The New York Times, which is one of Apple's favourite newspapers, has been seen giving Microsoft a bit of a hit with a rubber hose. Microsoft is quoted as saying that it has learnt a lot from the way Apple has gone into the mobile market and it will be learning from what it did.

It quotes Terry Myerson, vice president of Windows Phone Engineering at Microsoft as saying that the iPhone “opened our eyes” as to some of the things “that needed to be done that were not in our plan. Some execution had really gone astray." Of course it is part of the Apple fanboi creed that Microsoft copies Steve Jobs and it seems that the Times was just happy at the headline and left it there.

But Myerson specified that the things that Microsoft was interested in copying was nothing to do with the technology or look and feel of the iPhone. Microsoft has had access to that technology for years. However what it wants with its Windows Phone 7 is to use its OEM partners to push its vision rather than their own. Redmond has let its OEMS have a free reign in the past when it comes to designing devices.

With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft will work with OEMs in a more structured fashion, setting minimum hardware requirements and increasing the amount of Microsoft-developed software on devices. In short what Redmond wants to copy is Apple's control over its suppliers so that it can have the hardware and software working together. While this has been good for Apple and will be good for Microsoft, it is not so hot for consumers who end up wth less choice or control over what their products do.