He also promised that full support for Adobe’s Flash standard was coming in the next version of Android, code-named Froyo, for frozen yogurt (previous Android releases were called Cupcake, Donut and Eclaire, and are represented outside building 44 on the Google campus with giant sculptures of the desserts). Sometimes being open “means not being militant about the things consumer are actually enjoying,” he said.

Mr. Rubin also addressed many other topics—like whether consumers actually care if their mobile phone software is “open” or not. He insisted that they will, comparing closed computing platforms to totalitarian governments that deprive their citizens of choice. “When they can’t have something, people do care. Look at the way politics work. I just don’t want to live in North Korea,” he said.