October 28, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple chief Tim Cook on Thursday branded the new Microsoft tablet "compromised" as his company's coffers swelled due to soaring sales of iPads and iPhones.
October 28, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple chief Tim Cook on Thursday branded the new Microsoft tablet "compromised" as his company's coffers swelled due to soaring sales of iPads and iPhones.
Cook gave his early impression of Microsoft's Surface during a conference call to discuss Apple's earnings report — profit of $8.2 billion last quarter on revenue of $36 billion.
"I haven't personally played with the Surface yet but what we are reading about it is that it is a fairly compromised, confusing product," Cook said.
"I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats but I don't think it would do all of those things very well."
He expressed confidence that buyers will prefer iPads.
The California-based company said that it sold 26.9 million iPhones and 14 million iPads in the recently ended quarter, topping sales in the same period last year by 58 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
The earnings however fell short of Wall Street expectations, and Apple shares were down slightly to $609.25 in after-market trades.
China remained a hot spot for Apple, with revenue there up 26 percent in the quarter and the iPhone 5 to be released there in December, according to Cook.
"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results," said Cook.
"We're entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline."
Apple on Friday will begin taking orders for its iPad mini models unveiled this week at a media event in Silicon Valley.
The same day, Microsoft will launch Surface tablets along with a new-generation Windows operating system crafted to bring together smartphones, desktop computers, laptops and tablets in multi-screen lifestyles.
The iPad mini's touchscreen measures 7.9 inches (20 centimeters) diagonally compared to 9.7 inches on the original iPad.
A 16-gigabyte version of the iPad mini with Wi-Fi connectivity costs $329, while a 16GB model with both Wi-Fi and cellular capability costs $459.
Courtesy: ET
