But then came the iPad and shuffled the deck. With the release of recent Chromebooks, I noticed a backlash of criticism. It's easy, I must admit. Tablets are forming their niche. Android gives a very good fight not only to Apple's iOS but also to legacy operating systems, such as Windows. So why would I? That's a good question if you look through a narrow keyhole. Open the door and take a broader look at the ecosystem.
Chrome OS has a very limited native user interface framework. Let's focus for a moment on this statement. Take a look at your desktop computer or smartphone. It's native UI consists of many visual elements: windows, toolbars, keypads, dialogs, data-grids, etc. Smartphones have a built in set of applications, exposing a diverse set of UI elements: a dialer, contact list, text messages and more. Both desktop and smartphone UIs are consistent in colors, look and feel. Chrome OS behaves very differently. In daily use, it almost doesn't have a native, built-in user interface. It shows a browser, where every application is actually a web-page. And web pages, by their nature, are democratic and not confined to a strict, limited set of UI elements. If you are using a Chromebook solely with Google's web applications, you are faced with Google's minimalist UI. If, instead, you rely on Microsoft's web applications, you enjoy a very different experience (though the term "enjoy" may be controversial).
But what if we took this democracy into smaller devices? What if you had a Chrome OS smartphone? Your basic phone applications, such as contact list, dialer and text messages could wear many skins - because it's html. One design would look dramatically different than the other - and the best designs would rule. Customization would be easier and individuality will thrive. The OS will have an access to the device's native capabilities, such as camera, location and accelerometer. Developers will have a free hand in exposing the UI for these capabilities and features.
I like this concept. I like it because simple, agile HTML/Javascript, paired with today's fast and economic processors can give a good fight to native UI and its development complexity overhead. If the user experience is not compromised - this can be the beginning of a new era: like the web - one language fits all client sides, very little cross-platform adaptations would be required the user experience would be where it belongs - in the center. I like it because it removes a lot of boundaries.
