When Google CEO Eric Schmidt joined Apple’s Board of Directors in 2006, Google was not in mobile, hardware, operating system or browsers business. Google and Apple were still on famously good terms separated by a mere 10 miles in Silicon Valley. It all came to an end when Google came up with Android in 2007, which is now the fastest growing Smartphone OS on the market.
At first, Android was probably not a direct threat to Apple, since Apple has gained significant brand awareness and market share by entering the mobile market much earlier. However, with network effect, as more phones utilized Android, the relationship between Google and Apple became more uncomfortable.
The battle has not yet been heated until when Apple rejected Google Voice as an app on the iPhone. By then, Apple had clearly realized that Google was no longer only interested in search but it started expanding into Apple’s domain on multiple fronts. First in 2009, Apple rejected having Google Voice as an app on iPhone, then In June 2010, Apple added Bing to the iPhone as a search option for Safari.
Would Apple form an ally with Microsoft to battle with Google? So did many people think. A couple months immediately after speculations and rumors of Apple-Microsoft partnership, Apple announced its approval for Google Voice on the iPhone. Although what’s working now is not the official version yet, fans are excited that they can finally have a Google Voice app on the iPhone now, but what’s behind this long due approval? What new dynamics would the Google and Apple present to their fans, competitors, and the business world? We will have to see.
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