Who’d have thunk it? It seems that Microsoft is setting its sights on delivering an Apple-esque “no compromises” hardware and software experience in the future.
Microsoft chief exec Steve Ballmer issued a company-wide memo on Wednesday (later leaked to the Wall Street Journal) that identified Apple’s continued resurgence with the “great end-to-end experience” it offers: “They are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience.”
Ballmer’s email doesn’t go into specifics as to how Microsoft can replicate the Apple experience, but it’s thought that the firm has started work on a Zune-based iPhone rival running a variant of Windows Mobile 7 and offering “heavy tie-ins” to Windows Live Services. Somehow we don’t think Steve Jobs and pals are quaking in their white sneakers just yet, but we’re sure to here more about Microsoft’s image makeover in the coming months.
Microsoft (via Apple Insider)








Nokia unveils touchscreen N97
Nokia N97: All the official photos
Nokia N97 shown off in demo video
Nokia N97: Hands-on pic avalanche!
Top six unsung talents of the N97
Five hidden talents of the new Prada Phone
Hands on with the new LG Prada Phone
LG Prada II: All the official photos
Asus Eee Top first impressions
Asus Eee Top PC unboxed!
Five hidden talents of the Storm
Hands on with BlackBerry Storm
BlackBerry Storm every official photo
BlackBerry Storm: five hidden flaws
HTC Touch HD unboxed!
Stat clash: Storm vs Touch HD vs G1
T-Mobile G1 unboxed!
Dirty secrets of T-Mobile G1
New Apple Macbook Pro unboxed!
Top Five MacBook alternatives
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic hidden secrets
5 ways Nokia 5800 XpressMusic beats iPhone