Andy Rubin, key driving force behind the wildly successful Android OS, and ex-current robotics manager at Google is leaving the company for greener pastures. Latest in a series of highly publicized departures, Rubin is moving on after a restructuring blitz has placed control of many key projects into the hands of executive Sundar Pichai.
In IT Blogwatch, bloggers make like bananas and split.
Filling in for our humble blogwatcher Richi Jennings, is a humbler Stephen Glasskeys.
Sharon Gaudin divides and conquers:
The corporate shakeup at Google continues and now it's Andy Rubin, the former head of the company's Android business and the current head of its robotics arm, who's out.
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This [departure] comes on the heels of a corporate shakeup that saw several Google executives take a step back as one man -- Sundar Pichai -- took over several major divisions. MORE
So Zach Miners hatches an exit strategy:
Rubin is leaving to lead an incubator for hardware startups...and he'll be replaced at Google by James Kuffner, a research scientist and a member of Google's robotics group.
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The reasons for Rubin's departure weren't clear, though it had something to do with the structure of his team at Google, according to [reports]. MORE
Straight from the horse's mouth:
The future is looking awesome! MORE
Richard Nieva and Seth Rosenblatt are popular leaders:
The robots have a new leader.
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Rubin has been credited with turning Android into a serious competitor for Apple's iOS. Android is now the most popular mobile operating system, running on more than 80 percent of the world's smartphones. MORE
But Rachel King is soon deposed by a usurper:
Rubin's role within Android soon filled by Pichai, who moved up to senior vice president of both Android and Chrome as well as Google Apps.
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Just last week, Pichai's responsibilities and power grew exponentially with a promotion to an all-around product czar. MORE
Meanwhile, Shaun Nichols convenes in Berne:
Rubin also played a major role in Google's legal battle with Oracle over the use of Java code in Android, when he testified in court that...he had been under the impression that key Java APIs were copyrighted. MORE
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