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We know that Eric Schmidt and Steve Jobs are reasonably close business associates, but the idea of the two companies setting up shop together seems a little too surreal. Maybe we could call such a merger of Google and Apple, "Gapple." Ok, neither company is about to give up its brand name, especially not Google with its world-beating brand recognition.

Perhaps we could call them merged equals. Eric Savitz said in a Seeking Alpha piece that John Heilemann has heard a little buzz about the two firms becoming one:

He also quotes an unnamed person asserting that - get this - Jobs might want to sell Apple to another very large company with which you are familiar. “I think Google is going to buy Apple,” the unidentified person says. “It would be a victory for Apple; they’d get major-league partners, money and engineers. And it would be a victory for Steve - a huge win that lets him leave the stage.”

In that scenario, Jobs becomes either CEO or chairman of the combined company. We would guess 'chairman' first, leaving Schmidt the chief executive of the merged businesses.

If it happens, Savitz expects Apple shareholders would see a fat premium, maybe 40 percent, for their shares.

Google might be the only major tech company that could make such a bid without annoying the Mac faithful. Microsoft makes more sense as a potential Apple merger partner, due to its resources and its standing as the biggest maker of Mac software outside of Apple itself.

Microsoft and Apple? Now that's surreal.