>If you follow the industry prognosticators, Microsoft will overtake Apple in the mobile market in 3-4 years.

I don't see that happening, even with Microsoft's $1 billion dollar buy into Ericsson. I see Android continuing its dominant take over of the smartphone market and ruling the tablet market too (Honeycomb is impressive).

Apple didn't learn from their closed architecture mistake when they handed the PC market to the inferior (at the time) Microsoft/PC clone market. Apple, 20 years later they took the EXACT SAME stand in the phone market. Their early technological lead and failure of competitors to catch up for years allowed them to grab a bigger market share this second time around, but make no doubt about it, history repeats itself. Apple will be relegated to a minor player in the phone and tablet market over the next 5 to 10 years and Steve Jobs is too blinded by his own narcissism to see it.