These are experiments to test the capability and performance of the new Canvas element supported by newer browsers (Canvas is part of the upcoming HTML 5 standard).
Performance wise, Google's Chrome web browser executes Javascript much faster than other browsers. This may allow for some interesting web-applications using the Canvas element.
On the flip side Apple's iPhone supports the Canvas element too, but at a much lower performance level, due to the iPhone's hardware being far slower than a desktop computer.