Asus announced the Chromebit CS10 (first announced back in March), which is an $85 USB drive-type PC that connects to a monitor or HDTV and can be paired to a Bluetooth keyboard to offer users a Chrome OS desktop experience.

On the hardware side, the device looks much like a USB drive, although it's slightly larger than most USB drives these days (12.3 cm long), and it weighs 75 grams. Earlier this year, Google and Asus announced the RK3288-C-powered Asus C201 Chromebook, which started out at $169. Now, Asus is using the same Rockchip processor to power the new $85 Chromebit, as well. The RK3288-C SoC uses quad-core 32-bit Cortex-A17 1.8 GHz CPU and a Mali-T764 GPU (a variant of Mali-T760).

The Chromebit CS10 comes with 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of flash storage, an HDMI port for connecting to a monitor, dual-band 802.11ac 2×2 MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a USB 2.0 port.

On the software side, we have Chrome OS, often called one of the most secure operating systems around thanks in part to security being a main priority from the beginning of its development, rather than an afterthought, but also because for the most part, Chrome OS only loads websites and web apps. Even the few Chrome apps using native code are securely sandboxed to minimize the damage.

Although in some cases and for some people, Chrome OS's simplicity is a hurdle for productivity; for others its simplicity is what makes it appealing compared to a more full-featured operating system. Users need to simply log in with their Google credentials, and all of their synced data from their browsers will transfer over to the new Chromebit.

The Chromebit also comes with 100 GB of free storage in Google Drive, which helps those who may need a little more than the 16 GB of onboard device storage.

The Chromebit will soon ship in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan and the UK.

______________________________________________________________________

Lucian Armasu joined Tom’s Hardware in early 2014. He writes news stories on mobile, chipsets, security, privacy, and anything else that might be of interest to him from the technology world. Outside of Tom’s Hardware, he dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

You can follow him at @lucian_armasu. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

The Chromebase is an all-in-one desktop that runs Chrome OS. It features a 21.5-inch IPS screen with LED backlighting, 178-degree viewing angles, a 5 ms response time and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This display is backed by a dual-core Intel Celeron 2955U "Haswell" processor clocked at 1.4 GHz, integrated Intel HD graphics, 2 GB of DDR3L SDRAM @ 1600 MHz, and 16 GB of internal storage.

After previewing the device at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the LG Chromebase (model 22CV241) will arrive here in the United States on May 26 through Amazon, CDW, Newegg, Fry's Electronics, Micro Center and Tiger Direct for $349.99 USD. Pre-sales will begin on May 12 at Newegg and a few other participating retailers.

"Personal computers have obviously become central to each member of the family, regardless of age, which is why it's important to have one that's easy to use," said Thomas Lee, senior vice president, LG Electronics USA. "Google's suite of programs, ability to update software and cloud-based storage allow the LG Chromebase to offer a simple, modern computing experience."

This new Chrome OS all-in-one desktop also includes Wireless N and Bluetooth connectivity, a 1.3MP webcam for selfies and video calling, and two built-in 5 watt speakers. On the I/O front, there are three USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI input, one HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet, a headphone/mic combo jack and one USB 3.0 port. This AIO also ships with a keyboard, a mouse and a cable organizer.

Overall, the new Chrome OS all-in-one measures 7.40(H) x 20.80(W) x 15.60(D) inches and weighs 9.5 pounds.

The company announced that its Chromebase AIO was highlighted at a special joint Google-Intel Chrome OS event on Tuesday. The computer was also previously honored with a 2014 CES Innovations Award in the Computer Hardware & Components category back in January.

Google has updated its Chrome browser to version 32, adding some unique features previously dumped into the beta channel in November. The biggest feature with this release is the Chrome OS interface when using the "Metro" version of Chrome in Windows 8. Google has essentially cloned Chrome OS, giving Windows 8 users two operating systems on one device.

"Manage multiple Chrome windows and quickly get to your favorite Chrome Apps with an integrated app launcher," the company's software engineer Yuri Wiitala states. "On the desktop, we've updated the default styling of UI elements like form controls and scrollbars to match the sleek design of the new Chrome Metro interface."

