Android's Google Now services headed for Chrome, too
The all-purpose alert system isn't just for Android. Google is building Google Now into Chrome as well, taking advantage of its notifications system.
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
It looks like Chrome users, not just Android users, will get access to Google Now, the search giant's technology for bringing weather reports, trip departure reminders, birthday alerts, nearby restaurant reviews, and more to the attention of Android users.
Google's Chrome team added a "skeleton for Google Now for Chrome" to the Google browser yesterday, an early step in a larger project to show Google Now notifications in Chrome.
Google Now integration into Chrome gives Google a new way to connect people closely to online services that Google judges to be relevant depending on time and location. Francois Beaufort, who keeps a close eye on the Chrome source code, spotted the move.
Google confirmed that it's working on the project but stopped short of committing to it. "We're always experimenting with new features in Chrome, so have nothing to announce at this time," spokeswoman Jessica Kositz said.
The move reflects the growing maturity of Google's operating system strategy. In mobile, it steers people to Android, and on personal computers, it steers them to Chrome or Chrome OS. Though Chrome isn't an operating system, strictly speaking, browsers are absorbing more and more OS abilities, and Chrome OS systems of course can't run anything but Web apps.
Whatever OS a person is using, Google is designing it as a mechanism to reach Google services: search, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Apps, Gmail, Google+, and more. These services are where Google makes its money.
And Google can show some Google Now-like services sometimes in search results, too. Drawing from Gmail messages, Google shows upcoming flight information and birthday reminders to users who have opted into the system.
Update, 12:58 p.m. PT: Adds comment from Google.