub.” Read on for more.

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Microsoft reports best-ever Q1 results; revenue hits $17.37 billion

Microsoft announced its fiscal first-quarter 2012 earnings on Thursday, the best first quarter the company has ever recorded. The Redmond-based software giant reported revenue of $17.37 billion, up 7% from the first quarter of 2011 and on a par with analyst estimates of $17.26 billion. Operating income for the quarter was $7.2 billion, up 1% from the same quarter last year and net income was $5.74 billion, or $0.68 per share, up 6% from the first quarter of 2011. “We saw customer demand across the breadth of our products, resulting in record first-quarter revenue and another quarter of solid EPS growth,” said Microsoft CFO Peter Klein. “Our product portfolio is performing well, and we’ve got an impressive pipeline of products and services that positions us well for future growth.” Microsoft’s Business division reported $5.62 billion in revenue, up 8% from the same period last year and above analyst estimates of $5.4 billion. The company’s Server & Tools team reported $4.25 billion in revenue, up 10% from last year’s first quarter and a hair below analyst expectations of $4.3 billion. Its Windows and Windows Live Division reported a revenue increase of 2% up to $4.87 billion. In addition, Microsoft said it has now sold 450 million Windows 7 licenses since the platform’s launch. Read on for the full press release from Microsoft. 

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Dell CEO: Android cannot compete with the iPad on tablets, Windows 8 has best shot

Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., said on Tuesday that Android tablets have failed to gain significant traction in a market dominated by Apple’s iPad, and that Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 platform has a good chance of achieving better sales. Mirroring the sentiments of countless pundits, Dell says the tablet market today is basically an iPad market, and that Apple’s competitors have failed to offer a compelling alternative at this point. ”If you look at the tablet market, you have to say right now it’s an iPad market,” Dell said while speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit on Tuesday. “The Android stuff has not done fantastically well, I think I’m being fair. Microsoft has a pretty good shot with Windows 8, we’re pretty excited with what they’re doing.” Michael Dell said this past April that sales of Android tablets would overtake iPad sales just as sales of Android smartphones have surpassed the iPhone. The company’s Android-powered Streak tablet has not been a hot seller for the computer maker however, and now it appears as though any future plans for new Android tablets may be put on hold. Recent reports suggest Dell may release is first round of Windows 8 tablets in the third quarter of 2012.

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Microsoft completes $8.5 billion Skype purchase

Microsoft announced on Friday that it has completed its $8.5 billion purchase of Skype. Skype will exist as a new division within Microsoft and Skype CEO Tony Bates will continue to serve as the head of the Skype team. In addition, Skype’s employees around the globe will remain in their current offices. Microsoft confirmed that it will work to integrate Skype into its existing products, but it did not specifically say which products or when that would begin to happen. “We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said. The acquisition is still pending completion in several other countries. Read on for the full press release.

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Microsoft smartphone share said to hit new low in Q2

One year following the launch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, a new analysis has determined that the Redmond, Washington-based company’s share of the global smartphone market recently hit a new low. According to analyst Horace Dediu, Microsoft’s partners sold 1.4 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2011. The figure, if accurate, would represent roughly 1.3% of smartphones sold in the quarter — Microsoft’s lowest recorded share to date. Gartner estimates that Microsoft partners sold 1.7 million Windows Phones during the same period for a 1.6% share of the market. Read on for more.

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Larry Page: "We’re serious about protecting the Android ecosystem."

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Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers chewing away at IE market share

A new research report from Chitika Insights suggests Chrome, Firefox and Safari are eating away at Microsoft’s dominant share of the web browser market. Internet Explorer’s overall share dropped from 56% in July to 54% in August while Firefox’s market share increased from 19% to 20% and Safari’s share grew one point to 9%. Between July 2010 and July 2011, however, Microsoft’s browser share remained steady at 56%. Google’s Chrome web browser saw its share increase from 9% to 16% year-over-year at the expense of Firefox and Safari, which lost 5% and 1% of the market, respectively. Chitika said it expects Firefox’s share to increase as Mozilla continues to release frequent updates to its web browser. In addition, Internet Explorer’s share will “stabilize from its recent losses” when Microsoft releases Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10.

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Microsoft’s ‘Locationgate’ ends with Mango

Microsoft has updated its Windows Phone platform to address what is now presumed to have been a bug that caused phones to gather location data before a user opted in to such services. Windows Phone developer Rafael Rivera last week revealed that Microsoft’s mobile platform was exhibiting behavior that directly contradicted earlier claims the company made to the United States government. Microsoft’s new “Mango” update, however, appears to have remedied the matter. Read on for more.

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Microsoft to make $444 million annually from Android royalties, Goldman estimates

Microsoft mobile revenue continues to grow, though for the time being it seems as though the bulk of it is coming from Android. Goldman Sachs analysts on Thursday estimated that the software company will pull in approximately $444 million in fiscal 2012 from licensing deals made with various Android vendors such as HTC and Samsung, based on royalties of $3-$6 per Android device sold. Asymco’s Horace Dediu estimated in August that Microsoft took in approximately $21 million in revenue from Windows Phone licenses in the second quarter, and he believes the company earned roughly $60 million from Android royalties over the same period from HTC alone. With Samsung now paying Microsoft royalties along with HTC, Acer and other Android device vendors, Goldman Sachs’ estimate certainly seems feasible.

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Microsoft launches Bing Deals website

Microsoft announced and launched a new deals website on Friday tied to its growing Bing suite of services. Bing Deals is a shopping site that compiles specials from GroupOn, Target, LivingSocial, Nordstrom and others. “Instead of building another program, we’re harnessing deals from major providers and retailers,” said Bing senior director Lisa Gurry. Microsoft’s Bing Deals offers more than 200,000 specials across the United States and, as a deal aggregator, it should eliminate the need to sign up for email alerts from multiple coupon-based services. Just like competing options, Microsoft will offer daily specials that will be accessible from its desktop website located at http://bing.com/deals and from mobile devices.

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