[admiralpumpkin]

I think you've wrongly inferred motives in both cases.

MS, as always, is about the money. There have been many articles recently suggesting that MS might be making more money off of Android than Google itself. As proof, see willingness to license.

Apple, as always, is about the art. Right or wrong, they are offended that anyone would use their creation. They will litigate out of principle. As proof, see (general) unwillingness to license.

To be clear, I'm not at all addressing the issue of whether or not the patents are valid, or whether patents in general are good; I'm just ascribing motivations.