Android creator Andy Rubin is leaving Google!

Andy Rubin, who co-founded the Android project, is leaving Google. According to The Wall Street Journal, Rubin’s departing to create an incubator for hardware startups. His role heading up the company’s robotics will be taken up by James Kuffner, a research scientist at the company and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

In a statement, Google’s CEO Larry Page thanked Rubin for his work. “I want to wish Andy all the best with what’s next,” Page said. “With Android he created something truly remarkable-with a billion plus happy users. Thank you.”

 

RUBIN’S BEEN AT GOOGLE FOR NEARLY A DECADE

Rubin originally joined Google as part of the company’s highly secretive acquisition of Android in 2005. In the years that followed, he helped turn it from a startup project into what’s now a cornerstone of Google’s business, and the most dominant mobile operating system in the world. Prior to Android, Rubin was working at Danger, the company that created the Sidekick mobile phone. He also had stints at Apple, General Magic, and working on the WebTV project (which sold to Microsoft).

The move is, perhaps, not a total surprise. Last March, Rubin left the Android group and was replaced by Sundar Pichai. His latest project, as detailed in a lengthy New York Times report in December, was creating robots for a project outside of the company’s Google X lab, something that dovetailed with Google’s shopping spree of robotics companies. In 2012, there were also rumors abound that Rubin planned to leave for a stealth-mode startup called CloudCar, though they were vehemently denied.

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Leaked screenshots reveal a possible upcoming huge Android redesign!

With every major revision of Android, Google brings about small changes to the appearance of the Android operating system. So far we’ve seen Google experiment with a bunch of different looks and according to the folks at Android Police, they claim that according to a new rumor, Google could be giving its app icons a visual makeover, possibly in a future major Android update which could be revealed at Google I/O later this June.

According to them, the new style of icons are known internally as “Moonshine” and is basically a redesign of the Google app icons to more closely resemble its web counterpart. For example the Gmail icon on the web and on Android looks different from one another, and while more proficient and experience Android users will have no problem identifying the app, first-time users could be a little lost.

They go on to state that the new design language Google would be opting for its icons would include a flatter appearance, together with long, hard shadows strategically placed behind prominent elements. The screenshot pictured to the right is courtesy of Android Police’s source who is apparently familiar with the matter, thus affording us a look as to what the newly designed icons could look like.

For the most part they are readily identifiable upon first glance and we have to say that we are liking what we see so far. Now the question is whether or not Google will actually make those changes. Since we’re still far away from Google I/O and a potential major Android update announcement, there is a chance that the design of the icons have yet to be finalized and that things could change at the last minute, so don’t get your heart set on this design just yet, but in the meantime what do you guys think? Are you digging the new look?

KitKat pokes fun of Apple’s design prowess

You’ve likely learned by now about this morning’s surprise Google announcement, clearly conceived as a novel way of busting up Apple’s news and diverting attention from the brightening of your day.

I’m talking about the upcoming Android version 4.4, code-named KitKat after the famous chocolate-covered wafer biscuit which has apparently “been a favorite candy” on the Android team.

The though process behind the delicious partnership has now unravelled itself in a cringeworthy KitKat clip.

Not only does it spoof Apple’s elaborate product videos, it does so by ridiculing the way Jony Ive and his industrial design team go about agonizing over the minutiae. Wait, a confectionery maker is parodying Apple’s presentation mojo? What has this world come to?

The video, available on KitKat’s YouTube channel resembles the overall style and shininess of Apple’s promotional clips.

“Every corner, every edge, every finger of every bar has been carefully considered and crafted to create a beautifully immersive and multi-sensory experience,” the video says in an attempt to derail Apple’s design process.

Meet Chris Catlin, KitKat’s Chief Breaks Officer.

My favorite line: “And it really does taste as good as it looks”.

I also happen to like their take on Apple’s ‘there’s an app for that’ campaign.

I think it’s funny, though die-hard fans may find it the dumbest thing they’ve seen in a while. At any rate, it’s a novel PR ploy, you have to give them that – Google and Android are in the headlines today.

Don’t forget that KitKat is hugely popular so you’ll soon start seeing that Android-themed product packaging cropping up at your nearest department store.

According to a media release by KitKat’s parent Nestlé, they will distribute more than 50 million specially branded KitKat bars in nineteen countries, including Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Dubai, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A small number of Android robot-shaped KitKat bars will be offered as prizes (below).

I’m expecting some innovative television advertising around this cross-promotion.

