Tech pundits (including me) have been wondering about how Googlea4ぎa4г Chrome OS will compare to Android and how the two operating systems fit into Googlea4ぎa4г broader product strategy. Sundar Pichai, Googlea4ぎa4г vice president of product management, took another stab at answering the question today.
The topic came up at a Chrome OS press event in San Francisco, where a reporter asked if Chrome OS might be a better operating system than Android for tablet. The Chrome OS pilot device and the consumer launch devices are netbooks, but Google has hinted that Chrome OS might work on other devices eventually.
Pichai answered that Chrome OS and Android represent a4ぎAtwo different approaches to computing.a4ぎ He noted that Google is making both operating systems available via open source, so both can (and have been) adopted by a variety of manufacturing partners.
a4ぎAHaving said that, we want the market and the users to use what they want,a4ぎ Pichai said. a4ぎAAs long as ita4ぎa4г Google &8212' both of them are Google products &8212' wea4ぎa4ll be pretty happy.a4ぎ
On the tablet question, Pichai said Google is moving a4ぎAone step at a timea4ぎ and is currently working with netbook partners. He noted that Chrome OS doesna4ぎa4д require a physical keyboard to work, so theoretically it should work on a tablet.
Pichai also said that Google has to answer this question all the time. I would argue thata4ぎa4г because the answer seems to change. Initially, all the discussion of Chrome versus Android focused on phones versus netbooks, then it shifted to Chromea4ぎa4г focus on the Web (ita4ぎa4г basically just a version of the Chrome browser that runs on a netbook) versus Androida4ぎa4г downloadable applications. Last month, Eric Schmidt said Google doesna4ぎa4д want to impose an answer, but that a4ぎAthe Android solution is particularly optimized for things that involve touch in some form, and Chrome OS appears to be for keyboard-based solutions.a4ぎ
Ultimately, the confusion may not be a huge deal. I suspect consumers will care less about how Chrome OS compares to Android and more about whether a Chrome netbook does what they want it to.
Front photo via Danny Sullivan
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Companies: Google
People: Sundar Pichai
Companies: Google
People: Sundar Pichai
Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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