Ballmer: Android is wild, uncontrolled and malware prone; Apple is overpriced

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was being interviewed by Reid Hoffman on Wednesday night, and the executive made some unflattering comments about both Android and Apple. Talking about Android, Ballmer said that the OS is”wild”, “uncontrolled” and “susceptible to malware”. As for Apple, the Microsoft executive calls it “high priced” and “highly controlled.”

On stage, Steve Ballmer is interviewed by Reid Hoffman

Ballmer’s goal is to gently position Windows right in between the twoto make a success of Microsoft’s mobile OS. Ballmer says that Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Microsoft Surface have all been done right and unlike Apple and Android, Microsoft is talking closely with developers. Talking about Windows, he says, “It just works,” a comment usually directed at Apple’s smooth as silk iOS. Ballmer also got in a shot at the Apple Maps debacle.

Microsoft’s Ballmer calls Apple a “low volume player” in all markets except tablets

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sat down with the Wall Street Journal to touch on a few things including smartphones and the recent launch of Windows 8 and theMicrosoft Surface tablets. He said that numerically, there is nothing interesting to report following the launch of the new OS or the tablets. He did say that retailers would say that the two products are off to a good start and that some stores are out of stock on the Microsoft Surface tablet.

“We like our model, as we are evolving it. In every category Apple competes, it’s the low-volume player, except in tablets. In the PC market, obviously the advantage of diversity has mattered since 90-something percent of PCs that get sold are Windows PCs.