Microsoft

Given their history with Apple, it's pretty surprising that Microsoft, the biggest software company in the world, has not released a competitor to the iPhone since it first hit markets 3 years ago. That changed earlier today with the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series, their response to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android OS. The new OS has a lot of cool things that set it apart from the iPhone. The name doesn't seem to be one of them, but the features may make up for it for many people.

I thought it was finally over. Just when I get comfortable not seeing those words, they came up again, and this time with a surprisingly short time-table attached. According to Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert, Microsoft is planning to launch a new phone based on Windows Mobile 7, which they describe as being "Zune-like". Yes, that's right. The Zune Phone is back.

It's no secret that Google has gone from Apple's ally to main business rival with the iPhone and Android handsets pitted directly against one another. Now it seems the conflict may get Google removed from the iPhone as the default search engine for Mobile Safari. Rumor has it that Apple is turning to none other than their old rival, Microsoft, to supply their Bing search engine as the replacement. If the negotiations go through, Bing may replace Google on the iPhone.

Microsoft took a subtle crack at Apple's highly controversial App Store rejection policies in an entertaining ad for Windows Marketplace, the App Store equivalent for Windows Mobile devices. While Apple and the App Store are never directly mentioned, it does seem to poke fun at the overwhelming number of stupid apps in the App Store.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer apparently had issues with a Microsoft employee in Seattle this week after the employee was caught snapping a picture with an iPhone. Ballmer then grabbed the iPhone, joked about it and held it aloft as the crowd booed. He then pretended to stomp on it and walked away, with everything being shown on the big screen behind him.

It was only a matter of time until Microsoft made something for the iPhone, and they're starting out with a bang. Right off the bat, the first app they've launched shows off some of the more impressive technology owned by the company that works especially well on multitouch devices. We're talking about Seadragon, which lets users "infinitely zoom" in on high quality images extremely smoothly with next to no loading time or lag whatsoever. You can grab Seadragon Mobile as a free download in the App Store.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has in the past expressed interest in getting Microsoft Silverlight, their own take on an Adobe Flash developing framework, on the iPhone, but at the time he said he hadn't discussed it with Apple so he didn't have many details to go in to. Now Microsoft is back and while they're making a concerted effort to get it on Google's Android platform, Silverlight on iPhone is becoming less and less likely.

Those of you familiar with the time-old rivalry between software companies Apple and Microsoft probably appreciate the significance of the fact that Apple has created their own software development platform in the iPhone and iPod touch. The App Store is a hit, and everybody wants a part of it, even Microsoft, who recently unveiled plans for their own iPhone app, TellMe.

Microsoft is probably not going to create an Xbox Live app for the iPhone, but they are letting third party developers fill the void, so there won't be a shortage for you Xbox fans. Their only restriction, however, is that they are not allowed to charge money for it, but have to offer it for free.