JD88 :
The big drawbacks to Android currently is its relative lack of good productivity apps. At present, the full Google Docs experience is not available on the Android version of Chrome. Also, Android really isn't designed with a mouse in mind as right click doesn't work and you are limited to full screen apps. Perhaps Lenovo has fixed that with its custom software? I doubt it is as intuitive as Chrome OS or the desktop part of Windows.
If Google were make the OS more mouse and keyboard friendly, allow the use of windowed apps and a taskbar, and provide full access to all of Google's productivity tools, then there wouldn't be much need for any other OS truthfully.
I'm not so sure the one OS fits all model is that smart though. Look at what a mess it made of Windows. If Google could come up with some way to make Android change form based on the size of screen and attached peripherals, they might have something.
Chrome OS still has advantages though. No installed programs and very little stored locally is a big plus along with instant updates, instant boot, absolutely no possibility for malware or bloatware. Also, a lot of Chrome apps can be used offline now as well. You can use the full office and email suite offline as well as HTML 5 games and photo editors.
After looking at my phone and Nexus 7, the only thing it seems like Android can do that Chrome can't is play the higher end games. About everything else you can do on your phone can be done in a browser. Apps have always just been a way to get that full web experience into a polished, mobile form. This is a problem I have on my Windows 8 laptop. There are all those apps in the Win 8 store, but most of them can be done just as easily in a web browser on the desktop so I find that I never use them. Maybe on a tablet they would be useful?
Steve, do you find yourself using those apps a lot on your surface when you have a keyboard and mouse attached? (if you ever do?) I'm just curious if there are any other than games where the same tasks they accomplish couldn't be replicated in a web browser.
Both operating systems have their place but I think they can coexist just fine. Does Google really want to become the next Microsoft? I'm not so sure.
Having said that, I can't wait to try this thing and see what it's like.
Hey JD,
We're already talking about functionality-compromised devices any which way here, so the "becoming like big like Windows" thing. Android at this point needs minimal tweaking to move all of its current functionality to a mouse and keyboard device. As such, I'm not really sure making it more like Windows would be a necessity.
This also doesn't necessitate a "one OS fits all" model because, really, the only places this currently is aiming is at exactly that - functionality compromised devices. Phones, limited functionality laptops, tablets. Neither a Chromebook nor an Android laptop is meant to be a full desktop replacement any more than a Surface RT is - rather an on-the-go device or a temporary fill in for a full computer.
The advantage of "no installed apps" on the Chromebook though isn't an advantage as I can see it - because Android can do all of that too. If you choose to not install apps and run everything through Android's Chrome browser - or one of several other browser, since Android offers them -, what can Chromebook do that Android can't? But should you choose to install some application, you have that ability. Chromebook, you don't.. Part of my gripe with Chromebooks, after fiddling around with them after our previous discussions, is that I could emulate what I did with a Chromebook on an Android device, but using either dedicated apps or multiple browsers I had to choose from. Both lightweight OS's, both free, both well suited for a mobile environment, but one offers a world of options that the other doesn't.
Also, it's kind of funny that you ask me about the apps VS just doing it in the browser thing. A few years ago, I though that apps were utter garbage, since each "app" was basically just a dedicated program for one of my browser bookmarks. Now though, I see it differently. "More polished form" is key here though and the short answer to your question is that, yes, I do use some apps when using my mouse and keyboard, since many modern apps are designed to be quite mouse/keyboard friendly. My Allrecipes app is a staple and I find myself using that ahead of that oft visited webpage almost exlusively now. Weather apps just for convenience - I don't even necessarily open the app, but having it on a live tile, it's basically functions as a widget which I can click should I need more detailed information. Smartglass is, obviously, a good one, and news apps. Netflix, calendar, Skype, video player (though I do still use VLC for this much of the time), media player, ebook reader - all apps, I'll use all with a mouse or with touch without finding either a pain, and at least 80% of the time I find them to be a better experience than the website equivalent for those that do have a website equivalent.
How it often goes is, sitting at my TV with my tablet hooked up to it, go into Allrecipes app. Sift through things, find what I want, then get up, pick up tablet (only hook up is HDMI) and just leave my mouse and keyboard there - and then bring the tablet to the kitchen, set it down, and start using it. Modern apps - at least, with my Surface RT - are actually quite keyboard/mouse friendly, but they obviously work well with touch. Unfortunately, web pages tend to work well with a mouse and keyboard, but not so great with touch - outside of the mobile versions, and frankly, I find few of them to be great user experiences.
What apps become is a sort of lite and touch friendly version of the web function and, 90% of the time, I find myself getting what I want out of the app faster because it is more simple and more streamlined while still having most of the information of the web page. The 10% where I need more than the app makes readily available, I go to the web page and sift through the increased functionality. The reality is, when you only need more than 80% of the functionality 20% of the time, then the rest of the time, that other functionality usually amounts to more clicks and sifting through more information to get what you want. Apps... Well, they kind of embody this, and even if they are streamlined versions of websites, streamlining can be very nice depending on the type of usage you're doing. Also, a well designed app is good - a poorly designed app is bad. There are plenty of both.
Games are obviously the 800lb gorilla in the room and, even if I play very few app games (a bit of Kingdom Rush, Everlands, a few others), some people play *lots* of games on their mobile systems. Chromebook VS Android on the gaming front isn't even a competition, and having that option really doesn't hurt anybody.
I guess my big gripe at this point is that you don't need to load up an Android tablet with apps if you don't want to and it has access to all of the browser functions that Chromebook has. That being the case, what's the perk of Chromebook over Android?