Google calls Apple "valuable partner"

Steve Jobs is trashing Google internally according to rumors, but Google is having none of it. Company reps told the press at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week that Google considers Apple "a very close and valuable partner," and that they believe that the relationship between the two companies "is stable."

Of course, they were responding to rumors that Microsoft's Bing search engine would replace Google on the iPhone, and common sense will tell you that it'll be a cold day somewhere very warm before Apple chooses to partner with Microsoft over Google. If push came to shove, Steve would probably create his own search engine before partnering up with anyone in Redmond.

But maybe the Google folks are also playing politics a little here -- Steve is not an unreasonable man, and he is known for being direct, especially in personal communication. Jobs can complain all he want in an internal meeting, but in public, it's probably best that Google takes the high road. Apple and Google may eventually have to show down over cell phones, but until they absolutely have to, it's probably better if they both play as nice as possible.

[via Ars]