The resignation today of Erik Schmidt, CEO of Google, from Apple’s board of directors came as little surprise to many in the industry, considering the “potential conflicts of interest” between them. While the two tech giants have been seen as allies for the last handful of years, Google’s emerging product offerings – the G1 smartphone and a pending release of a computer operating system based off of its Chrome browser – now place the two companies in direct competition with each other, a move that fundamentally alters their relationship.
The New York Times reports that the split occurred under relatively friendly terms, and “Apple praised Mr. Schmidt for his work. But the company’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, said in a statement that Mr. Schmidt’s position would have been ’significantly diminished’ because he would have been forced to recuse himself from more of the meetings as Google and Apple began to compete head to head.”
This announcement serves to further complicate the race for top dog on the web, particularly given the power grab made by Microsoft and Yahoo! last week to regain ground in the search market. Google followed Schmidt’s announcement with news it would be starting a massive billboard advertising campaign in the major markets of Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Fransisco in order to combat fears that Microsoft’s new deal with Yahoo! would adversely affect the industry leader’s current dominance.
Even though conventional roadside billboards may seem anathema to the Google ethos given the almost esoteric nature of the format, it’s clear that the move will ultimately support the company’s bid to break into the operating system market long though of as a duopoly. According to Fast Company, the billboards, located next to high trafficked commuter routes, will “update every day for a month, and as the days go by it’ll reveal more and more about the concept of “going Google.”
And although Eric Schmidt downplayed the implications of his departure from the board of Apple, “clearly Google is confident enough in its software that it sees it as a real, working, reliable, solid and cheaper alternative to the business production solutions that MS has been peddling for decades,” it’s hard to ignore the obvious implications, namely, Google pitting its prospects against those of its former partner-in-crime.
Needless to say, with the current reordering at the top of the heap, it appears like the battle for web supremacy will continue to heat up, a fact that should lead to some interesting innovations as these companies drive each other and attempt to take hold of greater market share.