Indeed, but one is comparing the consumer tech market as a whole and the other is just in the search market, so this isn't apples to apples (so to speak), no?
I guess that's the whole problem, Microsoft wants to be everything to everybody.
Now just compare the same with Apple. They don't have 1/10th the product line as Microsoft and are still more successful.
Focus is important here, when you do so many things and none of them properly you are ultimately in a situation where all your products are weak quality wise. There are always better alternatives in the market and people will feel compelled to switch to them. Imagine this happening with most of your products. Ultimately the whole ecosystem gets weaker.
Even though your numbers may be looking good due to volume, that doesn't tell the whole story. Slowly your competitors one by one will drive you out of the market.
Now just compare the same with Apple. They don't have 1/10th the product line as Microsoft and are still more successful.
The Apple comparison is a red herring. Apple is unique, not only to the computer industry, but virtually all industries. No other company has risen so quickly, from so low, on a few products.
To put it another way, if you take Apple out of the equation, MS appears favorable to just about every other company in the industry. From SAP, to HP, to Google, to Facebook, to Twitter, to EA, to DropBox, to Oracle.
