Posts Tagged ‘chrome’
Google exec: Chrome OS and Android represent two visions of computing
Tech pundits (including me) have been wondering about and how the two operating systems fit into Google’s broader product strategy. Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice president of product management, took another stab at answering the question today.
The topic came up at in San Francisco, where a reporter asked if Chrome OS might be a better operating system than Android for tablet. are netbooks, but Google has hinted that Chrome OS might work on other devices eventually.
Pichai answered that Chrome OS and Android represent “two different approaches to computing.” He noted that Google is making both operating systems available via open source, so both can (and have been) adopted by a variety of manufacturing partners.
“Having said that, we want the market and the users to use what they want,” Pichai said. “As long as it’s Google — both of them are Google products — we’ll be pretty happy.”
On the tablet question, Pichai said Google is moving “one step at a time” and is currently working with netbook partners. He noted that Chrome OS doesn’t require a physical keyboard to work, so theoretically it should work on a tablet.
Pichai also said that Google has to answer this question all the time. I would argue that’s because the answer seems to change. Initially, all the discussion of Chrome versus Android focused on phones versus netbooks, then it shifted to Chrome’s focus on the Web (it’s basically just a version of the Chrome browser that runs on a netbook) versus Android’s downloadable applications. Last month, Eric Schmidt said Google doesn’t want to impose an answer, but that “the Android solution is particularly optimized for things that involve touch in some form, and Chrome OS appears to be for keyboard-based solutions.”
Ultimately, the confusion may not be a huge deal. I suspect consumers will care less about how Chrome OS compares to Android and more about whether a Chrome netbook does what they want it to.
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Google’s Chrome Web Store likely coming in October, focusing on games
Back in May, we reported that , dubbed the Chrome Web Store. Now we have further details on the project.
Google spoke to gaming press at the Game Developers Conference Europe, where it unveiled further details on the mechanics of the store and announced that it’s “most likely” expected to launch in October, .
The store resembles a web-based version of the iTunes App Store, and unsurprisingly, it will rely on Google Checkout to simplify app purchases. Google stressed how simple it will be for developers to build apps for the store: They simply need to create a web app, build a wrapper for it (icons and metadata), and upload it to the store. The app is then automatically approved and published.
One interesting change is that Google won’t be seeking revenue sharing when the store launches — instead, it’s charging a mere 5 percent processing fee. This is in stark contrast to the iTunes store, where Apple takes a 30 percent cut from every transaction. The move is likely meant to encourage developers to populate the store with their apps. At launch, the store will support both free and paid apps, free trials, subscriptions, and third-party in-app payment methods for microtransactions. In the first half of 2011, it will support currency other than the U.S. dollar and will get a built-in solution for in-app transactions.
Since the presentation was meant for gaming press, Google didn’t skimp on the games it showed off for the store. It showed off Plants vs. Zombies, and Lego Star Wars — both of which are built in Adobe Flash — and discussed the potential for HTML5 games, including the popular strategy game . The presentation also briefly touched on that some Google Web Toolkit developers ported.
A web app store may seem superfluous for most users — and as Wired’s Chris Anderson might argue, it’s probably contributing to . But I don’t think it’s meant for general Chrome users. The web store will most likely sit at the heart of Google’s upcoming Chrome OS — a lightweight web-centric operating system meant for netbooks and tablets. Since Chrome OS won’t have much in the way of local applications, users will need a centralized location to find web-based apps.
Check out a video below of Google game developer advocate Mark DeLoura talking about the benefits of Chrome for gaming:
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Google offers its own spin on mobile payments for Android users
While not exactly a competitor to the hot mobile payment startup , Google released last week a mobile payment option of its own for merchants and Android phone users. The company has developed which merchants can use to allow Android users to pay for items with Google Checkout, reports .
Merchants first need to and then use the to embed the web store template on their website (they can also just for this purpose). Then, after filling in their products in the Gadget’s spreadsheet, they need to for the Chrome web browser.
When a customer decides what to buy, the merchant creates a cart on their own computer and selects the green “Checkout with Android” button, at which point a (a two-dimensional bar code) is generated for the purchase. The customer then simply scans the code with their Android phone and is directed to a checkout page where they can complete the purchase on their own.
It certainly doesn’t sound as dead-simple as Square’s checkout method — which entails customers swiping their credit card on a retailer’s iPhone or Android device with Square’s tiny card reader, and then going through a quick signing process. And since it requires an Android phone, the Android Payment Extension has little chance of taking on the more ubiquitous Square, which works on both Android devices and the iPhone. But it avoids the privacy concerns of customers handing their credit cards over to strangers, as well as other potential currently delaying Square.
Eventually, Google may figure out a way to make the service accessible to the iPhone and other platforms. Most smartphones have the ability to read QR codes with the addition of apps, but the fact that there’s no standard way to do it on the iPhone and other platforms will forever be a hindrance to services that rely on the codes.
Don’t miss , VentureBeat’s conference on the future of mobile. The theme: “.” Now expanded to two days, MobileBeat 2010 will take place on July 12-13 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. . Tickets are going quickly. For complete conference details, or to apply for the MobileBeat Startup Competition, .
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Chrome vs Firefox 3.1 and IE 8
Usability: the winner is Chrome
There are no words to say that Chrome is absolute wiiner with its minimalism. The address panel can be used as search panel, no matter what you are typing: web address or search request and etc.
Additional Plugins: the winner is Firefox
At the present moment Firefox is still on top. I have never see so many plugins for browsers as Firefox has.
Speed: the winner - Chrome
At daily use Chrome quickly copes with processing of pages. Time of loading of an identical set of pages for each browser at the stand with Core 2 Duo have appeared minimal. And here on old laptop Chrome has appeared noticeably faster.
Speed of processing Java was tested by tools of benchmark Sunspider, in addition the volume of borrowed operative memory with one opened tab and with ten was fixed.
Sunspider results:
- Firefox 3.1 - 1771.4ms
- IE8 - 6837.6ms
- Chrome - 1923.0ms
We opened 10 different pages (blog, news feed, YouTube, mail etc.) and measured the volume of memory.
- Firefox 3.1 – 91 Mb
- IE8 – 230 Mb
- Chrome – 141 Mb
Time of start:
- Firefox - 37s
- Chrome - 15s
- IE8 - n/a
Time of loading of page:
- Firefox - 8s
- Chrome - 11s
- IE8 - n/a
Other important point is stability. For Firefox all your open pages are incorporated, and in case of lag of loaded page the application will be closed completely with all windows loaded earlier. Chrome and IE process every tab as separate process that allows to close astable page without harm for other tabs. As in Chrome is convenient tab manager, allowing to supervise use of memory separate tabs and to close astable page in case of its lag.
Security: the winner IE
Internet Explorer is still the most secure browser.
Conclusion: The winner of all tests is Firefox. But who knows how i change my opinion when plugins for Chrome appear.