Android Coming To Chromebooks

[Conan46]

With Android coming to Chromebooks, can I assume that many of our favorite Android reading apps will as well?

The Google Play Store, that massive repository of Android apps, is coming to Chrome OS. It will be available to developers in early June, then a month or two later it'll hit the more stable "beta" channel, and finally it will be ready for all users this fall.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/19/11...romebook-video

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Conan46

With Android coming to Chromebooks, can I assume that many of our favorite Android reading apps will as well?


http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/19/11...romebook-video

Let's hope so. Chrome is so ebook and audiobook unfriendly.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Let's hope so. Chrome is so ebook and audiobook unfriendly.

Some of the latest Chromebooks are coming out with high resolution screens, convertible screen features.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Some of the latest Chromebooks are coming out with high resolution screens, convertible screen features.

I think the issue is that there are very few (if any?) ebook apps that work in Chrome.

Shari

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by shalym

I think the issue is that there are very few (if any?) ebook apps that work in Chrome.

Shari

There are very few (open) reading apps for browsers.
Even Kobo is deemphasizing theirs.

http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/0...-reading-apps/

[Graham]

Originally Posted by shalym

I think the issue is that there are very few (if any?) ebook apps that work in Chrome.

There are a few offline standalone apps. I've not had any difficulty basically opening and reading non-DRM epubs on my ChromeOS machines, but the apps don't have bells and whistles. The big name cloud apps work fine, of course: Kindle Cloud Reader, Overdrive and Google Play.

What we don't have in ChromeOS are apps that can read epubs with DRM, other than the site-specific cloud apps.

It's definitely an area where the Android apps could be a big benefit.

Note, though, that this is only coming to selected hardware. It's a long list, but I think they are the newer machines. My older Acer and Samsung devices aren't on the list.

Graham

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Graham

Note, though, that this is only coming to selected hardware. It's a long list, but I think they are the newer machines. My older Acer and Samsung devices aren't on the list.

My Acer isn't on that list either. That means when my Chromebook gives up the ghost, I'm switching back to Windows. I'm getting very tired of the "file type not supported" messages.

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by Graham

Note, though, that this is only coming to selected hardware. It's a long list, but I think they are the newer machines. My older Acer and Samsung devices aren't on the list.

Do you have a link to the list?

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

My Acer isn't on that list either. That means when my Chromebook gives up the ghost, I'm switching back to Windows. I'm getting very tired of the "file type not supported" messages.

Yeah, I guess us C7-series early adopters don't get in on the fun.

I hope my Chromebooks don't give out soon, because I'm pretty happy with that they do, and don't want to spend real money to replace them (I just manually repaired the fan in one of ours.)

Of our three chromebooks:
#1 has a re-flashed bios and a native linux install, so is technically no longer a Chromebook.
#2 is almost never used, except once a month it's plugged into my TV to show chords and lyrics at my guitar jams. It's in dev mode with Crouton for occasional use.
#3 is a purely stock Chromebook here on my desk at work for personal stuff, like email and this post.

That article says the Android apps on the Chromebooks will be "fully native, not emulated." I wonder if that statement has any significance, considering that "native" Android itself is bytecode translated, JIT compiled (no?), based on a framework, in a JavaVM, atop an OS. Really, what harm could "emulation" do? It might even help in some implementations....

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by latepaul

Do you have a link to the list?

Here ya go:

Chromebooks that support Android apps

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

Yeah, I guess us C7-series early adopters don't get in on the fun.

When the time comes, I'll replace mine with a sub-$200 Winbook.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

When the time comes, I'll replace mine with a sub-$200 Winbook.

Are you thinking of getting a "Cloudbook"?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Are you thinking of getting a "Cloudbook"?

Yep; that's the word I was looking for - Cloudbook.

[tubemonkey]

Older Chromebooks won't get the Play Store, even if they're able to run Android apps

Google doesn't want older Chromebooks to run the Play Store, but the limitations don't appear to be technical.

But here’s the catch: The upcoming Android apps functionality will only work with future Chromebooks and select existing Chromebooks that rolled out in the last two years, as Ars Technica first noticed. Google recently posted a compatibility list for Chromebooks that will run Android apps, and the roster is sure to frustrate folks who jumped on the Chromebook bandwagon early.

Got a 2013 Chromebook Pixel with an Intel Core processor and 8GB of RAM? No Android apps for you. How about a 2015 Dell Chromebook 11 3120 with an Intel Celeron processor and 2GB of RAM? Use all the Android apps you want.

That suggests there are no technical limitations preventing at least some older Chromebooks from running Android apps. Google told Ars the decision to cut out devices older than two years was intentional. In other words, don’t expect to see a ton of other devices added to the list over time. If that’s the case, then the limitation may be a ploy by Google and its partners to sell more Chromebooks.

Now to be fair, Google only promises to support Chromebooks for five years from their release date. Early Chromebooks from 2010 and 2011, therefore, may simply be unsupported due to Google’s end-of-life policy. But that doesn’t explain the seemingly arbitrary decision to cut out Chromebooks from 2013 and early 2014.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by shalym

I think the issue is that there are very few (if any?) ebook apps that work in Chrome.

Shari

That won't matter when you can use Android and Google Play apps on Android later this year.