• Bloomberg Businessweek, Friday, April 29, 2011 12:31 PM

While Microsoft just reported strong sales and profits for the third quarter, some analysts took note of the fact that, for the first time in 20 years, the software maker achieved a smaller quarterly profit than Apple. Microsoft's "Net income was $5.23 billion, eclipsed by the $5.99 billion reported by Apple last quarter," notes Bloomberg Businessweek.

What's more, consumer PC shipments dropped 8% in the quarter, and Netbooks fell 40%, which Microsoft CFO Peter Klein blamed partially on the rise of tablet computers like the iPad. Indeed, "You have to live underneath a rock not to know that the iPad has taken share from the netbook," Pat Becker Jr., principal of Becker Capital Management, told Bloomberg Businessweek. "It's a problem on the consumer side, and that's a market where Microsoft continues to give up territory to Apple."

Read the whole story at Bloomberg Businessweek »