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Walter Isaacson Says Jobs' Rage Over Android Was Real

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Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson says Jobs' anger over Android was real and not "for show" as alleged by Google's Larry Page in an interview this week. Macworld UK attended a lecture Isaacson gave at the Royal Institution and the biographer said that Jobs felt Android's similarity to iOS was "history repeating itself", and compared it to Jobs' feeling that Microsoft's Windows was a rip-off of the Macintosh.

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He did the integrated system again, iPod, iPad, and it worked, “but what happens? Google rips it off”.

Isaacson continued: “It's almost copied verbatim by Android. And then they licence it around promiscuously. And then Android starts surpassing Apple in market share, and this totally infuriated him. It wasn't a matter of money. He said: 'You can't pay me off, I'm here to destroy you'.”

Isaacson went on to say that he believes that Tim Cook will handle things differently and "will settle that lawsuit." Apple is currently involved in a number of lawsuits over Android with manufacturers around the world.

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Top Rated Comments

gorskiegangsta Avatar
gorskiegangsta
185 months ago
Well, of course it was real. Page seems to be thinking that just because Jobs agreed to be his mentor that everything was alright between Apple and Google. In fact Jobs was most furious at Schmidt, for doing what he did - being on Apple's board, learning about the iPhone project and then using that info to modify Android based on iOS and launching a competing product.

That would be a dick move by anyone's standards, not just Jobs' or Schmidt's. Jobs is perfectly justified in being enraged by it, especially since it is "a history repeating itself".
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
pooprscooper
185 months ago
Jobs felt Android's similarity to iOS was "history repeating itself", and compared it to Jobs' feeling that Microsoft's Windows was a rip-off of the Macintosh.
Which it was.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ca$hflow Avatar
Ca$hflow
185 months ago
This really had more truth then Larry's truth. I would also like to ad that Steve Jobs motivation isn't money, it's more of how he can change the world in a simplistic style.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applesith Avatar
applesith
185 months ago
Larry Page, Mat Cutts and all of them are full of it. They always make stuff up or outright lie when when they talk about Google. Ever listen to Mat's search related statements for Google? He just lies.

Hey Larry, why wait until Steve is dead to talk about this?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
gpat
185 months ago
You simply can't destroy Android. Google is a bigger reality than Apple, and is backed by every OEM except Apple itself. It has the patents of Motorola, which kind of invented the mobile phone, and makes money off every smartphone, including, and especially, the iPhone.

Tim did the right thing over there, accepting Android and making money from it. Steve was a genius, but his mentality was simply too closed sometimes.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
darkslide29
185 months ago
Jobs was the wealth creator, and now Cook will act as the wealth keeper.
As much as I would like Cook to go on with the thermonuclear war on Android, with his role as wealth keeper he will likely settle and make compromises.

But part of me continues to think that it would be fun to see Jobs truly try to destroy the Android platform with Apple's cash.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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