Why hasnt Apple sued Google directly?? - Goog Set Droid Gang CEO

[newarkhiphop]

Google's roving uncle, Eric Schmidt, has sat down with the Wall Street Journal to talk about life and times at Mountain View. When asked about the ongoing saga between Apple and Android manufacturers, Schmidt said "it's extremely curious that Apple has chosen to sue Google's partners and not Google itself." However, rather than an invitation to a back-alley knife-fight, it seems the company chairman is hoping for a peaceful solution to the pair's enmity. He also talks about the real loser in this global patent conflict -- anyone looking to set up their own device company to follow in the footsteps of Android's daddy, Andy Rubin.

Eric Schmidt: 'it's extremely curious' that Apple hasn't yet sued Google

Full Interview

Google's Explainer-in-Chief Can't Explain Apple - WSJ.com

Here some of the more interesting quetions

WSJ: Do you still see Google, Apple, Amazon Inc. and Facebook Inc. FB +0.22% as the "Gang of Four" companies that matter the most in consumer technology?

Mr. Schmidt: I do. We had never in our industry seen four network platforms of that scale. We had seen IBM, IBM -0.70% and we had seen Microsoft MSFT +0.28% . But now we have four, and the resultant competition is a huge change in the industry.



WSJ: Are Apple and Google discussing a patent-related settlement?

Mr. Schmidt: Apple and Google are well aware of the legal strategies of each other. Part of the conversations that are going on all the time is to talk about them.

It's extremely curious that Apple has chosen to sue Google's partners and not Google itself.

WSJ: What's the endgame of all of this patent litigation?

Mr. Schmidt: It'll continue for a while. Google is doing fine. Apple is doing fine. Let me tell you the loser here.

There's a young [Android co-founder] Andy Rubin trying to form a new version of Danger [the smartphone company Mr. Rubin co-founded before Android]. How is he or she going to be able to get the patent coverage necessary to offer version one of their product? That's the real consequence of this.

WSJ: What do you think of Microsoft's new operating system Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8?

Mr. Schmidt: I have not used it, but I think that Microsoft has not emerged as a trendsetter in this new model yet

the windows 8 jab