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When Andy Rubin returns to smartphones after a few years in the wilderness, the tech press is going to take notice. Sites will speculate endlessly about teasers and report breathlessly about each small nuance ahead of launch. All of that comes with the territory when you\u2019re the driving force that brought Android into the world.<\/p>\n
For the phone-buying public, however, Rubin is not yet a household name. For mainstream consumers, his connection to a project isn\u2019t enough to make a device stand out on store shelves alongside countless other Android devices. Following Rubin\u2019s interview at the Code Conference<\/a>, and a mere month away from the Essential Phone\u2019s<\/a> ship date, the product and the company\u2019s website<\/a> like a collection of good \u2013 or at the very least, compelling \u2013 ideas without a central thesis. Aside from offering something different, what does a phone like this have to offer consumers who are already awash with different smartphone choices?<\/p>\n During the conversation, Rubin touched on some of the motivating factors that drove him to launch both Essential and its investor\/incubator Playground<\/a>, rather than simply embracing a much-deserved retirement. \u201cI\u2019m somewhat responsible for creating this problem,\u201d the Essential CEO told Walt Mossberg on stage. \u201cAnd this problem is over-complication of technology.\u201d<\/p>\n