By 
Stephen Colbert is known for his often humorous interviews with celebrities, politicians, and authors on his show The Colbert Report, but the tables were turned when the TV personality made a recent trip to Google. Colbert was on the receiving end of a series of questions submitted by Google employees during an interview hosted by chairman Eric Schmidt.
While the majority of the hour-long interview focuses mostly on Colbert’s latest book, Schmidt managed to slip in a bit of good-natured boasting for his company’s Android platform and Google Play Store. Saying, “I should not turn this into an Android commercial,” Schmidt once again touted the mobile platform’s position as the world’s top mobile operating system. Noting that Android is currently “five times bigger than the iPhone”, he assured Colbert that this fact combined with his book’s availability on Google Play meant “people will actually read your book.”
Colbert, an open fan of Google, had a few suggestions for Schmidt, including a tweak for the company’s Nexus 7 tablet. The Comedy Central host owns the N7 and requested that Google consider installing a physical volume button on the device. Schmidt had the perfect response. “That would cost extra.”
Most of the Android-related stuff, including a quip on Google Play being a competitor to the rainforest (or more specifically a competitor to an online retailer named after a rainforest) comes within the first 10 minutes, but if you are a fan of Colbert the whole video is worth a watch. Add in the always entertaining Schmidt and it makes for some can’t miss YouTube viewing.
[via AllThingsD]
I don’t get it. I have a Nexus 7 and it has a physical volume button
Only one I can think of is the original Kindle Fire?
I thought the same thing – if Colbert has one, why does he not know it has a volume rocker? There are only two actual buttons on the darn thing, and they’re right next to each other!
I’m sure he was referring to a home button asks apple-ish
He probably meant (said?) a camera button.
The buttons are a problem. The screen/power button and the volume rocker both have the same texture and edge shape, and they are both near each other — and both are hidden from view from the front. Several times I have thought I was pressing the “volume up” side of the volume rocker only to find out it was the screen button. One of these times was when I was flashing the recovery partition! (No, I’m not exaggerating; I tried to choose another menu item and instead chose the highlighted one :-(
I’ve handed my Nexus 7 to two different Apple friends, and both of them were at an immediate loss, “How do you turn it on?” There was no button visible anywhere. You have to turn the tablet sideways and examine the buttons before you figure out what they are.
And since the buttons are hidden from view, when using the tablet in landscape mode you never can tell where to the volume rocker is? Upper left or lower right?
So, it might be funny that Stephen doesn’t even know there is a volume rocker on the N7, but his error does point out the manifold design mistakes google and ASUS made with the N7. I do love my Nexus 7, but if the two buttons were visible from the front, recessed into the front edge of the frame/bezel, none of the above problems would be an issue, and you’d still have an uninterrupted linear edge on the right for accelerometer use and the minimization of inadvertent button pressings.
But my phone has a side power button, in plain view, and iPhone people still can’t figure out how to turn it on. They keep pressing the bottom of the screen as if they expect a circular button to appear there.
Yeah, I know. Nothing that doesn’t violate what Apple considers their IP is foolproof when dealing with Apple fans. A circular recessed button down on the front of the screen? Patented! It is their fanboi-lock-in strategy.
“Think different” indeed ;-)
Will save for later. Cant simply sit down and watch a 1 hour video at work!
well you can… but.. you might not have work the next day
Actually I have a great job. I could watch it, but my built in 15″ LCD monitor speakers suck and I cant hear anything…
The N7 does have a physical volume button.
Oops. Misread.
Schmidt, feeling himself too much atm.
Schmidt needs to forget about iOS, apple are a niche upmarket player, as they proved with the Mac, android should worry about Microsoft, yes they are coming from a standing start but Microsoft know how to play catch up, witness the xbox
Went with my older sister to check out the Surface and Win Phone. She really liked them, and I found both very nice. (She currently has a Blackberry and low end Android) She really wanted the HTC 8X. I secretly bought it as her Christmas present, and I’ve been playing with it. It is really good. The day Swiftkey becomes available for WP8 is the day I start considering a WP phone.
I always see Colbert boasting how he gets all of his apple products for free, I didn’t know he was a Google fan too!
The “much better glasses at Google” reference to Project Glass at the end was awesome.
I’ve always seen him whipping out his iPad and iPhone, had no idea Colbert was also an Android fan.
I love interviews when Colbert breaks away from his character, and we get to see the real him.
Very surprised Colbert uses an android tablet with his bank account he could have supplied apple with another $600+ for a garbage tablet that will have a new one in another few months….
God, Schmidt is so stiff. He should stick to running Google and leave interviewing to Colbert.
Is it wrong if I think this interview was incredibly boring… ?
This was just an awkward interview.