In May last year, Google's Chrome became the most used browser in the world, surpassing Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which had been the leader from ever since one can remember. That's a remarkable achievement, and one man who can take a lot of credit for that is Sundar Pichai, who heads the Chrome and Apps business for Google. Pichai, 40, grew up in Chennai, did a BTech from IIT-Kharagpur , and then went to Stanford University, US, for an MS. He worked in Applied Materials and McKinsey & Co, before joining Google in 2004. Pichai was recently in Bangalore and spoke to TOI about his latest big initiative - Chromebooks , the PC based on the Chrome operating system.
Chromebooks are beginning to take off. What's driving it?
It's cloud-based . In the bring-your-own-device to work scenario , when people walk into office with devices on different platforms, how do you give endpoint solutions to each of them. So we have to move to the cloud. The existing model doesn't work. With Windows you need a lot of effort to keep it running. Chrome has a zero-administrative model. We recently launched easy to use, affordable , high-functionality Chromebooks for $249 by Samsung . Acer has one for $199.
When will we have the Chrome book in India?
Currently it's available only in the US and the UK. We plan to bring it to the Asia Pacific region in the first quarter of this year. But not to India.
Is it because of the poor bandwidth and connectivity issues here?
The way we want it to play out in the Apac region is in the context of good connectivity. We are also trying to tie up with service providers. Some OEMs may bring it to India, independent of us. One of my aims is to work with them and bring it to India.
What impact do you see Windows 8 having?
Windows is an important platform, and when they come out with a new version, it will have an impact. The question is how it does in phones and tablets. On laptops , migration will happen. There is an element of disruption out there. It breaks backward compatibility. Especially if you are running Windows RT, none of your legacy apps will run on it. You will have to rewrite apps for it. So this is an opportunity to try out something else that is different and better. And that's the reason we are seeing some traction with Chromebooks .
What's the latest on Chrome?
Chrome is now available on Android and iOS. You can sign into Chrome and have the same experience across all platforms and devices. It's quite different from how others do it. For Microsoft, you have to buy the Windows platform for the same experience.
How's Gmail doing?
It's doing well, especially in India. We have around 50 million unique users here. There have been some articles that Gmail is No. 1 in the US, though we are not the ones saying that. We recently improved the mobile version for Android and iOS.
Any impact of social media on emails?
No. The email inbox is a personal queue, where we take note of many things and processes . But social media is a stream and there is no need to see everything. There are areas where they overlap. There is room for both to grow.
Chromebooks are beginning to take off. What's driving it?
It's cloud-based . In the bring-your-own-device to work scenario , when people walk into office with devices on different platforms, how do you give endpoint solutions to each of them. So we have to move to the cloud. The existing model doesn't work. With Windows you need a lot of effort to keep it running. Chrome has a zero-administrative model. We recently launched easy to use, affordable , high-functionality Chromebooks for $249 by Samsung . Acer has one for $199.
When will we have the Chrome book in India?
Currently it's available only in the US and the UK. We plan to bring it to the Asia Pacific region in the first quarter of this year. But not to India.
Is it because of the poor bandwidth and connectivity issues here?
The way we want it to play out in the Apac region is in the context of good connectivity. We are also trying to tie up with service providers. Some OEMs may bring it to India, independent of us. One of my aims is to work with them and bring it to India.
What impact do you see Windows 8 having?
Windows is an important platform, and when they come out with a new version, it will have an impact. The question is how it does in phones and tablets. On laptops , migration will happen. There is an element of disruption out there. It breaks backward compatibility. Especially if you are running Windows RT, none of your legacy apps will run on it. You will have to rewrite apps for it. So this is an opportunity to try out something else that is different and better. And that's the reason we are seeing some traction with Chromebooks .
What's the latest on Chrome?
Chrome is now available on Android and iOS. You can sign into Chrome and have the same experience across all platforms and devices. It's quite different from how others do it. For Microsoft, you have to buy the Windows platform for the same experience.
How's Gmail doing?
It's doing well, especially in India. We have around 50 million unique users here. There have been some articles that Gmail is No. 1 in the US, though we are not the ones saying that. We recently improved the mobile version for Android and iOS.
Any impact of social media on emails?
No. The email inbox is a personal queue, where we take note of many things and processes . But social media is a stream and there is no need to see everything. There are areas where they overlap. There is room for both to grow.
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