Microsoft was considered to have a monopoly (whether you or I agree). As such they were subject to different rules. Apple, especially when iPhone launched, did not have any kind of monopoly on cellphones nor did they have one on PDAs (which is really where <i>smartphones</i> come from, not cellphones).<p>As for people, people didn&#x27;t sue Microsoft, companies did. People mostly didn&#x27;t care. Companies like Sun and Netscape cared. They&#x27;re they ones that lobbied to have the government declare MS a monopoly. In other words nothing to do with execution and perceived awesomeness by customers. At the time MS was sued IE was the best browser by pretty much every measure so customers wanted it. It was companies that were upset.<p>Also malware infested vs walled garden is a false dichotomy