Google unveiled the first notebooks running Chrome OS. The first one is from Samsung. Most people have been calling them “Chromebooks”. The first two partners producing them will be Samsung and Acer. As one of the first people to play with the CR-48 I can say first hand that it is not enough for long use. But never the less Google is forging ahead anyway.
The Samsung Series 5 machine has a 12.1-inch display, Atom dual-core processor and a 8.5 hour battery. You can get it with just Wi-Fi or get one with 3G. You can get it at Best Buy and Amazon at a cost of $429 for Wi-Fi-only and $499 for 3G.
There is an Acer Chromebook as well but it’s only at Amazon. The Acer has an 11.6-inch HD widescreen display, Atom dual-core processor and 6 hour battery. It too comes in two versions. Wi-Fi only or 3G. The Wi-Fi only cost $349. There is no word yet on the 3G version.
Business as well as schools will be able to rent the Chromebooks. Businesses will pay $28 per month for Wi-Fi and $31 per month for 3G. The educational institutions will pay $20/$23. Both will come with a dedicated help-desk and maintenance plan, and the 3G systems will get 100MB of data included.
Try as you may not everything can be done in the cloud. Sometimes you need a real program or at least an app. So a pairing of Android and Chrome would be a great. Just a thought Google. Just a thought.