Google Aims for the Next Billion Users With Android KitKat

The new version of Android’s mobile operating system, called KitKat, has a more immersive design, a cleaner font, quicker ways to call local businesses, and integrated tools for adding location pins and emoji into messages. But the real appeal of the operating system is that it can run on lower-end devices, as it requires only 512 megabytes of RAM.

“Smartphone penetration is less than five percent in emerging markets,” said Android head Sundar Pichai while announcing KitKat and its companion flagship phone, the Nexus 5. “For 2014, our goal is, how do we reach the next billion people.” Google is starting to do well in countries like Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, India and Mexico, Pichai said, where business is tripling on an annual basis. But, in those countries, phone makers are selling new Android phones with Android Gingerbread, a.k.a. version 2.3, which launched in 2011.