rumour Will Chrome soon be able to run Android apps in the browser?

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Found via winfuture.de:

mobilegeeks.de claims to have heard rumours about Google testing an Android runtime environment for the Chrome web browser since the middle of last year (article in German). Which would explain why the latest Android statue on the Google campus is made of chrome.

As always take the rumour ###### grano salis. We'll find out sooner or later - Google I/O isn't too far away.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Could be interesting, but I can't think of any time that I would use an app on my computer instead of either a fully-fledged program or the Internet.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

If anything I can see a use case for this functionality on Chromebooks. Not so much in Chrome for Linux/OS X/Windows.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Ah, good point! Man, I keep forgetting about the Chromebooks...

[fusi0n]

This would be cool. Maybe it would sync with the apps for your phone/tablet..

[ToneKnee]

I agree that this could be for Chromebooks rather than the browser itself, but have people thought about the possibility that Android might get dumped for Chrome OS instead? Why make 2 OS's when you can integrate all your goodies into one 1 OS?

Chrome is built from the ground up as well. Android does need a serious kick up the arse, it's better than what it used to be but far away from being as good as it could be.

[Seahorsepip Veteran]

Chrome running android which is running chrome which is running android which is running chrome which is running android which is running chrome which is running android which is running chrome which is running android which is running chrome which is running android....

O.O

This would be cool. Maybe it would sync with the apps for your phone/tablet..

Sounds like we can use our phones in chrome while it's in our pockets :p

[Dick Montage]

Don't Inception android/chrome/android/chrome/and.. .bugger!

[firey]

this could be good for other tablets that can run chrome.. if they release the runtime completely.. could have android apps on a non android non bb tablet.

[Growled Member]

If anything I can see a use case for this functionality on Chromebooks. Not so much in Chrome for Linux/OS X/Windows.

This would make my Chromebook nearly perfect.

[Boz]

This would destroy HTML5 because Android apps would run off the Java machine and would be compatible with all browsers.

[Active.]

This would destroy HTML5 because Android apps would run off the Java machine and would be compatible with all browsers.

It wouldn't. If anything, Java as a plugin is dying. I can't be the only one who disables and recommends disabling Java as well as plugins in general in my web browser.

[Boz]

It wouldn't. If anything, Java as a plugin is dying. I can't be the only one who disables and recommends disabling Java as well as plugins in general in my web browser.

It's on billions of devices.. nothing is dying..if anything, this could reignite it.

[Active.]

It's on billions of devices..

Yeah, well, so is Windows XP... Of course, with a recent marketshare gain of 0.43%, maybe that too will have a revival...

Java in the enterprise is alive and well...as a consumer technology on the web client side on the other hand, not so much. The latest mobile devices generally have no support for it, and even on traditional systems it's a good idea to not install or disable it due to its constant security issues. Plus, the vast majority of users simply no longer have any need for it since it's fallen out of use by web sites. I mean, even Flash doesn't really have a future, and it's on even more devices and still used far more broadly on the client side.

[Boz]

This would make my Chromebook nearly perfect.

I think they might be going for exactly that.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

So my first thought about this idea would be... why...

 

Okay sure, bringing Android apps to the desktop would be a great idea for those running Chromebooks and such, but why not just bring Dalvik into ChromeOS? It's essentially Gentoo underneath, so why bloat the web browser with such needlessness? :/

 

I'm probably missing some greater picture, but it seems like a hell of a waste of effort to run Android apps in the browser when it'd probably be easier, not to mention more efficient, to simply run Dalvik on the OS itself.

[nub]

so why bloat the web browser with such needlessness? :/

More chrome users.