Dell in Talks with Google about Chrome OS

By Geoff Duncan Published June 21, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s no secret that Google is getting ready to launch its lightweight Chrome OS later this year—but if the company wants to carve out a market against industry-dominating Microsoft Windows, it’s going to need to partner with computer makers to get Chrome OS pre-installed on new computers. Today, Reuters is reporting that number-three computer maker Dell is in talks with Google about putting Chrome OS on computers…although no details have been released.

Reuters quotes Dell’s president for Greater China and South Asia Amit Midha as saying talks are underway, but that there weren’t yet any firm announcements to be made.

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Google’s Chrome OS is intended to be a lightweight, fast-booting operating system that, at least initially, targets comparatively low-power and consumer-oriented computing platforms like netbooks. Like Google’s Android operating system, aimed at mobile devices, Chrome OS has been open sourced, so OEMs and developers can build their own variations and solutions, and Chrome OS in term can leverage innovations added to the open source repository. Chrome OS will be almost entirely Web-focused, and an emphasis on providing a solid foundation for cloud-based storage, applications, and services, rather than running local applications and making users manage a file system.

Earlier this month, Google announced it expects Chrome OS will be available on computers this fall; Google has also been working on designs for Chrome OS tablets that could potentially compete with the likes of the Apple iPad.

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