30 August 2006 | Author: Andrew Girdwood Head of Strategy

iGoogle

Eric Schmidt has battled against Microsoft at Novell and at Sun Microsystems but it has been in his role as CEO at Google where he has scored the most points against the software giant. Dr. Schmidt has joined Apple's board of directors and added another Microsoft enemy to his portfolio.

Dr Schmidt was successfully elected into his new position on Tuesday. He sits on the board of two of the biggest brands the Information Age has seen so far. There are eight members on Apple's board including Al Gore. The former vice president also has a role as a senior advisor at Google. Arthur Levinson also sits on both Google and Apple's boards.

Schmidt comes to Apple at a time where the iconic computer company is in the depths of a stock options investigation and facing the possibility of a delisting from the Nasdaq. Apple has to deal with a 1.8 million computer battery recall option, caught up in the same Sony batteries scare as PC powerhouse Dell.

"Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire," Schmidt said in a statement. "I'm really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple's board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing."

By 4:30pm New York time Apple's shares had dipped by 50 cents to $66.48 - down nearly 8 per cent this year. Google's shares were down $2 by 4:00pm which is a fall of nearly 9 per cent for the year.

The potential closeness between Google and Apple is likely to heighten speculation as to further partnerships between the companies - both known to have a distain for Microsoft. Google's newly launched its Web Based Application system allows charities and small businesses to run co-branded web email and online calendar. The move to deliver web-based applications is seen as competition to Microsoft's predominantly client based software suites. Google's Writely and online spreadsheet applications have not been included in the bundle leaving even more scope to tackle Microsoft head on. Microsoft has announced their own MP3 player - Zune - with the hope of challenging the Apple ipod's dominance in the personal music marketplace.

A possible collaboration between Google and Apple could use the ever present ipod as a means to promoting mobile computing devices.

Dr Schmidt and Apple CEO Steve Jobs are each ranked in America's most richest according to Forbes Magazine'. Google's Schmidt is credited with a fortune of $4.8 billion while Jobs has a worth of $4.4 billion.

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