Google and Apple sever board tie-up

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. tech giants Apple Inc. and Google Inc. no longer share board members as director Arthur Levinson resigned from the Google board Monday, Google said.

Levinson, a former chief executive officer of Genentech, has been on both boards since 2004, when he joined Google's board of directors. He has served on Apple's board since 2000, Ars Technica reported.

Board relations between the two companies has been friendly for years. Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt also served on the Apple board, but quit when the Federal Trade Commission began to investigate antitrust issues between the companies.

As competition has escalated between the companies, regulators have begun to delve into the cozy relationship between the two boards.

Google supplies Google Maps for the iPhone, but its Android operating system is a direct competitor with iPhone's OS X.

In August, when Schmidt resigned, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, "unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple's core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric's effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished."

Thinking ahead, Apple bought a small company, Placebase, this year that makes a map system that competes with Google's, perhaps a sign the relationship between the companies will become more formal, Ars Technica reported.