On his way back from a personal humanitarian trip to North Korea, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt stopped by a conference in Beijing to encourage local developers to choose Android for their applications, as reported by Tencent Tech.
Speaking at the Geek Park event to over 1,000 attendees, Schmidt said that developers need to realize that Android is now the top mobile OS and iOS comes second. He also worked to counter the myth that Android developers can’t make money off their products.
Schmidt said that Chrome should become China’s number one browser as he reaffirmed Google’s investment in the software. He also provided the reasons for Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility: the first being that Google has always wanted to get into hardware, such as mobile phones, and the second being its rich patent collection. He revealed that Google leadership has already been installed at Motorola and the first new products from them should arrive later this year.
As for upcoming projects, Schmidt said Google is working on a complete solution for intelligent home projects based on Android. He also reassured developers that Google Glasses will be an open platform.
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Android had risen to dominate the Chinese mobile market, but Google has an awkward situation on its hands. After pulling its search business out of the market in 2010, it’s not as well set up to profit from its mobile OS successes on the mainland. Forked Android variants have become an issue for Google. The company has worked to deter these offshoots, even going so far as to step in to discourage Acer from launching a phone with Alibaba last year.
Still, China is a bright spot for Google’s Android division, even if its other products have struggled in the country. It also has several reliable partners, including smartphone maker Xiaomi and even search rival Baidu, which has built a compatible cloud layer that brings its services to Android.
Schmidt’s visit came on the heels of Apple CEO Tim Cook’s trip to Beijing. Cook met with government officials, executives at wireless carriers including China Mobile, and spoke with Chinese press.
Header image credit: Ed Jones / AFP / Getty Images
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