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Boisterous Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has given us many entertaining moments over the years. At the Web 2.0 Summit earlier this week, he once again entertained with his comments, calling the Android OS so complicated only computer scientists could use it.
Typical Ballmer
Whilst some CEOs are the quiet type, Steve Ballmer is just the opposite. His wild and goofy antics, like repeatedly chanting the word developers, have already become the thing of YouTube legend. He is definitely known for speaking his mind and sometimes Ballmer’s statements, like the one chiding the iPhone for being too expensive when it came out, come back to haunt him.
iPhone vs. Windows Phone
During his interview at the Web 2.0 conference, Steve was asked to give reasons why someone should buy a Windows Phone smartphone instead of an iPhone. Ballmer was full of praise for the Apple iPhone, but claimed WP 7.5 offers a few advantages, such as making important information or services like Bing, with its tiles UI, easily accessible on the home screen.
Android vs. Windows Phone
Ballmer was then asked the same question about Android, and basically scoffed at it, saying “You don’t need to be a computer scientist to use a Windows phone and you do to use an Android phone” (the remark starts at 20:59 in the video below). Steve would go on to say he isn’t at all excited about Google’s OS and that the only good about Android phones is that they’re cheap. Predictedly, Ballmer’s brash comments unleashed an outpouring of furor across the Android fanbase.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Market share speaks volumes
The obvious rebuttal to Ballmer’s statement would be the fact that Android currently enjoys 190 million users, or around 50% of the world’s total smartphone market share. Windows Phone, meanwhile, can lay claim to only around 3% at best, with less WP phones sold recently than the previous year.
Is Android only for nerds?
Can all 190 million Android users be computer scientists? No, obviously. In fact, Android can count complete non-techies, from the elderly to children (some as young as 2 years old), among its many users. Obviously doing something complicated like rooting your Android phone takes some technical know-how, but simply using the operating system’s day to day features can be accomplished by most anyone.
Google fighting stereotypes
With that said, Google itself in the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is fighting the stereotype that its mobile OS is only for nerdy techies. The head of Android’s UX, for instance, wants to make the latest Android smartphones for everyone, not just a certain nerd or hipster demographic. He also wants users to connect with the devices on an emotional level in a way that they previously did not, as some of Google’s own studies had revealed.
Nokia WP phones upcoming
In addition to sparking controversy with his comments, Steve Ballmer also revealed that Nokia would finally unveil its first Windows Phone smartphones next week at the Nokia World event on October 26th. Nokia has obviously been in a precipitous decline over the past few years from its previous height as the world’s top mobile phone manufacturer. The Finnish company’s WP7.5 smartphone models are seen as Nokia’s last ditch attempt at relevance.
Pivotal time for Microsoft
The situation is similar with Microsoft as well, since the success or failure of Nokia WP7.5 phones could really determine the plight of the entire MS mobile OS. Indeed, this upcoming holiday season, which will see Microsoft’s WP Mango smartphones go up against Apple and Android heavyweights, will really help determine whether Ballmer comes to regret his latest incendiary remarks.