Microsoft shows a slick future for tech. Will Microsoft be in it?

Microsoft has released a slick looking video which has even slicker gadgets and concepts. The 6 minute video is a must watch for gadget aficionados and clairvoyants. Microsoft takes us through the journey of a women who walks out of the airport with smart glasses which translates spoken languages, gets a taxi on-time, uses car window as a display panel,  and opens hotel room with Internet enabled keys.

There are at least 12 different concepts or gadgets in the video as Mashable listed. Smart EyeGlasses, Interactive Video Billboards, Smart Business Cards, Intelligent Car Windows, Wired Chalkboards, Motion activated desktops, Indoor decorative grass, Interactive paper, Paper thin smartphones, Smart refrigerators, Internet activated hotel room keys, and paper thin tablets.

Of the things listed, we are pretty close to the paper thin smartphones without any bezel whatsoever. Motorola Razr with is 7 mm thickness is the thinnest smartphone, Nokia N9 has the most usable smartphone glass with the least bezel. It’s only a matter of time these glass slabs will be in our hands. Same goes with tablets.

While some the devices shown in the video, like the smart business cards, are redundant as they can be easily replaced with just the smartphone. Others, well they are definitely the future.

Will Microsoft be in its future?

Since the video is coming from Microsoft, it’s a common expectation that Microsoft is working on some the products, if not all. Even ‘some’ is a tall order from what we know of Microsoft. Because products, is not in Microsoft’s culture. It started with Bill Gates and it continues with Steve Ballmer.

Microsoft succeeded because of the business acumen of Bill Gates and missteps of its rivals like Apple which chose to not ot license Mac OS and also slumbered for few years in the absence of  Steve Jobs.

For a company to visualize the kind of products shown in the video you need a good visionary. You need a product guy. You need someone like Steve Jobs.

While Apple still has their product guy in Jonathan Ivy, Microsoft never really had one. Microsoft isn’t getting lucky with Steve Ballmer. The only real product from Microsoft which got everyone talking about was the Kinect. In comparison, Apple always had a product up its sleeve. It started with iPod, followed with iPhone and sealed it with iPad.

While Microsoft’s projected future sure looks slick, I doubt if Microsoft will be in it, except for the software. And either software or hardware alone can’t make great products.

We get great products when hardware and software meet in harmony. Microsoft isn’t good at it. Apple has excelled at this.

What if it was Apple?

Hypothetically speaking, if this video was projected as made by Apple, would your reaction be any different?

Now the video everyone’s talking about :

That tablet with a hole is cool. Don’t you think?