Microsoft now openly admits Vista sucked. Which means it has something to mock Apple with over the current iPhone 4 issues. You may be aware of the slight problem Apple is currently having with the iPhone, the latest iteration of its bestselling smartphone.

Microsoft certainly has, and one of the Redmond company’s execs has decided to put the boot in. How? By comparing the iPhone 4 to Windows Vista. For the three people who don’t know anything about Vista, it’s the Windows operating system sandwiched between XP and Windows 7.

While XP and Windows 7 are absolute gems, Vista is and was a bit of a dud. It had multiple issues when it was launched, and despite improvements turning Vista into a solid operating system, those early problems meant it never recovered in the eyes of consumers, many of which stuck with XP until Windows 7 arrived.

The iPhone 4 has a serious antenna problem which Apple looks set to address tomorrow morning. In the meantime, iPhone 4 owners have been advised not to hold it in the way that is causing the problem. Sound advice.

During a keynote speech at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft’s chief operating officer Kevin Turner said:    One of the things that I want to make sure that you know today is that you’re going to be able to use the Windows Phone 7 and not have to worry about how you’re holding it to make a phone call. It looks like the iPhone 4 might be their Vista, and I’m okay with that.

This shows that Microsoft has conceded that Vista failed, at least internally, and that it’s also not afraid to mock the competition if the opportunity arises. Turner didn’t stop there either, also mocking Google over its recent Street View privacy issues: We’re not snooping your Wi-Fi. That’s not what we’re about. We don’t have a mission statement that reminds us not to do evil.

This isn’t like Microsoft, but I kind of like the new snarky attitude. The fact is that Apple and Google are Microsoft’s biggest competitors in certain fields, and a little bit of mocking is therefore healthy. Let’s just hope the comments don’t come back to bite Microsoft on the ass.