Isaiah's Tech

If you're patiently waiting for a notebook with Google Chrome OS on board then the wait is almost over. Google has informed everyone that you can now pre-order Chromebooks through Amazon and Best Buy right now! Yes, that's the Samsung Series 5 and the Acer Cromia which starts at $430 and $380, respectively. Check them out on Amazon and Best Buy.

[Engadget]

A bunch of companies should be testing out their own Chrome OS devices and it looks like Samsung is one of them. Dubbed the "Alex", this device was spotted on Chrome OS' code website. The netbook reportedly features an Intel Atom N550 1.5GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, an SSD, a 1,280 x 800 resolution display, 3G / WiFi support, a webcam, Bluetooth, Ehternet, and a Synaptics touchpad. Obviously, this is just a test device right now so the specs could change before it launches, which is still unknown.

[Samsung Hub]

DigiTimes has just mentioned something pretty cool that's apparently coming from a supplier's mouth. The report says that Asus is looking to really undercut the netbooks that we're used to seeing right now. Apparently, the company plans to launch a $200 to $250 netbook running on Google's Android or, hopefully, Chrome OS. The notebook will reportedly be a 10 or 11-inch model and will be free subsidized on a carrier if you wan to sign a 6-month contract. Hmm, this might be something I'm interested in if it's a $200 netbook running Chrome OS.

[Crunch Gear]

So, at Google's event today they announced a bunch of things. Chrome (the browser) improvements in speed and functionality, the Chrome Web Store (which is available in the USA right now with a global roll-out in 2011), and Chrome OS which is all about the web. The first Chrome OS notebook (they don't call it a netbook) is being dubbed the Cr-48 and it's part of a Pilot Program for now. Some businesses will be using it, like American Airlines and Google themselves. The Cr-48 has no design features at all; it's all black and features no logo. If you really want to get one then you can audition for one here or your business can apply for the Pilot Program here.

As you can see in the photo above, the Chrome OS notebook features a 12.1-inch display, a full-sized keyboard, a large touchpad, global 3G support, WiFi 802.11n support, an integrated webcam, and a battery life that will last 8 hours of active use and 8 days of standy time. This notebook has an SSD inside and does not feature a spinning disc or any function keys. This notebook will be running on Verizon's network in the USA and you'll have 100MB of free data every month for two years. If you want more then there are a number of plans available starting for as little as $9.99 monthly.

Acer and Samsung Chrome OS notebooks will be available in mid 2011 as you can see in the picture below. If you want to know more then the interwebs are flooding with new information and you can also check out Engadget's live blog at the link below.

[Engadget]

Digitimes is reporting that Toshiba will have three tablets to show us at CES 2011 in early January. They'll be running the three major OS's out there, so you'll get a Windows 7, Android, and Chrome OS model. The company's Folio 100 tablet is pictured above and it's actually already available so you won't be seeing it at CES. Anyways, two of them are said to sport 10.1-inch displays while the other one will have an 11.6-inch display. Looks like we'll have to wait another month to get our eyes on these.

[DigiTimes]
Picture Source: Engadget

Some new and juicy rumour has been making the rounds this morning. It involves Verizon, Google, and tablets. If you pieced together (or you just read the title) a Chrome OS tablet in the future then you're bang on. The rumour states that Verizon will be releasing a Google Chrome OS tablet on November 26th, which is Black Friday in the USA, and it'll be available solely online on the carrier's website. The tablet is said to be built by HTC (but will be Google-branded) and supposed specs are as follows: a 1,280 x 720 multitouch display, 2GB of RAM, a 32GB SDD, WiFi / Bluetooth / GPS / 3G support, and an integrated webcam. This could be something to look forward to if it's anything like the tablet concept Google showed off above.

[Liliputing, The Next Web]

It wouldn't exactly be the most surprising news out there - seeing how Google and Verizon always seem to be getting along lately (DROID line-up and the whole net neutrality fiasco) - but some Chrome OS devices could be hitting Verizon Wireless sometime in the future. The shots below also mention that said devices will have integrated 3G support which isn't surprising at all. Let's hope we see these devices before the end of the year.

