Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer continued his anti-Apple press campaign in a recent interview published by USA Today. Responding to a question about passionate Apple customers, Ballmer jokes about Windows/Mac market share numbers and goes on to say that there is “no chance” the iPhone will gain traction. Ballmer also said the game isn’t over when it comes to portable media players.
“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance,” Ballmer said. “It’s a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I’d prefer to have our software in 60% or 70% or 80% of them, than I would to have 2% or 3%, which is what Apple might get.”
“In the case of music, Apple got out early,” Ballmer continued. “They were the first to really recognize that you couldn’t just think about the device and all the pieces separately. Bravo. Credit that to Steve (Jobs) and Apple. They did a nice job. But it’s not like we’re at the end of the line of innovation that’s going to come in the way people listen to music, watch videos, etc. I’ll bet our ads will be less edgy. But my 85-year-old uncle probably will never own an iPod, and I hope we’ll get him to own a Zune.”