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"Google chairman Eric Schmidt has reportedly told delegates at the company\u2019s Big Tent event in India today that Android and Chrome OS will remain as two separate products - at least for the\u00A0foreseeable\u00A0future.\r\n\r\nThe statement follows the news that Andy Rubin, co-founder and chief of Android, will be stepping down and replaced by Sundar Pichai, who until now has led Google\u2019s various client software products, including Google Chrome and Chrome OS.\r\n\r\nThe reason behind the move is still unclear, which has led many to speculate that both operating systems could merge later down the line.\r\n\r\nThose thoughts aren\u2019t entirely unfounded. Android, while incredibly successful on smartphones, has arguably struggled to prove itself on tablets. A small part of that is due to the nature of the platform, but it\u2019s also because of the lacklustre support for tablet-optimized apps.\r\n\r\nChrome OS, which runs on Google Chromebooks, appears to be going from strength to strength. It hasn\u2019t really grabbed the headlines for sales of its affordable netbooks - and the not-so-affordable Chromebook Pixel - but there seems to be a growing appreciation for what it can achieve.\r\n\r\nThe Verge, meanwhile, has cited Schmidt at the Big Tent event as saying that the two will \u201Cremain separate and independent for a long time.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThose words can be picked at, however. A \u201Clong time\u201D could be relative to Google\u2019s breakneck development speed and equate to a year or two. What Schmidt also didn\u2019t say, was that the two will never merge later down the line.\r\n\r\nIn a report by Reuters, Schmidt also said that there would be an increasing amount of \u201Ccommonality\u201D between them. This makes sense, as we\u2019ve already seen images of a notification center running on Chrome OS, which is hinting at the implementation of the company\u2019s popular Android app Google Now.\r\n\r\nOne last piece of the puzzle is the following tweet by Manhendra Palsule, Editor at Techmeme.\r\nSchmidt confirms that Chrome OS and Android will remain separate &amp;amp;amp; independent for a long time and neither will be abandoned. #BigTentIndia\r\n\r\n\u2014 Mahendra Palsule (@ScepticGeek) March 21, 2013\r\n&amp;amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf Google refuses to abandon Android, then most of the rumors have just been that - rumors and nothing more. It\u2019s fair to say, however, that Google is pushing for a future where all of our work, interaction and services exist on the Web. That approach is much better suited to Chrome OS and the company's Web services such as Google+, Google Drive and Gmail, and less so to the revamped native apps it has recently been applauded for.\r\n\r\nImage Credit:\u00A0MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/03/21/eric-schmidt-android-and-chrome-os-will-remain-separate-and-independent-for-a-long-time/>