People are still wondering why Google’s operating systems Chrome and Android are positioned as competitors.
Google’s strategy is being scrutinized also because two operating systems will be an additional burden on the company. Google will have to create an ecosystem around Chrome as well, and is attempting to recreate the success of Android’s App Store on Chrome’s Web Store.
Users of iPhone or Android handsets run apps natively, but Chrome apps are accessed through the phone’s browser. This method of running apps does away with the need for heavy computing as most of the work is done by remote computers.
This will help Google to make Chrome tablets cheaper since they won’t need fast processors or large memories.
Chrome OS tablets work very well around Google’s core source of revenue — its search based business model. Therefore, if users don’t feel the need to access the internet time and again, the core business of Google is in trouble. For example, if a mobile web user has downloaded 25 apps that are his favourites, he might not go online for long periods at a stretch. This is yet another attempt by Google to shift users to the web.
It appears that the two operating systems can co-exist. Chrome OS may have a future simply because when people are mobile they just want their devices to work as quickly as possible, and that’s precisely what Chrome OS enables.
It’s not that Android has a problem; but that on a Chrome tablet most of the resource hogging work is done elsewhere, which can then be pulled from the internet quite fast.
People may also end up having two operating systems on one device that they can then use as per their needs.