Apple vs. Google: Anger & Angst Behind The Scenes
When you typically look at patent filings and infringement lawsuits its a lot of paperwork and suits, but in the case of Apple vs. HTC – which many believe equates to Apple vs. Google/Android – the battle is personal. In an amazingly interesting New York Times piece by Brad Stone and Miguel Helft, they completely recount the events that have led to the current standoff, even providing some behind the scenes looks we haven’t yet heard:
As Google’s plans took shape, Apple and Google executives either met in person or spoke on the phone on multiple occasions about Apple’s concern about Android, executives on both sides say.
Many of those meetings turned confrontational, according to people familiar with the discussions, with Mr. Jobs often accusing Google of stealing iPhone features. Google executives said that Android’s features were based on longstanding ideas already circulating in the industry and that some Android prototypes predated the iPhone.
At one particularly heated meeting in 2008 on Google’s campus, Mr. Jobs angrily told Google executives that if they deployed a version of multitouch — the popular iPhone feature that allows users to control their devices with flicks of their fingers — he would sue. Two people briefed on the meeting described it as “fierce” and “heated.”
When the Apple/Admob deal fell through and Google snapped them up? More trouble:
Three days after the no-shop provision expired, Google agreed to buy AdMob — putting a whopping $750 million price tag on a four-year-old company with modest revenue. Jilted and angry, Mr. Jobs speculated that AdMob might have violated its legal obligations, with help from Google, according to two people briefed on the fallout from the negotiations.
Those are just blips on a radar soon to be filled with competitive criticism and angry quips between the two companies. The NY Times article is a bit lengthy but DEFINITELY worth the read.