Steve Ballmer to be Part of 2010 WWDC Keynote?!

**This rumour has been squashed! Microsoft confirmed via twitter this is NOT true**

Apple’s 2010 WWDC is scheduled to kick off on June 7th with Steve Jobs running the show. It is widely expected that Apple will debut its next iPhone 4G/HD to the world. We’ve seen the Gizmodo leak of the next iPhone and rumours of a backup iPhone. Just what tricks will Apple have up their sleeves? How about…Steve Ballmer! Say what?!

Steve Ballmer to Present at WWDC?

Here’s a very interesting rumour from Barron’s:

Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with tiny Global Equities Research, contends that 7 minutes of the June 7 keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been blocked off for a presentation by Microsoft (MSFT) to talk about Visual Studio 2010, the company’s suite of development tools. Chowdhry says the new version of VS will allow developers to write native applications for the iPhone, iPad and Mac OS. And here’s the kicker: he thinks Microsoft’s presentation could be given by none other than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. (Or if not, at least Bob Muglia, who runs Microsoft’s server and tools business.)

Now, why would Apple even consider using Steve Ballmer on stage during the WWDC? This could be an interesting response to Google’s latest attack on Apple. Could the Microsoft/Apple relationship be secretly fostering in the background (BTW: Apple is now worth more than Microsoft)? We have heard rumours of Bing becoming the default search engine on mobile Safari. If this was the case, it would be a blow to Google. There are currently over 50 million iPhones and iPod Touches. Just imagine all the searches that take place on Google.

I do have a hunch that Steve Ballmer will not present because of his previous comments about the iPhone in 2007. In case you’ve forgotten, watch the video below:

What do you think? Will Microsoft be playing a larger role within the development of iPhone OS apps?

[Barron’s via Daring Fireball]

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