Making sense of Google's operating systems
Not content to simply be the best search engine, Google has expanded into all manner of software over the past few years. The software giant now lists a browser (Chrome), a mobile phone operating system (Android), a netbook operating system (Chrome OS) and a growing collection of web applications among its products. With so much overlap, things can become confusing.
One area in particular can lead to confusion: Google’s web browser is called Chrome. Its netbook-focused operating system is also called Chrome. But Google also has another operating system for mobile devices, called Android.
So, are Android and Chrome OS one and the same? Simply put, no. There is certainly a lot of overlap but Android is not a trimmed down version of Chrome OS, just as Chrome is not a beefed up version of Android.
There are a couple of distinct differences between Android and Chrome. Among these are:
Chrome is web-based, Android is not
Chrome OS is essentially a web browser. It’s bigger and more featured than just simply a web browser but it is still a browser at heart. Applications on Chrome OS are web pages such as GMail, Google Docs and others. Chrome is aimed at small netbooks that will rely primarily on web-based applications for their functionality and application launchers that sit on the desktop will really just be launchers for web pages.
Android, on the other hand, is application-based. It is installed on the handset, or tablet, and applications are installed via the marketplace in much the same way that they would be on a “traditional” desktop. Naturally much of the data for applications will be stored online but the actual applications will be installed locally.
Android is Java, Chrome is HTML
The Android environment is made up of a Linux core (as is Chrome OS) but runs primarily Java-based applications. Chrome OS is different in that it will be reliant on HTML technologies, specifically those of HTML5 and CSS3, which make web-based applications significantly more interactive than previous HTML versions.
In theory Chrome will be able to run some traditional Linux or Java applications using a remote access technology, but most of its applications will be HTML and web-based.
Chrome is for netbooks, Android for mobiles and tablets
Crudely stated, Chrome OS will be aimed at the netbook market where small devices will have the capacity to run web-based applications. Android is aimed at mobile phones and tablet devices, where power consumption is a key factor and processor performance is not as good. Of course there is no good reason Android couldn’t be run on a netbook/smartbook but it is ultimately engineered for a different environment. In particular, Chrome OS will perform as a desktop operating system, and in that role it will need to have wider support for peripheral devices (such as printers) than Android would be expected to have.
Over time the relative roles for Android and Chrome OS are likely to converge but for now Google is pursuing a dual mobile and netbook specific strategy, each with their own features.
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