“Android’s licensing agreement comes with an ‘anti-fragmentation’ clause',” which aims to encourage vendors to conform with certain APIs when they design Android-based products, Schmidt said. He explained that the incentive is access to Android Marketplace.
“No operator wants to be in the ecosystem without access to all the apps,” he said. “That’s what we have, because we don’t want to force everyone along in lockstep.”
Schmidt’s speech focused on personalization as the next major search trend, from more personalized search results to targeted, context-aware mobile ads, all based on extensive user data. This prompted Schmidt to pepper his talk with the phrase “with your permission” as an acknowledgement that personalization is an opt-in proposition.
“Most people trust brands that are trustworthy,” he said. “If you offer people something that’s of value to them, they’ll opt in.”