Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 together mark a rare confluence for Microsoft: they represent the first instance of the company's desktop and phone platforms sharing the same browserbase, and that has wide-reaching implications for what developers can do.
As Google Vice President of Product Management Sundar Pichai noted, the potential customer base of 120 million Chrome browser users is bigger than those available to any mobile developer.
AOL's flair for understanding the needs of the mass market and the size of its subscriber base will combine with Netscape's Internet browser and electronic-commerce software.