iPad Sales Make Steve Ballmer Grouchy, And Envious

Steve Ballmer (you know, that guy who looks an awful lot like Iron Man super-villain, Obadiah Stane), gets grouchy about a lot of things. The iPhone, as we all know, is on that list. Remember when Big Ballmer saw a Microsoft employee attempt to photograph him with an Apple iPhone, and then promptly snatched it and pretended to stomp on the device? Well, according to a recent report by TechFlash, Mr. Ballmer's going to need to upgrade to clown-sized shoes to take on his next antagonist: Apple's iPad. I guess we should take Ballmer's most recent comments as something of a compliment. He's admitted that rival-Steve's iPad is a success, and something Microsoft needs to catch up with. Speaking at the company's Financial Analyst Meeting in Redmond, yesterday afternoon, the Microsoft CEO stated:

"They’ve sold certainly more than I’d like them to sell, let me just be clear about that. We have got to make things happen. Just like we had to make things happen on netbooks, we’ve got to make things happen with Windows 7 on slates, and we’re in the process of doing that as we speak."

Thanks, Steve! By his standards, that's an extremely generous comment. Let's not forget - this is the guy who outright laughed at the iPhone, way back in 2007 when it debuted. I guess now it's safe to say that the iPad's success truly is confirmed; especially since the biggest, baddest wolf in the Microsoft camp has given it a tip of the hat. However, if we're being honest, it's fair to compliment Apple on its iPad sales - a forecasted 11 million by the end of the year. This figure is furthermore accentuated when compared with Microsoft's anticipated tablet sales - a mere 1.25 million by the end of 2010. Indeed, it seems as though the only thing holding back iPad sales at the moment, is LG - who is struggling to keep up with the massive demand for LCD iPad screens. It's expected that a holiday rush will push iPad sales even further into the stratosphere, if suppliers can keep up with demand. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if iPad sales surpass 11 million by the end of the year. After all, Apple's "magical and revolutionary" device has done nothing but surprise us so far.

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