Today Google has announced a new line of Chrome OS based laptops, called Chromebooks, coming in mid June. Google is touting the Chromebooks as having advantages over traditional laptops such as instant on capabilities, long battery lives and built in mobile broadband to allow constant connectivity. The ability of the OS to download system and app updates is also being touted.
Two Chromebooks have been announced, one from Samsung and the other from Acer. Both models are large improvements over the CR-48 prototype laptop used for testing last year. Both Samsung and Acer's offerings will sport dual core processors and improved track pad functionality. Samsung's Chromebook comes equipped with a 12.1-inch screen and an 8 hour battery life while Acer is providing an 11.6-inch screen with a smaller 6.5 hour battery life. Samsung will offer two flavors of their Chromebook, one with WiFi-only for $399 and the other with added 3G for $499. Acer is only offering one system priced at $449. The systems will be offered by Best Buy (online) and Amazon in the US and will have simultaneous releases in Germany, Spain, France and the UK on June 15.
The prices of these devices seem appropriate but there isn't anything in particular here that makes Chromebooks stand out from purchasing a tablet device for the home or mobile user. While the pricing of these hardware options is cheaper than Apple's iPad it's still in line with Android tablets. If Google can provide the improvements to Chrome they've been promising, such as a more intuitive file system, direct integration with cloud services like Picasa and Dropbox, and seamless handling of audio and video files, I can see these hardware options being compelling for current laptop users who are not prepared to go all the way to a tablet yet don't want the bloat associated with a Windows laptop or the price tag on a Mac.
The most compelling reason to consider a Chromebook might just be for a business or school environment. Sundar Pichai, Google's VP of product management, confirmed a Chromebook subscription model for both businesses and schools. This model will provide Chromebook hardware, full support, web console, and automatic hardware upgrades for a monthly fee of $28 for business or $20 for schools. This subscription service may not make the most sense in most businesses where Outlook, and Microsoft's Office suite is king, but for schools it could be phenomenal. This service could provide a cost effective way to introduce children to web research, educational games, and teach basic computing skills through offline versions of Google Docs, which is a feature currently in the works. The option to allow schools to provide computing resources on a subscription base and remove the necessity of managing hardware has the potential to make huge leaps in getting technology into the hands of children, despite the socioeconomic status of their school district.
