Steve Jobs said he was willing to spend every penny of Apple's US$40 billion in the bank to destroy Android.

The former Apple CEO once considered Android a big problem and vowed to destroy it. He said he'd launch a thermonuclear war against Android because it's a stolen product.

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Through the years, the war went on as Apple targeted Android OEMs rather than Google itself. Apple had a high profile case against Samsung but the Cupertino-based company conducted its patent warfare via The Rockstar Consortium, a joint venture of five big tech companies including Microsoft and Apple.

Rockstar outbid Google to acquire the 2011 Nortel patent portfolio and won with a US$4.5 billion offer. Apple owned 2.6 billion shares as Rockstar's majority owner. The portfolio included intellectual property involving cellular connectivity and W-iFi networking among other mobile technology-related areas.

Rockstar sued Google and other Android OEMs such as HTC and Samsung over these patents but the companies have settled their differences.

Google and Apple announced they would push for patent reform as Samsung and Apple resolved their disputes.

Analysts think Apple's war against Android isn't beneficial even if it's aimed at preventing Android devices from becoming popular. This isn't happening because the Android OS now powers most smartphones worldwide.

A new player, Xiaomi, is adding to Apple's headaches and is making waves in the market. Xiaomi estimates that in five to 10 years, it will have the opportunity to be the top smartphone company in the world.

TagsThermonuclear War, Steve Jobs