Schmidt and Jobs Chat

 

6) What's this I hear about a location-sharing service?

Something crystallizes for Schmidt. Apple famously rejected Google Voice and Google Latitude as native iPhone applications, forcing Google to render its phone management and location-based tools as Web apps running on the iPhone. But evidence has surfaced that Apple is working on a few location-based services of its own.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office Dec. 31 published Apple's location-sharing patent and position fix indicator patent, both of which describe functionality akin to what Google Latitude provides for users.

The Patently Apple site later discovered that Apple is working on iGroups, a social networking app intended to "allow groups of friends or colleagues attending such events as a concert, a trade show, business meeting, wedding or rally to stay in communication with each other as a group to share information or reactions to live events as they're occurring."

Isn't that what Google Buzz for Mobile is for? It certainly can be. So, in this scenario, Schmidt asks Jobs about these moves. Jobs merely offers a smug shoulder shrug. Apple can't let Google, Twitter and Facebook have all the location-sharing fun.

7) Google search on iPad?

Schmidt and Jobs huddle on how Google can fit on Apple's iPad. While apple is promoting its own productivity apps for the iPaid, what about search? Perhaps Jobs also tells Schmidt Bing would be the default search engine.

If Apple is planning on going to Bing for the iPhone, wouldn't it make sense to promote Bing on the iPad? This could be devastating for Google. The iPhone is a major driver of search traffic for Google and if the iPad ships 10 million units this year as some expect, Google would love to be the search service.

8) Google Chrome on iPad

Google would love to get its Google Chrome browser onto the iPad. While Google does make Chrome for Mac, the iPad OS is not a Mac OS, it's an iPhone OS. Safari is the default Web browser for the iPad.

That makes Google SOL, or at least until Google releases Chrome OS on a tablet in 2011. Just spitballing there, but with the iPad imminent, you'd think Google has to answer.

9) Counseling

Perhaps it was a personal chat, with Jobs advising (or consoling) Schmidt over his alleged mistress issues. Okay, we don't really believe that either, but who knows? Unless you can find a fly on the table willing to talk, we'll never know.

10) Making up is hard to do

Perhaps Schmidt and Jobs settled their companies' differences and cleared the air on numerous fronts, agreeing to compete in some areas and collaborate in others.

So how is this "coopetition" any different from the current relationship? It isn't, but perhaps Jobs and Apple will back off trying to run Android into the ground through lawsuits.

Isn't iPhone versus Android great for the industry on the whole?