 Good morning, I'm Kristen Filetti and welcome to Newsdesk on SiliconANGLE TV for Wednesday, November 28th, 2012. Microsoft has made some big announcements and launched a slew of brand new products over the past few months. So how are they doing? Here to provide his breaking analysis on the state of Microsoft is SiliconANGLE contributing editor, John Casaretto. Welcome, John. Good morning. According to sources from the supply chain Foxconn International Holding has reportedly launched handset orders from Microsoft and Amazon and is set to launch the devices in mid-2013. Sources say Microsoft's own brand handset will adopt its Windows Phone 8 operating system. So John, any thoughts on what this new Windows 8 handset could be? Well, we don't have a lot of indications yet, but there is some writing, some indication. Of course, being Foxconn, they make a lot of very small, very high-end cutting-edge products. Anything that carries a Microsoft or Amazon name as a handset, it's going to be cutting edges, cutting edges possible. So it carries their name, it's going to be a leading product. And I think that with Microsoft and the push that they've had and Amazon with their leading tablet strategy and things like that, we're going to see a very cutting-edge phone and offerings coming from both of those companies. Sources also pointed out that Microsoft and Amazon's own brand handsets will initially have a limited shipment volume. Do you see this becoming a new business model for manufacturers in the future? Yeah, it's been in the works for some time. Amazon has had this masterful strategy with their tablets. Microsoft is following that same trajectory as well, complete with the ecosystem, the apps. Great hardware that showcases the best of what each environment can do, what each platform can provide. Microsoft is really banking on jumping into this business, Amazon, that's been rumored for some time. We'll see how true that one is, but there's a very competitive market and we're going to see the best in terms of hardware and software, the ecosystem, introducing great apps, great cameras, different elements and things like that into each of these products. So I think that this is going to be a new trend in the continuing business for Microsoft and probably Amazon as well. Yesterday, Chief Marketing and Financial Officer for Windows, Tammy Reller, announced that since October 26th, Microsoft has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses. So John, what does that mean exactly? Well, it's not clear if it means that if those were sold to consumers or through their channels, meaning partners or clients and such. What we do know is that we had some numbers before, 4 million upgrade licenses of the operating system were reported before and those happened in the first few days. So what we have now is a picture that also includes those numbers and with 40 million Windows 8 licenses, that's a significant number in one month. So it's something that, it's a big mark for them, absolutely. So overall, would you say this is good news for Microsoft? How do these figures compare to sales of Windows 7? Well, 60 million licenses for Windows 7 were sold in the first two months. With Microsoft on pace with 40 million licenses in one month, it does bode well for Microsoft. So it's setting a pace that, we'll see if that sustains, it's a good time of the year to be selling this thing. The word is getting out and I think that the figures compare very favorably. So far Microsoft has not released any sales figures for Windows 8. When do you think Microsoft will release those figures? Well, I think that actually refers to the surface because these are numbers for Windows 8 and how these two relate, we'll have to see in terms of whether it's the tablet base or a traditional operating system, I think we'll see numbers when the holiday sales play out and after Christmas when we get all those reports. Do you think a large portion of the success of these early Windows 8 figures can be attributed to the aggressive marketing campaign that Microsoft's launched? Absolutely and it's just as Bomber had told us that we were going to be bombarded with Windows 8 material. Every time you turn on a football game, every magazine, every TV show, you see Windows 8. You see Windows 8 phone, you're seeing all these different things come out. Windows 8 is everywhere and I think it'll continue to be there. They're really coming full force and letting themselves be known. On the gaming front, Microsoft's Xbox 720 Council comes out next year along with a new Council from PlayStation. Nintendo recently launched its Wii U Council but some are already saying Xbox 720 will be the overall winner in the gaming platform. So what are your thoughts on these early predictions for the Xbox 720? I think that it's going to be a huge success. Microsoft is a huge leader. They have a huge lead in this space. I think that most definitely the Wii U is going to have a lot of ground to pick up. It's already a third player in the gaming platform area and they're enjoying a run here because they do have a new product but they have a lot of ground to make up. So I think that when the Xbox 720 comes out we're going to see a product that if all predictions are correct and everything sustains that are going to be as successful as the Xbox 360 has been. During the Wii U launch week and over Black Friday, Microsoft outsold Nintendo with Xbox 360 sales of 750,000 units compared to 400,000 Wii U units. If the current 7-year-old Xbox model is already beating out the Wii U, do you think the Wii U will shut out Microsoft's release of the new Xbox 720? Again, Microsoft with the Xbox has got this giant lead. I mean, look at the mileage that they've gotten out of this platform. You know, it's astounding that, you