Android has quite the documented history at this point, but Andy Rubin dropped a piece of information today that Android could have never seen a mobile phone. Talking shop today in Tokyo, Andy Rubin mentioned that originally, the plan was for Android to be a platform for cameras so they could share photos more easily. “The exact same platform, the exact same operating system we built for cameras, that became Android for cellphones,” Rubin said.

Showing off slides from the original pitch meeting, it appears that Android was meant as a center for cameras to connect to, through wires or wireless, to then share photos with computers. Rubin said that the Android team realized the market was fairly small for camera software so they switched their focus to smartphones in a matter of 5 months. At that point, Rubin wasn’t even worried about the iPhone – Microsoft and Symbian were the only targets on his radar at that point.

It was probably for the better that Andy went for smartphones rather than cameras, but the rest is history. Could you imagine smartphones today without the influence of Android?

Via: PC World

Android Started Off Being an OS For Cameras, Thankfully That Idea Didn’t Stick is a post from: Droid Life

During a very recent on-stage interview Thursday afternoon, Samsung chief product officer Kevin Packingham told the Wall Street Journal that the relationship between Google and Samsung has grown very strong over the last two years. But over that time, work with Android’s ex-head, Andy Rubin was sometimes a bit difficult. 

Packingham stated that once Rubin had his mind set a certain way with his direction for Android, “you weren’t going to get him to deviate from that position.” Interestingly enough, Packingham says that Android’s new boss, Sundar Pichai is a, “super nice person,” and that he is, “super collaborative.”

Now, if I may just have a moment to speculate freely – If I heard that the founder of Android was protective or “stubborn” on his positions for Android’s future, and Android is what it is today, then I would say he was doing the right thing. Android is not in a bad place because of Rubin’s leadership. In fact, I can’t imagine it being in a much better position than it is today.

With a Samsung executive saying Sundar is more “collaborative,” should we expect some type of changes for Android? Will Google allow Samsung more free-will in any type of “changes” they may want in the future? Our new head of Android has been in charge for no more than a week or so, so it’s still too early to see what type of impact he will have on the OS.

All I can say is, stay tuned because this should be a good one.

Via: Business Insider

Samsung Exec Claims Andy Rubin Was Hard to Work With at Times in Regards to Android is a post from: Droid Life

After yesterday’s big news that Andy Rubin was stepping down from the Android team, it seemed that things were changing internally at Google. Today, more switches have been made by Larry Page, who announced that the Mapping and Commerce divisions are no longer working together under one person. Senior VP Jeff Huber is stepping down from his position overseeing the two divisions, which will then merge with other Google entities.

Maps is going to work with the Search division, while commerce is heading for a union with the marketing people. The moves make sense, considering search and maps go well together and what is advertising for other than making money? Jeff Huber’s new position will be moving over to work at Google X, Google’s top-secret lab division.

Big stuff going down in Mountain View this week.

Via: BGR

Google Continues Internal Shake Ups, Mapping and Commerce Division Split Up is a post from: Droid Life

Larry Page announcing that Andy Rubin has stepped away from the Android team is clearly the news of the day. After all, this is the man that helped start it all, right? Without Andy Rubin, there is a pretty good chance that Droid Life wouldn’t even exist. The phone in your pocket might not either.

But why is he leaving? The letter this morning provided little details, however, a letter that Rubin penned himself and then delivered to Open Handset Alliance (OHA) members, tackles a few additional details. 

Rubin openly states that he has enough confidence in the “strength of the management” to step away and hand over the reins. The Android team will continue to work closely with partners as they prepare new products and services “yet to be imagined.”

He also mentioned that he is an “entrepreneur at heart” and that “now is the right time” to “start a new chapter within Google.” We don’t know exactly what that chapter will entail, but at least he’s sticking with Google to hopefully create another amazing…thing.

Good luck, Andy.

Dear friends,

In November of 2007 we announced the Open Handset Alliance with 34 founding members. Today, I’m grateful to the over 85 OHA members who have helped us build Android and drive innovation at such an incredible pace. The Android ecosystem has seen tremendous growth since the launch of the very first Android device in October 2008. The volume and variety of Android devices exceeds even my most optimistic expectations — over 750 million compatible devices and counting!

