In his Tuesday-published annual letter to shareholders, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer highlighted hardware and online services as the future focus areas of the software giant; thereby indication a new strategic course for the company.

Going by the comments which have been made by Ballmer in the letter, it is highly likely that Microsoft may ultimately develop its own handsets to broaden its hardware portfolio which currently comprises the market-dominating Xbox gaming console and its upcoming own-brand Surface tablet.

The approach spelled out by Ballmer in the letter is fairly akin to Apple's strategy of tightly integrating high-quality software and hardware after its iPhone and iPad witnessed stupendous success --- an approach which ended up making Windows devices appear rather clunky when compared to Apple's devices.

Along with stating in his letter that "tahere will be times when we (Microsoft) build specific devices for specific purposes," Ballmer said that despite the fact that Microsoft will continue its work-linked association with its traditional hardware partners - including Dell, Samsung and HTC -, it was quite certain that the part Microsoft has been playing the so-called 'ecosystem' is set to change.

About Microsoft's changing role in the `ecosystem,' Ballmer said: "It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses."