Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has said the company should step up efforts on product development to compete with Apple and Google.
Microsoft "needs to accelerate the pace of product development", said Allen, 58, in an interview.
Allen’s memoir, "Idea Man," is slated for a release this week, in which he has mentioned that working with Bill Gates was "like hell" and how he was nearly duped by Gates in matters related to his share when he fell ill.
Bloomberg reported Allen saying that Microsoft’s Windows 7 phone software and XBox Kinect are "resonating with a younger audience" as the company is making efforts to "get more momentum" in new markets.
Allen praised Apple CEO Steve Jobs in the interview. He said the way Jobs transformed Apple after his return in 1997 has been "unbelievable."
"What he’s done with the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad — what a triple play there," Allen said.
Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. Eight years later, he left the company after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He resigned from the board in 2000.