At its core, Android has always been about openness — the idea that a thousand brains are better than one. Just as the ecosystem has grown, so has our team at Google. I am incredibly proud of the phenomenal group of people that spend their days (and nights) building the Android platform and services. Just look at last year…a lean yet incredibly ambitious team released Jellybean with Google Now, launched Google Play in many languages and countries and collaborated with several partners to build three new Nexus devices to help drive innovation in the ecosystem.

Today, the success of Android combined with the strength of our management team, gives me the confidence to step away from Android and hand over the reins. Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps. Hiroshi Lockheimer — who many of you already know well — plus the rest of the Android leadership team will work closely with all of our partners to advance Android and prepare the platform for new products and services yet to be imagined.

As for me, I am an entrepreneur at heart and now is the right time for me to start a new chapter within Google. I am amazed by what we have accomplished from those early days (not so long ago!), and remain passionate about the power of a simple idea and a shared goal — an open source platform freely available to everyone — to transform computing for people everywhere.

Thank you for your support,

- andy

Via:  Wall Street Journal

Image via Flickr

Andy Rubin Pens Letter to Android Partners, “Right Time” to Start New Chapter With Google is a post from: Droid Life

This morning, Google’s CEO Larry Page, announced that Andy Rubin will no longer lead the Android team. Andy has been the head of the Android project since the beginning and has watched as it has grown to running on more than 750 million devices worldwide. Taking the lead on the project going forward is Google vet, Sundar Pichai, who currently leads Chrome as well. 

Unfortunately, Mr. Page did not got into detail as to why exactly Rubin is leaving the team, but did mention that he is going to start a new chapter at Google. At least we know this is not a bad split or anything of that nature. This could be Rubin saying he has basically created the world’s most popular mobile OS and it’s time to conquer something else. We shall see.

Below is the full post from Larry Page.

Sergey and I first heard about Android back in 2004, when Andy Rubin came to visit us at Google. He believed that aligning standards around an open-source operating system would drive innovation across the mobile industry. Most people thought he was nuts. But his insight immediately struck a chord because at the time it was extremely painful developing services for mobile devices. We had a closet full of more than 100 phones and were building our software pretty much device by device. It was nearly impossible for us to make truly great mobile experiences.

Fast forward to today. The pace of innovation has never been greater, and Android is the most used mobile operating system in the world: we have a global partnership of over 60 manufacturers; more than 750 million devices have been activated globally; and 25 billion apps have now been downloaded from Google Play. Pretty extraordinary progress for a decade’s work. Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious goals we dreamed of for Android—and with a really strong leadership team in place—Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!

Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps. Sundar has a talent for creating products that are technically excellent yet easy to use—and he loves a big bet. Take Chrome, for example. In 2008, people asked whether the world really needed another browser. Today Chrome has hundreds of millions of happy users and is growing fast thanks to its speed, simplicity and security. So while Andy’s a really hard act to follow, I know Sundar will do a tremendous job doubling down on Android as we work to push the ecosystem forward.

Today we’re living in a new computing environment. People are really excited about technology and spending a lot of money on devices. This is driving faster adoption than we have ever seen before. The Nexus program—developed in conjunction with our partners Asus, HTC, LG and Samsung—has become a beacon of innovation for the industry, and services such as Google Now have the potential to really improve your life. We’re getting closer to a world where technology takes care of the hard work—discovery, organization, communication—so that you can get on with what makes you happiest… living and loving. It’s an exciting time to be at Google.

Posted by Larry Page, CEO

Via: Google

Andy Rubin Steps Away From Android Team, Sundar Pichai to Take Charge is a post from: Droid Life

Earlier this week, Andy Rubin shot down rumors that Google was planning to open its own retail stores. This was sad news, no doubt, as many of us love the idea that we could enter into a Nexus wonderland and test all of the new toys that Google has released to our world. But Rubin brought up an interesting point through his comments, saying that consumers do not need to physically touch products anymore in order to make a buying decision.

I personally, haven’t entered into a brick and mortar electronics store or carrier shop to rub up on a device in some time before deciding to buy it. I’m the type that reads through dozens of reviews online and then finds the best deal the internet has to offer before pressing the “Checkout” button. Many of you may be different, though, so feel free to sound off in the poll and in the comments below.

