Google’s upcoming Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will be targeted at netbooks upon its debut, according to the announcement posted on the official Google blog. In the past, some speculated that an Apple netbook would require a stripped-down version of the Mac OS, but not as limited as the iPhone OS. Perhaps this is the move Apple was waiting for.

“It's been an exciting nine months since we launched the Google Chrome browser,” Google’s Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, engineering director, stated yesterday. “Already, over 30 million people use it regularly. We designed Google Chrome for people who live on the web — searching for information, checking email, catching up on the news, shopping or just staying in touch with friends. However, the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be,” Pichai said.

The following statement (coming from the same person) should sound like music to Apple’s ears, provided that the Cupertino-based Mac maker is planning to penetrate the netbook market with a device of its own (as rumored).

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,” Pichai added. “We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

With “simplicity” and “security” being key aspects of the new OS, as well as a minimal interface and maximum intuitiveness (things Apple loves), the Mac maker may be enticed to provide a netbook using its own technologies, design and, of course, its iconic brand. Adding that Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips (found in Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch), the Chrome OS news is just about enough to get us started on Apple tablets again.