[Chrome OS Site, Tech Crunch]

There are a bunch of people out there who are waiting for Google's Chrome OS to see if it'll really be worth it - one of those people being me. Sadly, we'll all have to wait a couple more months because Google said that their OS won't be shipping until late Fall aka Q4 of this year. We should expect some Asus and Acer netbooks to be one of the first few with the OS on them. If it's good enough maybe it'll be suitable for tablets as well.

[Electronista]

So much for that rumour. Acer has officially mentioned that they will not show off any devices running on Google's Chrome OS at Computex this June (a couple of weeks from now). Looks like we'll have to wait a couple of months for Chrome OS devices to be shown off. On a side note, I'm sure we'll see a bunch of devices with the Android OS on it at Computex.

[Engadget]

Apparently, Acer is set to showcase their Chrome OS devices in the near future. This is going to happen within the next one to two weeks so we could either see it at Google I/O in a couple of days or we could see it at Computex which takes place in the first week of June. We don't know what these devices will be but they'll likely be netbooks / smartbooks. These devices are scheduled to hit the market in the second half of this year, so we'll still have to wait a while until we see how well Google can integrate the cloud into this OS.

Update: Apparently, Acer is holding a global event at the end of this month and, unfortunately, Engadget has mentioned that no Chrome OS devices are going to be shown off. However, they do mention that we could still see those Chrome OS devices by the end of devices but they might not show up at Google I/O, this Acer event, and Computex in early June. Anything can happen though, so hope for the best.

[Tech Oat]

Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, has just mentioned that he believes their Chrome OS will be "the first significant OS outside of Windows to hit the market." That sounds to me like a cheap shot at Apple's Mac OS. Anyways, he also mentioned that netbooks running Chrome OS will cost you around $300 to $400 USD, which is the typical netbook price right now. Hopefully they can market these netbooks because the word needs to get out somehow.

[Netbooked]

We've heard time and time again that Asus will be launching a tablet running either the Google Chrome OS or Android. That's not all they have up their sleeve though, since they've mentioned that they'll be launching another tablet this year running some sort of Windows OS. What we still don't know is any firm specifications of their tablets, but we have a good idea that they'll be running on the latest Tegra chipset.

Update: According to Slash Gear, Asus could be planning to unveil both of these tablets in Computex this June. I'm pretty sure we've heard this before.

[Electronista]
Picture Source: Engadget

This morning, Adobe and Google announced a partnership and the first thing they've done is pre-installed Flash on the dev build of Google Chrome. That's not all though. Google mentioned that deep Flash integration will also be included into the Chrome OS as well, which we know will be hitting some netbooks and possibly even tablets before the end of the year.

We already know that the iPad doesn't support Flash so this is really something. Hopefully Google will be able to keep up the battery life while playing those Flash videos - they should also keep it from crashing as much as well. HTML5 may be the future, but a lot of websites and games out there still rely on Flash so it's good to know that Google has got Adobe's back.

This Apple and Google relationship is really starting to turn extremely sour.

[Tech Crunch]

We all know that the Google Chrome OS is set to hit consumers this year - a couple of months from now. We're now hearing that there'll be a Business Edition of the OS set for a 2011 launch date. This Google Chrome OS Business Version will come with some more security, "more management muscle", and a "developer mode."

[Netbooked]

We've seen the iPad and now it's time for Google's own tablet concept. What you see above and below are some mock-up pictures of what a Chrome OS tablet could look like - theoretically speaking. The iPad is missing some key features at this point, but Apple will continually make the tablet better in the future. This is Google's Glen Murphy's design and hopefully it's something that we'll see launch this year - although I think that's unlikely. Google has mentioned that they'll be working closely with hardware partners to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. So, I guess this confirms that Chrome OS will have [multi] touchscreen gestures. There are more images at the link below.

Update: Tech Crunch has scooped up a new video of the Chrome OS tablet concept. I don't know how good this will work in real life since this tablet would have to be as large as a Microsoft Surface table to work. Nonetheless, it's still pretty interesting - especially since it has multi-tasking. It's just a concept made by Glen Murphy who is actually a Google employee working on Chrome.



[Tech Crunch]