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by oarsinsync 2336 days ago
The Zune was launched in 2006 and discontinued in 2012. Why did that product last 6 years?

I’m not saying Office for iPad is pointless (I use it regularly, so quite the opposite!), but I do think it’s foolish to think an organisation the size of Microsoft’s doesn’t necessarily do things for obvious reasons. Individual incentives do not always lend themselves to data driven objectives.
1 comments
scarface74 2336 days ago
Apple created the iPod in nine months by cobbling together third party components. The Zune wasn’t exactly a billion dollar investment.
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oarsinsync 2336 days ago
I think it's unlikely that Office for iPad is a billion dollar investment either. It doesn't change that it might not actually generate any direct returns for them.

Loss-making strategies can ultimately be profitable in a broader sense (if it increases the stickiness of the product on it's primary platforms, keeping away competitors, a strategic moat).

I don't think there's any evidence either way to be able to make any assumptions about the level of interest of the product, and whether or not that justifies it's existence.

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