LG May Release Chrome OS Devices
TMWatch reports that South Korean technology giant LG Electronics may be gearing up to launch devices based on Google Chrome OS. The site claims that LG has applied for a host of Australian trademarks including "ChromeOne," "ChromeDesk" and "ChromeStation," all covering various technology devices. LG recently partnered with Google on the Nexus 4 and again with the upcoming Nexus 5 smartphone, as well as use Android on a number of mobile devices and HDTVs.
According to the site, the trademark submittals were made on October 16 by the Korean headquarters of LG Electronics and Australian legal representative Griffith Hack. They cover laptops, mobile phones and tablets as well as portable hard disk drives, set-top boxes, computer monitors, headphones, television receivers and more. All three trademarks are now listed as "Taken For Examination," and could possibly be fast-tracked given all other applications received that day are at an earlier stage.
PC World adds that these same three trademarks were filed in the United States with the USPTO on October 15. And like the Australian applications, all three are related to laptops, computers and/or tablets. ChromeOne could possibly be a Chromebook in the works, while ChromeDesk could be an all-in-one PC and ChromeStation a desktop. LG is presumably applying for the same trademarks in other countries as well.
As it stands now, LG just introduced its first Android tablet in the United States, and doesn't currently sell laptops or desktops in North America. Chrome OS may be a means for the company to enter the American market with laptop/AIO form factors, paving the way for computing products that are similar to its offerings overseas. Similar to many other OEMs, LG may also be looking for an alternative operating system to help generate revenue lost in the declining PC market.
PC World indicates that LG waited this long to produce a Chrome OS device thanks to a patent agreement with Microsoft, which would give LG the right to produce devices using Android and Chrome OS. This agreement is actually an extension of an existing agreement between Microsoft and LG that covers the latter company's Linux-based embedded devices. The new agreement occurred back in January 2012 and sparked rumors that LG would eventually create a Chrome OS device.
Why wait until now? Again, it may be due to the declining PC market. In the United States, LG has seemingly focused on smartphones, monitors and HDTVs. The company just recently revealed its Android-based LG G Pad 8.3 tablet, so a Chromebook shouldn't come as a surprise.
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Today I was showing my family something on my Chromebook and they couldn't believe how fast it was.
Chrome OS continues to impress me every day. Especially on days like today when family members call me mad because Windows is updating nonstop and shutting down in the middle of work sessions or when it suddenly decides the OEM product key with the laptop isn't valid after 2 years of working fine and needs to be re-entered. Or how about when some crap mechanical hard drive goes out and a ton of data, programs, and settings are lost. Or my favorite, the anti-virus software has expired and they want something insane like $50 a year and people think they actually need it.
I think I'm going to buy my entire family Chromebooks so I don't ever have to do any more PC maintenance.
Really? We have our differences and seem to be somewhat on opposite sides of the fence on this whole thing, and... Well, you know I'm a big fan of my Surface RT, right? Well, I wouldn't be self absorbed enough to think that my liking for it translates into it being able to suit the needs of a bunch of more casual and general users. In the case of Chrome OS, well, are you *really* thinking they'll be happy with something that lets them browse the web and use Google services and... Well, that's it?
Most of my family members are at or near retirement age. Everything they do is in a web browser already and maybe basic photo editing and word processing. The Chromebook handles these tasks flawlessly. No additional software to download, update, or purchase.
iTunes was a necessary evil before, but all 5 members of my family just switched to the Moto X this week. My father already had one first, now my Mother, Aunt, Uncle, and Sister all traded in iPhones and aren't looking back.
Now that everyone is running Android, the change to Chrome would be a simple process.
Average people don't need more. Especially older people with basic needs. Chrome will be like night and day when compared to their Win 7-8 machines running mechanical hard drives.
My father still has his Ubuntu laptop to work his scanner and I'll set up a Google cloud print server for the printer.
They will never have to "mess" with anything. It will just work, and work fast. Always.
As we discussed before, Chrome OS can do just about everything Windows can anyway aside from gaming which no one in my family does.
We have Nexus 7's for our tablet needs since they are small enough to read with one hand and are much more portable.
I have a cheap samsung chromebook and couldn't be happier with it. Battery actually lasts at least as long as advertised, fanless design, never gets hot. Very fast (well, it's not really running anything is it?) I like to think about it like an interface with the web or other computers (RDP, ssh). It's like an advanced terminal.