Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, has said the Nexus project for phones will still be offered out to all Android partners despite the search giant purchasing Motorola Mobility.
Speaking on an investors conference call, Rubin highlighted how the Nexus project is run and confirmed that Motorola would be separate to the Android development process within Google:
"We have a strategy where we have created both Nexus and lead devices (for tablets) category. We use this to help focus our team's work; every year, around Christmas time, we select a manufacturer to work with to release a device."
Huddling up
"That includes things like semi-conductor companies too; then the teams huddle together in one building to work on developments, and that process goes on for around nine to 12 months, and ultimately in the holiday season devices pop out.
"That process won't change at all; we see the acquisition as a separate business, so Motorola will still be part of the bidding process - Android is remaining open to partners as it is today."
This means that we could still see a Samsung, LG or HTC-powered device as the lead phone or tablet for Android Ice Cream Sandwich... although we'll hardly be shocked if it suddenly turns out that the Nexus Droid will be the flagship phone for the next generation of Android.
