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Microsoft Marketing Department May Be Shaken Up Soon

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:56:51 +0000

Microsoft Corporation is planning to restructure their marketing operations, which may lead to hundreds of job cuts. The plans may be shifted according to sources with Bloomberg. When the marketing operations shift, overlaps in job responsibilities are expected to be eliminated.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly believes that the company is not getting enough return on the billions of dollars that they are spending annually on marketing. Microsoft chief marketing officer Chris Capossela is expected to be leading the reviews. Capossela is expected to be working with each of Microsoft’s business groups such as Yusuf Mehdi of the Xbox division and Tami Reller of the Windows team.

Some of the more technical marketing employees may be moved over to engineering groups. Microsoft has spent about $13.9 billion on sales and marketing in 2011, which ended on June 30 and is up 5.5% from the previous year.

Morgan Stanley: Nokia Could Potentially Sell 37 Million Units In 2012 [REPORT]

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:45:17 +0000

The year 2011 has not been a great year for Windows Phone, but 2012 may be different. Now there is a decent selection of Windows Phone devices that are out there, including the Nokia Lumia 900. Morgan Stanley is expecting shipment of Nokia’s new Windows-based devices to hit about 37 million units in 2012 and 64 million in 2013.

When you include HTC Windows Phone handsets, about 43 million handsets total powered by Windows Phones could be shipped this year and 74 million the year after. These are numbers from just two OEMs.

“We’ve got a lot of room to go in selling Windows Phones,” stated Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). “But I feel very much like the work we’re doing is really going to pay off.”

Windows Phone President Andy Lees Being Moved To Another Division Within The Company

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:50:25 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is moving the current head of the Windows Phone division Andy Lees to another role within the company. Microsoft corporate VP Terry Myerson will fill in for Lees. Currently Myerson leads the engineering division of Microsoft Windows Phone and now he will be responsible for business development, marketing, etc.

Lees headed the Windows Phone division for over 3 years. He will still continue to report to CEO Steve Ballmer. Lees will oversee Microsoft’s software being rolled into multiple devices such as phones, tablets, and PCs.

“I have asked Andy Lees to move to a new role working for me on a time-critical opportunity focused on driving maximum impact in 2012 with Windows Phone and Windows 8,” stated Ballmer in an internal memo. “We have tremendous potential with Windows Phone and Windows 8, and this move sets us up to really deliver against that potential.”

[AllThingsD]

Microsoft Office 15 Beta Suite Expected To Arrive In January

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:14:14 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is expected to launch the first beta of Office 15 in January according to WinRumors. Microsoft Office 15 is currently the code-name for the next version of Office. It is expected to be showcased at CES 2012 alongside Windows 8 beta.

Microsoft has redesigned the look and feel of Microsoft Office, including Outlook. The idea is to make their software usable by pen and mouse. Microsoft prepared a tile-based “Metro” user interface code-named Moorea too. This makes it easier for users to navigate to documents and pictures. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer himself confirmed that the new Office will feature a Metro style this past September.

[WinRumors]

Microsoft Closes Acquisition Of Skype

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:28:06 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has officially closed the acquisition of Skype Global S.à r.l for $8.5 billion. The board of directors at Microsoft and Skype previously approved the acquisition.

Microsoft and Skype plans on sharing a goal of keeping people connected across multiple devices. Skype will be a new business division within Microsoft.

“Skype is a phenomenal product and brand that is loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world,” stated Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “We look forward to working with the Skype team to create new ways for people to stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues — anytime, anywhere.”

Skype will also be integrated across an array of Microsoft products. Skype’s employees will continue to be located in offices in Estonia, Russia, Czech Republic, the U.K., Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the U.S.

Analyst: HTC Pays Microsoft $5 For Every Android Phone That They Sell

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:35:17 +0000

[click image to enlarge]

It appears that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has an interest in Google Android doing well too. According to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, Microsoft receives $5 for every HTC Android phone that is sold as part of a patent settlement.

Microsoft is also suing other Android phone companies and they are seeking to receive $7.50 to $12.50 per device. “Android has a patent fee. It’s not like Android’s free,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer this past October. Pritchard indicated that more legal activity will pick up against Android as Google has “very little IP to defend itself with.” Check out the above photo to see how many lawsuits revolve around Android.

[BusinessInsider]

Steve Ballmer Says Over 500 New Features Will Be In Windows Phone 7 Update

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:33:51 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said that there will 500 new features on the Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 operating system at the Microsoft Developers Forum 2011. Windows Phone 7.5 has the code-name Mango, which is the software that Nokia plans on using on their smartphones.

“Not only is a new release that is now much more global, but we’ve added over 500 new features to Windows Phones. We have a big launch event to talk about the new release of Windows Phone tomorrow so that information will be forthcoming, including some of the particulars about who is going to be building Windows Phones and which carriers will be offering them here in Japan. But we are pushing a different approach to user interface design. An approach in which literally right on the home screen of the Windows Phone, you the developer can provide integrated experiences across your own and third party applications that are alive and vibrant and real-time for our joined customers,” said Ballmer at the event.

Confirmed: Microsoft To Acquire Skype For $8.5 Billion

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:59:00 +0000

It has been confirmed that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is acquiring Skype for $8.5 billion in cash from major shareholder Silver Lake. The Microsoft and Skype board of directors has approved of the deal. As of the end of 2010, Skype had 170 million users and accounted for 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations.

Skype will be integrated into Xbox, Kinect, and Windows Phone devices in the near future. Microsoft will also connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, and Xbox Live.

“Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world,” stated Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world.”

Skype will be rolled into its own business division within Microsoft. Skype CEO Tony Bates will become President of the Microsoft Skype division and will report directly to Ballmer.

[Microsoft Press Release]

Microsoft Partners With RIM To Make Bing.com Default BlackBerry Search Engine

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:05:04 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced a new partnership with Research In Motion Limited (TSE:RIM). The partnership was announced at a conference held by RIM. The Bing.com search engine and Bing Maps will now be the default providers for BlackBerry devices on their operating systems. Microsoft said that they will also “uniquely” invest in BlackBerry services. [BusinessInsider]

Microsoft and Facebook Lawyers Duke It Out Over Carolyn Everson Hire

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:15:56 +0000

According to a source with AllThingsD, the lawyers at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Facebook are duking it out over the hiring of Carolyn Everson. Everson was the global ad sales head and was hired as the VP of global sales at Facebook. Microsoft is considering blocking Everson from using any strategic information she learned while at Microsoft or from contact certain ad client companies on behalf of Facebook.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is rumored to be behind the push for the legal blocks. Microsoft is a strong partner and a large investor in Facebook. Facebook did not notify Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about the hiring beforehand as a warning either. Everson is replacing Mike Murphy and will be reporting to VP of Advertising and Global Operations David Fischer.