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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
There are a couple of distinct differences between Android and Chrome. Among these are:<\/p>\n
Chrome is web-based, Android is not<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Android is Java, Chrome is HTML<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Chrome is for netbooks, Android for mobiles and tablets<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n