When launching Chrome, the entire screen turns gray. Along the bottom is an app button that brings up a "start menu," and a taskbar of sorts that has Chrome, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Search and YouTube pinned apps along the bottom, accompanied by a system clock in the right-bottom corner. Sound familiar?

What makes this feel like an OS is the fact that anything you open is windowed inside the main Chrome browser window. Want to get back into Windows 8? Merely take your finger and swipe from the left side into the screen. Don't like this OS within an OS? Merely relaunch Chrome on the desktop.

In addition to the Chrome OS interface, this latest version also helps users track down noisy tabs. There's nothing more annoying than web pages that automatically play video and audio, and Chrome now throws up an icon on the tab indicating that a video is playing, a site is using your webcam, or you're currently casting to Chromecast.

The new browser also warns users of potential malware when downloading files, and has brought supervised users out of beta.

"You can now use a beta preview of supervised users to help family members who may need some guidance browsing the web. Once you create a supervised user, you can visit chrome.com/manage to review their browsing activity and determine site restrictions," Wiitala reports.

To download Google Chrome, head here.

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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2013 is turning out to be quite a year. We saw a number of awesome devices in January during CES 2013 like the Curved OLED TV and the Oculus Rift, and then Sony surprised us all with a preview of the PlayStation 4 in February. Microsoft will do the same later this month with Xbox Infinity, and then follow up with its next-generation Surface tablets and an update to the Windows platform across the board. Apple is also gearing up to launch new hardware while also giving iOS a facelift with iOS 7.

And that's just a brief taste of what's going on. Google reportedly has quite a load to show everyone later this month, and has set aside three hours for its keynote presentation during the launch of Google I/O 2013. Whether Google will use the entire three hours is a different story, but the keynote kicks off at 9 a.m. PDT on May 15, and the first Day 1 developer sessions don't begin until 12pm PDT. A quick lunch may take place between 1 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. PDT.

There have been a lot of rumors pointing to Google I/O as the launch platform for a number of new devices including Motorola's plans for the X Phone, a smartphone customers can customize like a desktop PC. Also rumored to appear will be the next-generation Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets, the Nexus 5 smartphone, and the company's Babble messaging service. Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean" will also make its debut, and possibly a preview of what's to come in Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie".

Also up for introduction are notebooks powered by Android based on x86 and AMD chips, and a wider public presentation of "packaged apps" for Chrome OS – these work offline and have the appearance of native apps. Google first introduced these through the developer channel via a Chrome App Launcher which pulls apps into the desktop.

"Starting today Chrome packaged apps will be available in the Chrome Web Store for anyone on Chrome's developer channel on Windows and Chrome OS," Google said in the Chromium Blog on Wednesday. "You will notice that the “App” category now contains only the new Chrome packaged apps. A new category, called “Websites”, contains all existing hosted apps and legacy packaged apps."

Google may also reveal Google Games, its upcoming platform for Android gaming. It will reportedly support real-time multiplayer, turn-based multiplayer, in-game chat, achievements, leaderboards, invitations and game lobbies. Additional information about Google Glass will also likely be made, including a direct confirmation as to when the specs will go retail.

All that said, it's no wonder Google is setting aside three hours for its keynote -- there's likely more that is rumored to make an appearance that's not listed here. Still, it sounds like we might need to stock up on snacks and caffeine so that we don't miss one second of the keynote.

Apple has been discussing the features of OS X Lion for quite some time. However, a new, previously unmentioned feature has been uncovered by the folks over at MacRumors, and it should please those who don’t want to wait for their computer’s OS to fully boot before checking email or surfing the web. The "Restart to Safari" option appears on the user lock screen, giving you the choice to either log into your user account, or restart to Safari for instant access to the web.

Interestingly enough, the purpose of this feature is supposedly not to provide 'instant on' access to the web, or rival Google’s Chrome OS. Engadget reports that the feature ties in with Find My Mac, a security feature that helps users locate their computers if they’re misplaced or stolen. For Find My Mac to work, the computer needs to be connected to the internet. Assuming the person that has your laptop doesn’t also have your password, the ‘Restart to Safari’ option will put them online, leaving them free to mosey about the web without providing access to your files or data. It’ll also allow you to locate your computer. Nifty, eh?

