Think back to 2007. One of Apple's board members was Google CEO Eric Schmidt. The two companies got along well. They had no competing products, and they only worked to help each other. But then, According to Steven Levy in his new book
The Plex, Google bought Android, a phone operating system, during the production of the iPhone. When it started, Android was more of a Blackberry clone than anything else. But after seeing what Apple was doing with the iPhone, they
*may have (keeping Google's lawyers off my ass here) copied the features of iOS. There's no doubt that iOS had a huge effect on the smartphone market. There were no phones like it before 2007, and afterwards, everyone's trying to imitate it, Google included. That's why when Apple was working on the iPad, they managed to keep Eric Schmidt in the dark about the project, despite the fact that he was on Apple's board. And what a difference it made. Despite the fact that everyone expected Apple to make a tablet, they still managed to catch the entire industry off guard. There still aren't any good competitors to the iPad, and there may never be.
Still, this wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened to Apple. When Apple was working on the first Mac, you'd never guess who was involved with making software for it: Bill Gates. Now this one's easy: guess who came out with Windows shortly afterwards?
It seems as though history truly does repeat. Apple innovates, other companies imitate, and Apple gave them the tools to do so. Perhaps it's time to stop trusting people when they say they will "do no evil".
via CultOfMac
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