There has been much talk of possible Chrome OS tablets and Netbooks. It seems that in our “post-Ipad” excitement we, the blog-sphere have been focusing on what I believe to be the wrong angle.

While I was scouring the Web for Chrome OS information and resources I found an amazing video which was produced by Nicolas Charbonnier, the owner of ARMdevices.net. He shows off a device which looks startlingly similar to a nettop. This test device was made by Freescale to demonstrate the latest Chromium OS build which they aim will power their upcoming tablet.

This video (above), though not intending to showcase a nettop device, got me thinking; what if Google was to target the nettop market along with the Netbook using Chrome OS? Google seems to have let Android loose; Chrome OS should stay clear and focus on specific platforms (e.g. netbooks and nettops) if it is to be a successs. This Week Google admitted that they cannot restrain their OS any longer:

Chrome is an open source project so anyone can take the code on any sort of device without telling us…But we think Chrome and Android are two different approaches

There is no apparent reason why Google shouldn’t target nettops; after all Android and Chrome OS are not heading for a collision in the nettop market as they are already set to in tablets. Hence nettops seem like fertile ground worth tilling.

Here’s why:

• Nettops are a relatively unexplored market. Arguably the nettop craze never really took off as it should have. Google has the opportunity to attempt to revitalize this market just as the Ipad did for the Tablet market (after Microsoft’s failure to exploit it).
• A Chrome OS nettop is simply ‘obvious’ and should be a natural progression for Chrome OS. Imagine if you want to surf the Internet on your old monitor while the kids play ‘The Sims’  on the main PC. Why not take a Chrome OS nettop, plug it in and go onto the net in less than 10 seconds?
• Chrome OS is perfectly suited for nettops. The current nettops that come with bloated windows or linux flavours are far much more than what the consumer needs. A consumer who buys a nettop probably just wants to use it for surfing rather than e.g. word processing or decoding blu rays. I can get a Media center PC that does that better! Never the less, with a dizzying array of possible Web Apps, I can still be as productive on a Chrome OS nettop as a windows 7 powered alternative.
• Just like netbooks, nettops are all about price! imagine a Chrome OS nettop that costs much less than an equivalent windows powered nettop. All because the operating system (Chrome OS) is free and open source!

Chrome OS has really opened new doors in the ‘tech world’ but I believe this is one door that Google should enter before the dreaded Apple does.