Google's Android chief methods down

Andy Rubin, the architect of Android, the world's top-selling mobile operating system, has decided to step down as Google Inc combines mobile application divisions below 1 roof, the organization mentioned on Wednesday.

Google appointed Sundar Pichai, the executive overseeing its Chrome web browser and applications like Google Drive and Gmail, to take over Rubin's responsibilities, hinting at how the business with the dominant World wide web search engine intends to address the rise of mobile devices.

In a weblog post, Larry Web page, Google's chief executive and co-founder, credited Rubin for evangelizing Android several years ago and creating it into a totally free,open-source platform that runs on practically three-quarters of the world's smartphones and is utilised by the world's biggest handset manufacturers, from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to HTC Corp.

"Having exceeded even the crazy ambitious objectives we dreamed of for Android and having a genuinely strong leadership team in place Andy's decided it is time to hand more than the reins and start off a new chapter at Google," Web page wrote. "Andy, much more moonshots please!

The merger of the Chrome and Android divisions assists resolve a longstanding tension in the Mountain View, California-based company's corporate strategy, and reflects a convergence of mobile and desktop software program.

When Google poured sources into launching the Chrome net browser five years ago, the organization laid out a vision in the World wide web and an ecosystem of Google apps depending on the Net. But the Android operating system, acquired by Google in 2005, has also been a runaway good results, enabling third-party handset makers like Samsung to overtake Apple Inc even though also spawning a massive economy of third-party apps that are only loosely affiliated with Google.

Below Pichai's path, Google has released a number of netbook computers utilizing the Chrome operating method. Final month, when Pichai unveiled the Chromebook Pixel, the initial Chrome-based laptop with a touch-screen interface, analysts noted that Chrome and Android appeared to be on converging paths.

"You had this Chrome OS and this Android Group that were constructing in a lot of overlapping merchandise," stated Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner.

Gartenberg argued that despite Android's overwhelming popularity, it is Chrome that remains at the core of Google's approach.

"For Google, it's not regarding the platform, however the ecosystem," Gartenberg mentioned. "They're more concerned long-term about Google Docs, Google Voice, Google Books, and less about helping Samsung sell much more phones."

Chrome, Gartenberg added, "is the purest expression of Google's philosophy."

Future part

Page was mum on Rubin's future part. Some analysts speculated that Rubin, an executive using a knack for creating products, could take on a single from the company's several budding projects like its Glass eyewear or the self-driving auto.

"If he actually has the magic touch possibly he can develop anything else within Google," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners, who added that it was far better for Google to possess a a lot more "cohesive" mobile brand.

Nonetheless, it remains unclear how Pichai would seek to merge Chrome and Android, if at all. Microsoft Corp, for instance, not too long ago introduced its Windows 8 operating method that was developed for both touch-screen desktop devices and Windows smartphones just like the Nokia Lumia, even though its Surface tablet further blurred the distinctions among kind factors.

In his blog post, Page said Pichai would "double down" on Android.

"Sundar includes a talent for creating goods which are technically exceptional yet easy to use and he loves a large bet," Web page wrote. "So while Andy's a genuinely difficult act to stick to, I know Sundar will do a tremendous job doubling down on Android as we perform to push the ecosystem forward."

Android is now installed on roughly two-thirds from the world's smartphones, supplanting Apple Inc in the pinnacle from the fast-moving mobile arena.

Android tablets are also expected to overtake Apple's iPad with regards to shipments in 2013, IT investigation home IDC predicted on Tuesday.

But Android's explosive growth - and also the businesses it has boosted - have also concerned Google's leadership. Rubin himself has warned other Google executives that Samsung could use its heft to renegotiate its ad revenue-sharing deals with Google, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Major voice

The re-shuffle reinforces Pichai, a senior vice president, as one of the top voices inside Google.

Educated as an engineer in India prior to moving towards the United states, Pichai holds degrees from Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton College. He joined Google in 2004.

In 2008, Pichai aggressively pushed Google's Chrome browser, when Microsoft Corp's Explorer lorded over the market. Chrome now commands a roughly 35 percent marketplace share according to Net visitors analyzers StatCounter.

He's also credited with the development of some of the company's most profitable cloud-based apps, such as Calendar and Gmail, and has also steered Google Drive.

"Today we're living inside a new computing atmosphere," Page wrote. "People are actually excited about technologies and spending a whole lot of income on devices."

Google shares closed down 0.3 percent at $825.31.