It is a nice gesture, but I see it more as a setup for the next statement - "...what we focus on is innovating... and somewhat ignore how many horses there are." He's throwing MS in the race to deflate that prior binary Windows/Mac mind share dynamic being applicable to mobile - that for one to win the other has to lose.

In other words, I read that as Tim trying to convey they are more in competition with themselves than with others; that they're raising the bar by their own standards rather than paying attention to what the competition is doing.

And don't forget the upcoming windows 8. I think that they can recognize that Microsoft will finally offer something new. And maybe, the true rival for iOS and iPad format will come from Redmond, not from Mountain View.

I suspect the hat tip to Windows Phone is more along the lines of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

I think it means Tim Cook is a smart executive who doesn't write off his competitors.

Even if you look at Apple's history, way back when, IBM wrote off "all that software stuff" that Microsoft was doing. MSFT ended up having the last laugh there as they ate IBM's lunch with software.

(True, IBM did pivot, but I'm thinking in the Apple/Microsoft perspective).

[EDIT: plus, Microsoft trounced Apple once. That means they could do it again.]

> [EDIT: plus, Microsoft trounced Apple once. That means they could do it again.]

Those were different companies. It was Sculley's Apple (with a lot of an immature Jobs thrown in) and Bill's Microsoft helped by a seriously shortsighted IBM. Plus, Microsoft really didn't eat Apple's lunch until Windows 3, which also ate IBM's lunch for dessert.

I don't think Microsoft is capable of betting the company on some disruptive innovation like they were with Windows 3. They are too big and there is too much infighting between the various divisions.

IMO, the real reason for this comment is to avoid sounding anti-competitive.

Even innocuous comments about market position or market leadership can come back to bite a company in an antitrust lawsuit.

For Steve it was personal and bitter with Microsoft. For Tim, who's been with Apple during the ascent from the abyss back in 1998, it's a different story, although I'm sure he still takes Microsoft seriously.

I think more its an acknowledgement of two things, the first being that Microsoft really is a company that always suits up. The second being that WP7 is an attempt at coming up with something new and innovative. I think from the Apple executives perspective that's a significant change.

Or it could be that WP doesn't represent a threat to them and they'd rather have it as a competitor versus Android.