“A new kind of computer.” Thats what Google is calling their new breed of notebooks. Last year Google started a beta testing program based around Chromium — now called Chrome OS — in this beta Google sent out free notebooks called CR-48′s. These notebooks were the platform for the future of ultraportable notebooks and showed what the “cloud” really can do. Today we see what all the hard work has lead to, and its truly amazing. Head past the break for more.
Chromebooks, no OS, no applications, just the web. This is the vision Google has for mobile computing (aside form your phone, though that is sure to come).
These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won’t wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You’ll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won’t need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don’t need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you’ll have the web when you need it. Chromebooks have many layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain. Even more importantly, you won’t spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it up to date.
Sounds nice. Everything you do lives in the cloud. Now I’m not going to say this is a perfect solution. I nor Google expect you to use a Chromebook as your only computer, but it certainly can replace your laptop for most tasks. I would recommend this for travel and business. These low-cost machines will all have 3G chips (possible 4G in the future) and of course WiFi. Now I know I’ve gotten some questions” “If everything I do is on the internet, what if I don’t have a connection and I need to work on a document or presentation?” No problem. Chromebooks all have memory chips, much like the Micro SD card in your phone. Large enough to store the start up programming, as well has store copies of documents and other files for use offline. So when you edit a document offline and become reconnected with Google servers, the changes will update in Google Doc’s. Pretty nifty.
So who is going to be making these nice little computers? The first two companies that have decided to make the world and cloudier place (bad pun I know) are Samsung and Acer. Chromebooks will be available in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain June 15. In the US, Amazon and Best Buy will be selling the first consumer Chromebooks. We don’t yet have pricing, but we will soon enough. One more thing. I mentioned, person, education, and business. We heard rumors late yesterday, that Google would be announcing a monthly subscription based Chromebook. Those rumors were confirmed today. Google will be setting up a platform for Chromebooks and management. Similar to your IT department, but something someone with decent computer skills can handle. For education, Google will lease out Chromebooks to your school for $20 per person, per month. With this come’s a management platform to keep track of whats running on the Chromebooks, as well has restrictions and user level permissions. In addition, Google will offer regular hardware refreshes as newer, better device come out. But wait, theirs more. Google is also including a warranty, to make sure that you always have a chromebook, even if you throw it in a river. The business model is $28 per month, per person, and follows the same parameters.
Even with dedicated IT departments, businesses and schools struggle with the same complex, costly and insecure computers as the rest of us. To address this, we’re also announcing Chromebooks for Business and Education. This service from Google includes Chromebooks and a cloud management console to remotely administer and manage users, devices, applications and policies. Also included is enterprise-level support, device warranties and replacements as well as regular hardware refreshes. Monthly subscriptions will start at $28/user for businesses and $20/user for schools.
Update: Currently, ALL 3G Chromebooks will come with FREE 100MBs of 3G data form Verizon Wireless. Nice work Big Red and Google.
Source: Google Chrome Blog.
More information on Chromebooks for work and education.
Check out the LIVE Chrome Sessions from IO.
~Zephaniah Washington
Editor-in-chief.
