Apple under Fire

We all know of the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft. But did you know that more than one company hates Apple? 

Verizon, Google and Motorola have opened a second front with the Droid iCan’t campaign (this is actually rather funny) that targets the iPhones weaknesses. None of these companies has any love for Apple. Verizon thinks Apple has been trying to blackmail them into a contract they don’t want to sign, Google’s CEO was just fired from their board and Apple booted Google Voice from the iPhone, and Motorola was burned by the ROKR joint venture with Apple. Each of these companies thinks of Apple as a firm they would like to squash and while separately they represent little risk, collectively they are the strongest carrier (in terms of size and customer satisfaction), the most powerful web company, and the firm who had the hot phone (Razor) before the iPhone.

This combination of the Microsoft budget and the Droid attack splits Apple’s resources and focus and makes it vastly more difficult for the firm to respond timely or well. The end result is an unprecedented exposure.

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/44402/140/

Then there is NOKIA's claim that Apple ripped off their intellectual property to create the iPhone. Nokia said all iPhones -- the original GSM model, and the following 3G models -- use its patented technologies.

"This issue has the hallmarks of the iPhone name and the deal Apple struck with Cisco for the use of this name. They wanted it, and needed it, in the same way they need Nokia's technologies," said Steven Nathasingh, managing director of research firm Vaxa Inc.

And lastly, Google is about to compete with Apple's iTunes. (From TechCrunch):

Google will soon launch a music service, we’ve heard from multiple sources, and the company has spent the last several weeks securing content for the launch of the service from the major music labels. One source has referred to the new service as Google Audio.

We’re still gathering details, but our understanding is the service will be very different to the Google China music download service that they launched in 2008. That service, which is only available in China, allows users to search for music and download it for free.

This new service will be available for at least U.S. users, our sources confirm, although it isn’t clear if it’s a download or streaming service, or both. Google already has a decent (if little used) music search engine that can be accessed by simply typing “music:” before a query (example). But songs are not available for streaming or download from those searches.