Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft: Who Will Win?

Apple, Google and Microsoft are locked in a three-way struggle for industry dominance, competing to varying degrees on hardware, computer and cell phone operating systems, applications, entertainment, Internet search and more.

Today, Google owns Internet search, Microsoft owns operating systems and applications, and Apple owns high-end hardware and entertainment and media devices.

Whole article:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189963/apple_vs_google_vs_microsoft_who_will_win.html

According to the article in Fortune (August 16, 2010), Google is still growing but is slowing down, transitioning from growth company to cash cow. Google stock has hit a wall and underperformed the broader market in the past 12 months, while Apple stock soars and makes the company the most valuable company in tech.

In the article, analysts estimate that 91% of google's revenue still comes from the AdWords and AdSense business model and they worry about Google's ability to keep pace with consumers' evolving use of the web. Besides, new social and real-time media, such as Facebook and Twitter, become fierce competitors in Google's core search business. "Facebook allows the advertisers get the best of both worlds - a mass audience but also the ability to target more than anyone else," says Debra Aho Williamson, a senior analyst with eMarketer.

In terms of Apple, some analysts believe that Apple's stock price is overvalued for several reasons. 1) Apple's stock price is build on the expectation that sales will continue to rocket; 2) Apple's brittle model: it's strictly consumer-based; 3) Apple isn't immune to a lousy economy: in 2009, its earnings growth dropped to 35% from 75% in 2008; 4) Jobs-driven magic: Steve jobs won't be the CEO forever.

About Microsoft, it seems falling somewhere between Apple and Google. With a stranglehold on operating systems and productivity applications, and with solid enterprise tools, it will grow steadily.

Who will be the winner in the end? Let's wait and see.

Reference:
Is Google Over? (Fortune, August 16, 2010)
Should You Buy Apple Stock? (Fortune, September 27, 2010)