know, Nintendo appears to want to play this mid-level approach where, you know, they aren't taking a huge risk or not jumping out there with this platform or taking the risk with the cost of the platform. They're really touching on a successful formula of the past and, you know, that means taking a platform, not taking a giant risk and really counting on, you know, the marketability of the product and so on. You compare that to the Xbox strategy if you think back when it first came out. You know, there's a lot of growing pains and stuff, but a lot of people were pointing at it and saying, hey, Microsoft is losing a ton of money on each of these consoles at least initially. So Microsoft, you know, really at that time, they were banking on software, the games, you know, the titles and things like that. You know, the Wii U has got a lot of ground to cover, Xbox is beating them very handily with their existing platform and just imagine what a new 720 will do. You know, it's all about the games and we've got a lot of, you know, leading titles in that space and that's where, you know, the Wii U has to have, you know, some more adoption and more presence and really control how they make up that ground. Nintendo still has a large brand power in the gaming community. So why do you think Microsoft is still leading the charge? In your opinion, do you think Xbox has something that the Wii U may be missing the mark on? I think the cutting-edge titles are driving this. Halo 4, Call of Duty, the Black Ops 2 game, these are exclusive cutting-edge titles. They play best on the console, you know, they're synonymous with the Xbox and they continue to drive the Xbox experience. You know, there's a lot of updates to the Xbox ecosystem as well, you know, very integrated into the home and videos and things like that. It's just, it's a very complete product, a very well-developed product and I think that in the long run, if they continue that strategy, Xbox will continue to dominate. Rumors have been circulating concerning Microsoft's new council, including one about a revolutionary new controller, which is said to be in tablet form and would put them even more directly in competition with the Wii U. So what else can we expect from the Xbox 20? Do we know anything so far? Well, we've seen them update the software repeatedly throughout the product cycle. We know that there's been talk in the 720 of a set-top box, there's a seven-inch tablet that may be on the way, I saw something about a wrist fitness device, they also had built in, they added the Kinect a while back to compete with the Wii at one point. So I've written about the prospect of a prospective cloud gaming platform, you know, that's something that could bring a bunch of new people to the platform. We've seen some evolution towards that through some of the things that they've released. So there's a lot of rumors out there, a lot of speculation about what's coming, potentially a hybrid 720, there's a lot of things out there. But what we do know is, you know, they lead the way, they've got a couple things to handle, including sustaining their lead with the 360, and still bringing that 720 along, bringing the titles along, bringing the developers along and have the games ready for when they launch. Microsoft has announced its plans to compete for a strong position in the living room with rivals like Sony, Apple and Google. In what ways do you think the new Xbox will innovate to compete with its rivals in 2013? Well, they've got to keep that catalog fresh, and of course they enjoy a comfortable lead there, but, you know, keeping those titles fresh, keeping those exclusive titles and updates out there in people's conscience, you know, as far as the living room, we're talking about those lines of entertainment, things like content, movies, streaming features, stuff you can take on the go, even a market for digital and physical goods. Those kinds of things, they need to do this, keep their position. Again, while developing what's going to be new on the 720, they need to continue to bring along those developers and those pieces in the ecosystem. You know, there's a lesser chance that we're going to see with the 720 on the schedule, anything radically new for the 360 that's going to be revolutionary. Instead, we'll see, you know, more evolution and sustaining the market. They'll focus on, you know, the ecosystem experience, the things that are evolutionary and bringing the Xbox experience, you know, to all over the place, like the surface tablet, the phone, things like that. Just keep that name out there and prepare for that 720 launch. Seems the headlines are really focused on Nintendo and Microsoft. Any feelings why Sony's being left out for the most part? You know, that's a good question. You know, Sony's had a lot of development issues when it comes to their PlayStation 4. However, Microsoft may be forcing Sony's hand to move up the release date of the PlayStation 4 to sometime next year. You know, they definitely want to get the jump on Microsoft, but not get left behind. So, you know, with all indications, it appears that the Xbox 720 is on track for a late release in 2013, if not, like a holiday release. And Sony will be somewhere in that mix along that line, several months ahead of schedule, if not a fully year ahead of what they had anticipated. You know, Sony kind of has to make this move, you know, the bottom line is it appears that Sony has, you know, not been very successful in making up a lot of ground on Microsoft at this point. Well, John, thanks so much for your time this morning, and we look forward to talking with you again soon. Thank you very much. For all the latest in-depth coverage and breaking analysis on tech innovation, keep up to date with Newsdesk right here on Silicon Angle TV.