Declaration of war as Google CEO Schmidt quits Apple board

Davey Winder
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 02:10

Business IT - Technology

Dr Eric Schmidt, CEO at Google, has been a Director of Apple for almost exactly three years - until today. As he steps down we ask if this means that Apple and Google are now officially at war?

Steve Jobs says that Schmidt has been "an excellent Board member for Apple" and thanks him for "investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful." You cannot help but notice the irony in that statement as the Google CEO quits in what some are interpreting as an all out declaration of war.

Apple CEO Jobs says that the resignation was a mutual decision, based upon the fact that "as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest."

However, one cannot help but notice that the announcement has been made by Apple, with comment only from Steve Jobs and with Eric Schmidt maintaining a somewhat telling silence. It makes you question just how friendly and mutual the decision to depart Apple really was.

Indeed, the official Apple statement cannot resist a final dig at Google by adding that it is Apple which leads the industry in terms of innovation, especially with the revolutionary iPhone.

Schmidt might see it slightly differently, not so much because of the much hyped Chrome OS but rather thanks to the Android effect which will undoubtedly be worrying the Apple Board. Going to war with Google is probably not something it really wants to be doing.

Yet Apple pretty much fired the first shots by denying Google Voice as an iPhone App and pulling all related applications from the store. Apple says that it was to save the poor iPhone user from getting confused between iPhone voice features and Google Voice. Yeah right.

The Federal Communications Commission does not seem to be buying that, and is currently investigating the reasoning behind the move. Apple are unlikely to come out of this looking in any way, shape or form angelic.

But what about Schmidt, and Google? Can Apple win a war against the search giant, and does it really want to try?

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