Briefly, Android is a mobile platform based on Linux. Along with the other members of the Open Handset Alliance, Google has worked to deliver Android to the marketplace. And despite predictable speculation, originating with Google co-founder Sergey Brin, the much anticipated pairing of Google Chrome and Android remains a future plan. Strengthened by the repetition of Brin's not entirely committal allusions, the Chrome-Android pairing was technically bolstered by the availability of WebKit for Android, as Chrome leverages the WebKit Web browser engine. (It turns out that WebKit is central to the Web browser that ships with Android. However, this Web browser is G1, not Chrome.)
In the ensuing three months since Android's coming out party, and under the auspices of the Chromium Project, Google Chrome continues to make progress towards eventual availability for Linux. From a Google-critical perspective, one might regard the absence of Chrome on Android as a serious strategic blunder - or at the very least, surprising. From a more-balanced perspective, however, this absence is likely the result of a number of factors. For example, Android is a partnership in which Google is but a member. And although the Web browser is a key Android component, the availability of Chrome is not a showstopper as another browser (G1) is already available. And finally, delaying Android for Chrome would be antithetical to Google's expressed philosophy on a number of counts.
