1 Billion Android Devices By Year's End

[jpeyton]

The latest numbers for Android: 750 million mobile devices, 1.5 million activations per day. Assuming the current numbers stay static (which is unlikely since they have been increasing quickly for the last few years), 1 billion should arrive in 6 months.

Schmidt also publicly congratulated Samsung on their success, and Facebook on their new "Home" app. While acknowledging there are more flagship devices on the way from Motorola, he admitted that the second billion Android devices will come from the proliferation of inexpensive smartphones/tablets in markets like India and China.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-google-schmidt-idUSBRE93F0V520130416

 

[BladeVenom]

I for one welcome our new Android overlords.

 

[poofyhairguy]

he admitted that the second billion Android devices will come from the proliferation of inexpensive smartphones/tablets in markets like India and China.

Intel better be listening. A billion computer replacements sold, and maybe 1% have Intel CPUs.

 

[Bateluer]

Intel better be listening. A billion computer replacements sold, and maybe 1% have Intel CPUs.

If that. I'm only aware of 3 models with Intel CPUs in them, the Razr I, the Xolo Lava, and ZTE's unreleased model. The Xolo and ZTE models won't see any market in the US. Not sure if the Razr I came to US shores either, wasn't it European?

Still, Intel has put a lot of effort into their model chips and it really shows. Hopefully, they see some more mainstream models. I'd rather not see the Android SoC space entirely dominated by Qualcomm designs.

 

[lopri]

Or they could fab for ARM design houses.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Or they could fab for ARM design houses.

Pretty much a no-no. Even a desperate Apple joined the TSMC fabbing party after dumping Samsung despite the Intel foundry rumor, for reasons unknown.

 

[Bateluer]

Pretty much a no-no. Even a desperate Apple joined the TSMC fabbing party after dumping Samsung despite the Intel foundry rumor, for reasons unknown.

Pretty sure the reasons for Apple dropping Samsung are well known.

But it does seem like Sammy has fab space to spare, based on the number of Exynos 4412 based devices popping up everywhere. Or, at least, yields were very good.

 

[wirednuts]

intel was too focused on pushing limits and they forgot theres a market to schmooze

 

[KentState]

Intel better be listening. A billion computer replacements sold, and maybe 1% have Intel CPUs.

Too many people still have a laptop/desktop at work and probably one or two at home. They should be getting nervous when businesses start running things like Chrome book and start looking at servers packed full of ARM processors.

 

[Genx87]

I get this vision of Ballmer crying himself to sleep to this news.

 

[Fingolfin269]

What will take Android's place at the top?

 

[RedRooster]

What will take Android's place at the top?

Much like iPhone before it and Blackberry before it....something.

 

[Phokus]

Much like iPhone before it and Blackberry before it....something.

It'd have to be free like Android is. I don't really see any challenger though.

 

[Bateluer]

I get this vision of Ballmer crying himself to sleep to this news.

I think he's still getting beaten over the turd sandwich that is Windows 8.

It'd have to be free like Android is. I don't really see any challenger though.

No love for Ubuntu Touch or FireFox OS?

 

[zaydq]

1.5 million activations... But how many of those people are ditching their previous android device?

Is this about Android having been on 1 billion devices? Or 1billion active and used android devices?

 

[Phokus]

I think he's still getting beaten over the turd sandwich that is Windows 8.



No love for Ubuntu Touch or FireFox OS?

Not without the muscle of a company like Google behind it.

 

[Mopetar]

I think this is just counting mobile devices, but Android is on far more than just phones or tablets. Granted, the sales of those devices aren't going to be anywhere near as high as phones or other mass consumer hardware, but I wouldn't be surprised if Android devices as a category that encompasses all hardware running any type of Android was already much closer to 1 billion if not surpassing that mark already.

 

[Muyoso]

I am still amazed that not a single car company has taken Android and made a killer built-in car navigation and music system. It seriously can't be that difficult, and the possibilities to differentiate your brand from others with amazing features is immense.

 

[Red Storm]

I am still amazed that not a single car company has taken Android and made a killer built-in car navigation and music system. It seriously can't be that difficult, and the possibilities to differentiate your brand from others with amazing features is immense.

I'm not, car companies are like the music industry, they just don't get it. I remember seeing them advertising an "amazing" 10GB hard drive for your music. The only amazing thing about that was finding out that there was such a thing as 10GB hard drives.

 

[Zaap]

I'm not, car companies are like the music industry, they just don't get it. I remember seeing them advertising an "amazing" 10GB hard drive for your music. The only amazing thing about that was finding out that there was such a thing as 10GB hard drives.

Soooo true.

It amazes me, even the so-called luxury makes have in-dash navigation/electronics that look like something from 2006 at best. And they'll gladly charge you $4000 for it as part of some add-on package. Most makes act like a simple USB port is some revolutionary technology, when USB ports for charging/synching devices should have been standard equipment in every car a decade ago.

By the time the car companies have the equivalent of Android 2013, it'll be 2023 and only available as an ultra-expensive add-on.

 

[QueBert]

Soooo true.

It amazes me, even the so-called luxury makes have in-dash navigation/electronics that look like something from 2006 at best. And they'll gladly charge you $4000 for it as part of some add-on package. Most makes act like a simple USB port is some revolutionary technology, when USB ports for charging/synching devices should have been standard equipment in every car a decade ago.

By the time the car companies have the equivalent of Android 2013, it'll be 2023 and only available as an ultra-expensive add-on.

Even the nice after market head units like Pioneer's Appradio 2 are for iOS, the Appradio 2's one of the few that offers Android support. But it's an addition expensive add-on, and absolutely blows compared to the unit's native iPhone support. Android might be stomping iOS in sheer numbers. But looking at after market products for each you would wouldn't be able to tell. I have an iPhone 4 and a Nexus 4, I'd spent a lot on a head unit that worked equally well with both in a heartbeat.

 

[StrangerGuy]

intel was too focused on pushing limits and they forgot theres a market to schmooze

The most ironic part out of all is that by the time they put serious effort into making decent iGPUs that the masses always wanted in the past, the same crowd has already left for mobile.

 

[purbeast0]

I am still amazed that not a single car company has taken Android and made a killer built-in car navigation and music system. It seriously can't be that difficult, and the possibilities to differentiate your brand from others with amazing features is immense.

my factory radio has ios compatibility. it has a connector for the iphone4 and below built into it, and when you plug it into a phone or ipod it displays the tracks on the display/nav system area, and you can control the phone from the controls on the steering wheel or the radio.

pandora and di.fm will display the songs being played but i'm pretty sure you can't skip to the next pandora song with the steering wheel or radio controls.

 

[TheStu]

Soooo true.

It amazes me, even the so-called luxury makes have in-dash navigation/electronics that look like something from 2006 at best. And they'll gladly charge you $4000 for it as part of some add-on package. Most makes act like a simple USB port is some revolutionary technology, when USB ports for charging/synching devices should have been standard equipment in every car a decade ago.

By the time the car companies have the equivalent of Android 2013, it'll be 2023 and only available as an ultra-expensive add-on.

The worst I have seen yet is on my friend's '12 Focus. The SYNC software is atrocious, and the worst part is that it is made my Microsoft, who has a really great touch UI that could have been adapted for use in the car but nooooo, it had to be crappy.

It's not like aftermarket touch screen head units are much better, they are slow, buggy, ugly and requirement too many touches to do anything.

 

[Anubis]

the touch interface in some Dodge vehicles is 1000x worse than sync