Google Chrome OS shows limitations of Android

will officially support higher-resolution screens."

Still, developers worry that Google may make the same mistakes with Chrome OS that it's made with Android. By licensing it under the Apache open-source license, Google did not require developers to make public their modifications to Android code, leaving some to wonder whether Android will become fragmented as incompatible versions appear in different types of devices.

Sutton worried that Google will use Linux as its base for the Chrome OS but act purely in its own self-interest, and not respect the work of the Linux groups already porting the OS to netbooks.

"I can see how throwing their weight behind one single group could have a negative effect on the Linux ecosystem -- after all, who would want to compete with a Google-backed Linux distribution?" he said. "But I hope they're going to feed their work back into the community and not create something akin to the Android situation, where although the base OS is available, there are several components which Google keeps behind closed doors."