The CEO and co-founder of Google, Larry Page, announced on Wednesday, March 13 that Android Chief Andy Rubin would be officially stepping down from his duties in order to take up a new position in the Mountain View-based company. Sundar Pichai, who is the head of Chrome, Android and Google apps would replace him. Page did not give any details about Rubin at Google, but he said that “Andy’s decided it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new chapter at Google. Andy, more moonshots please!” In addition, Page also made it known that now up to 750 million devices have been activated that are running Android across 60 mobile device manufacturers. Back in September last year the number of such devices was around 500 million.
On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal has acquired an email from Rubin which he has sent to Android partners. In this email Rubin has described his pride in Android and the reasons for accepting the new role. Here is the full email:
“Dear friends,
In November of 2007 we announced the Open Handset Alliance with 34 founding members. Today, I’m grateful to the over 85 OHA members who have helped us build Android and drive innovation at such an incredible pace. The Android ecosystem has seen tremendous growth since the launch of the very first Android device in October 2008. The volume and variety of Android devices exceeds even my most optimistic expectations — over 750 million compatible devices and counting!
At its core, Android has always been about openness — the idea that a thousand brains are better than one. Just as the ecosystem has grown, so has our team at Google. I am incredibly proud of the phenomenal group of people that spend their days (and nights) building the Android platform and services. Just look at last year…a lean yet incredibly ambitious team released Jellybean with Google Now, launched Google Play in many languages and countries and collaborated with several partners to build three new Nexus devices to help drive innovation in the ecosystem.
Today, the success of Android combined with the strength of our management team, gives me the confidence to step away from Android and hand over the reins. Going forward, Sundar Pichai will lead Android, in addition to his existing work with Chrome and Apps. Hiroshi Lockheimer — who many of you already know well — plus the rest of the Android leadership team will work closely with all of our partners to advance Android and prepare the platform for new products and services yet to be imagined.
As for me, I am an entrepreneur at heart and now is the right time for me to start a new chapter within Google. I am amazed by what we have accomplished from those early days (not so long ago!), and remain passionate about the power of a simple idea and a shared goal — an open source platform freely available to everyone — to transform computing for people everywhere.
Thank you for your support,
– andy”
Source: TechCrunch, 9to5Google
Photo: EWeek
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