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Android Activations To Hit One Billion By End Of Year, Says Eric Schmidt

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by Mike Stenger on
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Android

Executive Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt, spoke at D: Dive Into Mobile today in New York City, and shared some impressive stats. Android is available on 320 different carriers across 160 different countries. There are 700,000 apps in the Google Play Store, and 1.5 million Android activations every single day. Eric claims that activations will hit the magical one billion mark by the end of this year. However, there is still a long way to go. Google’s goal is to reach everybody, and Eric believes that smartphone manufacturers will quickly get to the $100 price point which is important for “those next five billion people looking to get connected”.

Source: Phone Arena

Google’s Eric Schmidt arrives in North Korea

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by Jeff Causey on
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Google’s executive chair Eric Schmidt and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have arrived in North Korea. The trip has been described as a goodwill mission to the country that in many respects is cut off from the rest of the world. It should be no surprise that Schmidt, a big believer in opening up access to the Internet to all people, would be interested in establishing a relationship and possibly starting the process of changing North Korea’s stance. The visit comes at a time when tensions have notched up a bit between the U.S. and North Korea over some of North Korea’s military moves, like the recent test firing of an intercontinental capable missile. The timing of the trip had not been disclosed previously.

source: @AP

Google’s Eric Schmidt All Set To Visit North Korea In The Near Future

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by Roy Alugbue on
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Google head honcho Eric Schmidt is all set for for a visit to North Korea as part of a goodwill mission with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. While the country is identified as a potential hotspot oozing with technological and academic talent, North Korea country is mainly known for its almost militaristic-style government and a country with restrictive internet policies. For now, North Koreans currently has access to a built-in intranet, though access to outside content through the internet is currently not available. While Google is not likely to launch a business venture in North Korea, it is likely that the country is interested in Google specialties as email, maps and products and services. But then again, there is the potential that Google may push for North Korea to embrace access to the World Wide Web: Schmidt is no doubt a supporter for granting internet access for any and all people in the world and  also believes “the Internet and mobile technology have the power to lift people out of poverty and political oppression”. It’s also possible that we may see the overall expansion of Android into the country as well.

Regardless of what it is that comes out of this meeting, it should be something that should progress the isolated country. We’ll know what happens soon enough as Schmidt and Richardson are due to arrive to North Korea possibly as early as this month.

 

source: Associated Press

The great Stephen Colbert and Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt share an hour long discussion ranging from tech to politics [Video]

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by Macky Evangelista on
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Stephen Colbert, one of the most charismatic figures on television today, shared an hour long discussion with Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt. The interview itself isn’t new, but the uncut and whole conversation was just posted on YouTube for all of us to see. Topics ranged from talks about Google Play all the way down to politics.

The highlight of the video, at least for us Android enthusiasts, comes about 8 minutes in where both talk about the Google Play Store and Schmidt’s book. Colbert also has some very nice things to say about Google and it’s endless possibilities at around 29:48 minutes in, so definitely check that part out. You can check out the whole interview below after the break!

» Read the rest

Google’s Eric Schmidt sends message to Apple, explains the ‘adult way to run a business’

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by Colton Kaiser on
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While Google’s Eric Schmidt may have once served on the board of directors at Apple, that apparently hasn’t affected his impartiality. The search giant’s executive chairman took a direct shot at Apple today in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, sending the Cupertino company a personal message, letting them know that the current way they are conducting business is laughingly based on a “teenage model of competition,” as the press would like to put it.

Schmidt also expressed his dismay with Apple’s choice to drop Google Maps in iOS 6, a choice that inevitably proved embarrassing for Tim Cook and co. » Read the rest

Google’s Eric Schmidt acknowledges the “Apple vs Android” battle while leaving Microsoft out

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by Macky Evangelista on
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In a recent interview, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt clearly identifies Android and iOS as the only two top competitors when it comes to the mobile market and even calls it as the industries “defining contest.” With a small jab, Schmidt also claims that Google and Android are currently winning the battle and points out that there are four times more Android phones than iPhones and with 1.3 million activation’s per day, the company should reach a billion total by the end of this year. Quite mind boggling don’t you think? Especially for the early adopters as myself that were there since the beginning of this wonderful OS. Eric also couldn’t help but take another jab at Apple with their decision to go away with Google Maps and replace it with the far less superior iOS Maps. Eric was stated saying that Apple is now discovering that “maps are really hard,” opining that “Apple should have kept our maps… They’re better.”

Schmidt also pointed something out that I think Apple clearly needs to realize. While Schmidt likes to see Android on top, he admits that this intensifying rivalry between the two platforms does nothing but benefit the consumers at the end of the day.

In an interesting take, Schmidt also stated what he thinks are currently the top 4 companies in what he calls the “gang of four.” He states that Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google are the top 4 companies at the moment because they are all different and are all “making enormous investments.” When questioned as to why Microsoft wasn’t on the list, Schmidt said it was “intentional” because Microsoft has not brought any “state-of-the-art products” to the market as of late.

