Score one for Google Chrome, at least potentially. Dell is reportedly in talks with Google about using the forthcoming Chrome operating system on its laptops. A Reuters report cites Amit Midha, Dell’s president for Greater China and South Asia, in an article that suggests Chrome may land on Dell machines.
“We have to have a point of view on the industry and technology direction two years, three years down the road, so we continuously work with Google on this,” Midha told Reuters. “There are going to be unique innovations coming up in the marketplace in two, three years, with a new form of computing; we want to be on that forefront … So with Chrome or Android or anything like that, we want to be one of the leaders.”
Web Power
Google plans to roll out its Chrome operating system later this year in another bid against Microsoft. Speculation is building around the Chrome OS, with some seeing a netbook war with Microsoft, and others calling it a wash before it even debuts.
Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, said the mobile market, which includes everything from smartphones to tablets, is still new.
“The smartphone market is relatively mature at this point, although it’s still growing and developing. But the landscape for tablets and other devices is wide open at this point,” King said. “Chrome hasn’t gotten much traction, but I could imagine Chrome could be a very viable and potentially powerfully OS for tablets that are 90-plus percent web-focused or web-enabled and made to do most of their interactions with the browser.”
Google ‘Late To the Party’
The Chrome OS is an open-source lightweight operating system initially targeted at netbooks. It will run on both x86 and ARM chips, and Google is working with hardware manufacturers, including Acer, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Toshiba…