Tag: ipod

Timing Is Everything: How Microsoft Missed the Smartphone Bus


A casual chat with a friend the other day took me down a rabbit hole while rewinding back and reliving one of tech history’s most fascinating timelines. The story of how timing made all the difference between winning, losing, and completely missing the bus.

I still remember the smirk on Steve Ballmer’s face in 2007 when the iPhone launched. To him, it was just an expensive toy. A year later, Google entered with Android. And Microsoft? They were still busy somewhere else, only to turn up with Windows Phone in 2010 — three years late to a party where the dance floor was already full.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such a script. Back in 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh — revolutionary but pricey. Bill Gates spotted the gap, came in with Windows in 1985, and paired it with cheap IBM clones. Result? Windows ruled the PC world and nearly crushed Apple in the 90s.

Fast forward to the 2000s, and Steve Jobs repeated his own version of that play — starting with the iPod in 2001, owning the premium music device space, and then morphing it into the iPhone in 2007. Jobs’ brilliance was not just in the product; it was in seeing the inevitable convergence of phone + internet + entertainment before anyone else dared to bet big.

While Apple went after the premium market, the bottom of the pyramid was wide open. And here’s where Google showed killer instinct. They didn’t just copy Apple — they democratized the smartphone by making Android “free” for manufacturers. Suddenly, a web-enabled smartphone wasn’t a luxury; it was the cheaper alternative to owning a PC. Billions could now get online without ever buying a desktop.

Microsoft, in contrast, was still dealing with Vista headaches, chasing corporate server business, and nursing its Zune player. By the time they realized smartphones weren’t “just another niche gadget,” the app stores were already overflowing — for iOS and Android. Developers saw no reason to build for an OS with no users, and Windows Phone faded into irrelevance, officially bowing out in 2017.

Lesson? In business, being late is often worse than being wrong. Apple owned the top, Google owned the bottom, and Microsoft… well, they just owned the regret.

Out of Stock


Day before Yesterday we(myself & swami) were told by one of our Sales folks that there is an offer running for iPhone 3G for Rs.9999/- from Aircel… For long we wanted to buy an iPhone to our Mobile Development Labs… There was an option online to make a booking but the catch is it will take 13 business days to get the phone… We were too impatient that we decided to goto Aircel store the next day and buy it…

Then immediately the next day after 2 – 3 hours of sleep we ventured out on the rains to the Aircel store near Little Mount, Chennai to buy our own iPhone… Upon reaching there it was we who had to tell the folks about the offer which was running… Then the Customer Support attendant made some calls and came back telling they were running out of stock and we had to wait for a week…

Since we decided to buy the phone we were disappointed and we immediately decided to buy an iPod Touch at-least… So, from Little Mount we immediately decided to goto Apple Store near Radhakrishnan Road… After getting drenched on rain and overcoming traffic jams we reached the store only to know that even iPod Touch was out of stock…

Then we went to ezone which is near Mylapore and again they were running out of stock… By this time we became very desperate and we decided that we are going back to office only after buying the gadget… From there we went to Landmark in CitiCentre and again they were running out of stock…

Next choice we had was to goto Chroma near Anna Salai and while coming out there was a small gadget store on the ground floor in CitiCentre and we though of giving it a shot and to our surprise he has some 10 units of iPod touch and we immediately grabbed one… After all this struggle we finally felt like winning something as we had to struggle to deserve one…

After iPad, MacBook, Android Gingerbread & Android IceCream Sandwitch we have added iPod touch which is an alternate to test iPhone apps…

Living with zero cash


Exactly on 25th January all my liquid cash has exhausted. This is because;

  • Of under performance during the month of December and kudos to X’Mas & New Year.
  • New Year bash expenditure.
  • Pongal holidays drained some liquidity as i watched two movies for pongal & i drove a lot.
  • As per my new year resolution i brought a iPod shuffle.
  • Brought some Golf Gears.
  • Saarang IIT cultural had suck some money.

All the above mentioned reasons were addition to my weekend parties, traveling & movie watch. You all can wonder how i managed to live for last one week??

Courtesy to credit cards. I’ve been traveling places without a single rupee and still enjoying to the core… Living without money and passing time is one of the best experiences i’ve ever come across.