Microsoft will be marketing and selling Windows Phone 7 and tablets like crazy
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has told analysts that there's no contingency plan if Windows Phone 7 fails to get out of the blocks running the OS, in his own words, will be a success.
Whether a sign of over confidence or simply a result of increasing interest in the platform, Ballmer's comments came as part of an event hosted at the firm's headquarters in Redmond designed to push Windows Phone 7 and forthcoming Windows 7 tablets.
These two areas of Microsoft's business appear intrinsically linked, with Ballmer billing their combination as a dual strategy to take down Apple and Android in the coming years.
Eyes on iPad
Indeed, the success Apple has enjoyed with iPhone and iPad appears to be weighing heavy on Ballmer's mind.
"They've certainly sold more than Id like them to have sold," he said of iPad's success so far, adding that Microsoft is working on a series of Intel chip powered tablets with OEMs to pitch itself directly against Apple's device.
"We've got to push right now with our hardware partners. They (the new devices) will be shipping as soon as they are ready. It's job no. 1 urgency around here. Nobody's sleeping at the switch."
Willing on Windows
Further along development wise is Windows Phone 7, with Ballmer not for the first time admitting its release follows years of neglect from Microsoft in the mobile arena.
"It's probably fair to say we've got a lot of work to do. It isn't all going to happen overnight."
Microsoft isn't expecting the market to simply come running, however. Ballmer says both Windows Phone 7 and any slew of Windows 7 tablets will be marketed aggressively by the firm, with its aim pointed directly at both Apple and Google.
"We're coming full guns," he stated.
"We're going to sell like crazy; we're going to market like crazy."
[source: Reuters]