A Microsoft executive has finally confirmed what many commentators have been speculating on over the past few months, that the iPad has “cannibalized†the netbook market. The admission was made to Nick Eaton, author of Seattle Pi’s The Microsoft Blog, by Gavriella Schuster, general manager for Windows Product management.
Eaton reports that the discussion was primarily focused on what Schuster refers to as “and†devices, such as netbooks, tablets and smart phones, which are, generally speaking, not a replacement for desktop computers or laptops, but are used in addition to them.
In the interview, when talking about the success of the iPad and the launch of the first wave of Google Android tablets, Eaton asks Schuster if such tablets are having an effect on Window’s dominance of the netbook market (more than 90 percent of netbooks are powered by Windows) and points to Schuster’s own netbook on the desk in front of her. “These are definitely getting cannibalized,†she replies frankly. “These are really a second device. But they are getting cannibalized.â€
Source: Seattle pi | The Microsoft Blog
