( CNN ) -- Is the future of computers a hybrid gadget that will combine the battery life and computing heft of a laptop with the portability and ease-of-use of a tablet ? Some in the industry are leaning toward `` yes . '' But Apple CEO Tim Cook pointedly says `` no . '' `` Anything can be forced to converge , but the problem is that products are about tradeoffs , and you begin to make tradeoffs to the point where what you have left at the end of the day does n't please anyone , '' Cook said Tuesday in response to a question during Apple 's quarterly earnings report . `` You can converge a toaster and refrigerator , but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user . '' Cook 's comments were at least in part a not-so-veiled jab at Microsoft , which , with its upcoming Windows 8 operating system , will be combining its PC and tablet operating systems . The system is available in a beta format now and is expected to be released as a finished product this fall . A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment for this article . But on Twitter , lead Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw made his own playful , appliance-oriented swipe . `` Must be a typo . It 's not a toaster/fridge . It 's a toaster/oven , '' Shaw wrote Tuesday . `` Those seem pretty popular . Just saying . '' A late entrant , Windows has recently seen some relative success in the smartphone market , most notably with the Nokia Lumia phones , which have sold more than 2 million units since they started rolling out in October . Windows 8 is considered the computing giant 's most serious push to become a player in the tablet market as well . The system is a ground-up overhaul of its industry-leading operating system that has garnered positive reviews since it was released in beta form about a month and a half ago . Currently , there 's no new product announced that would qualify as a Windows 8-powered , tablet-PC hybrid . But it 's definitely on folks ' minds . Intel has shown off a prototype of a computer that flips from `` consumption mode '' ( i.e . a tablet ) to `` work mode '' ( a laptop similar to the emerging line of sleek Ultrabooks ) . Apple , of course , has dominated the tablet market since unveiling the iPad in 2010 . On Tuesday , Apple announced it sold 11.8 million iPads in the first quarter of this year , bringing the total sold to 67 million in roughly two years . It took the company 24 years to sell that many Macintosh computers . As such , the company has little obvious reason to tout the need , or desire , for a new kind of device when it 's pounding the competition with the current one . `` The tablet market is going to be huge , '' Cook said . `` As the ecosystem gets better and better and we continue to double down on making great products , I think the limit here is nowhere in sight . '' But some observers said Wednesday that Cook 's reluctance to embrace a possible tablet-laptop convergence seems a bit ironic . `` That sounds familiar . Was n't there some other device that critics said would fail because it combined too many things ? '' wrote Business Insider 's Matt Rosoff . `` Oh yeah . The iPhone . Which has sold 70 million units in the last six months . '' He provided links to multiple articles , including his own , from 2007 that questioned whether a pricey phone that sends e-mail , surfs the Web , plays video games and lets you listen to iTunes would catch on . Or to put it differently , it was a product that combined a toaster , a refrigerator and a few other appliances to boot . `` The point is : sometimes convergence works , '' Rosoff wrote . `` If you combine features that people want in a smart way , and sell it at the right price , it can work . Tim Cook of all people should know that . ''
Apple CEO : Tablet-PC hybrids are like combining toasters and refrigerators . Microsoft is making a play with Windows 8 for tablets and PCs . With iPad sales soaring , Apple has little reason to push for a new gadget . Microsoft says converging operating systems are the future of computing .