Google CEO Eric Schmidt answered questions from attendees at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. Photo: Jon Fortt

ABU DHABI – Google CEO Eric Schmidt's speech and Q&A here was probably the most popular event at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit; there was standing room only on Wednesday as he extolled the virtues of the Internet and the goodness of Google (GOOG). His audience, mostly a mix of tech-savvy locals, international media executives and tech insiders, greeted him with wary admiration. Here are his most memorable quotes:

"If you're a famous television producer, you'll build a show on the Internet first …."

Schmidt told the crowd that Google's top engineers now build services primarily to work on mobile devices; PC browsers are more of an afterthought. Mobile is a huge, exciting category where Google can reach a new audience. Similarly, he suggested that TV producers should soon begin releasing shows online before they appear on TV. Why? Not because the online audience is more lucrative than TV – it's not – but because the Internet provides a test bed where content creators can find out what will resonate with an audience. More