What do you guys think about Schmidt’s top 4 company list? I’d also suggest we take some time to reflect on the fact that Android is nearing its 1 billionth activation! I think it’s quite an impressive feat in such a short amount of time. So with this, I’d like to hear your guys’ Android story. How did you get into Android and when? Also, what Android device made you fall in love with the OS? It may or may not be the first Android device you owned. Let us know in the comments!

source: The Verge

Google’s Eric Schmidt continues to speak for the people and opposes “patent wars”

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by Macky Evangelista on
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Is it just me, or do you guys see Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt as the mobile worlds essential “white knight?” He seems to always say the right things and gives respect where its due. In a recent interview during his tour in Korea, Schmidt had several pleasing things to say about their rival Apple:

Apple is actually a very good partner. Our two companies are literally talking all the time about everything. With respect to Apple patents, the best thing we can tell there are plenty of prior arts and I don’t want to go beyond that…

Such a far cry compared to Apple’s late founder (Steve Jobs) who publicly waged war against Android, don’t you think? Schmidt also added in several of his opinions on the current patent wars that Apple and a couple of Android’s biggest vendors are currently in:

Literally patent wars prevent choice, prevent innovation and I think that is very bad. We are obviously working through that and trying to make sure we stay on the right side of these issues. So ultimately Google stands for innovation as opposed to patent wars. I think one of the worst things that happened in the last few years has been the belief that somehow there are so many patents in the mobile phone world, an estimated 200,000 patent that are overlapping and complicated and so forth, that one vendor can stop the sale of another vendor’s phones or devices.

In ending, Eric took some time to commend Samsung while he was in Korea. He raved on their ability to reach the top when just 3 years ago Samsung had zero smartphones to offer. Now Samsung is obviously Google’s number one vendor for their Android operating system and it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon with their impending release of their Galaxy Note 2 in the US.

What do you guys think about Eric’s words? Do you agree or disagree with anything he said, or is he pretty much spot on on what the general public thinks. Let us know!

source: 9to5Mac

Eric Schmidt On Google: “We Always Wanted To Be In The Hardware Business”

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by Roy Alugbue on
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Google head honcho Eric Schmidt recently stopped by the Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho to share with the fine folks in the audience Google’s new Nexus 7 and Nexus Q. While offering a show-and-tell of both products, Schmidt took some time to also share Google’s vision for the future and what it has intended to do all along when it comes to the hardware business. Schmidt highlights:

 

“We always wanted to be in the hardware business. Larry and Sergey have always wanted to do hardware in one form or another. This was a way to get into it quickly.”

 

While there’s no indication Google is trying to be a hardware company (after all— the company’s foundation is on both its search engine and advertising), Google obviously is looking above and beyond. After all, it has special projects in the making such as the famed Project Glass and lest we forget— it did acquire a certain handset maker last year which Schmidt himself promises will bring “a new batch of products” soon-to-be ready for prime time. Now that we know Eric, Sergey and Larry are clearly working on some goodies behind the scenes, one has to wonder what else the world can be treated to.

source: New York Times

Schmidt Says “A Lot More Focus On Android” With The Future Of Motorola Mobility

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by Joe Sirianni on
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The world is eagerly awaiting to see what Google does now that the company has successfully acquired Motorola Mobility, especially OEM’s like LG, HTC, Samsung and more.  Who can blame them for thinking there’s a possibility that Motorola could gain the upper hand if they obtain inside access to Android’s latest builds of the operating system?  And while though Google’s plans are still unknown to the masses, there are still rumors afloat that the search giant may consider selling off the handset portion to Huawei as well as the cable box portion to another lucky bidder.  In recent news, The Guardian has quoted Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, stating that Motorola will have “more investment in products and a lot more focus on Android and the tools even than they have today.”  This seems to be corroborated with what newly-appointed Motorola Mobility CEO, Dennis Woodside, stated when the deal was final.

“Google has always been interested in hardware” and “my job is to make Motorola as successful as possible and deliver innovative hardware as a licensee of Android.”

So, here’s to hoping Motorola gets back on track quickly when it comes to smartphone product quality, innovation, services and sales.  We’ll be keeping a close eye on the company so as to track their movement going forward, so stay tuned and feel free to offer up your own opinion in the comments section below.

source: The Verge

Google Buys Raspberry Pi and Arduino Units for UK Classrooms

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by Jack Holt on
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Google’s Eric Schmidt has made it known that cash will be available through its investment into Teach First for UK Computer Teachers. This money would be available for teachers to purchase Raspberry Pi and Arduino units for UK classrooms. This announcement was made at the UK Science Museum where we was to talk about Mountain View and the charity’s partnership. The charity is known for taking top university grads and placing them in schools to teach disadvantaged children. Funding for over a hundred places was made possible as Schmidt aims to push computer scientists to reintroduce principles of engineering to students. Who knows, maybe the reteaching of engineering principles today will shape the Project Glass type projects of tomorrow.

 

source: BBC News
via: Engadget

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