The tie-up is such that neither party paid each other, BBC News has learned. Nestlé isn’t exactly stranger to digital marketing: earlier in the year, the company bought its first-ever piece of online content property, the U.S. website Petfinder which helps prospective adopters with adoptable pets.

Expect more KitKat cross-promotion as Android 4.4 gets closer to prime time.

For now, there’s now a link at the bottom of Google’s Android 4.4 web page which takes you to the official KitKat homepage where they’re currently running a promotion for the chance to win a free Nexus 7 2013 or Google Play Store credit.

For those wondering, here are Google’s sweet Android code-names:

• Android 1.5, Cupcake
• Android 1.6, Donut
• Android 2.0, Eclair
• Android 2.2, Froyo
• Android 2.3, Gingerbread
• Android 3.0, Honeycomb
• Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
• Android 4.1, Jelly Bean
• Android 4.4, KitKat

About that promo: was it funny or did it come across as crossing the line?

Google announces Android 4.4 KitKat!

Whoa, it’s indeed been a crazy news day. First we learned that Microsoft is buying Nokia’s devices division for north of $7 billion, then Apple came official with its iPhone event and now – just minutes after Apple’s September 10 keynote confirmation – came word straight from the Internet giant Google that the next version of Android is going to be called KitKat.

Way to go to steal Apple’s thunder, Google! I’m not kidding: the KitKat Google+ page just went live making the code-name official.

On top of this, the brown chocolate-like statue has joined the crew outside Google’s Mountain View, California headquarters. Plus, the Android 4.4 web page is now live, too. Is the use of the KitKat name meant to suggest Google will now “take a break” from innovation? Go past the fold for the full reveal…

Android’s recently-minted head Sundar Pichai made the Android 4.4 announcement on Twitter, also boasting that Google has activated one billion Android devices to date.

The promo graphics for the new version lays out the company’s goal with Android 4.4 KitKat: to make “an amazing Android experience available for everybody”.

I’ve consulted resident Google kremlinologists who’ve deciphered this as a sign of Android 4.4 perhaps being optimized for lower-cost phones that are currently fueling tremendous growth in the emerging markets, where Android rules the landscape.

The official Android web page offers the explanation of Google’s naming scheme:

Android is the operating system that powers over 1 billion smartphones and tablets. Since these devices make our lives so sweet, each Android version is named after a dessert: Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Jelly Bean.

As everybody finds it difficult to stay away from chocolate we decided to name the next version of Android after one of our favorite chocolate treats, Kitkat®!

Sweet!

Pinchai’s Google+ post notes that the bar is “one of our team’s favorites”. Does that mean Google paid a sum to Nestlé for the rights to use the KitKat name in association with its mobile operating system?

I’d reckon they cut a deal – otherwise this would file as a trademark infringement – with The Hershey Company which makes the famous wafer biscuit bar in the United States under license.

Android’s Google+ post throws light on the matter:

KitKat has been a favorite candy on the team for some time, so for the KitKat release, we asked if they’d be willing to lend their iconic candy bar to its name.

Note that Android 4.4 is named KitKat while the chocolate bar’s name is spelled out as Kit Kat. Anyways, Google stopped short of providing more details about Android 4.4′s availability, but you can sign up for email alerts when they launch the release.

Jokers as they are, Google even put in the ‘Learn More About KitKat’ link which leads straight to the chocolate maker’s mini web-site where they host a promotion with the chance to win a free Nexus 7 2013 or Google Play Store credit.

BBC News has the full story of how the tie-up happened. Apparently neither party paid each other for such un unusual yet admittedly mutually beneficial cross-promotion.

Oh, and Amazon has announced a new Kindle Paperwhite, shipping in October.

Not bad for a Tuesday, huh?

So, what’s your preference: a KitKat or those nice colors?

Apple seeds iOS 7 beta 5 to developers: Tweaks to icons, Control Center and more!

A little over a week after iOS 7 beta 4, Apple has seeded iOS 7 beta 5 to developers. It is available over-the-air via Software Update. The previous beta brought several minor interface and performance tweaks to the operating system, and beta 5 will likely continue doing that.

A new Apple TV seed is also available:

Notes

• You can now use an iOS 7 device to set up an Apple TV after restoring or resetting all settings. (iPhone 4 and iPad 2 are not supported.)

We will continuously update this post with discovered changes.

– All Settings icons redesigned (left is new) :

– More Yahoo presence:

– New Twitter icon in iOS 7:

– Can now disable Control Center while in apps:

– Major performance improvements across the system

– Camera swipe access from Lock screen is easier

– New slide to power off design:

– New in-call icons:

– New option to pull down on a banner

– Some transparency, blur, UI animation changes across the system.