Inv: Microsoft, No

If Apple fails, who will succeed?

Stock

Let's look at Microsoft (stock chart), 10 years price around $25, dividend keeps going up, now $0.64/year, 2.5% yield. Warren Buffett said now Microsoft has investment value.

Protection of business

Main profit source: Windows & Office 2 products, others are still minor.

Windows: PC unit sales no growth, hit by iPad. Windows 8 tablet will only come half a year later, soonest. So far, new Windows is very competitive in terms of user experience.

Office: still the need of everyone, student or professions.

Windows Phone: will be a major player since 2012.

xbox: leading role

Server: will keep growing as business cost down, more applications will run in windows platform.

Competitor

Apple: Steve Jobs retired. But its business is still very strong, in 2 years.

But Microsoft will be the protection if Apple fails.

Google: Google Docs improved a lot and still continuing, now I see it as a real threat to Microsoft Office, especially it's cheap and available anywhere to same doc. This free offer will definitely undercut Office income.

Management

Steve Ballmer resignation will only boost the share.

Conclusion

I think Apple's weakening sign will benefit Microsoft, so I will wait for iPhone 5 (even cheap iPhone 4, iTelivision) this Sept, to see whether Apple will continue the legend or not.

------16 Sep 2011 update---------
Microsoft introduced more about Windows 8 this week, but the expected release date is Oct 2012, 1 year later!!! Also has hardware concern: "Hardware is still a huge issue. The developer preview slate that Microsoft loaned to the press runs smoothly on Intel's second-generation Core i5 processor, but it gets hot, it has a noisy fan, and its 3-hour battery life is pitiful. Right now, Intel and AMD don't have processors that are great for tablets. The chip makers have about a year to create one."

1 year later!!! But at end of this year, Apple is expected to have $100billion cash on hand! With this amount of cash, I don't think Apple is easily to beat.

So I will still hold Apple stock!