Emerging this past week on Google’s Chromium site were tantalizing glimpses of the company’s projected foray into the world of hand-held tablet devices. These mock-ups surfaced without the pomp and ceremony that surrounded every tidbit of information about the iPad, and with this refreshing modicum of reservation, Google has immediately garnered itself significant attention and established itself as the key competitor to Apple in this market as well.
The concept art depicting the new tablet device offers some insights into what it might be capable of doing and what it might look like. The pictures showed the tablet utilizing Google’s own Chrome OS, a Linux based operating system that offers a configurable onscreen keyboard, zooming functionality, and the ability to resize and move windows with the touch of a finger. Further, a short animated video shows the tablet’s ability to launch multiple instances of the browser at once, offering users the ability to multitask—a feature lamentably absent from the iPad.
While it’s a little early to get excited about this project, Google is working closely with its long time partner HTC, the company used to create the Nexus One, to develop various mock-ups and prototypes. The key, analysts say, is for Google to provide consumers with an experience not available on the soon-to-be released iPad, but to manufacture a tablet like that may take some time.
This certainly isn’t the first time Google has followed on the heels of Apple in an attempt to develop a significant rival device, as last year’s unveiling of the Nexus One was aimed solely at claiming a slice of the market dominated by the iPhone.
In a report by LinuxInsider, there are distinct, perhaps even iPad-killing possibilities with Google’s Chrome OS on this tablet prototype. As Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe writes, “In essence, it offers the connected device world a legacy-free platform to work with, and as such, should accelerate the evolution of those devices beyond today’s Windows-centered mindset.” Although it advances technology beyond what people are accustomed to, it does so without alienating the average tech user. According to Howe, while Apple’s revolutionary iPad paradigm shift seems poised to completely reshape the user experience, the Google OS will offer a cutting edge OS that will still retain many similarities to traditional software. The focus, of course, is to beat Apple at its own game without alienating users in the process.
While Microsoft and Apple both fielding familiar and user-friendly smartphones and tablets, it certainly comes as no surprise that Google is attempting to stake its claim in the field as well. With the revolutionary-yet-familiar Chrome OS, Google is clearly trying to differentiate itself from its competitors, giving the tech consuming public a tablet that is more intuitive and hopefully more advanced than its competitors, but will it be different enough to topple the iPad? We’ll have to wait and see.
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Written by: Matt Klassen. www.digitcom.ca >. Follow TheTelecomBlog.com > by: RSS >, Twitter >, Identi.ca >, or Friendfeed >
