It seems that Apple is taking a look over its competition and is quite mistrustful about it, as a recent declaration of Tim Cook, CEO at Apple during Steve Jobs’ temporary retirement from the company, has made some bitter remarks regarding smartphone manufacturer Palm.

At this week’s press conference about Apple’s revenues in Q1, a journalist asked for Tim Cook’s opinion about the multitouch screen technology similarities between the iPhone and the fresh released Palm Pre.

Cook harshly replied that the company “likes” competition, but it would do whatever it takes to protect its intellectual property (IP), as he added that some companies presumably “ripped off” Apple’s IP. He pointed out that Apple would use “whatever weapons” at its disposal in order to correct such illicit actions, although if he hasn’t explicitly named Palm in his statement.

It seems that the main point of Tim Cook’s statement was related to the fact that the Palm Pre is allegedly based on Apple’s technical patents in what multi touch features concern. The Palm Pre, which was highlighted at this year’s edition of the Consumer Electronics Show did quite a good impression, as it seemed to be the first multi touch capable smartphone that provides with the same flawless user experience as the iPhone does.

The Palm Pre looks like it has been specifically designed to be a true iPhone competitor, as it features a high-resolution screen, a GPS integrated navigation module, a wireless card and a capable 3.2 megapixels camera with video recording capabilities, the latter being a functionality that isn’t available on the iPhone.