Android, the now famous mobile phone operating system (OS) developed by Google is becoming increasingly successful for many reasons: It is open source, free, and can easily be adapted to many devices, screen sizes and uses. Moreover, the Android Market (where anyone can download free or paid applications) has now exceeded the threshold of 10,000 apps. This is even more impressive knowing that only 4,900 were available just 5 months ago in late May. This clearly shows that developers are paying more and more attention to this OS.Many phone manufacturers are launching new devices running on the Google Android platform: HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and even many unexpected computer firms such as Lenovo, Dell, IBM, Archos and Acer. The next 12 months will be the time of revelation for Android, and as more people use these phones, the more interesting it gets for developers! For your information, the iPhone currently holds little over 100,000 applications in its appstore but I am quite certain Android will catch up within 12 months from now.
Early July (2009), Google announced a new operating system named Chrome OS which I have talked about already in this article. This new OS will be running on netbooks because of its speed and "light" size, making it an ideal platform for devices like small computers. Strangely, some netbooks will also run on the same Google Android platform as mobile devices already do. In fact, the Aspire One from Acer is already available with the Android OS.
The purpose of this article, however, is to introduce something which is the first of its kind although the concept is the same as the markets mentioned above. We have seen the Apple appstore and the Google Android Market offering a nearly unlimited choice of applications to download, but why not having a similar market designed specifically for those netbooks running on Android?
This is what a software company from Taiwan, Insyde Software Corp., has just done! Introducing the Insyde Market, the only known place that reviews and distributes netbook applications. Although only free applications are currently available, the site should open up to paid versions soon. If the netbook version of the Android OS encounters the same growing success as the mobile version (which I doubt at the moment), then perhaps this project will revolutionize the personal computer world.Until more computers are released with Android, Insyde Market might remain a bit underground (developers are just beginning to focus on the mobile Android market).
If Chrome OS is meant to go on netbooks, why then having some using the Android platform?
I don't see the point of having two operating systems for the same type of devices.
Do you think the Insyde Market could work? Or it will have a difficult time to meet the same fate as its sister system?
Opinions are welcomed!
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