Whetting our appetite?
Google has confirmed there will be hardware accompanying the next release of the Android platform and it is a pattern that should continue.
In a joint announcement at MWC, Google's head of Android Andy Rubin and CEO Eric Schmidt, said that Ice Cream will combine Honeycomb's tablet features with the smartphone qualities of Gingerbread for a better recipe, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Rubin reportedly stressed that is was important new versions of Android were not ‘just an experiment' as well as that ‘each software release be accompanied by a hardware component'.
While he apparently did not disclose just what the hardware might be for Ice Cream, he confirmed that sales of its Nexus One had ‘exceeded expectations'. It will be interesting what he has to say about the Nexus S and first official Google tablet, Motorola's Xoom, next time.
Schmidt reportedly said that the new technology offers "a lifelong life of knowledge and entertainment - a pot pourri for all of us to choose from" and that his vision is one for the masses and not just the elites.
He also revealed that Google would have liked Nokia to pick Android instead of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform and that the door is always open, The WSJ reported.
He reportedly told a roundtable of reporters: "I hope at some time in the future they will be [willing] to choose Android again" and revealed that Rubin had talked with Nokia (although not how far the conversation went) before the Finnish giant chose to go with Microsoft.
Schmidt apparently said that Nokia ‘will have to deliver' for the smartphone market to be a three-horse race.
On the future direction of Google, Schmidt confirmed the search giant has no intentions of going into the media world but that Google plans on building a business on NFC - not credit card or terminals but more of a focus on NFC-equipped devices.
He also reportedly ruled out competing with Facebook, but added that a ‘like' button might be important for delivering more personalized search results.
