Sony and Apple get together for barbed love-in

Sony execs look to be the hottest signing in the tech world right now. Rumour has it Apple head honcho Steve Jobs tried to woo a top Sony exec over an iTunes union and Microsoft top dog Bill Gates told the Wall Street Journal last week he thought Sony president Kunitake Ando would do well to come out fighting his corner.

So where does Ando stand? If Steve Jobs' keynote at Macworld San Francisco is anything to go by, Ando hasn't cut his ties to Cupertino just yet.

Speaking on stage alongside Jobs, Ando reiterated the partnership between the two companies - although the rivalry was still apparent.

"Steve has said he's a great fan of Sony products," Ando said as the heads of the two multinationals got together to promote high-definition DVD.

Despite the rumour that Jobs failed to seduce Sony over to iTunes compatibility, Ando and Jobs were talking up their hardware-software partnership - Sony's latest high definition camcorder, the HDV Handycam and Apple's iLife '05 media suite.

"2005 is the year of high definition in the home," Jobs said, adding of the partnership: "We compete with Sony in a friendly way... we cooperate too."

Ando also stressed the love-in between Apple and Sony: "Sony and Apple have had long close relationship for many, many years."

However, it didn't stop Jobs taking a gentle pop at the Japanese electronics giant. Seemingly speaking of the pair's rivalry in online music, Jobs said: "We do like Sony products - but not all of them."