PC dominance to help Windows Phone 8, Apple is a “low-volume player”: Ballmer

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has outlined his vision for the company, claiming Windows’ desktop dominance would help the platform on smartphones, while describing competitor Apple as a “low-volume player”.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ballmer says familiarity with Windows on PCs would help Windows Phone 8 compete against Apple and Android in the smartphone market. Microsoft has secured Nokia as a major partner for the platform.

“If you’re one of the hundreds of millions of people who buy a Windows PC, it’s going to make everything so much easier for those people with Windows phones in the way we integrate the same account sign up, file storage, playlist sharing and gaming. We also have a high-volume device in Windows PCs, and that ought to help in the places where we have lower volume,” Ballmer says.

When asked if he would prefer Apple’s business model, Ballmer calls Apple a “low-volume player”.

“In every category Apple competes, it’s the low-volume player, except in tablets. In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something per cent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs. We’ll see what winds up mattering in tablets.”

Earlier this week Microsoft’s development director, Craig Mundie, blamed cybercriminals for Apple’s success in the smartphone market.