The Seattle area is now home to the two big tech companies with a realistic shot at breaking up the Apple/Android duopoly in mobile computing: Amazon in tablets, and Microsoft in smartphones.
In a recent story, I laid out why I thought Amazon’s job was a bit easier than Microsoft’s, and why the e-commerce company’s vision was more in tune with what consumers will want.
Since then, Microsoft has peeled back some more layers of its digital services strategy—namely the new pricing of the Office software package, which will push consumer users to the online-based, subscription model and away from the old packaged software world (finally).
That makes this whole thing even more interesting, and puts the spotlight more intensely on the vital role that Seattle’s tech giants will play in the next few years.
I went on Seattle NPR affiliate KUOW yesterday to talk over all of this with Ross Reynolds, host of The Conversation. Here’s the clip of that interview:
You can listen to the entire show at the KUOW website. The Conversation is also available as a podcast on iTunes, of course. If you don’t listen to The Conversation, you should—Reynolds and crew put together a great mix of business, art, public affairs and more.