It shouldn't be a surprise that Microsoft employees are like the rest of us, and enjoy their gadgets. However, what is surprising is that an estimated 10% of Microsoft's global workforce is using the iPhone. That estimate comes from 10,000 users that accessed Microsoft's employee email system from an iPhone last year. As you might expect, this doesn't sit well with Microsoft's top brass, especially CEO Steve Ballmer. It was said that during a company meeting Mr. Ballmer snatched an iPhone from an employee’s hand, placed it on the ground and pretended to stomp on it.
Robbie Bach, Microsoft's president of the Entertainment & Devices division, said that employees often use a number of devices from competitors to "better understand the competition." According to the WSJ, Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO, scoffed at Mr. Bach's explanation.
While some employees use their iPhones openly and in plain view of others, some employees go to great lengths to disguise their iPhones using cases in an attempt to make the iPhone look more like a generic phone.