The fanboy Apple/Microsoft debate may rage on, but don’t doubt that both companies are viewing the iPhone as a big profit opportunity. Fortune has been talking to the Specialized Devices and Applications Group at Microsoft, who are responsible for Mac-friendly software like Office for OS X, and the team there are keen to stress that they’re seeing the coveted Apple cellphone as a prospective platform.

“It’s really urgent for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone. To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand

that now” Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president, Specialized Devices and Applications Group, Microsoft

“We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us confidence to be able to do something. The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We’re still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It’s just come out. So we had a guess as to what feasibility would be like, now we’ll really get our head wrapped around that” Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president, Specialized Devices and Applications Group, Microsoft

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Orginal post by Chris Davies