Why Isn’t Google Chrome a Part of Android?

MG Siegler:

During a panel with a bunch of engineers on the Chrome team, it was one of the first questions asked. The response? “It’s not something we’re talking about right now.” Ouch.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” the engineer continued. Okay…

Another team member, probably realizing those answers sounded both cryptic and harsh, chimed in. “The important thing at the end of the day is to make browsers better. While it’s not strictly Chrome, we share a lot of code with the Android team. We’ll share more over time.” Okay, that’s better. Still, a bit odd.

Like I wrote after Google I/O’s day two keynote, “Chrome feels like Google’s natural platform — all web, only the web. Android feels like an independent Google subsidiary.” Think about it that way and the inherent conflict between Chrome OS and Android starts to seem merely curious, not problematic.

★ Thursday, 19 May 2011