Another Chrome OS-based device has reared its head in the Chromium bug reports, this one codenamed as the Samsung "Alex." While the netbook/notebook has yet to be officially named and confirmed, the report clearly lists specifics like RAM, the processor and more, giving us more insight into what Chome OS products will feature when they reportedly launch in June or July.

According to the report, the Samsung "Alex" will sport a decent step up in specs compared to the Cr-48, offering a 1.5 GHz Intel Atom N550 processor, 2 GB of RAM, Realtek ALC272 audio, and a Sandisk solid state drive for storage. The report also lists the Qualcomm Gobi Chipset 2000 (pdf) for connectivity and a screen resolution of 1280 x 800.

So what's Gobi? Here's Qualcomm's explanation on the official website: "Gobi is the first embedded mobile wireless solution designed to put an end to connectivity limitations. With Gobi, the notebook computer becomes the unifying agent between the different high speed wireless networking technologies deployed around the world and that means freedom from having to locate hotspots, more choice in carrier networks, and, ultimately, freedom to Gobi where you want without fear of losing connectivity – your lifeline to your world."

Essentially, the Chrome OS netbook/notebook can be taken anywhere across the globe, used on any wireless network. Prevous reports indicate that the device will be sold like Google's Andorid products— mainly in retail stores and wireless carriers. Using Gobi will make it easier for Google to sell the notebooks across the board rather than having to build one for AT&T, build one for Verizon and so on.

Last week brought reports that Google may charge a subscription for of $10 to $20 for the Chrome OS notebooks. The fee reportedly includes future hardware upgrades and replacements should a component fail. Given that Chrome OS is mainly web-based (cloud), the subscription fee may pay for a wireless Internet connection, or could simply be a subsidized free to keep the cost to consumers low.

Google I/O begins next week, and will likely be the launch platform for Google's Chrome OS notebooks. Expect to hear more about these devices all through the week.

Sony is reportedly jumping on the Chrome OS bandwagon by offering a VAIO notebook/netbook sporting Google's upcoming operating system this summer. It will be based on the Tegra 2 platform and sport a keyboard similar to the one provided by Google's Chrome Cr-48 netbook released back in December 2010.

According to the report, the Chrome OS-based VAIO will feature an 11.6-inch LCD display with a 1366 x 768 native resolution, 1 GB of memory, a 16 GB electronic multimedia card (eMMC), an ultra-low power GeForce GPU, an 8-hour battery and wireless WAN. The overall dimensions will be less than an inch thick, a width of 11.7-inches, a depth of 21.5-cm and a weight of around 2.2 pounds. Bluetooth and GPS won't be available until after the first batch has landed in stores.

In addition to the Chrome OS notebook, Sony is supposedly working on a VAIO hybrid PC. On one hand, the thin-and-light notebook will sport an Intel Wireless Display, an internal SSD, an Intel i7 processor, Intel's Thunderbolt technology, HDMI output with 3D support, and a battery lasting from 8 to 16.5 hours. However the device seems to plug into a dock which offers additional hardware including a discrete GPU (AMD Whistler-XT with 1 GB VRAM), a Blu-ray burner, HDMI and VGA outputs, Ethernet and USB ports.

"Overall the notebook looks pleasing to eyes, aesthetically designed in its VAIO fashion, however we are not quite sure about the purpose of the second component. It again reminds me of a desktop model Sony marketed back in 2007 – VAIO RM series that featured a twin-unit form factor," Sony Insider reports.

So far Sony hasn't confirmed or denied both laptops, so stay tuned, as more is expected to be revealed around the time Google makes Chrome OS official.

It's been a while since we last heard anything about Chrome OS, Google's lightweight OS based on the open source Chromium OS. However, the rumor mill chugged into action yesterday as reports emerged that vendors will start showing off Chrome OS smartbooks later this month.

