iPod, iPhones Banned in Bill Gates' Family

It's been quite the day of iPhone bashing. This morning we reported that Steve Ballmer had trashed Apple’s smartphone during a recent midyear update in New York. Ballmer told analysts that the iPhone didn’t have the same market potential as devices running Windows Mobile or Android and it seems Mrs Bill is inclined to agree.

In an interview with Vogue magazine, the wife of the former Microsoft CEO, Melinda Gates, detailed a few of the things that were not allowed in the house and it seems Apple products are among them. Despite the fact that Melinda said that he sometimes gets a little iPhone envy when he sees his friends playing with one, the ex-Microsoft employee told Vogue that their children are not allowed iPhones nor iPods. Check out the excerpt from Vogue:

Still, being a Microsoft child does carry unusual burdens. “There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household,” Gates tells me. “But iPods and iPhones are two things we don’t get for our kids.” (…) Still, Gates acknowledges the inevitable lure of forbidden fruit. “Every now and then I look at my friends and say, ‘Ooh, I wouldn’t mind having that iPhone.’”

Does this mean Bill’s kids are stuck with Zunes? Ouch.

If you care about the more philanthropic side of Bill Gates and wonder what he and his wife are up to as of late, feel free to head on over to Vogue and read the rest of the article.