Say what you like about chair-throwing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer (and lord knows, most people do), he know how to give a good soundbite.  When asked for his reaction to Android at a Tokyo news conference, the opinionated exec dismissed the new platform, calling it “just some words on paper” and going on to emphasise the market share Windows Mobile has among smartphones.

“Right now they have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they’re welcome in our world” Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft

Anybody expecting Microsoft to be less than antagonistic could be described as foolishly naive; the Open Handset Alliance brings together not only arch search-rival Google but a bevy of open-source Linux fans.  Still, while Ballmer might be unwilling to countenance comparisons between Android and WM6, the new group is anything but reticent: it’s been made clear that Google envisages manufacturers choosing their free platform over Microsoft’s offering, both in smartphone and standard phone guises.

Ballmer joins a growing crowd of Android naysayers who doubt Google’s ability to helm the OHA through such a fundamentally different sector to their core business.

[via Slashdot]