With a skyrocketing number of Android device activations each day, Google is setting itself up for an opportunity to make what their CEO, Eric Schmidt thinks could be, billions.  After being called a “one-trick pony” as a company making almost all of its revenue from online ads, the next step for the search giant is one many saw them positioning themselves for long ago…

He also said Google is positioning itself to earn $10 billion or more per year in the mobile device business, thanks to its Android operating system.

Google is giving away the Android software for free to device makers, who are using it to power dozens of popular devices. By spreading Android, which is growing at a rate of 160,000 new handset activations per day, the company ensures that its Internet search, maps and other ad-supported services will endure as users shift to mobile devices.

“If we have a billion people using Android, you think we can’t make money from that?” Schmidt asked rhetorically. All it would take, he said, is $10 per user per year. Among other things, Google might earn such sums from selling access to digital content from newspapers.

Looks like we’re on the right side of the wall on this one.  +1 Android!

Source:  Wall Street Journal