Will Chrome revamp its strategy?[/b]
While Acer didn't announce its rumored Google Chrome-powered tablet on Tuesday, there are still signs that Google could team with a vendor to release a Chrome tablet this year.
The question is whether this would be a refined approach to mobile or a prelude to the long-expected merger of Chrome and Android. The writing has been on the wall for Google to take a second stab at mobile with Chrome OS. It all started in 2009 with Sergey Brin's now-infamous comment, Android and Chrome will likely converge over time. In late 2012, a Google+ post by François Beaufort hinted at a Chrome tablet. Then, in February 2013, we saw the debut of the Chromebook Pixel, which was Google's first serious attempt at giving users a quality touch experience with the web. One month later, Sundar Pichai replaced Andy Rubin as head of Android, putting him in charge of both Chrome and Android. Now that Rubin has moved on from Android, it will be far easier for Google to shut down Android if they choose to.
Google's relationship with Android has long been characterized by creative tension. Google purchased the mobile startup in late 2005 and unveiled it in 2007 as an open source platform. What began with the best intentions, eventually helped cede control back to the carriers and handset manufacturers. Android, now wrought with security issues, fragmentation woes, and forking problems has become difficult for Google to manage. Chrome is holistically Google's vision, while the open nature of the Android ecosystem makes it more of a tense dance with the community of developers and partners.
J.P. Gownder, a principal analyst at Forrester Research, said Chrome OS provides Google an opportunity to bring some semblance of order to their mobile strategy. The more rationality they can bring to their own ecosystem, the more successful they'll be at driving actual revenue with the strategy. Rather than an extremely open source, tenuous connection that they have to the forked Android world where they really don't make money, Gownder said. The initial Chrome OS mobile device, more than likely, will not launch with any Android capabilities. Instead, the decision to unify the two systems will be probably be announced separately and phased in over time. It's difficult to imagine what that will look like, but Gownder mentioned that if QNX is able to emulate Android applications, then Google should be able to find a way to do it with Chrome OS.
While Acer didn't announce its rumored Google Chrome-powered tablet on Tuesday, there are still signs that Google could team with a vendor to release a Chrome tablet this year.
The question is whether this would be a refined approach to mobile or a prelude to the long-expected merger of Chrome and Android. The writing has been on the wall for Google to take a second stab at mobile with Chrome OS. It all started in 2009 with Sergey Brin's now-infamous comment, Android and Chrome will likely converge over time. In late 2012, a Google+ post by François Beaufort hinted at a Chrome tablet. Then, in February 2013, we saw the debut of the Chromebook Pixel, which was Google's first serious attempt at giving users a quality touch experience with the web. One month later, Sundar Pichai replaced Andy Rubin as head of Android, putting him in charge of both Chrome and Android. Now that Rubin has moved on from Android, it will be far easier for Google to shut down Android if they choose to.
Google's relationship with Android has long been characterized by creative tension. Google purchased the mobile startup in late 2005 and unveiled it in 2007 as an open source platform. What began with the best intentions, eventually helped cede control back to the carriers and handset manufacturers. Android, now wrought with security issues, fragmentation woes, and forking problems has become difficult for Google to manage. Chrome is holistically Google's vision, while the open nature of the Android ecosystem makes it more of a tense dance with the community of developers and partners.