Apple’s Tim Cook: competitors still “trying to catch up with the first iPhone”

When you’re the clear frontrunner in any field, you’re entitled to the occasional display of arrogance. Speaking at Apple’s Q4 earnings call, where profits of $1.67 billion were announced, Apple COO Tim Cook took advantage of that unwritten rule.

When asked how Apple views its competition, he had this to say: “I think they’re trying to catch up with the first iPhone that we released two years ago, and we’ve long since moved beyond that.”

While he’s entitled to be confident given the iPhone’s success, perhaps someone should point him in the direction of the Palm Pre or the imminent Motorola Droid, both of which boast a number of features that even the iPhone 3GS doesn’t possess.

Such comparative merits are something that US network Verizon is keen to point out in its current marketing push for the Droid.

One thing’s for sure - the smart phone war is going to be a whole lot bloodier in 2010.