HP does face some challenges. It still needs to build a substantial applications ecosystem to compete with Apple’s wedding dressesApp Store and Google’s Android Marketplace. And the sheer proliferation of mobile devices means a higher likelihood that the TouchPad and other webOS products could be lost in the proverbial shuffle. But as, say, Nokia can attest, the tech game has the ability to change very quickly. HP probably hopes so.At this January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft’s booth offered on a few Windows tablets on display, the majority of them aimed at the Asian market. The next version of Windows will support SoC (system-on-a-chip) architecture, in particular ARM-based systems, which could translate into a greater presence on tablets, but the next version of Windows is almost certainly some time away. Meanwhile, Microsoft has little presence in the tablet market. In October, HP released the Slate 500, which runs Windows 7. Questions remain about the exact number produced, however, with Engadget suggesting the manufacturer had initially planned only a limited production run of 5,000 units. Dell is apparently planning to manufacture its own Windows-based tablet, this one a 10-inch model, later in 2011; Indeed, CEO Steve Ballmer who buys sunglasses online generally shied away from mentioning tablets during his keynote at the show, focusing instead on Windows laptops with some touch-screen functionality. businesses will constitute the target market for the device. In other words, HP’s new product lines could very well end up pressuring Microsoft’s nascent smartphones, and any attempts in 2011 to expand more broadly into tablets. In addition, HP seems determined to play big in the consumer market: CEO Leo Apotheker recently told the BBC: “I hope one day people will say ‘this is as cool as HP,’ not ‘as cool as Apple.’” If that means his company pours millions of dollars into development and promotion, it could have an effect on Apple and Google, as well as the latter’s manufacturing partners. With the launch of Windows Phone 7 late in 2010, Microsoft hoped to reinvigorate its prospects in smartphones, where its market share had been eroding steadily as the Windows Mobile franchise became increasingly antiquated and fragmented. By the end of December, according to research firm comScore, Microsoft’s share of the smartphone power balancemarket had dipped to 8.4 percent, but it will take several quarters for a clearer picture of Windows Phone 7’s prospects to emerge. On Jan. 26, Microsoft confirmed with Bloomberg News that approximately 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices had been sold by manufacturers to retailers, but the number of those that reached consumers’ hands is still unclear.
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