The common consensus seems to be that when it comes to Microsoft’s competition it’s biggest threat isn’t from Apple and Linux but rather from Google. There doesn’t seem to a single front on which you don’t find the two companies going back and forth on; but what if that isn’t the case?
Now this is pure speculation on my part but I have begin to wonder if at this point in time any skirmishes that goes on between Microsoft and Google are just that – half hearted skirmishes; at least on Google’s side. Instead I wonder if Google has set its sights on disrupting as much of Apple’s business as possible after all Apple isn’t as big as Microsoft and makes for a possible easier target.
Now before I get the Google and Apple fans boys jumping all over me chill out for a moment and let’s consider a few points.
Up until recently Apple and Google were tied at the hip especially in the Apple boardroom however increasingly Eric Schmidt was having to remove himself from board meetings because of Google’s move into areas that could have caused conflict of interest charges. Then Google starts releasing apps for the iPhone one of which, Google Voice, leads into the FCC having to step in when Apple “refused” the app. During all this Schmidt announces that he will be quitting he seat on Apple’s board of directors.
Along with this take into consideration all the different directions that Google is going when it comes to improving services or launching new one and how they conflict with Apple’s software line.
Safari – Google Chrome
iTunes – Google Music Service
iPhone – Google Android
Mac OS X – Google Chrome
For a really good look at this from an Apple fan’s point of view one need look no further than Louis Gray who penned a very interesting post about Apple and Google today.
But while we Mac fans may have been resting comfortably as the Mac vs. PC commercials made us giggle with egotistical self-pride, and the company’s balance sheet has grown ever stronger with quarter after very profitable quarter, Google has been changing its spots – morphing from search engine and advertising powerhouse to a Web services monolith that can go head to head with almost every single Apple product out there. As the company integrates its many different products, they too may offer the integration we have always come to expect from Apple, but in an open, Web-focused way. And with every single new announcement, Apple fans have to start thinking if their future is one that is Google as much as it ever was Mac – and if “Going Google” would be that bad anyway.
If Mac OS X is the platform on which all Apple software starts, so too will be Google’s Chrome OS. We know it’s coming, and some sharp engineers are slaving away in Mountain View to capture the flexibility of the Web and make the cloud the equivalent of your hard disk.
Apple’s Safari browser, the built-in Web browser for Mac and for iPhones, is equally matched by the Chrome browser on all major operating systems and on Android as well.
The iPhone and its 80,000 to 100,000 applications in the iTunes Store are being challenged by Android’s new fleet of phones, led by the Droid from Motorola, and its rumored 10,000+ apps.
Apple’s Mail? Easily matched by GMail. iCal? See Google Calendar. iChat? Google Chat. iMovie and iDVD? Well, it’s not the same thing, but you would be hard-pressed to say YouTube doesn’t win that battle. iWeb? Really? See Blogger.
Like I said this is pure and unadulterated speculation but one has to wonder if Google can marginalize Apple on the software and possibly impact it’s smartphone business it takes one potential adversary out of the game. By doing this Google reduces the field by one more serious competitor and can then totally concentrate on Microsoft.
Just speculating.
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