Chrome OS concept unveiled

It’ll have the hardware requirements of a tablet

The launch of Apple’s iPad has put great pressure on Google to come up with an equally exciting machine with the Chrome OS later this year. Although Chrome OS was announced last year, but the Mountain view-based search giants said that it’ll bring web OS to market later this year along with a customized machine. This could mean that you maynot be able to get a standalone copy of Chrome OS in market.

This gives rise to speculations about what that machine will be, and Google gave out the concept just two days before the launch of the iPad – it will be a Tablet! In fact the Chromium OS site has a section dedicated to the form factors and that includes the tablet form factor – as reported by Softpedia.

This concept tablet is definitely multi-touch capable. It features a virtual keypad for easy text entry, and you can do different things with different gestures of your hands. These include opening the menu, scrolling, resizing, moving windows, opening multiple processes, zooming UI, side tabs and launchers that are displayed as an overlay etc.

Although Apple is an experienced player in this domain, Google will bank on a few key areas – like the lack of Flash support and USB. Google promises this machine will be extra-light and fast because all apps are webapps, so no hardware constrain. This, although is a whole new concept – can change the way we access information. Rumor is that it’ll be powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 which will take care of the hardware needs easily. This web-only device will have two more benefits – extra battery life and portable. The only concern right now is that you need to be connected 24/7. Let’s see how Google addresses that, especially in the developing countries.

If you want to witness the demo, check out this Youtube video.