Microsoft CEO says the software maker is eyeing tighter control over hardware platforms to deliver a better user experience beyond the PC.



From InformationWeek:

Microsoft's success with the Xbox has the company looking for ways in which it can more closely integrate hardware and software--possibly by exerting greater control than it's done in the past over key components that make up its products, CEO Steve Ballmer said.

"We're smarter about that," said Ballmer, in an interview with InformationWeek at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus. "I don't think we want the seam between hardware and software to be an innovation barrier for us."

  Ballmer: Xbox Model Could Work For Tablets, Phones