Steve Jobs Declared 'Holy War' on Google

The new Apple vs. Samsung trial has unearthed emails from Steve Jobs which reveal the competition with Google and Android wasn't just business for Jobs, it was a 'holy war', reports the WSJ.

The emails were disclosed by Samsung’s lawyers as the two companies offered opening arguments in the latest round of the long-running feud between Apple and Samsung in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif. In an October 2010 email to Apple’s 100 top employees ahead of an annual retreat, Jobs outlined discussion points for the meeting, including “2011: Holy War with Google.”


Jobs said, “Apple is in danger of hanging on to old paradigm for too long (innovator’s dilemma)” and “Google and Microsoft are further along on the technology” to synchronize user data and media across devices and lock customers into their ecosystem. Jobs continued, saying that Apple “needed to catch up to Android where we are behind” citing “notifications, tethering and speech” as key areas to work on. He also noted that Apple could leapfrog Android with features like Siri.

Samsung is highlighting this information at trial to suggest that Apple's real fight is with Google, not Samsung. Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny said, “Don’t be misled by that. This case is not about Google.”

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