According to the latest excerpt from Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Steve Jobs, HTC's introduction of what Apple considered iPhone-live made Jobs "livid" and were equated with "grand theft".
"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong," Jobs said. "I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."
Jobs reportedly told then Google CEO and former Apple board member, Eric Schmidt:
"I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want."
The issue is still unresolved and Apple has filed high profile patent infringement suits against a variety of Android ODM's, including HTC, Motorola, and Samsung.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson is available for pre-order now, and it wouldn't surprise me if we got more fiery - and marketable -- excerpts as the release draws near.
Source: AP
