Expect a typical netbook price when mini-laptops powered by Google's Chrome OS go on sale next year.
"It will be up to the manufacturers who do it, but the price points you should think about are the current netbook pricings which are $300, $400 dollar price points," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said at the Atmosphere Cloud Computing Forum, according to TechRadar.
Schmidt said pricing will ultimately be determined by the cost of processors, glass and other components, but because Chrome OS will be free, it should help keep prices low. Schmidt said it "would be great" if a wireless carrier chose to bundle Chrome OS devices with service plans, but didn't discuss specifics.
I'm excited for Chrome OS even though I don't think it will become truly useful until mobile broadband becomes cheaper or Wi-Fi hotspots become ubiquitous. The entire operating system is essentially the Chrome Web browser, intended to be extremely fast and secure by handling almost everything in the cloud. Users won't be able to install software on the devices, and file storage will be minimal, with only USB flash drives and SD cards for importing data to the Web.
Schmidt said Google has already rewritten some software it uses in order to switch over to Chrome OS. The company wants to imagine what a completely Web-based operating system can do, so it's essential that they start using their own software, a process known as "dogfooding."
That could explain why Google recently unveiled Google Cloud Print, which will enable Chrome OS machines and other mobile devices to print without installing drivers. I imagine Google developers will run into plenty of situations where they need a cloud solution to what's traditionally done with installed software.
With the first Chrome OS devices due to arrive in early 2011, it doesn't seem like Google is rushing. And that's fine, because the company's got a thriving operating system in Android. But cloud computing is what Google is really about, so I can't wait to see what comes of Chrome OS, whenever it's ready.
