'Father of Android' Andy Rubin Joins Lineup for October's Code/Mobile

Well before Andy Rubin created Android, he laid the groundwork for the modern smartphone.

Back in 2002, Rubin launched the Sidekick, one of the first devices to merge threaded messaging, email and the full Web into a phone. Then, of course, he built a little startup called Android, which was bought in 2005 by Google and under Rubin’s continued leadership became the biggest smartphone operating system in the world.

With the smartphone now ubiquitous and mobile heading in new directions, we are thrilled to have Rubin joining us onstage at Code/Mobile. This year, we’ll be asking what comes next, now that we all have the smartphones he helped pioneer. For instance, we’ve noticed that technology that debuted in the smartphone is expanding into lots of places, including cars and wearables.

Code/Mobile takes place Oct. 7-8 and is once again being held at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Rubin has been pursuing a variety of hardware passions since handing over the reins of Android to Sundar Pichai in 2013. Rubin had been focused on robotics before leaving Google altogether last year. He is currently running Playground Global, a somewhat stealthy hardware incubator — Rubin prefers to call it a studio — as well as serving as a partner at Redpoint Ventures.

Last week, Playground announced it was leading an investment round in CastAR, a gaming-focused augmented reality company.

Playground has raised a great deal of money, but has talked little about where it is headed.

Rubin joins a lineup that includes Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg, AT&T Mobility CEO Glenn Lurie, Fitbit CEO James Park and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel along with Google’s Amit Singhal and Twitter’s Kevin Weil.

And as important as what is said onstage is what gets said over lunch, in the hallways and during the breaks.

The good news is there is still time to be a part of that — but not much time. Visit the Code/Mobile website for registration details.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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