BARCELONA - Google chief Eric Schmidt on Tuesday laid out his plan for the future of smartphones, one that helps you learn new things and meet new people, but one thing that's not in Google's future is Nokia. Schmidt expressed disappointment that the handset maker last week decided to go with Windows Phone over Android.
"We would've loved if they would have chosen Android; they chose the other guys," Schmidt said during a keynote presentation here at Mobile World Congress. "I think we were pretty straightforward. We would like them to adopt Android at some point in the future; that offer remains open."
"We think Android was a good choice for Nokia, and we're sorry they made a different choice," he continued.
Nonetheless, Schmidt is not too worried about Android, calling it the "fastest growing mobile platform in the world."
Schmidt eschewed the notion that computers make us cold and unfeeling.
"I think that this kind of criticism is exactly wrong," he said. "In fact what we're building is the opposite of what people are criticizing us for."
The goal of Google is to help people can get information as quickly and efficiently as possible and then go on with their lives, Schmidt said. Going forward, mobile devices will not only provide you with the things you asked for, but for things your device believes you will find useful.
"Your phone helping you learn new things and meet new people; that is the future of the platform that we're all building together," Schmidt said.
All of this was said with the caveat - "with your permission" - referring to the privacy debate surrounding targeted services.
"Most people trust brands that are trustworthy and so it's usually the case that if you offer something of value and people think you're going to be straight with them ... people will opt in," Schmidt said. "I say 'with your permission' to emphasize that we're not trying to violate peoples' privacy - we're trying to give them choices."
"As long as we're on the side of 'with your permission,' I think people will adopt it and be fine," he concluded.
During a question and answer session, Schmidt also fielded questions about some recent Google headlines. When asked about rumors that Google and Facebook were looking into buying Twitter, Schmidt responded simply, "We love Twitter, and I love to tweet." During a separate keynote presentation on Monday, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said the report was just a rumor.
Schmidt was also asked about Facebook and if the social-networking site was encroaching on Google's business at all. Schmidt said that Microsoft is still its biggest competitor and that Facebook is "additive." Facebook users use Google more, and there's no evidence that Facebook is cutting into Google's ad revenue, he said.
He did get in a quick dig at Microsoft, however, praising the company's Bing search engine but joking that "there's a couple cases where it's likely a little too good," referring to recent accusations that Bing was copying Google search results.
Schmidt was also asked about Egyptian Google executive Wael Ghonim, who was taken into custody during the recent uprising, and has been a voice of the revolution. There were questions over whether Ghonim's political activism would hurt his job at Google, but Schmidt said Tuesday that he has spoken with Ghonim and Google is "very, very proud of what Wael and that group was able to do in Egypt. They were able to use a set of technologies ... to really express the voice of the people."