Some of the top executives at Google took the stage in San Francisco this morning to host a live broadcast event where they unveiled the new Chrome Web Store and the Pilot Program for the companies highly-anticipated Chrome OS Netbooks.
The theme of the event was clearly "nothing but the Web,” a catchphrase spoken several times by Sundar Pichai, the product manager for the Chrome OS netbooks. That is because just about everything Chrome OS does is cloud-based and is designed to be easily accessible by every device that runs on Chrome OS.
Pichai’s impressive demonstration began with him setting up his account on a brand-new Chrome-OS netbook, a process that was complete in less than 60 seconds. Yes, you read that correctly – In under a minute, Pichai was able to set up a new Google Chrome netbook and access everything in the Chrome OS account he has been using for several months. The sync between machines, including installed and removed applications, takes fewer than 20 seconds.
Also lightning fast is the resume time from Chrome OS standby mode. No more waiting for the computer to pull all of the information back from a hardware-based cache system. Now with Chrome OS, the computer is ready to go by the time you lift the lid and get ready to type.
Sharing a Chrome OS-based computer among multiple users is supposed to be simple as well as secure. If you have friends who need to sign on, the Guest Mode is touted as being completely private will all tracking and history removed from the machine when the guest signs out.
"Computers aren't that useful when they're not connected," Pichai noted, but went on to demonstrate how Google Docs and applications like games will work from a cache mode while the system is offline, but automatically syncs once reconnected. There is also a 3G built-in connection which will be available if one must connect when away from Wi-Fi.
The 3G connection will be provided by Verizon, who will be the primary wireless carrier for Chrome OS netbooks when they are finally made available to the public in 2011. The data plan will offer 100MB of free data per month for two years, no contracts, and starts as low as $9.99 per month thereafter. There will also be day passes, or 1GB chunks available at a time.
And Google isn’t just after the personal computing market with these devices. They have already begun testing their Chrome OS netbooks with a number of enterprise-level businesses, and have working apps for Citrix, SAP, CAD, and more.
The company is now taking applications for their Chrome OS pilot program, which equips beta-testers with a non-branded black notebook dubbed the Cr-48. The clamshell device will have a 12.1” display, built-in 3G and Wi-Fi connections, and up to 8 hours of run-time on battery. Pichai also noted that the keyboard does not contain a caps-lock key, and made a sly dig about internet commenters who tend to abuse that particular key.
Those of us who don’t get accepted to be a beta tester for the pilot program are going to have to wait several more months to get one of these devices in-hand, but at least we can begin exploring the new Chrome Web Store today. If you own an iPad or an Android device, you already know what these online application marketplaces are all about. During the event, Mark Frons demoed a slick New York Times app that appeared similar to an RSS reader and even functions offline. Also available is a speedy PDF reader, a Sports Illustrated app, games and much more.
I’ve got to admit that Google has succeeded in getting me excited about Chrome OS and their upcoming netbooks with today’s event. I’m still a bit wary about the security of a cloud-based operating system, and what Google plans to do with all of the personal data they will undoubtedly collect through the device. However, I’d be willing to push aside those concerns if they’d like to send me one of those pilot program Cr-48 netbooks. Yeah, I’m not proud.
