On July 7, 2009, Google announced the operating system and made it an open source project, called Chromium OS, in November 2009. Chrome OS is targeted initially towards netbooks, super small notebooks designed primarily for Web browsing.
Rubin set up Android Inc in 2003 to build a mobile operating system around open source principles but was brought by Google and went on to become the world's most common mobile OS, turning away bulk of Symbian user. The Android OS now enjoys close to a million new activations a day.
Since Pichai will continue running all things including Chrome, it remains to be seen just what Rubin will be doing, it appears he's staying at Google.
But what exactly this shakeup means? Experts predict that Google is on its way to merge Chrome OS and Android together into a single operating system. This will take time and will require Pichai to integrate two different philosophies. But if the company managed to do it well, then it will have a platform which will be in direct competition with Windows as the biggest mainstream operating system in the world. Given that all the tools are available with Google, the dream for this OS could soon be a reality which will have the potential to become just as dominant as Android itself.
As it is well known that PC makers are already producing Chromebooks to test alternative and provide competition to Microsoft. The role of Pichai, who also delivered Google's first self-made hardware, the gorgeous Chromebook Pixel, will be more crucial. Since the latest Samsung Chromebook made its debut, it has sold out on Google Play and in Best Buy stores. It's also been the best-selling laptop on Amazon for more than 140 days.
In his new role, Pichai is expected to continue the success which Rubin delivered with Android. Pichai is probably one man most suited to unifying Google's OS strategy for the future. It remains to be seen how soon the company blur the lines between the touch-based Android and Chrome OS, but there's a lot of signs that Google may be getting ready for a unified future.
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