Android or Chrome? Will Google ever decide on one OS?

And as part of that strategy, the company has been developing separate operating systems for mobile devices and personal computers. The idea is that the search and advertising giant wants to make it easier for people to connect to the Internet and eventually use Google services.

Since it was introduced in 2007, the company's Android mobile operating system has become a huge hit. It's now the most widely used smartphone operating system in the world. But its Web-based computing OS Chrome, which was introduced in 2009, hasn't hit the same level of success. Still, the company is plugging away with its development efforts in Chrome.

As the line between a mobile device and a regular computing device become blurred, so are the lines separating Google's operating systems. And many consumers are confused. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some insight into Google's strategy. And I help a reader decide which Google platform he should consider now. I also help another reader understand why it is taking so long to get an update to the latest Android OS, called Jelly Bean.

What's up with Google's OS strategy?

Dear Maggie,
I'm hoping that you or your associates might be able to shed light on a subject for me. Where is Google going? I know that's a broad question, so let me explain.

Google introduced Android. I love this mobile OS. Since the original Droid debuted, I always buy Android powered phones. I've also been a user of Google's other products, which has made me a huge fan. When Google launched the Chrome browser, I began using this. And for years it's been my default Internet browser.

Two years ago, Google introduced the Chromebook, and I was lucky enough to get a "test" computer, which my 3-year-old son broke. But now, on Android 4.0 and higher, you can download Chrome Browser. I know Chrome Browser for PC/Mac and Chromebooks are at version 23, and Mobile Chrome is at 10 (or a lot less). But Google has stated that next year they will be synced and the same versions.

So my question is this: Why has Google only introduced Android tablets? How come there are no Chrome tablets? And which will eventually take over? Do you have any thoughts? If the Google (Asus) Nexus 7 is $199 and you can use Chrome, and all of the other Play Store features and apps, then why spend $249 ($50 more) for just a Samsung Chromebook?

I'm just confused on which product to get and how to even begin to figure out which would be "better" for me.

Thank you for your time,
Confuse-oole

Dear Confuse-oole,,
You are not alone in being confused. Google has two different strategies for operating systems. And it looks like over time, the two will collide.

On one side you have the mobile operating system Android, which has been a huge success in smartphones and is starting to gain traction in the tablet market. Android, like other traditional operating systems, relies on native apps to be developed specifically for the platform.

On the other side is Chrome OS. This platform relies on browsers to access applications built for the Web instead of apps specifically built for a computing operating system.

From the earliest days when Google first introduced Chrome OS, there has been confusion about Google's strategy as it relates to these operating systems. And according to Sergey Brin, one of Google's founders, at a company event in 2009, eventually the two operating systems will be merged into one.

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