It's hard to overstate just how much the mobile revolution has changed the game for many of tech's biggest names like Apple (AAPL 0.52%), Google (GOOGL -1.97%), and Microsoft (MSFT -2.45%).
Thanks to prescient early bets on mobile, Apple and Google were able to gain and maintain their commanding leads in the tablet and smartphone spaces. And although both Apple and Google have very different ways of making money in these growth spaces, their dominance cannot be overlooked, much to the chagrin of the old guard in the room -- Microsoft. All in, Apple and Google controlled 92% and 95% of the global smartphone and tablet markets respectively in the second quarter of this year according to market research firm IDC.
What about Microsoft?
Despite making great strides on both the smartphone and tablet fronts in recent months, it appears Microsoft will remain frustratingly irrelevant in these growth markets in 2013 according to a recent update from Gartner. And while this could certainly frustrate Microsoft investors in the short-term, there are clear areas of improvement that Microsoft could remedy, which should translate to market-share gains against Apple and Google over the long term.
In this video, tech and telecom analyst Andrew Tonner reviews the Gartner update, and frames how investors should approach tech's biggest names over the short and long term.
