Chrome OS And Android To Merge

It has always puzzled me that Google would first introduce the Android and the Chrome OS a few months later, setting up a competition between groups within Google to see which OS prevails.  Now, the creator of Gmail, who no longer has an relations with Google, believed the two OS will merge into one.  And I agree.

In one way or another, Google is not going to have a dual OS strategy.  It is simply too messy.  Not even Microsoft with years of experiences seem comfortable with this.  Nor is Apple doing this.  As a matter of fact, the conventional thinking is that Apple will merge iOS with OS X years down the line.

Right now, Chrome OS has the making of what the future of computing will look like.  Everything will be in the cloud and we will trust that connection to cloud data will be robust enough for us to put all our eggs there.  But I don't see that happen in the short-term.  Sure, we have already begin to save a lot of data on Android and Gmail on desktops and laptops on Google servers but we still do a lot of work that require local storage.

I am very interested in the opportunities that Chrome OS has to offer but I don't want my next netbook to be a dumb terminal.  Nor do I want that for my future Android device, whether it's tablet of smartphone.  But as a solo project, Chrome OS will not survive as we have come to know it.

This is how it'll play out.  Google will try to sell Chrome OS as an alternative to Windows in the netbook arena.  It might find some success but eventually, Android will gain a lot of Chrome OS' features and a couple of years later, Google will announcement that it has successfully merged to two but, in reality, Chrome OS will exist only as key components of Android.  

And folks, that ain't a bad thing.  

More at Techcrunch.

Current State of Mobile Computing: Tablet or Laptop

Depending on who you talk to you and who you believe, the netbooks, perhaps even lsptops, are taking a sales hit because of the iPad.

Perhaps. Then there are those who are not so sure this is happen on a large scale. Given the potential that Apple may be on the verge of a $20 billion quarter and cuts on orders by dorm laptop and netbook makers, it has industry and mobile observers such as myself very excited.

Is this the beginning of the end of mobile computing as we know it?

More at Greenjava Mobility.

Sony And Android Versus Windows Phone With XBox Live

You may have heard by now that Windows Phone 7 (WP7) will be connected to Microsoft's successful Xbox Live experience in a mobile manner.

Of course, Sony is also looking to merge its PSP brand with Android. That is to say that its PSP experience will run on top of Android.

Here's the difference and I'll let you decide what's good or not for Android. Microsoft owns WP7 as well as the Xbox Live brands. That means it controls the whole ecosystem. Anyone who wants to make devices for it will need to participate in the whole ecosystem to some extent. And who would want to have WP7 san the Xbox Live experience?

On the other hand, I see Sony's move to Android as a bet it all sort of maneuver. PSP is a recognized brand. I don't see Sony gaining much from this other than that folks can run PSP games as well as Android games. That would be terrific.

But what of developers who don't have access to the PSP catalog at all? Will they lose out? If you're EA or another developer, would you want to bring your game over to Android but only have it run on Sony's own devices but no on HTC, Droids, or the variants of Galaxy S? Or will you choose to develop it specifically for the Android and be sure that it runs on all devices?

Sony certainly brings a lot of energy to the platform and Google would like nothing more than to have a powerhouse like Sony, both as a gaming and hardware developer. But it might leave a few others feeling like they're second class.

Android App Market - Users Will Pay For Quality Apps

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a post compared to other mobile users, Android users are downloading apps but not really buy them, meaning that Android users like free apps rather than paid ones.

I did not react well to it but then I took a look at the guy in the mirror and shut up. I’ve yet to buy one single app for my G1 while I’ve spent quite a bit for my iOS devices. Why?

I think the two platforms are going after different types of users and it isn’t to say that we Android folks are cheap. This is evident in that I do buy apps from the iTunes app store, just not from Marketplace. There are a couple of reasons.

Computex: Android Devices Galore!

We all know that G1 is just the beginning and things are starting to look up for the Google-backed OS.  We're looking at netbooks, tablets, and, of course, smartphones.

Here are a couple of videos coming out of Taiwan.  Honestly, I've been waiting to see what Apple will be offering as far as a tablet based on the iPhone platform.  However, if Apple decides to take its time, the mobile itch I feel might just be satisfied with an Android-based tablet.

This is a video of an Android tablet at Computex, a computer show in Taipei that went on last week (likely overshadowed by the E3 in Los Angeles).  Now, not a lot going on there but the possibilities are just endless.  However, I wished they had demoed more of the input on the touch-screen and just how thick this tablet is.  And as always, the battery life on that baby.



Monday is going to be Apple's day but the 4th quarter of 2009 might be all Android!  All I'm asking for from the hardware companies are stability, better UI, and battery life and I'll be sold.  Many Android devices to ship end of the year and even more in 2010.  Hey, don't take my word for it.  It's in the videos.

More android videos (one with a netbook and an interview with a developer) about future Android hardware and feature developments at Onxo Gadgets.

Skype Coming to Android in Days

This is terrific news!  And it's only for Java-enabled mobile devices like the G1.


According to their presentation at CES, Skype will be uploading it to Google and it should be available for download in a few days.  Hopefully by this weekend.  I'm totally going nuts now.  


Take that, T-Mobile.  We don't need your stinking 3G restriction.  Watch me lower my plans from now on.  Anyway, I just had to take a shot at the mobile carrier (I take shots at ATT and Verizon at Onxo and On Apple all the time).  


So, what are we getting?

• International calls to Skype contacts
• SkypeOut to folks not on Skype
• IM - this is a given.  

There was a curious passage from CNet's post?  "Skype Lite will process calls to the United Kingdom, Poland, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo), Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Australia, and New Zealand, and will also work for calls made in the U.S".  If Anyone knows what that means, I love to know.  I'm assuming Skype Lite will you make calls anywhere to anyone.  

Note:  A very robust version is available for Windows Mobile.  Skype is currently not available on the iPhone (G1 beats iPhone on this) but is available via Fring.

Source:  CNET