If there is one person who has learnt from past, its Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer. Apparently Steve Ballmer laughed off the iPhone in 2007 comparing it with the Motorola Q (in terms of price). However we all know what happened after that and how the iPhone is poised today to be the no 1 smartphone in the market.
“Apple’s done a very nice job that allows people to monetize and commercialize their intellectual property,” [Apple Insider]
However business motive behind Ballmer’s good words cannot be ruled out. Its no secret that
Google and Apple are anything but good friends that they used to be. Competing in multiple market segments with Apple, Google is now as much as a competitor for Apple as Microsoft is.
If there is one segment where Apple doesn’t compete with both Google and Microsoft, its the search engine wars. Google’s primary business and Microsoft’s latest attempt ‘Bing’ are fighting it out. It was rumored sometime back that Bing might replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone with some money exchange between Microsoft and Apple. Ballmer’s comments might well be a lead up to a public friendship with Apple during the iPhone 4G launch!
Given the rumors of Steve Jobs being upset with Google, I won’t be surprised it this really happens.
Also see Google vs Apple.