News - Google’s Chrome OS may be delayed until next year

[HEXUS]

But a pre-release version could still appear in 2010.

Read more.

[mikerr]

Chrome OS was designed for devices with a keyboard, and that the company would not be pushing it for use on tablets.

FAIL.

Tablets are the big opening for google, not netbooks.

Android doesn't stretch to them very well, despite several manufacturers trying, and there's really an empty gap in that market left by Apple.

[directhex]

Who wants ChromeOS?

[Saracen]

Who wants ChromeOS?

Google?

[crossy]

FAIL. Tablets are the big opening for google, not netbooks. Android doesn't stretch to them very well, despite several manufacturers trying, and there's really an empty gap in that market left by Apple.

Android isn't designed/targetted for netbooks, whereas ChromeOS (supposedly) is. Might be a good idea to check this out details of the OS'es concerned before calling "Fail" on either/both of them.

See http://mashable.com/2010/11/15/android-chrome-os/ for a very brief overview, or http://www.differencebetween.net/tec...and-chrome-os/ which gives more details, or there's more in-depth discussions around the net.

That out of the way, I'm going to agree with you in that maybe netbooks aren't necessarily a place where Google can make a difference. Windows 7 apparently isn't that bad, Ubuntu UNR is usable, and Meego looks very good so far. So where's the need for yet-another-operating-system - yaos leading to chaos ... Plus I've got reservations about the usability of an OS that needs a viable data connection to be able to do anything, so I can't see ChromeOS being appealing to me - I'll gladly trade the (tiny?) bit of extra time that Meego 1.1 takes to boot in return to be able to do docs etc with no network connection.

On the other hand, in the tablet market you've only really got to go up against iOS (unless you're talking about very specialised usages - in which case I'll acknowledge that Windows is also usable). But, as said above, in that sphere you're really supposed to be using Android (I'm assuming normal tablets not some Dell Inspiron Duo clone), preferably Honeycomb (I guess).

[mikerr]

Android isn't designed/targetted for netbooks, whereas ChromeOS (supposedly) is. Might be a good idea to check this out details of the OS'es concerned before calling "Fail" on either/both of them.

Easy tiger - I didn't actually mention android in that sentence "Tablets are the big opening for google, not netbooks"

I'm going to agree with you in that maybe netbooks aren't necessarily a place where Google can make a difference.
On the other hand, in the tablet market you've only really got to go up against iOS

But, as said above, in that sphere you're really supposed to be using Android

Android's not for tablets, according to google:
http://androidcommunity.com/android-...-use-20100910/
http://gigaom.com/2010/04/04/google-...n-smartphones/

So they either make googleOS suitable for tablets - which they've just said no to above,
or target android to tablets - which they've discounted before (I suppose we just wait for 3.0)

[crossy]

Easy tiger - I didn't actually mention android in that sentence "Tablets are the big opening for google, not netbooks" So they either make googleOS suitable for tablets - which they've just said no to above, or target android to tablets - which they've discounted before (I suppose we just wait for 3.0)

My bad - I must have misunderstood what you were getting at. Couldn't agree more that Google's approach to tablets is a bit confusing (to be polite) - they obviously want to get into that area, but there seems to be a lack of commitment.

Not sure whether it's related, but there was an interesting comment on a podcast I was listening to that Android is firmly identified as a phone OS at the moment. So if you do a tablet with it on, then folks complain that it's "cut down" because it won't make phone calls. iOS, because it's running the iPod's, doesn't carry that drawback to the same extent. So maybe Google are waiting until there's more non-phone Android devices before committing to a tablet.

Personally, I think it's more likely that Android development has been focussed on phones to date, so Google are still looking to see what folks want from a tablet before including those features in 'droid 3.0.

[Funkstar]

Not sure whether it's related, but there was an interesting comment on a podcast I was listening to that Android is firmly identified as a phone OS at the moment. So if you do a tablet with it on, then folks complain that it's "cut down" because it won't make phone calls. iOS, because it's running the iPod's, doesn't carry that drawback to the same extent. So maybe Google are waiting until there's more non-phone Android devices before committing to a tablet.

Android on a tablet isn't "cut down" because of a lack of phone calls, it's because there is no Google apps support unless you have 3G in there. The only reason the Galaxy Tab has Market support along with the rest of the Google apps is because it is exactly a very, very large mobile phone. It can do calls and even video calls along with everything else.

Remember, Android is open source, but the Google apps are not, so they control what devices those apps appear on.

[dangel]

You can add the market to a tablet though.. It's just that OEMs are blocked from doing it.

[Funkstar]

Of course. But the fact you have to add it yourself makes it a no go for most people.

[dangel]

Of course. But the fact you have to add it yourself makes it a no go for most people.

For yer Mum maybe, everyone else google's it (and yer Mum says 'fix it for me')