Are you the type that needs to see a phone or tablet and feel it in person before buying or can you make a decision by reading about it online or hearing a recommendation from a friend?

Wednesday Poll: When Buying a Phone or Tablet Do You Need to Feel and Test Them in Person First? is a post from: Droid Life

In a bit of sad news, Andy Rubin recently shot down rumors that Google intends to open up retail stores by the end of 2013. In short, Andy stated that thanks to the Internet, the need for physical storefronts just isn’t there and that consumers don’t need to go into a store and feel a product anymore. Furthermore, even the necessity of getting Nexus devices into the hands of consumers isn’t there yet. 

For Nexus, I don’t think the program is far enough along to think about the necessity of having these things in a retail store.

In the words of a certain 90′s boy band, “quit playin’ games with my heart.”

Via: All Things D

Andy Rubin Denies Rumors of Google Retail Stores, We Cry a Little Inside is a post from: Droid Life

Google’s new Nexus 4 is official as of this morning. While the device itself has almost every top-of-the-line spec in the business, there is one that was left out that has a few scratching their heads. Why doesn’t the Nexus 4 have LTE support? According to Andy Rubin, there are a number of reasons, most of which they learned after releasing the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon with LTE. 

“We certainly have a desire to offer devices on every carrier on the planet,” Rubin said. “The tactical issue is GSM vs. LTE. A lot of the networks that have deployed LTE haven’t scaled completely yet — they’re hybrid networks. They’ll do their old thing and they’ll do LTE, which means the devices need both radios built into them.”

“For now we’re gonna sit back and watch those networks evolve. Two radios in a device right now certainly raises the cost, and diminishes battery life.” This point seems to frustrate him. “When we did the Galaxy Nexus with LTE we had to do just that, and it just wasn’t a great user experience. It’s possible to do it right, but that’s not where we’ll put our resources initially. Tactically, we want to make sure the devices are available for every network on the planet.”

So Rubin admits that the Galaxy Nexus with LTE was a horrible experience for most users because of battery life. I think most of us would tend to agree with him on that. Unfortunately, he also mentioned that it probably would have been possible to still put LTE in the Nexus 4 and “do it right,” however, they have decided to put their resources elsewhere for now. At this time, they are letting these new “hybrid” LTE networks mature before diving in fully.

I don’t want to shatter dreams, but that sounds like we may not see a new LTE-equipped Nexus until the next one arrives next winter. Since many of you are Verizon and AT&T customers, this means your upgrade will have to wait or you’ll have to decide on a non-Nexus phone. Unless those of you on AT&T are willing to drop back to HSPA+ from LTE.

Thoughts?

Via:  The Verge

Andy Rubin Talks About the Lack of LTE in the LG Nexus 4 is a post from: Droid Life

Andy Rubin and Jonney Shih, two company heads from Google and ASUS, which came together to make the new Nexus 7 tablet, sat down for an interview with AllThingsD to talk about the process of creating such a unique product. According to Shih, things weren’t all roses and jelly beans. “Our engineers told me it is like torture,” Shih said, “[Google] ask[s] a lot,” in reference to the demanding timelines that were placed on building the N7. Rubin talked about the project going from zero to working product in about four months, saying that he didn’t think any other partner could have done it as fast as ASUS.

Rubin also went on to say that there was a missing piece to Android tablets until this date, the purchasing of movies and magazines. The Nexus 7 is centered around the Play Store and Google is definitely moving forward with that.

The last bit that came from the interview made shock some, and that’s the idea that there is no profit margin on sales of the tablet itself. Clearly, Google plans to make all of its money through Google Play store sales of TV shows, Movies, Magazines, Music and apps. Amazon has gone a similar route with the Kindle Fire.

The whole interview is an interesting read on the development of the first device with Jelly Bean. Are you going to be getting one?

Via: AllThingsD

Google’s Andy Rubin and ASUS’ Jonney Shih Talk About Making the Nexus is a post from: Droid Life

In a Tweet and Google+ post to shut down a rumor started by Robert Scoble that suggested Andy Rubin was leaving Google to join a company called CloudCar, Rubin felt as if it was the perfect time to drop some Android love. According to Mr. Android, over 900,000 devices are activated each day. Think about that for a second. Twenty-four hours after you read this post, almost 1 million brand new Android devices will have been activated by someone across the globe.