It's been nearly a year since Google lifted the curtain on Chrome OS. However, we've seen little of the operating system since then, and over the last few months, discussion about it has quieted down considerably. Bringing the OS back on stage is a Digitimes report that suggests we'll see vendors announcing "smartbooks" running the OS at the end of this month as well as a Google-branded notebook from the search giant itself.

Citing sources from component players, Digitimes reports that Google's Chrome notebook is expected to be manufactured by Inventec with initial shipments to reach 60,000-70,000 units. Google's own Chrome notebook is said to feature an ARM-based platform and will not be selling through retail channels. Google is expected to launch its notebook first, with Acer and HP launching theirs at the beginning of December.

Does the idea of Chrome OS interest you in the slightest or are you still wary of an OS that is largely web-based and relies on cloud storage? Let us know!

^{Source: Digitimes}

For more on Chrome OS, click here.

Dell confirmed in an interview Monday that the company is currently in talks with Google about using the upcoming Chrome OS on its laptops.

The news comes after Dell put the smack-down on Microsoft last week, promoting its Ubuntu Linux-based products as more secure than those using Windows 7. Now Dell is seeking to use another alternative, turning to Google's upcoming Linux-based OS scheduled for release later this year.

Details on the deal weren't all that forthcoming, however there was indication that devices are currently in development, and that the relationship would last between two and three years.

"There are going to be unique innovations coming up in the marketplace in two, three years, with a new form of computing, we want to be on that forefront," said Amit Midha, Dell's president for Greater China and South Asia. "So with Chrome or Android or anything like that we want to be one of the leaders."

Earlier reports indicate that Dell development was previously confirmed by reference within the Chrome OS code itself. HP and Acer were also listed, indicating that these three manufacturers could have Chrome-installed devices ready for consumers by the end of the year.

VentureBeat cites multiple sources that say Acer will launch Chrome OS devices in Taiwan next month. How many devices or what kind of devices the company plans to show us remains unclear. However, Google's Chrome OS is supposed to be a lightweight operating system for netbooks and (eventually) tablets so hearing the company is going to announce more than one device suggests we could see an Acer tablet next month.

While a Chrome OS tablet from Acer is possible, the company has already said it has plans for Android netbooks. Given that Android is already optimized for touchscreens, logical thinking says it's more likely we'll see Android tablets than Chrome OS tablets. Still, it's nice to dream.

Bloomberg reports that Acer will this year release an ebook reader as well as launching an application store. The company also plans to introduce its first device running Google's Chrome OS in the third quarter. If you're thinking that it sounds like Acer will be doing some serious branching out this year, you'd be right.

The reason for it all is that the company is looking to boost profits to the highest in four years. Bloomberg cites Jim Wong, president of the Acer's IT product division, as saying that moving into new products will help the company boost its net income margin to 3 percent within two years.

The app store and ereader are expected to launch in the middle of 2010. Wong said there will be plenty of applications available to users: “hundreds, otherwise you can’t call it an apps store.”

Read more here.

You've read all about the Chrome OS and are really interested in taking the software for a test drive. Unfortunately, Google is sticking with its vague release date of "before the end of 2010" which means you're not going to get your hands on the operating system anytime soon, right? Wrong. The Chrome OS is available to download right now and with the help of VMWare, you can try the software right now.

When Google announced Chrome yesterday morning the company also released the code for the OS, explaining that development will be done in the open from this week on. The Chromium OS project includes Google's current code base, user interface experiments and some initial designs for ongoing development.

As soon as it was released, GDGT engineer Jon Ursenbach got to work compiling the code, trying to see if he could get an instance of Chromium OS running in a virtual machine. And, lucky for us, he did!

You can download a copy of the virtual machine to use in VMware, VirtualBox, and on a USB drive here (300MB compressed / 700MB uncompressed): http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/

Exciting stuff. Let us know if you download Chrome OS and how it works out for you.

TechCrunch reports that Google is planning a Chrome OS event for this coming Thursday. While the Google operating system won't be launching tomorrow, the company is said to be lifting the lid and providing a lot of details about launch, showing off some demos and discussing the technical background of it all.

