According to IDC News, Google VP of product management, Sundar Pichai, told the attendees of the Computex trade show in Taipei on Wednesday that Google’s November 29-announced Chrome operating system will mark its debut in the fourth quarter this year.

Though Pichai did not disclose an exact launch date for the Chrome OS, he responded to questions about the Google’s two operating systems – Android and Chrome – saying that with the company providing open source platforms, the market will be better able to determine which OS will work more effectively in mass market.

While the ultrathin Chrome OS will feature just enough code for pushing a user online, from where the Chrome Web browser will take over; the more-features-packed Android OS is already becoming a popular mobile OS for smartphones and other connected devices.

Built for speed, the Chrome OS’ startup times, including access to the Web, will reportedly take only a few seconds, vis-à-vis the over one minute presently needed by Windows systems. In addition, the cloud-based design will also provide faster access to Google’s suite of online applications.

With the Google Chrome OS essentially being a lightweight, open source OS, chiefly designed for netbooks - at least in the beginning -, some of the leading netbook manufacturers – including Acer, HP, Asus, and Lenovo - are already in the process of developing Chrome OS-based devices.