When it comes to nerd obsessions, the only thing that can trump a
fictional tablet developed by battling
left-coast legends is the promise of a revolutionary OS from Google that relies upon nothing but a browser and the dreams of a young Larry Ellison. Don't even start with your
Korean product waifs as we're trying to keep the discussion in the realm of possibilities. Now, with the weekend over, you've probably experienced the same sense of ennui we've all felt at having downloaded and
tested a copy of Chrome OS. To be fair, that meh-ness is kind of what you'd expect from a browser-based OS that's meant to get out of your way. Still, it's hard not to wonder where Android and its growing application base fits into Google's long-term OS strategy especially after seeing several ARM-based
smartbook prototypes running Google's smartphone OS. Fortunately, Google co-founder Sergey Brin shed some light on this topic in a candid statement following the
Chrome OS event. According to
CNET, Brin said that Android and the Chrome OS "will likely converge over time," noting the common Webkit and Linux foundation of both operating systems. It's unclear when this might occur however. In fact, listening to Google CEO Eric Schmidt attempt to explain the difference between Google's operating systems in a recent
CNET interview leaves us wondering if Google has a clear idea of its target markets as smartphone and laptop functionality continues to converge across devices. Schmidt concedes that it's too early to tell how the OSes will be used and prefers not to "prejudge the success" of each. "The future will unfold as it does," he says, and the open-source community will determine the natural fit. Check the interview after the break -- the Android vs. Chrome OS waffling begins at the 16:30 remaining mark of the 19 minute and 11 second interview.
[Original image courtesy of
Rich Dellinger]
posted November 23rd 2009 7:59AM
Seems perfectly plausible. The android in the picture looks AWESOME though.
Having Chrome and Android merge would work, but obviously having unique features for handsets/netbooks respectively.
Dugg for Engadget photoshopping skills. Oops, wrong site...
And together they will form Super Metroid!
Wonder twin powers ACTIVATE!
So much talk about so little work... When Windows 7 Starter was supposed to be limited to running 3 apps at a time, everybody freaked. But what if that limitation was to be expanded to running only IE8 in full screen mode all the time? Because that's chromeOS as it is today in a nutshell.
yup exactly my point as well... and theres been many small OS's like this for years.... to name just a few.....
Damn Small Linux (that is only 50Mb and offers firefox, network tools, etc etc)
MobLin
GeekXBox (well no browser but freakin good "OS" to use in a media center)
So basically Android will get a better browser over time?
The question is "why did they have to diverge in the first place"?
In the Pre, Palm made a web-powered device which is much more Google-like and Chrome-like than Android is.
It seems like Google lacks something which keeps these diverse technical projects heading in the same direction.
Discipline!
C.
Agreed. What would be even more interesting is if Palm delved into producing a mobile/netbook OS.
While I have the Pre and think it's an amazing phone, if Palm were to put WebOS on a netbook with the app memory limit and lack of high powered apps, i think there would be a big backlash, king of like the Foleo backlash.
@webran61
They tried that already, and the tech blogs convinced them to cancel it.
Well I think that "if" they did place in the netbook market they certainly wouldn't limit the App partion size considering you'll have Xgb's to work with.
wtf! The mutated android totally made the one behind him suffer a grand mal
I think he fused and turned Super Sayan Android, then totally blew the guy behind him away.
I would suggest that, over time, this will happen to all mobile OS's.
That would make no sense at all. Besides both being written by Google, everything else about these two operating systems makes them polar opposites that could never possibly be joined into one.
Android was designed from the ground up as a base for running applications. Absolutely everything about its design was made in order to support third party applications.
Chrome OS was designed with no support for third party applications whatsoever.
How could those two ever possibly merge? Any attempt to combine them would basically result in one being cancelled in favor of the other since they have total opposite design philosophies. Adding Android apps to Chrome would basically give you Android with a nicer browser, and removing apps from Android would basically give you the smartphone version of Chrome OS. There is no middle-ground between them.
