The Microsoft Investor is a daily report from SAI. Sign up here to receive it by email.

MSFT Up With Tech
Markets are wavering in early trading despite initial jobless claims beating expectations and February PPI numbers rising less than anticipated. Shares of MSFT are up after an early morning dip. Upcoming catalysts include Windows 8, Windows Server 8, Office 15 and Windows Phone 8; expansion in the smartphone market with primary hardware partner Nokia; strides in cloud computing; profitability in the online business, including integration of Skype; and continued evolution of Kinect and next generation Xbox. The stock currently trades at 8.9x Enterprise Value / TTM Free Cash Flow.

IE10 For Windows 8 Might Be A Browser You Would Use (VentureBeat)
Microsoft announced improvements to its touch-friendly Internet Explorer 10 browser to be used on the upcoming Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft seems to at least partially understand that Internet Explorer blows, and it wants to make big improvements for IE10 in Windows 8, which will be released later this year. The company is set on two main goals: make the browsing experience fast and make it safe.

Windows Phone Tango Set For China Release On March 21 (TechCrunch)
The latest version of Windows Phone (Tango) is set to debut in Beijing on March 21. Chinese customers will have a respectable selection of hardware to choose from right out of the gate. The HTC Triumph has been on pre-order in Beijing for over a week now, and Nokia's three Lumia handsets will be ready to launch in China by March 28. As significant as this launch is, it’s the long game that Microsoft really has to worry about. Building momentum in China isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it situation, especially with Android and iOS enjoying such popularity.

Elop Sees Multi-Core Chips As Battery Drains (Unwired View)
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has dismissed the notion that multi-core processors are an essential component of modern day smartphones, branding the chips a battery drain. The comments are somewhat contentious given Microsoft is rumored to be testing dual-core chips on future handsets launching with Windows Phone 8. What will Elop say when Nokia announces its first dual-core phone? That’s something which is bound to happen later this year after Microsoft finishes Windows Phone 8.

Android To Over Take iOS Tablet Market Share By 2015, Other Platforms Don't Exist (IDC)
IDC released its fourth quarter 2011 report on tablet shipments and Apple continues to lead the market with 54.7% of global market share, down from 61.5% sequentially. Apple experienced an overall decrease in market share due to strong gains from Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire (which runs on a modified Android) is now the iPad’s biggest competitor with 16.8% of the tablet market, followed by Samsung (Android) with 5.8% of the market. Android-based tablets will overtake Apple’s in terms of worldwide market share by 2015. There's absolutely no mention of Windows in the press release.

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Nokia's Windows 8 Tablet Coming In 4Q At The Earliest
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Corporations Buying Tablets Looking Nearly Exclusively At iPad
• Roger McNamee Thinks Google Should Build A Chrome Phone, And Twitter Is Being Run Into The Ground