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Google's Eric Schmidt: Feature phones will cost as much as a smartphone next year

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By Victor Hristov

Published: Mar 01, 2012, 2:57 AM

Android

Google's Eric Schmidt: Feature phones will cost as much as a smartphone next year

Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt delivered one of the most exciting keynotes at MWC, and there’s one particular piece we wanted to highlight particularly. In the Q&A section after the keynote itself, Schmidt was asked “When are we going to see Android on feature phones?”

Now, most of you would smile at that question and Schmidt himself wondered: “Why don’t you just buy a smartphone?” But the former Google ex-CEO quickly rephrased it:

“A better question is when will smartphones cost what feature phones cost and the answer is next year.”

Now, this of course is due to Moore’s law which says that processing power doubles every year (technically, the number of transistors on a die double).

So “last years’ $400 phone is next year’s $100 phone,” Schmidt added. “It’s happening. … We have many many partners who are working on phones that will begin in the $100-$150 range their eventual goal is to get it to $70.”

Finally, the former Google head said that once we arrive at the $70 price point, that will be the tipping point when smartphones will start flooding the developing markets as often these $70 phones are then resold for a mere $20-$30. That’s an exciting future isn’t it?

“I think those [Android sales] numbers have doubled over 6 months … eventually it [Androids sold] will be around a trillion, we’ll run out of people. We need to produce more people,” Schmidt joked.

Thumbnail image courtesy of AP.

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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.

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Google's Eric Schmidt: Feature phones will cost as much as a smartphone next year

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