What are Apple and Google up to?

20 years ago

“Some of the loudest buzzing at Apple’s Sept. 12 event, where Apple unveiled its new home video strategy, started up before Jobs ever took the stage: A throng of reporters waiting to get into the San Francisco theater Apple had rented for the day saw Marrisa Mayer, Google’s mediagenic vice president of search products, wander into the event,” Rachel Rosmarin reports for Forbes.

“That was it. Mayer didn’t say a word to the press, and she didn’t appear on stage with Jobs. But Mayer’s appearance at an Apple event would be big news under normal circumstances: She is one of Google’s highest-profile executives, and doesn’t need to travel from the company’s Mountain View headquarters to get an update on new iPods,” Rosmarin reports.

Rosmarin reports, “And since Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt had joined Apple’s board of directors two weeks earlier, it was easy enough for bored reporters to speculate about what the two companies might be up to. Google and Apple aren’t complete strangers: Prior to Schmidt’s move, the two already shared Genentech Chief Executive Arthur Levinson as a board member, and Google is already the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser. But what new deals, products and services could the two tech giants be talking about? Conversations have already begun, according to Newsweek, which reported this week that Google and Apple are discussing some sort of video deal.”

Rosmarin reports, “The iTunes store represents prime online advertising space, says analyst Michael Gartenberg. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Google wanted to get into that–and Apple may want to monetize that traffic flow beyond just the sales of songs. I suspect these two companies are in talks on many different levels.'”

Full article with more possibilities that could result from “Google-Apple corporate inbreeding” here.