Although Google is going to go into great detail about the Chrome OS, the actual launch won't happen until sometime next year. That said, if Google's willing to show demos and go into to great depth about the software, I'd bet the mortgage we won't be waiting until through Q2'10 for this one.

Read the full story here.

Earlier in the week in an interview with CNet, Gates said that Natal would be for more than just gaming. However, he also spoke about the Chrome OS and said that, without more details, it was hard to make an informed decision. "The more vague they are, the more interesting it is," he said, according to CNet.

That said, Gates did reiterate a point many of you have been making over the last two weeks: the Google OS is just another dressed up Linux OS. "There's many, many forms of Linux operating systems out there and packaged in different ways and booted in different ways," the Microsoft Chairman said.

All in all it seems both Gates and Ballmer are not worried about the Chrome OS. Do you think they're right to brush off competition so flippantly? Let us know in the comments below!

Steve Ballmer yesterday said that Google's attempt at entering the OS market was, "interesting." When the audience laughed, Ballmer insisted that he would be respectful of Google's efforts and said that the Chrome OS was "highly interesting" but went on to point out that Google already has an OS on the market (referring to Android).

"Who knows what this thing is? To me, the Chrome OS thing is highly interesting," Ballmer said, according to Reuters. "It won't happen for a year and a half and they already announced an operating system," he said, adding, "I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there, but the last time I checked, you don't need two client operating systems. It's good to have one."

As much as Ballmer is trying to laugh all this off, we're not sure he's right on the whole one operating system thing. Android is, after all, a mobile operating system for phones and Microsoft has Windows Mobile as well as Windows.

Check out the full story on Reuters.

One of the biggest questions people had is if Chrome OS will be free. Yesterday we asked what the main difference was between Google and Microsoft and a lot of you arrived at the same conclusion: Google services are free. However, we still didn’t know if Google would decide to charge for its newfangled OS, initially aimed at netbooks. The answer is yes, the Chrome OS is open source and will be free.

Vice President of Product Management, Sundar Pichai, who announced the Chrome OS yesterday, also addressed developers interested in working with Google: Pichai says that later this year, the Google Chrome OS code will be open source and to “stay tuned” for more information, which isn't much but at least it's coming, right?

 Unfortunately that was pretty much all the details the company had to offer people eager to find out more about the OS, which is a little disappointing. That said, this isn’t like the Chrome browser, which was announced a few days early because of a leaked comic but was completely finished. We expect to hear more about the Chrome OS as time goes on but at this early stage, it’s probably going to be a while before we get any really good details about the software.

Google did release a list of partners it’s working with (and it is LONG). Read more about it here.

The list includes computer manufacturers like HP and Asus, as well as the likes of Adobe and Freescale. Check out the list of companies Google has published below:

• Acer
• Adobe
• ASUS
• Freescale
• Hewlett-Packard
• Lenovo
• Qualcomm
• Texas Instruments
• Toshiba.

Google’s Sundar Pichai wrote in the company’s blog that the list of companies published is not the full list of Chrome OS partners, so we’ll likely see more names added as time goes on. We’ll try to keep this list as up to date as possible and add new companies as they’re announced.

Because the Chrome OS is going to initially be targeted at netbooks (and because nearly every computer company under the sun has a netbook in its lineup), we’re betting the list of partners is going to get pretty lengthy as we near the 2H 2010 period that Google has ear-marked for the Chrome OS’s release.

After rethinking browsing, Google has decided to do the same thing with operating and late Tuesday the company announced that it was working on its own open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks.

Details are scant at the moment. We know that it will run on both ARM and x86 chips, and we know that we'll see netbooks running the software in the latter half of 2010 (Google says its already talking to partners). Because they're stripping everything down and going back to OS basics, users won't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. According to Google, "It should just work."

"The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel," writes Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management at Google. "For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies," he explains, adding that, "of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform."

For those of you wondering what this will mean for Android, Google assures that this is a completely separate project. The Chrome OS is created for people who spend most of their time online and is designed to power computers of all shapes and sizes, from netbooks to desktops. Google does concede that there are areas of the two that overlap but goes on to say that choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone.

Check out the full blog post about Chrome OS by clicking here.