Google's Chromebooks Debut June 15

Evidently Google’s Chrome laptop pilot program served its purpose, helping the company to ready the devices for wider distribution.

At the company’s annual I/O conference this morning, Google announced the Chromebook, a true consumer version of the machine that had previously been available only via the Cr-48 Pilot Program.

The Chromebook features an improved trackpad and a faster processor and takes about eight seconds to start up. It comes with built-in connectivity options–pay as you go with a bit of free usage or an option to buy day passes. “I think this is game-changing in terms of how you use your notebooks,” SVP of Chrome Sundar Pichai explained. “These are some of the attributes that make phones and tablets great as well.”

The first devices will come from Samsung ($429 with Wi-Fi, $499 with 3G) and from Acer ($349). Come June 15, the devices can be ordered directly from Google and both will be available at Best Buy and on Amazon. Also available, a $28-per-user monthly subscription for business and a $20-a-month deal for students and teachers. And when the hardware is upgraded, users automatically get a replacement.

All the storage is in the cloud and all the updates are automatic. Google’s pitch is that the devices improve in real time.

Courtesy of Samsung, here are some key specs for its Series 5 Chromebook:

? 0.79-inch thin case designed for comfort and mobility
? Full-size Chrome keyboard
? Oversized multi-touch trackpad
? Intel® Core™2 Duo N570 1.66Ghz Processor
? 16:10 resolution
? 12.1-inch SuperBright Display – 36% brighter than standard display
? Starts up in less than 10-seconds
? Resumes instantly from standby
? Up to 8.5 hours battery life
? HD Webcam, built-in digital microphone and stereo speakers
? Two USB ports capable of charging mobile phones and accessories, connecting digital cameras and media storage devices
? Support for removable media cards (SD, SDHC, MMC) for photos, videos, music and documents

Anonymous

This is a great tool for those who get a “paper or plastic” (grocery bagger) degree and plan to live in Mom and Dad’s basement, surfing the net. Students who want a job will get a real computer that runs Office, AutoCAD, etc.
Anonymous

Looks like Goggle is determined to be the one who turns out the lights at the end of the netbook era.
Anonymous

Nice! Looks like Google is stepping up the heat. Amazing.
http://www.anon-web.es.tc
Anonymous

Yeah, you’ll get a Mac if you want to run AutoCAD or Logic or Final Cut or Photoshop and so on.

But office work is just as low-end as Web surfing. Microsoft Office runs on ChromeBooks via the Web. There is also a Keynote-clone presentation client called 280 Slides on the Web that beats the hell out of PowerPoint.

I still don’t see why you would get a ChromeBook instead of an iPad — which runs all the same HTML5 apps as Chrome plus powerful native C apps — but if you want to spend $349 on a notebook computer, many users will be better off with Chrome than Windows Starter, which comes with hidden I-T support costs.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1200030562 Doug Broussard

I predict that this particular piece will not stick to the wall.
Eludium Q36

Great, we now have a 2005-ish netbook to go with the 2005-ish Sprint Echo sandwich phone. Since when is it in vogue to design for the past ?!
http://profiles.google.com/leefranke Lee Franke

I have a feeling that if you do not have a network connection this thing will be a $20/month paperweight.
http://www.facebook.com/bobsentell Bob Sentell

So you can get a computer that more expensive than a good chuck of HP’s Windows line-up. Neat.
Anonymous

Someone got their memos mixed up. They were supposed to cancel Google Chromebook, and keep Google Notebook.
http://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/ online stores

I think Chrome books are going to turn the PC market on its head. It’s not about power or purchase price. It’s about usability and cost of ownership.
http://www.facebook.com/alan.ball Alan Ball

It’s cheaper than wow, somehow I doubt you are correct.
http://blog.macb.net macbeach

I got a Cr-48 in February and am addicted to it. I didn’t expect to be (although I am a Google fan) because I think laptops are generally an inferior experience to desktops

I did plug a mouse in, but the keyboard and screen are just better in every way to what I am used to on laptops.

I assumed that after I had tested for a few weeks I’d go back to my desktop Mac Mini, but it turns out there is really very little actual local software that I need any more. The Mini makes a great “print server” and once some of the “chromoting” features are in I suspect I’ll be running what few desktop applications I need remotely from one of the new Chrome OS machines, both laptop and desktop form factor.

I don’t think the cloud concept is ideal for everyone, but there are quite a few people that I know that would drop right into it without skipping a beat (that is, they are in the browser exclusively already).

Google's Chromebooks Debut June 15

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