A distinct episode in his work dates to 2007. An early developer preview of Android appeared in November 2007. It was this release, which he recalls as an alpha version, that informed his phone development. He liked the idea and became interested in building an Android-based phone. He saw the platform as a way to develop a product that could compete with Apple's iPhone and proposed it to potential partners. His account states that Steve Jobs supported his idea and saw promise in it. A friend working at city hall helped arrange a conversation with two representatives of a major business.
The meeting took place in central Kazan. He presented phone drawings, its appearance, design and specifications. He describes the visitors from China as the owner of T-Mobile and its director. According to his account, the company had a Chinese factory employing 100,000 people per shift. They liked the idea. The phone's specifications were roughly comparable to the iPhone, perhaps with a slightly larger body and more memory, but at a substantially different price.
They gave him a month to convince them to proceed. They left the next day, and communication continued by email. He did not manage to meet them again. Ultimately, they declined to manufacture the Android phone. He hoped to revisit and realize the idea independently, but had to close the project at the time.
After that, he returned to developing various information technology platforms.