Android is the smartphone marketshare leader. Whether you like other mobile OSes or not, that's still a fact. iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and soon Ubuntu, are all battling Android for that marketshare. However, what if Google headed in another direction all together? Or at the very least, gave its users another option for the smartphone market: Chrome OS.
Google's "other" OS is still a relatively new, but growing, contender for the desktop market. While Google is on the record for saying Chrome OS will only be for desktop/laptops, and Android for smartphones/tablets, I know I'd strongly consider a Chromephone. Why?
1) Apps - The majority, if not all, of the daily driver applications I use have a web equivalent. Google+, GMail, GTalk, Google Reader, Google Maps, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Yelp just to name a few.
2) Google Now - Google is really starting to push Google Now and its capabilities. We're seeing this in their rare, but increasingly frequent, TV ads. Google keeps adding functionality to the service that can not only deliver search results, but weather, sports, travel, appointment, nearby location, translation, flight, and transit info. The Google Now service would be the heart of a Chromephone.
3) Speed - One of the many things Chrome OS has going for itself is the speed. Boot up times for Chromebooks are roughly 10 seconds. I'd want that on my smartphone. If there's a new update, then BAM, it's there when you log into your Chromebook. Imagine Google being able to do this across its smartphones and tablets? Fragmentation be gone.
4) The Cloud - Whether you are using Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, or Evernote, you've already embraced the convenience of the cloud, home of Google and all its services. My music collection is in the cloud, and while I still keep my collection offline, it's a relief knowing it's being backed up day in and day out, and I can access it from anywhere, from any internet connected device if I needed to.
5) Costs - You can buy a Chromebook for as little as $199. Imagine how inexpensive a Chromephone could be? Not that you can't find a cheap Android phone, but I'm sure Google could flood the market with even cheaper phones. They wouldn't need the same specs and processing power. Microsoft and Apple are making attempts to converge their desktop and mobile offerings. Both are high priced options. Apple doesn't do cheap. Microsoft is charging 3 arms and 5 legs for a Surface Pro to get the full Windows 8 "experience". Google could easily beat them to price sensitive consumer wallets. Google's been trying to drive down the cost of its Nexus devices as it is.
I understand it might totally confuse things for some people. All these years of Android development might seem like a total waste if Google did this. It also wouldn't be an answer for hardcore gamers.
I think Google has an opportunity here though to serve a low cost market. To me it's just another option. It's defending its territory against competition like Mozilla. It's going where webOS should have gone, but didn't have the resources. It's bringing simplicity to the mobile market. Google's known to tinker. It's been willing to innovate and take chances on products even if they eventually fail. Why not this?
Google can justify a Chromephone the same way it justifies its Chromebooks: For no more hassles; Best of Google built-in. Cloud storage built-in. Speed built-in. Upgrades built-in. Connectivity built-in.
I'll add total compatibility with a Chromebook to that reason list which would in turn drive overall Chrome OS adoption. Google also wouldn't be competing with its Android partners, and could continue to license Android to them. Perhaps the market could be split into premium Android specked out mobile computing and budget friendly Chrome mobile devices. Either way, Google I think wins.
These are all things I'd want for my use case. What about you?
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