Back in February, we were at 850,000 a day, so as you can see, this train continues to pick up speed.

Via:  Google+ | Twitter

Andy Rubin: Over 900,000 Android Devices Activated Each Day is a post from: Droid Life

If you thought that Motorola was going to have the inside track on all things Android immediately following their merger, you thought wrong. At least that’s what Andy Rubin would have us believe. In a brief session in front of the press at Mobile World Congress, Rubin made it clear that while he “sponsored” the merger, his team has been kept completely separate from what Motorola is doing. He mentioned that Motorola will continue to build Moto branded phones and that Google has “literally built a firewall” between his team and theirs. He even went as far as to say that he hasn’t seen anything that they are doing and is not familiar with their products. And if you had fingers crossed that Motorola would be guaranteed to manufacture the next Nexus, I would stop crossing now.

We all know that things can change over time, but for now, Google is doing their best to keep these two companies completely separate. Well, aside from hiring a Google VP to run them.

Also during the interview, Rubin touched on the state of Android tablets. Even with 12 million Android tablets sold he isn’t satisfied saying that the numbers are “not insignificant, but less than I’d expect it to be if you really want to win.” For 2012, they plan to “double down” to make sure they win that space. Their plan is to help educate developers and consumers on the Android ecosystem.

Via:  The Verge [2]

Andy Rubin: I Don’t Know Anything About Motorola’s Products, Google Built a Firewall Between Moto and Android Teams is a post from: Droid Life

Andy Rubin took to the Google Mobile blog this morning to announce the next milestone in Android’s growth. As of today, 850,000 Android devices are activated each day, bringing the total in the wild to over 300 million. Back in December, you will remember that this number stood at 700,000, so you can clearly see that the platform is still in full-on growth mode. The year-on-year growth sits somewhere around 250%.

In related numbers, Rubin also dropped app growth on us. In one year, the number of apps available in the Android Market more than tripled to 450,000. At last year’s MWC, Google announced that there were 150,000 available. Impressive, to say the least.

Via:  Google Mobile

Google: 850,000 Android Devices Activated Each Day, More than 300 Million Total – 450,000 Apps Available Too is a post from: Droid Life

Yeah, 3.7 million activations is a lot of activations over a 2-day period. The only question mark here is whether or not that is both days combined or the total for each day individually. I would tend to lean towards that being the 2-day total or Mr. Rubin would have rephrased it or straight up dropped a “7.4 million” Tweet. According to a report yesterday, there were 6.8 million Android and iOS devices activated on X-mas Day alone, so going by all of that math, iOS was the clear winner here. Then again, when you are talking iOS devices being activated, you are talking iPads, iPod Touches and iPhones. With Android, sure you are getting some tablets in there as well, but the percentage there is likely in the 2.5% range of the total with phones taking the cake.

I think the biggest piece of the story here, is the fact that we aren’t seeing mentions of activations from any other player in the game. Where you at RIM and Windows Phone? This has been a 2-horse race for a while, but it is so more now than ever.

Via:  Twitter

Andy Rubin: 3.7 Million Android Devices Activated Over X-Mas is a post from: Droid Life

Think about that number for a second. At the end of tomorrow another 1.4million Android devices will have been activated. By X-mas, 3.5million. Astonishing.

Oh, and in June, we were seeing 500K per day. Quite the jump in about 6 months time.

700,000 Android Devices are Activated Every Single Day is a post from: Droid Life

Last week, there was a calculation done suggesting that there were only 3.4 million Honeycomb tablets out in the wild right now. Google’s own Andy Rubin has come out and given us some statistics straight from the horse’s mouth. He says that according to Google, there are 6 million tablets in people’s hands that run the Android operating system. A much larger number than what has been reported before.

This number makes sense too, taking into account all the Froyo and Gingerbread tablets that were pushed out into the public’s hands before they got Google’s official blessing. That would mean that a little over half of all Android tablets are running Honeycomb. Let’s hope that when Ice Cream Sandwich comes out, it does so with a bang. After last night I am a little bit more than excited to see how this plays out.

Via: Phandroid

Andy Rubin: Android Running On 6 Million Tablets Worldwide is a post from: Droid Life