Slashdot Mirror
Creator of Android Andy Rubin Nears His Comeback, Complete With an 'Essential' Phone (bloomberg.com)
From a report on Bloomberg: Rubin, creator of the Android operating system, is planning to marry his background in software with artificial intelligence in a risky business: consumer hardware. Armed with about a 40-person team, filled with recruits from Apple and Google, Rubin is preparing to announce a new company called Essential and serve as its Chief Executive Officer, according to people familiar with the matter. A platform company designed to tie multiple devices together, Essential is working on a suite of consumer hardware products, including ones for the mobile and smart home markets, one of the people said. The centerpiece of the system is a high-end smartphone with a large edge-to-edge screen that lacks a surrounding bezel. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, Rubin discussed the smartphone with mobile carrier executives, including some from Sprint Corp., people familiar with the talks said. The smartphone, according to the report, would go on sale around the middle of this year and will cost nearly as much as iPhone 7 ($649, off contract).
Me: Essential, unlock the front door and let me in.
Essential smart home: I'm sorry, I can't do that.
Me: Why not? It's freezing out here!
Essential smart home: My sensors detect you've gained some after-Christmas weight. I'm not letting you inside until you go for a nice long walk. No need to thank me for improving your life...that's what I'm here for.
DOA but he'll probably make off with some investors money while others loose their shirts. This is what it is about these days.