Google chief predicts Android will come into its own

The next 12 months will be the year of Android, according to Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt has said during a conference call discussing the group’s better-than-expected first quarter results that “Android is going to have a very, very strong year”, adding that “the open source part of the strategy is working”.

Android, the company’s open-source mobile operating system, now has a wide community of followers who are constantly developing and upgrading applications made for the software.

But Schmidt has said that Android will be developed even further, saying there will be “quite significant” advancements that will use “hardware partners in the Android space”.

The announcement likely hints at an Android netbook, after computer manufacturer Hewlett Packard recently said it was investigating the feasibility of using Android for a netbook model.