I think they are just playing with it, such low level OS has no value compared to Moblin and such, but ... Android will be very good once apps start poping out (and Google starts playing heavy in that area)
Google has a winner with Android. Chrome OS however looks pretty non eventful. Like they are putting too much emphasis on the cloud. We'll never go 100% cloud.
Of course we will. It's just a matter of time.
It doesn't make logical sense to ever go 100% cloud because:
1. You'll always need a local OS to run your hardware.
2. Local software will run faster.
3. Not everyone wants to be dependent on an internet connection all the time.
4. Not all data should be stored in the cloud.
5. Some people are paranoid about letting others control all their data.
I think the best case scenario for future computing is a hybrid of local machines, home servers and web servers.
Hopefully, it will be more Android'ish than Chrome'ish.
Hopefully this will get us:
1) Support for netbook device features in Android (higher resolution displays, USB devices, external displays, etc.)
2) Fast booting/splashtop type functionality in Android (hopefully adding in the ability to have Android/Chrome hand off to another OS, like most splashtop OSes can do)
3) At least one full desktop type browser for Android (Chrome; though I'd also like to see Firefox and Fennec for Android -- I think Acer is working on Firefox for Android on their Android netbook)
4) Dalvik for Chrome OS (for running local Android Apps on Chrome OS)
5) Screen Rotation, accelerometer based auto-rotation, and (multi-?)touch screen support in Chrome OS (for convertible tablet netbooks, and slate tablets)
6) Hopefully, variant Chrome OS distributions (like what Cyanogen does for Android)
Only, at some point, hopefully there wont be a need to call it "in/for Android" or "in/for Chrome OS". It'll be one OS that has optimized distributions for phones, pocketable tablets, pocketable netbooks/smartbooks, mid-range tablets, mid-range netbooks/smartbooks, and maybe also: large tablets (such as the modbook), laptops, nettops, all-in-ones, desktops, and set top boxes.
I'd personally love to have a 10" tablet (with KVM ports, at least) that boots into a splashtop OS based on a merged Android/ChromeOS, and can then hand-off to Ubuntu and/or OS X (assuming Apple ever comes out with their 10" tablet; otherwise, just Ubuntu) if I need to do something more intensive. Couch Computer, Commute Computer, Meeting Computer, Vacation Computer.
Mozilla is working on Fennec for Android ever since Google allowed native apps.
I hope they don't, they are a completely different type of project. They both happen to be operating systems... that's where the similarities end. Running Android apps in Chrome OS defeats the purpose of Chrome OS....
Surely whats missing here is Android is developed by the Open Handset Alliance which includes T-Mobile, Sprint, NTT DoCoMo, Telefonica, Vodaphone, Acer, ASUS, Garmin, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Google, eBay, ARM, Atheros, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm & Marvel to name but a few.
Chrome OS is developed by Google so I'm sure good ideas in each will cross-pollinate but there is no real reason for them to ever really overlap, one is for mobiles from cheap to expensive and the other is for cheap netbooks.
Chrome OS is currently an answer to a question no one has any reason to ask yet. If and when high speed mobile internet access becomes very cheap, and reliable enough to handle everyone using it frequently, then Chrome OS will see its time. Right now, however, it's nearly impossible to be connected to the internet at high enough speeds at all times for a full size computer to rely completely on the cloud. Even if one lives in an area where that is possible, it costs too much to become ubiquitous. As that changes, it's likely that android will simply become increasingly more cloud based until there's little to nothing left that needs to be stored on the device itself, save for backup data.
Oh, and sorry if the video says the same thing; I'm stuck on dial-up right now so I can't actually watch it.
I would like an apology from all the folks who called me a "tard" for suggesting this very thing on ChromeOS reveal day...
Don't worry, I won't be holding my breath.
I think of Android and Chrome OS as opposites. Android is open sourced, while (as far we can tell) Chrome OS is pretty closed down with strict limitations.
as browser centric as i'd like my smartphone os to be, i don't know that i want my instant on computer os to be phone simple
What a fanfarre.....
This kind of OS's exist for years.
Anybody heard about DSL for example? it's a 30Mb Linux-powered OS that runs Firefox among many other things. Loads in seconds, anywhere.