Marco and Gruber are (unsurprisingly) running with the mangled quote...
http://www.marco.org/2011/12/07/eric-schmidt-android-leads-t...
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/12/07/marco-or-not
Based on his track record, I would not be surprised to see a follow-up addressing the accuracy or otherwise of the quoted words.
Consider if it had been a Job's quote. I suspect Gruber would have been more thorough.
Having said that, I think you're probably right regarding a follow-up from Gruber.
On the first point, he's conceding that Android, up until ICS, fell short. On the second point, he's saying that, whether Android suddenly sparks developer interest or not, it's gonna be on so many devices that developers won't be able to say no (to the fame and fortune). I can't say whether he'll be correct, but I think he could be. It's an honest, if not direct, answer to the question asked -- and doesn't come across as a threat.
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/12/07/schmidt
However, I agree; given Gruber's track record I expect him to post a correction soon.
Anyway, Schmidt enumerated some differences: - he thinks the software (ICS) has caught up to iOS - Google has made it a core objective to get all the hardware vendors on ICS - the Android Market has improved and now offers carrier billing - volume favors Android
I don't know if he's right, but it's certainly a reasonable argument and not at all threatening or arrogant.
To me, Marco reads something nefarious or coercive into the "whether you like it or not" phrase which I don't think was intended.
I don't see any disruptive forces to have emerged those 3.5 years. The iPhone retains the lion's share of smartphone profits, and still is where the lion's share of mobile app profits are made. Trending upwards. Android expanded mostly in the low margin, bottom of the barrel, market category, and that's why they have a problem with apps.
Do you see anything TODAY that would challenge that in 6 months, or do you believe that something will magically emerge in, say, 3 months to do it?
All this "rapid pace" of the last 3.5 years is because a reaction to the iPhone, not something inherent in the industry.
The 10 years preceding the iPhone the smartphone industry was boring, with very slow evolution, and marginal differences between models. I know because I was there, using some monstrosities of the era (by Nokia, Sony, etc) and hoping someone would come and build a better f&%^n phone.