HTC mulling hybrid Chrome OS/Android Chromebook for 2012
Best of both worlds?
23 November, 2011 by IT Reviews Staff
HTC may launch a Chromebook device next year that combines the best of Google's Chrome OS and Android operating systems.
Despite the poor reception that Chromebooks have so far received, with combined sales of existing devices from Samsung and Acer totalling less than 30,000, industry experts believe that 2012 might be the year that devices featuring the Chrome OS may catch on. UK retail group Dixons believes that in 2012, one in ten computers sold will be a Chromebook, reports Cnet.
According to IT news site DigiTimes, HTC is exploring the feasibility of a device that would boast a hybrod of Chrome and Android. So far, though, there has been no comment from HTC.
There is no information if the device by HTC will be based on ARM or Intel chips. It might be the case that HTC might try its hands on the more efficient ARM processors as compared to the currently netbook-compatible Intel Atom chips.
The device may keep the two OSes separate in a dual-boot setup, but a customised combination of Android and Chrome OS can’t be ruled out either, capitalising on the cloud capabilities of Chrome OS and app richness of Android.
