Google to ‘Double Down’ on Android Tablets in 2012

Nilay Patel, covering MWC for The Verge:

It’s no secret that Android tablet sales have lagged far behind Apple’s iPad, and Google’s planning to do something about it. In a meeting with reporters today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Android chief Andy Rubin called the 12 million Android tablets sold thus far “not insignificant, but less than I’d expect it to be if you really want to win,” and said that “2012 is going to be the year that we double down and make sure we’re winning in that space.”

Rubin said that the biggest problem for Android on tablets is “there’s no organized way for consumers to recognize it as a viable platform,” and that Google wants consumers to see its tablets as part of the broader Android ecosystem.

In a separate article, The Verge confirmed with Rubin that Google’s “activation” numbers include each unique device only once, and don’t count based-on-Android-but-not-using-the-Google-experience devices like the Kindle Fire or Barnes and Noble Nook.

Apple has sold a little over 50 million cumulative iPads to date. Just me or does it seem like you see a lot more than five iPads per Android tablet in the wild? (A guess: a lot of junky 7-inch Android tablets gathering dust in drawers.)

★ Monday, 27 February 2012