Google's Chromebook: Notebook as a service?

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 12 May 2011 08:49

Business IT - Technology

Google has revealed the first production Chromebooks - notebooks running Chrome OS - along with a leasing plan that includes remote management tools, support and more for as little as $US20 per month.

Late last year, Google ran a test program that put unbranded notebooks running Chrome OS into the hands of individuals, developers, schools and businesses. At the time, it said the first commercial Chrome OS notebooks would be available from Acer and Samsung in the first half of 2011.

Google, Samsung and Acer have now announced those first Chromebooks, which will be available from June 15 - just meeting the 1H11 projection. They will be sold initially through "leading retailers" in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain, with other countries to follow.

The Acer Chromebook uses a 1.66GHz dual-core Atom processor with 2GB of RAM, an 11.6in 1366x768 display, 802.11n Wi-Fi, HDMI, and a 16GB solid state drive.

If that drive sounds small, remember that the whole idea of Chrome OS is that you use web applications. Google points out that if you really do need to use a non-web application, that's possible using desktop virtualisation products such as Citrix's. But company officials claimed "With HTML5 and other open standards, web applications will soon be able to do anything traditional applications can do, and more."

The Samsung Series 5 has generally similar specifications although it features a 12.1 non-widescreen display, the option of integrated 3G communications, a memory card reader, and a connector for an optional VGA dongle.

What if you'd rather rent than buy? Google has a deal for you - see page 2.