Google is stepping up its ever-increasing game by announcing plans to release its own operating system software that will directly compete with Microsoft Windows.
The Google Chrome OS is being described as the company’s attempt to ‘re-think what operating systems should be’. Fast and lightweight, the user interface will be minimal with most user experience taking place on the internet.
Later this year, Google will be begin open-sourcing code for the OS, that can run on both x86 as well as ARM chips once completed. It will be made available initially through netbooks in the second half of 2010, with Google already engaging in talks with various partners on the project.
“We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better,” stated Google’s Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director, in a company blog post.
Drawing on inevitable comparisons with Google’s Android OS for mobile devices, Pichai stressed that the Google Chrome OS offers its own set of benefits.
“Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems,” Pichai added. “While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google.”