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Google CEO Eric Schmidt tells Nokia that its Android offer 'remains open'

Google boss Eric Schmidt has expressed sorrow that Nokia has chosen Windows Phone 7 rather than Android as its main smart phone platform. But he says Google's offer remains open.

Stuart Dredge
2 min read
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Nokia may have chosen Windows Phone 7 as its smart phone OS for the forseeable future, but Google CEO Eric Schmidt hopes the company will change its mind -- and says he'll give Nokia a warm Android welcome if it does.

During his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress last night, Schmidt confirmed Google and Nokia had "extensive" discussions before Nokia opted for Microsoft's OS.

"We would have loved that they had chosen Android. They chose the other guys, that other competitor, Microsoft," said Schmidt, according to the Telegraph. "We would like them to adopt Android at some point in the future and that offer remains open. We think Android was a good choice for Nokia. We are sorry they made a different choice."

Google and Nokia could be working together sooner than you think in other areas. Nokia has deliberately kept its tablet options open, and while Schmidt had nothing to say on this score, his unaggressive tone last night hints that Google may hold out hopes that Nokia could adopt its Android 3.0 Honeycomb software if and when it jumps into the tablet wars.

Talking of which, Schmidt also gave a bit more information about Google's Android update plans. "We've got an OS for phones called 'Gingerbread' and one for tablets called 'Honeycomb'. G and H. You can imagine that the next will begin with I and will be named after a dessert, and it will unite them. Android releases follow on in a roughly six-month cycle."

Schmidt's speech took a more utopian tone, with the outgoing Google CEO claiming that phones and tablets will give humanity elephant-shaming memory retention, according to the Guardian.

"Pretty soon, in a year or two, with the phones many of you have already and the tablets, you will never forget anything. Starting soon it will be possible to remember the hotels you went to, the pictures you took, the friends you met, because computer memories last forever."

Android is a big presence at Mobile World Congress this year, with a stand stuffed with giant robots (and a slide!), and a limited-edition set of 68 Android logo pin badges for attendees to collect on their way round the show.

Original image credit: Engadget