> I think that Google was more worried about Microsoft dominating smartphones, not Apple.
Maybe initially, before the iPhone. But the iPhone was the Dreadnaught of phones: everything that came before it became instantly irrelevant (look for HMS Dreadnaught).
> Microsoft would be tempted to use smartphone dominance to steer search traffic to Bing rather than Google.
Just as Apple would as well, unless Google pays, which it does.
Maybe initially, before the iPhone. But the iPhone was the Dreadnaught of phones: everything that came before it became instantly irrelevant (look for HMS Dreadnaught).
> Microsoft would be tempted to use smartphone dominance to steer search traffic to Bing rather than Google.
Just as Apple would as well, unless Google pays, which it does.