Google Chrome OS could run on tablets, take on the iPad
Google's Android smartphone operating system is clearly aimed at the same customers that might be interested in picking up an Apple iPhone. But it looks like Google may not only be interested in taking the iPhone down a notch or two -- the company is also working to ensure that it's upcoming Chrome OS plays well with tablet computers. You know, like the recently announced Apple iPad.
That's not to say that Chrome OS will run on the iPad. Rather, the operating system, which is designed specifically for netbooks and mobile computers, will feature touchscreen optimizations that will allow PC makers to load it on devices with or without keyboards.
As Lee mentioned yesterday in Chrome Corner, the Chromium developer site has a page dedicated to a concept UI for tablets. It's choc full of mockups of a tablet with an adjustable on-screen keyboard, touchscreen launchers, a zooming interface, and browser tabs that would show up on the side of the screen sort of like the Firefox Mobile.
Right now this is only a concept, and it's not clear if there will be any Google Tablet hardware. But it shows that Google is at least thinking about the touchscreen tablet space. A number of PC makers have also started loading Google Android on tablets. And you know who else is interested in the tablet space? Microsoft. Windows 7 features an on-screen keyboard and a number of touch-friendly features built right into the OS.
It's also probably worth pointing out that the iPad will be able to run 140,000+ iPhone apps at launch, while Windows tablets will be able to run a wealth of Windows software. Any Chrome tablet will be able to run... Chrome, which is basically an entire OS built around a web browser.
You can check out a concept video of a fake Chrome tablet after the break. And if you want to check out a pre-release version of Chrome OS, you might want to check out Hexxeh's latest Chromium OS Zero build which includes a new auto-update feature.
Chromatic is one of the best time-wasters I've recently come across. It's all about the gameplay -- no Flash graphics here. You play a "circle" (it doesn't really have a name in the game). You move around with the arrow keys, and you change colors with Z, X, and C.
You can either be red, blue, or yellow, and you can switch at any time during the game. Each color has different capabilities -- yellow can double-jump, while red has a longer dash (which is like a forward sprint, activated by double-pressing DOWN).
Each ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SDreamer said 12:00PM on 2-02-2010
These tablets will fail unless they find an effective way of user input. The best way I can tell right now is through a stylus. On screen keyboards on these big screens just doesn't seem to work, and just makes it akward and cumbersome to input. I hope they remember that the special things about tablets is the method of input not the number of applications.
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Brad Jensen said 5:59PM on 2-02-2010
I think they should add a in-ear headset with a mic (like the iPhone) and make an app that can type what you say, at virtually 100% accuracy. That way, people won't need to type on the thing (but they still could, if they wanted to.) You could then click in a textbox and say what you want. You can make the mic not pick up noise from a certain distance, so you can still use the device in crowded rooms.
Brad Jensen said 5:34PM on 2-02-2010
Or just sell a clip-on mic, like people use on TV all the time.
James said 7:05AM on 2-03-2010
Hrm. iPad + 140k apps, or a ChromePad with *Flash*, and thus hundreds of thousands of web sites with active content. Tough call...
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