Google exec sees gradual Chrome-Android convergence
updated 07:59 pm EDT, Wed May 30, 2012
No rush, but users will see convergence
Since the introduction of Google's Chrome OS, there has been some confusion as to what the search giant would do its two operating systems; but Google's vice president of engineering, Linus Upson, has told TechRadar that users can expect to see a gradual convergence between Android, its increasingly popular OS for tablets and smartphones, and Chrome OS, its decidedly less successful notebook- and desktop-oriented OS. In fact, says Upson, that convergence is already happening, albeit on a small scale.
In detailing the company's plans for Chrome OS, Upson pointed out that Google's main competitors -- Apple, with OS X and iOS, and Microsoft with Windows -- both have separate solutions for desktop and mobile computing. Upson cited Microsoft's earlier missteps with trying to bridge one version of Windows across multiple device platforms as a cautionary tale, one that Google has heeded.
Still, improvements in mobile computing power have allowed for increased functionality, which means that mobile devices can more readily duplicate some of the capabilities of their notebook and desktop counterparts. Upson points to Google's Chrome browser, which is available on Android and rumored to be heading to iOS, as an example of the sort of convergence likely to occur as mobile devices become more powerful.
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Joined: Sep 2010
Convergence or duplication
Having two OSes that gradually duplicate each others features is not convergence. All they are doing is expanding each others features until you have two completely identical but incompatible OSes. Then they will have to kill one off and leave a large number of their user base with nothing.