Let me share a story. There was a time, around the first Surface launch, that I worked in an electronics retail store (and the several years prior — but I digress). At around that time, Microsoft was airing ads with people dancing around, clicking keyboards to the Surface tablet with its magnetic click or snap. One day, a customer came in looking for the keyboard from the TV spots for their iPad. I thought about it for a few seconds and realized how terrible Microsoft's branding actually was.
Without already knowing the existence of their Windows 8 and RT tablets, which the ads were supposed to convey, it really did look like an accessory for an iPad.
Doing Microsoft's job for them, I explained the Surface Pro and Surface RT tablets along with its keyboard-cover accessories. Eventually, I told them that it was a Microsoft product for their own tablet brand and would not see an iPad release. The company felt threatened by these mobile, touch devices and was directly competing with them.
…
So Microsoft is announcing a keyboard for Windows, Android, and iOS. Sure, it is very different from the Type and Touch Covers; for instance, it does not attach to these devices magnetically. Microsoft has also been known to develop hardware, software, and services for competing platforms. While it is not unsurprising that Microsoft keyboards would work on competing devices, it does feel weird for their keyboard to have features that are specialized for these competing platforms.
There are three things interesting about this keyboard: it has a built-in stand, it has special keys for Android and iOS that are not present in Windows, and it has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 6 months. The peripheral pairs wirelessly with all of these devices through Bluetooth.
The Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard is coming soon for $79.95 (MSRP).
Okay, the dancing and the
Okay, the dancing and the clicking was kinda stoopid as an ad. But I can’t see how you would mistake it for an accessory for an iPad. Likely the magic aura that the media gives to Apple was too much to overcome. What is Microsoft supposed to say in their ads – this is not an ipad and the accessories are not compatible with ipads…
Remember “mobile first, cloud first.” Microsoft is not Windows first any more.
M$ was both early to the
M$ was both early to the tablet market, and late to the tablet market, as its early attempts were abandoned, once M$ could not achieve high margins with the CE based tablet/other products. Apple being more successful at Tablets, and creating the first widely popular tablet, just got more of the “Mind Share” and the sheeples that go along with the popularity factor. Apple has that marketing to the faithful thing worked out down to the smallest detail, whereas M$ really is a sort of Bob the Ne’er-do-well at marketing. But really there is no difference between M$ store employees, and Apple store employees, they both have minimal knowledge, and their so called experts, well they certainly are not as knowledgeable as they were before the days when Radio Shack sold mostly electronics components for the hobbyists, I worked at an Apple store before every thing became corporate owned, and got the cookie cutter, lots of glass, minimalist design.
Apple is more like an Asimovian technological church, with only a select few, of the highest of the high priests, that are really knowledgeable of the true workings of the wondrous gewgaws and gadgets, and the rest are just operating on pure faith in the mysterious devices that they cannot comprehend, but use in there everyday lives.
edit: there everyday
to:
edit: there everyday
to: their everyday
This better be more well made
This better be more well made than their mice, I had one mouse that kept breaking every 3 months, kept bringing it back and getting a new one, I finally got one to last but the rubber grips started to come off, and it was just out of warranty. The selection of mice in the M$ store is terrible, just one low end, non Bluetrack, mouse and one too expensive Bluetooth mouse with the Bluetrack, really M$ Apple has a minimalist store, because it has a minimal variety of SKUs, at the least stock a basic Bluetrack WiFi mouse, and not so many of those deformed(track pad inbred with a 4 wood) shaped things.
In the city where I live, the office supply stores are all closing, and consolidating where the rents are lower in the outlying areas, and Radio Shack is about to go all Circuit City on us, the only stores left are going to be M$, and the Apple store, both in the high rent area. Maybe the phone stores will pick up some of the slack, and start selling computer mice, kind of picking up the slack once Radio Shack gives up the ghost, and the city is left without any electronics stores in the downtown area. Staples was the last office supply chain to pull up and leave, now it is a good train ride away, no more picking up printer ink on my way back from the grocery store.
There will always be ignorant
There will always be ignorant people to mistake things. Take Apple users, for example. Kidding aside, I don’t see how anyone can look at those ads and assume they’re Apple. They must be simple users who think all tablets are “ipads”.
The iPhone has a 50% markup
The iPhone has a 50% markup and nobody does Appl£ or Appl€ all of the time do they?
We got the joke with $ in MS 10 years ago, time to move on people. 🙂
The dollar sign “$” is for
The dollar sign “$” is for Monopoly, which on the desktop M$ still has a monopoly, and uses it to shove its UI cruft down third party hardware owners throats! While Apple only sales its OS with its hardware, and can be avoided by not purchasing Apple’s products. M$ uses its monopolistic stranglehold on the OEM’s to force its will, on these OEMs, by not allowing OS choice, and forcing a M$ Tax on the whole PC ecosystem by making OEMs bundle their PC/Laptops/etc., with a forced copy of M$’s software/OS, even if the user wishes to obtain a PC, etc. without a M$ OS. The $ holds true, and will remain as long as the practice is allowed to continue!