Microsoft launches Kin phones for youth market
SAN FRANCISCO, April 12 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>
launched two new phones aimed at young people on Monday,
marking a fresh assault on the low end of the growing
smartphone market, where BlackBerry maker Research in Motion
Ltd <RIM.TO> and Apple Inc <AAPL.O> now dominate.
The software company’s first foray into designing its own
phones comes six months before it rolls out its new Windows
software for phones made by handset makers HTC Corp <2498.TW>,
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> and others, which should
be a more direct challenge to Apple’s iPhone and Google Inc’s
<GOOG.O> Android phones.
Tech earnings look strong, but may not satisfy
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Investors are expecting strong quarterly results from major U.S. technology companies over the next few weeks, but a stronger dollar and elevated expectations could mute any effects on stocks.
Tech spending is beginning to creep back, and companies and analysts alike are predicting a new cycle of serious hardware and software buying for the second half of this year.
Microsoft’s latest phone experiment
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp will show off its latest mobile phones on Monday, but don’t expect a direct rival to the iPhone.
The world’s largest software company is trying a new tack in the hotly contested arena with its long-awaited “Project Pink” devices.
U.S. court rejects Microsoft patent case appeal
SEATTLE, April 1 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court denied
on Thursday Microsoft Corp’s <MSFT.O> request that a full panel
of judges rehear arguments in its long-running patent dispute
with a small Canadian technology company.
The decision is a blow to the world’s largest software
maker, which has been embroiled in a dispute with Toronto-based
i4i Ltd over a feature in Microsoft’s Word application for more
than three years.
Yahoo concerned about search share slipping (video)
Yahoo’s share of the online search market has been sliding gently since Microsoft introduced its revamped Bing last June. It’s something of a concern for Yahoo, which has teamed up with Microsoft on search advertising in an attempt to rival market leader Google. But it risks becoming an also-ran in the fast-moving business.
During a visit to Yahoo’s Silicon Valley headquarters last week, search chief Shashi Seth admitted to some worries, but said his service can bounce back if it can come up with features to lure new traffic and entice the 600 million customers already using its portal and e-mail service to try its search product as well.
Microsoft may end up resorting to M&A in mobile
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The new Windows phone software is a big improvement on its predecessor but may not be enough to reverse market share losses, and Microsoft Corp may have to eventually buy a Nokia or BlackBerry maker RIM to get back into the game.
Apple Inc has raised the smartphone bar with its distinctive iPhone, and Google Inc is catching up fast with its Nexus One phone and Android mobile software.
Microsoft steps up search assault on Google
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp’s assault on search engine leader Google Inc took a major step forward on Thursday as U.S. and European regulators cleared the software company’s search partnership with Yahoo Inc.
The 10-year deal, struck last July, is the biggest effort yet by Microsoft to establish an online business to rival Google, an area where Microsoft has lost $5 billion over the last four years.
Microsoft’s Mehdi sees Bing in the black
Microsoft’s Bing search engine hasn’t put a dent in Google’s mastery of the market yet, but executive Yusuf Mehdi thinks it could do so soon, once the search ad partnership with Yahoo is completed.
Bing might even make some money eventually, he suggested in an interview today, once advertisers start to see it as a creditable alternative to Google.
Microsoft’s Bing will make money: executive
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp’s 10-month-old search engine Bing, which has struggled to make headway against Google, can be a viable runner-up and make money online eventually, according to one of its top executives.
The world’s biggest software company has lost more than $5 billion over the past four years trying to build an online business, but hopes to reverse that trend once it completes a search advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc.
Microsoft profit beats on strong Windows 7 sales
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp posted a bigger-than-expected 60 percent jump in quarterly profit, helped by strong sales of Windows 7, and said it expected business technology spending to recover this year.
The world’s biggest software maker said on Thursday that net profit came to $6.7 billion, or 74 cents per share, for its fiscal second quarter, versus $4.2 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year ago.
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