Tag Archives: chrome os android
Google Chrome for Android Means ARM Support is Coming Very Soon
Posted on 04. Oct, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 
3 Comments
I probably don’t really need to rehash the news that the Chromium codebase is showing signs that the Chrome browser is coming to Android devices. From a standards standpoint, doing this makes sense. Google wants to create similar browsing experience regardless of what device a user is accessing the web from, and there had been rumblings that this type of convergence was going to arrive at some point anyways. What’s more interesting is that Android is built for the cheap, energy sipping ARM processor architecture.
That’s a departure from Intel-based devices that Chrome OS run off of right now. And while the Atom series f processors do a good job, my experience with them in the first generation Chromebooks can leave room for more processing muscle. While having a few tabs open on a Chromebook is really not that big of a deal, it becomes much more problematic when you try to run, say, Pandora, YouTube and several Google Apps instances all at once.
This can be a problem, especially for companies that are interested in signing up for the Chromebooks for Business program. One of the things that still needs to be resolved is solid HTML5 virtualization in order to take the place of native installed applications users expect from a customary Windows experience. And sure, for work purposes people won’t be running Pandora, YouTube and Google Apps (I hope). But they still will need to be running relatively complex applications to do their work.
These types of webapps are a step above your typical web page. I often wonder, because of this, if using a dual core Intel processor is really enough. If it proves over time to be really limited, then Intel would need to theoretically chip in with a more expensive power hungry processor, barring some technological leap. But for the time being it appears that Google and Intel have some kind of deal in place to make sure that Atom processors are shipped out with Chrome OS device.
Yes, it’s still early days. I still believe in the potential of thin clients in both the retail and enterprise markets, but my prediction is that it’s going to take much longer than I first anticipated. It seems that along with this processor situation, Google has steadfastly tried to keep Android and Chrome very much two separate entities. I’m starting to wonder, then, if perhaps the best strategy going forward might be for the retail sector to work with Android – going up against Apple. Then, the Chrome OS side can go up against Microsoft in the enterprise market.
The inclusion of Chrome on Android doesn’t make this division any clearer. It’s a promotion of Chrome, for sure, and users will be able to sync up their Chrome instances. But where does this put the Chrome Operating System?
via TechRadar
Android vs. Chrome OS Tablets: What Do You Think?
Posted on 14. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 9 Comments
There is undoubtedly a huge debate over the past few weeks on the topic of the best tablet to compete with the Apple iPad which currently has no equal. Sure, Windows has a touch friendly of their version 7 operating system ready to go for the tablet market, Research in Motion has the so-called BlackPad and HP has their recently acquired Palm-derived WebOS system for their own tablet plans.
But what we really want to spark debate on here is the Android versus Chrome OS debate. Although we are a Chrome focused site, the technology that powers the browser is used in Android for web viewing on smartphones and for the upcoming Google TV is Chrome, so no matter what happens we’ll still be here even if Chrome OS tablets flop should they ever arrive.
That’s where you come in. We’re opening the floor for those who want to write their opinions on the subject. An educated debate is in order. Contact us through the link above if you have massively burning ideas on the subject that you want to write about in a full blog post, otherwise you can leave comments on this article. We look forward to all of your thoughts.
