Today at Motorola’s press conference, Eric Schmidt surprised everyone with his presence and laid out some numbers for all you Android fans out there. As of today, 1.3 million Android devices are activated daily, 70,000 of those are Android tablets totaling at a whopping 480 million. As we’ve seen, these numbers continue to grow and become even more impressive. With Nexus 7 tablets flying off the shelves and a new lineup of DROID devices coming out, it’s only going to enlarge.

Watch the live event here.

Recent reports from various sources are stating that Google has plans to release specially designed glasses for consumers by the end of this year. Shown above is a pair of Oakley Thumps with the Google logo crudely shopped onto them. Minus the logo, sources close to the project have stated the glasses could look like Thumps but of course, will have a small screen built into the lenses for viewing by the wearer.

The glasses would be based on Android and even have 3G/4G data connections, plus GPS capabilities. If that isn’t enough, there are also indications that the glasses will come with a low resolution camera, for real-time layering of information on locations and other various things such as navigation. The most impressive part so far is what the price may be for technology like this. Sources state that they should cost no more than a regular smartphone. So we may be looking at about $300-$600 for a pair of these Terminator-like pieces of hardware.

Is this the next big thing, or is this just in gimmick phase? Would you be seen wearing these things and walking down the street? So far, I can only picture Eric Schmidt wearing these around town and thinking he looks awesome.

Via: NY Times

Google’s Eric Schmidt stopped by CES and offered another classic comment that is sure to spark up some interesting conversations for the next couple of days. When asked for the billionth time if Android has a fragmentation problem, Schmidt used the word “differentiation” to describe the platform instead:

“Differentiation is positive, fragmentation is negative,” Schmidt said during an appearance here at the Consumer Electronics Show. “Differentiation means that you have a choice and the people who are making the phones, they’re going to compete on their view of innovation, and they’re going to try and convince you that theirs is better than somebody else.”

He continued:

“We absolutely allow [manufacturers] to add or change the user interface as long as they don’t break the apps. We see this as a plus; [it] gives you far more choices.”

The fragmentation argument is beyond played out, so I’ll admit that I actually like this take on Android. While most of us are not interested in skins or custom UIs, they do make one phone different from another. And since so many manufacturers produce Android handsets these days, skins are by no means going away any time soon. We just need to see OEMs spend more time putting in polish and adding useful features that would make them somewhat desirable.

Your thoughts? Buying Schmidt’s “differentiation” argument?

Via:  PCMag

In a conversation with an Italian newspaper, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has gone on record that Google is pushing hard to bring a Nexus tablet to the market within six months.  Schmidt gave little on details of the tablet, but stated that it would be “of the highest quality.”  With Google and Motorola’s new relationship, could we see Moto being tasked with the tablet project?  Or possibly Samsung?  It seems as if they have been in Google’s favor after being commissioned to produce the last two Nexus devices including the Galaxy Nexus.

With the already abundant supply of different Android tablets, maybe it is time Google came out and made one definitive tablet that people knew and recognized as Google’s answer to Apple’s iPad.  Schmidt also weighed in ever so slightly on Google’s plans to possibly have Majel, Google’s counter to Siri, on board the device.  No matter who makes the tablet, we as consumers are sure to win. While we wait for pricing, release dates, specs and hypebeasting, tell us what you would hope a pure Google tablet would have on board.  Huge processor?  Newer operating system? Let us know.

Via: Slash Gear

If you have an hour to blow through today, check out the appearance that Eric Schmidt made this week at LeWeb 2011 in Paris. Within the first few minutes, you will see a full 8-minute walk-through of Ice Cream Sandwich by Google’s Hugo Barra. Included in his demo, is one of the first appearances of ICS on a tablet. The rest of the features he shows were seen in a variety of videos we have done over the last few weeks and at the Hong Kong unveiling event.

Schmidt also talks Android vs. Apple, Google+ vs. Facebook, and then fields questions from the crowd on hand. It’s a good watch just because it’s Eric – meaning, you never know what kind of random stuff he is going to spit out. Within the first 10 minutes, you may run out of fingers if you try to count the number of awkward pauses between Hugo, Schmidt and the show’s host.

At a recent conference, Eric Schmidt has declared that Android has now surpassed the iPhone.  But, how? Schmidt goes on to explain that when measuring pure unit volume, OS, price, and availability that Android is a clear winner.  What Android still lacks is a developer backing though.  Many app vendors just don’t see the numbers yet and are sticking with just supplying iOS customers with their apps until the numbers are in Android’s favor. 

A lot of things came out in Steve Jobs’ biography that was published after his passing last month. One of the things that was more prominent than others was that he really, really wanted Android to do poorly:

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

Eric Schmidt, Google executive chairman, has claimed that even with this competition he and Jobs held a friendly relationship. And he recently pointed out that the Android project was started before the iPhone. Android Inc. was founded in 2003 and then acquired by Google in 2005 where work started under Andy Rubin. Granted, the first Android phone did not come out until after the original iPhone, so each side of this argument can say what they will. At this point it is just mincing words, but Schmidt – who has remained tight-lipped on most topics concerning Jobs since his death – felt enough that he needed to comment on the subject.

Should give Android addicts some added firepower when they meet up with their friendly Apple connections. Or does it even matter anymore? Are we beyond the Apple vs. Android stuff these days?

Via: CNet

We already knew that Ice Cream Sandwich would be released some time in Q4 of this year after seeing it announced at Google I/O, but Eric Schmidt just helped narrow the time frame for us to salivate through.  During a sit-down at Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference, Schmidt was going through a brief history of Android and then let it slip that the current plan is for ICS (rumored to be Android 4.0) to debut in October/November:

We have a new operating system, internally known as Ice Cream Sandwich for some reason, which is being released in October/November, which everyone’s really excited about.

Fast forward to the 30:00 mark to catch his quick quote.