Apple Inc. (AAPL) Needs to Fight Back Before It’s Too Late: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Google Inc (GOOG)

No more Mr. Nice “i”
It will be interesting to see if Schiller reaching out to media yesterday to knock Android is the beginning of another attack strategy.

Dissing Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) clearly paid off. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) belittled Windows so much that even Windows 7 and Windows 8 haven’t been enough to preserve the PC industry. It whetted appetites for something more, and that’s when Apple unleashed the iOS revolution.

Apple’s been battling Samsung in the courtroom for a long time. The legal fisticuffs have been flying worldwide. However, Apple needs to go on the attack, especially if tonight’s S IV features are seen as truly bar-raising updates.

Android is the new Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Android is the new bully that needs to be taken down a peg, controlling two-thirds of the global smartphone market according to industry tracker Gartner Inc (NYSE:IT). Apple’s share of the smartphone market was a mere 19% last year.

Android attack
Taking down Android won’t be easy.

When Apple was taking shots at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the latter was an easy target. Microsoft’s the company that made computing more expensive by forcing hardware makers to shell out serious money for its operating system. Android, on the other hand, is the mobile operating system of the people. It’s open source. It’s free for handset makers to put out or skin into their own platforms.

We get a sense for where Apple could attack even the specs-rich Galaxy S IV from Schiller’s comments. Challenging Android by drumming up the lack of seamless integration is a start. Apple can also play up the engagement given the studies that show that iOS owners use their devices more than Android buyers.

“At Apple we know that it’s not just enough to have products pumped out in large numbers,” Schiller argues. “You have to love and use them. There is a lot of data showing a big disparity there.”

If Schiller’s aim is spot on, it might work. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) needs to do something as it waits out the next iPhone or the long-rumored release of a cheaper smartphone.

The article Apple Needs to Fight Back Before It’s Too Late originally appeared on Fool.com  and is written by Rick Munarriz

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.