Google shows off concept Chrome OS tablet

The tablet wars between Google, Apple and Microsoft have begun

Tablets aren't even shipping yet and the wars between vendors are escalating. This despite that tablets have always so far been a strictly niche device (think UPS), although PC makers like Apple and Microsoft have made many attempts over the years to sell us the idea.

Perhaps the new user interface will convince enterprises and consumers to finally take tablets to heart. In any case, Google would like to steal some of Apple's thunder. (Apple was stealing Microsoft's Windows 7 thunder). But one thing to consider as you ponder the future of the personal computing device -- Apple wants you to pay for the device, pay for the apps, pay for the content, and it wants to control it all. That's old school, albeit for practical reasons. In Apple's world, Apple and its shareholders make plenty of money, as do its developers and the newspapers/book publishers and other content developers.

In Google's world, Google wants to make most of the money by having a bigger base to push its ads. It wants the devices to be low-cost, it wants many of the apps, services and content to be available for free. No one makes money (besides Google and even that's iffy), but no one spends it either. Free can be good, but not always in an enterprise situation. Plus Google doesn't have anywhere near the experience of providing secure software on a secure operating system as its competitors, Microsoft and Apple, do. Then again, if Microsoft is the bar for security, seems as if Google can meet or exceed that.

So take a gander at how the Chrome development team at Google envisions what their eventual ChromeOS tablet to look like.

Watch the video to see this concept tablet in action.

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• Google
• Apple
• Chrome OS tablet
• Google Chrome OS
• iPad
• Microsoft
• tablet pc
• Windows 7