Tag Archives: goog

Chromebooks seen as ‘disruptive force’ in PC market

Personal computer sales fell last year, but one category, Chromebooks, is booming, much to Microsoft’s chagrin. Chromebooks, which run Google ‘s (GOOG) Chrome operating system, are a low-cost alternative to notebook PCs running Microsoft ‘s (MSFT) Windows OS. Chromebooks use Internet services such as Google Docs instead of running applications locally on the PC. They present a threat to Microsoft’s lucrative Windows and Office software franchises. In a report Tuesday, ABI Research said Chromebook shipments soared sevenfold to reach 2.1 million units worldwide in 2013 and should hit 11.3 million in 2019, for a compound annual growth rate of 28%. In 2012, 300,000 Chromebooks shipped. While just a small part of the overall market, Chromebooks are still taking away possible Windows PC sales. Chromebooks accounted for 1.3% of portable PC sales last year, but could be 6.6% of the market by 2019, ABI analyst Stephanie Van Vactor told IBD.  

Microsoft cuts cloud prices as competition intensifies

Not since the Rolling Stones first sang “Get Off Of My Cloud” have people been so protective of their clouds. Of course, today those clouds are of the Internet computing variety. On Monday afternoon, Microsoft (MSFT) slashed prices for its Azure cloud computing services to keep pace with price cuts last week by rivals Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google (GOOG). Microsoft’s price changes will take effect on May 1. “Consistent with our previously announced commitment to match Amazon (AMZN) on prices for commodity services, we are cutting prices on compute by up to 35% and storage by up to 65%,” Steven Martin, general manager for Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, said in a blog post. “We recognize that economics are a primary driver for some customers adopting cloud, and stand by our commitment to match prices and be best-in-class on price performance.” Price is one of three factors buyers of information technology should consider, Martin says…

Microsoft debuts Office for iPad, no longer ‘holding back’

Seven weeks into his tenure as Microsoft ‘s (MSFT) new CEO, Satya Nadella on Thursday showed there’s a new sheriff in town by introducing a version of Microsoft’s Office productivity software for Apple’s (AAPL) iPad tablets.  He also pledged to make Office available to consumers and professionals on a host of mobile devices. Microsoft is “absolutely committed” to making its applications run great cross-platform, Nadella said. “There’s no holding back of anything. It’s about being able to excel everywhere our customers are,” he said. It’s a strategic change for Microsoft, which previously reserved its Office software for its own mobile devices as a way to differentiate them from rival products. But with its Surface tablets badly trailing Apple and competitors using Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system in the tablet market, Microsoft changed course. Nadella outlined the company’s “mobile first, cloud first” strategy during his first public appearance as CEO…