Google chairman Eric Schmidt has announced that 1.5 million Google Android devices are now activated every single day. The former CEO of Google also says that more than one billion Android devices will likely have shipped by December 2013.
Google Android has witnessed a meteoric rise. In September, Google announced 1.3 million units per day, and, in June, that number sat at just 900,000 devices. Google is now shipping more than double the number of daily Android devices compared to its 700,000 milestone in December 2011.
Speaking at the Dive Into Mobile conference Eric Schmidt says that Google’s biggest hope is that it can soon hit the $100 price point for smartphones. Schmidt believes that lowering the cost of his company’s devices will ultimately bring the “next five billion people looking to get connected” into the fold.
Smartphones are expected to drop in price over the next two years, and, according to Schmidt, “As long as memory requirements don’t massively increase, these devices will trickle down.”
During his speech, Schmidt showcases just how far Google Android has come by loading the newest version of Google Android on the OS’ first ever smartphone: the T-Mobile G1. Schmidt showed off the device and then told those in attendance: “It actually works… it’s just a little slow.”
Eric Schmidt says Google’s two biggest hurdles will be pricing and capturing the smartphone browser market. The Google chairman says developing parts of the world need broadband access that is reliable and cost effective.
Do you think the lowering of smartphone prices and new advances in mobile data technology can help usher in a worldwide expansion of the smartphone and mobility market as a whole?
