Apple made $600m bid for AdMob, claims NYT

But lost out to Google after 45-day 'no shop' period elapsed.

It's been widely rumoured that Apple was keen on a potential acquisition of AdMob before Google announced it was buying the mobile advertising firm last November.

However, the New York Times claims Apple's interest went as far as making a $600 million bid for AdMob, and agreeing a 45-day 'no shop' provision to prevent AdMob offering itself to other suitors.

The article suggests that Apple did not close the deal in that time, allowing Google to swoop in with its own $750 million offer - an acquisition which has yet to close.

The claim is part of a longer article on the increasingly ferocious competition between Apple and Google, which the NYT suggests has become a bitter battle between CEOs Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt.

"I’ve never seen anything quite like it in my life," one Apple employee tells the paper. "I’m in so many meetings where so many potshots are taken. It feels weird."