Chromium OS has been slowly spreading and the launch of that $250 Samsung Chromebook will definitely help the cause. With this new Chrome notebook, more users will be enticed to jump ship and use a Chromebook for casual computing. There might be a more affordable solution coming for those that own a Nexus 7, though, which goes for only $200 (cheapest version).
Developer Hexxeh has managed to port Chromium OS to the popular Nexus 7 tablet. The port is not available to the public yet, but Hexxeh promises to make it available to everyone as soon as he works out the remaining bugs and issues.
Some of you may be wondering why anyone would give up Android for Chrome OS. Undoubtedly, Chrome OS has much less features and flexibility compared to Android; but that is not to say some people won’t benefit more from the web-based OS. For one, Chromium is faster, not to mention it is known to conserve battery life. It also boots faster and brings a much simpler interface for on-the-go computing.
Android can still be much more functional, though, so the ideal fix would be to have the device be able to dual-boot on both operating systems. Hexxeh doesn’t seem to be planning anything regarding a dual-boot solution, but you can be sure someone will figure it out. It is definitely not impossible.
We will stay tuned to Hexxeh’s blog so definitely keep your eyes open for more coverage on this port!