04 August 2009
Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a statement asserting that Schmidt's resignation was a mutual decision by the board, and Schmidt concurs that both companies "agreed it makes sense for me to step down now."
This resignation comes in the midst of an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into the potential conflict of interest between digital powerhouses Google and Apple. Schmidt's resignation is seen by the New York Times as an admission by both companies that they are now directly competing in software produced for personal computers and mobile phones.
Google is currently working on its Chrome operating system based on the browser of the same name that will directly compete with Apple's Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, and last month Apple rejected two Google applications produced for the iPhone, including Google Voice, an app which allows cheap international calls and texts. This low-cost service could have potentially damaged Apple's business partner AT&T, which subsidises the cost of the iPhone.
With last year's drop in software market share of common enemy MicrosoftGoogle and Apple are becoming increasingly dominant in that lucrative market as each releases software in direct competition with each other. Google's revenue from products such as Google Chrome and Google Docs is difficult to evaluate due to Google's predilection for free giveaways, in order to attract traffic to its search engine.
According to the New York Times, director of the FTC's bureau of competition Richard Feinstein observes that "sharing directors raises competitive issues." Former Genentech chairman Arthur Levinson remains on both Google and Apple boards for the time being.
Google chief resigns from Apple board over conflict of interests
The growing conflict of interests between software giants Google and Apple has been acknowledged by both companies with the resignation of Google's CEO Eric Schmidt from the Apple board.Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a statement asserting that Schmidt's resignation was a mutual decision by the board, and Schmidt concurs that both companies "agreed it makes sense for me to step down now."
This resignation comes in the midst of an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into the potential conflict of interest between digital powerhouses Google and Apple. Schmidt's resignation is seen by the New York Times as an admission by both companies that they are now directly competing in software produced for personal computers and mobile phones.
Google is currently working on its Chrome operating system based on the browser of the same name that will directly compete with Apple's Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, and last month Apple rejected two Google applications produced for the iPhone, including Google Voice, an app which allows cheap international calls and texts. This low-cost service could have potentially damaged Apple's business partner AT&T, which subsidises the cost of the iPhone.
With last year's drop in software market share of common enemy MicrosoftGoogle and Apple are becoming increasingly dominant in that lucrative market as each releases software in direct competition with each other. Google's revenue from products such as Google Chrome and Google Docs is difficult to evaluate due to Google's predilection for free giveaways, in order to attract traffic to its search engine.
According to the New York Times, director of the FTC's bureau of competition Richard Feinstein observes that "sharing directors raises competitive issues." Former Genentech chairman Arthur Levinson remains on both Google and Apple boards for the time being.
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