Google looks to scale its other open-source mobile OS to suit a wide range of devices from tiny tablets to big-screen TV sets.
Google’s Chrome OS was created with netbooks in mind, but the open-source spin-off known as Chromium could find its way onto tablets, TV sets and everything in between.
But as Microsoft has discovered, the user experience on each device is vastly different – you can’t just whack a Start button (or Chrome icon) in the corner and go from there. Even in a browser-centric OS there are instances where tabs, windows, sidebars and other UI elements are better suited to one screen size than another.
In an interesting exploration of how each form factor affects the UI, Google’s
Chromium Project site considers how “vastly different input methods, available screen space, and processing power” would shape the operating system’s concept UI.
For example, on netbooks with 10-12 inch screens the UI is tailored to one Web page on the screen at a time, notes the site. Interaction is primarily via mouse and keyboard, and the UI is adapted to this by having primary targets distributed along the screen edges.
Tablets with touchscreens from 5 inches to 10 inches would see the UI adapted with enlarged controls and icons placed above tabs to provide larger square targets. Panels would be placed along the bottom edge of the screen and opened with upward dragging motions.
Ironically, once you reach the realm of the TV set and its 60 inch screen, Google notes that the design needs are very similar to those of the netbook: full screen content, automatic hiding of the browser’s ‘chrome’ surrounding the Web page and large targets.