Android vs Chrome OS: It’s All About the Webapps
Posted on 09. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey in Features
Should tablets that try to compete against the iOS and Windows run Android or Chrome OS? This is a major point of contention right now, with those who are impressed by Google’s smartphone operating system of the belief that tablets should run it as well. Those who are interested in a web application-filled future are patiently waiting for Chrome OS.
The key differentiator here is the way that both systems run applications. On Android, that platform requires a download and quick installation of apps. On Chrome OS, the Chrome Web Store will be a main directory for software. The difference? Anyone with a web browser and an OpenID will be able to use the Chrome Web Store.
Currently, tablets that run Android lack the ability to access the Android Market other than Samsung’s Galaxy S Tab. Google is doing this for a reason: if they allowed every tablet to have Android Market, all of the research and development of Chrome OS would be for naught. The ability for everything to be connected to the cloud is what Google is trying to achieve, so allowing Android Market to be ubiquitous is not in their plans.
Sure, this works for Apple, but they aren’t pushing for a movement towards webapps. That’s why the iPhone and iPad, aslthough serving different needs, uses the same base operating system. Indeed, their recent Ping offering is housed inside the iTunes application, possibly making it one of the only social networking services that isn’t really connected to the web.
Speaking at IFA Berlin, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said this about Chrome OS, “because it’s free it will also be used for tablets. But I think it’s too early to say exactly how it will be played out.”
Because it’s free. Not only will it be free, but you’ll be able to put webapps directly on it as long as you have an OpenID account. You can’t do that with Android, because its a smartphone operating system, not an operating system for webapps. So does Schmidt believe the most open system will win? Maybe. By and large, Android users are tied directly with a wireless company for their devices. Besides, do you really want to run browser-based software on a tiny smartphone screen?
2 Responses to “Android vs Chrome OS: It’s All About the Webapps”
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Dinu
09. Sep, 2010
well said !
beholder
10. Sep, 2010
Not just the Galaxy Tab is approved by Google and has access to the Android market. There were several tablets shown at IFA which are also approved. For example the Viewsonic Viewpad 7. Google just requires the tablets to have 3G or 4G.