

Motorola is turning Android into a desktop OS with Webtop 3.0 - cs702
http://androidandme.com/2012/04/news/motorola-is-turning-android-into-a-desktop-os-with-webtop-3-0/

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cs702
This recent development is part of a much larger, industry-wide trend: the
traditional lines between mobile, laptop, and desktop operating systems are
getting blurry – and perhaps may disappear altogether for many consumers in
the coming decade. Consider:

* Apple is making OS X more and more like iOS. Will they eventually be merged into a single OS? Will they eventually run side-by-side (e.g., insert your iPhone into a dock, get your full desktop)?

* The newest desktop version of Windows, which is tablet- and touch-ready, looks and feels just like Windows Phone – will they eventually be merged into a single OS? Will they eventually run side-by-side?

* Android, which got its start in phones, is showing up in more and more unexpected places, including many large-screen form factors – Motorola’s Webtop 3.0 is just the latest example.

* Google and Mozilla are trying to make the browser a universal application platform for all kinds of devices – desktop, laptop, and mobile (effectively, they want to abstract away the underlying OS). FWIW, some new web applications already run on all platforms without modification (e.g., Trello – see [http://blog.fogcreek.com/building-trello-com-for-multiple-de...](http://blog.fogcreek.com/building-trello-com-for-multiple-devices/) )

* With GNU/Linux infrastructure available _everywhere_ , other smaller players are making similar efforts. For example, Ubuntu can now run side-by-side with Android, and is gradually becoming a viable desktop, laptop, tablet, TV, and mobile OS with single universal interface: Unity.

* More and more end-user applications are becoming, effectively, front-ends to services that truly reside in the cloud; and consumers want access to these services from _all_ their devices, mobile or not, ideally with a consistent, unified user experience.

This profound shift will likely shake up the industry, because it's not yet
clear who the ultimate winners and losers might be. Things are bound to get
very interesting...

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nextparadigms
I can't wait to see what Canonical will do with Android and Ubuntu once the
Android kernel is fully merged into the Linux kernel again.

That being said, I still think Ubuntu is not ready for most consumers right
now. It still feels too much like Linux. I still find myself needing to use
commands to do something. That's just _completely unacceptable_ if it wants to
target the large consumer market. Once everything you need to do in Ubuntu can
be done with point and click, _then_ it will be worth a second look from
regular consumers.

As for Google, I believe this is the direction they need to take right now.
Get a ton of tablet apps on Android, and try to optimize it a bit more for
laptops, without compromising on the touch/tablet experience.

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nextparadigms
They should've done this from the beginning, with the Motorola Atrix (first
phone to feature Webtop) booting into Honeycomb (which Motorola was also first
to release around the same time).

It would've still been 2 different OS's though, Gingerbread on phone and
Honeycomb in the "Webtop mode", and ICS should finally unify this, allowing
you to use the same OS in both phone phone and Webtop mode.

This is clearly the direction Google needs to take, especially now that they
have Chrome for Android. Can't they just port whatever extra features ChromeOS
has to Chrome for Android and be done with it? That would make a lot more
sense than dual booting Android and ChromeOS, which was one of the rumors
earlier. It would seem awfully redundant to me.

I know Google dreams about competing with Microsoft in the laptop space, but
to do that they need a complete 180 degree turn-around on their very annoying
passiveness about tablet apps. They need a ton more tablet apps if they want
this to succeed, and they need them before fall 2012 when Windows 8 is
launching. Waiting around for them to arrive is not a smart strategy for them.
They need to go after the developers and make them do it.

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MattLaroche
I used a friend's Asus Transformer Prime a couple weeks ago (Android tablet
with keyboard) and it seemed very well implemented. The Transformer Prime is a
great netbook and dang close to being a laptop replacement.

It made me wonder what the point of ChromeOS is. If the Transformer Prime has
Chrome and does a lot else too, ChromeOS seems redundant.

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huggyface
Chrome was, I suspect, the internal reason why Google not only lagged on using
Android on tablet form factors, but actually dissuaded such use. They lost a
lot of time during that.

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MatthewPhillips
The "desktop" mode looks like standard Android. What are they doing to make it
work better in a keyboard/mouse scenario?

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dutchbrit
Using a mobile OS on a non mobile/tablet device. Why?!?! If I have a bulky
machine, I want it to offer a lot more than a mobile device.

They'd be better off putting it on a tablet + separete keyboard. Looks cool
though, I have to say.

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nextparadigms
I wish more manufacturers would follow Asus's lead with the Transformer,
Samsung especially. They don't even have to promote it together, just offer
the option as an accessory. What's there to lose from that? Actually, Samsung
does offer some keyboards for their 10.1 tablets, but they feel completely
disjointed, like it's just a regular keyboard, not an integrated one. I want
to be able to turn it into a laptop and use it as a laptop, not just as a dock
for the tablet that I could only use at home.

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netcan
We have to competing Ways.

The top down Apple Way and the exploratory Android Way (they have other
competing qualities besides). I'm pretty happy to see this going on and happy
that both are having success. I'd also be happy to see MS join in with another
Way.

Anyway, rather than follow a lead I would like to see other manufacturers
explore different paths. If Asus do well enough, other manufacturers will
follow anyway. For now Id like to see manufacturers work on making Android
laptops/netbooks that can replace Windows/Mac for some people or some cases.
It seems to me that the making it "a table too" would be more natural than
making it "a netbook too."

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hef19898
Sounds pretty cool, I think. After all, the only reason I have a PC is for
gaming, for all the rest (including work) all I use is a SAP log-on pad and
office. AFAIK all that can be run either on a tablet or in the cloud. So yes,
smartphone, tablet and desktop OSs can merge (or how ever you gonna call
that).

Whats gonna happen to Linux / Unix in that scenario is another question.

Regarding the Razr / Webtop 3.0, hell that looks cool!

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muckmot
Personally, I think it'd be cool if they had the phone plug in not at the back
but in place of the touchpad....that way the phone can act as a mouse and also
extend the primary display

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atjoslin
A desktop OS written in Java.

:(

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Achshar
android id written in c, its applications are written in java. (and indirectly
html5, to an extent)

