Google Chrome OS Smartbooks to Hit this Month?

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Do you trust the cloud?

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.

Jane McEntegart
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • requiemsallure
    if its faster than XP i might dual boot it on my netbook....? maybe....
    Reply
  • braindonor75
    Netbooks are already on the decline, tablets are starting to take their place. Chrome OS was the ideal fit for a netbook but the successors are running something closer to a phone OS (including Google's own Android) with an app store backing it up.
    So question is, is Chrome OS really relevant?
    Reply
  • bobusboy
    "Do you trust the cloud?"

    no.

    I'll take my local HDD, with my OS and data on my person.

    I'm not interested in storing all my stuff in someone elses house and then needing their permission to access it.
    Reply
  • Silmarunya
    braindonor75Netbooks are already on the decline, tablets are starting to take their place. Chrome OS was the ideal fit for a netbook but the successors are running something closer to a phone OS (including Google's own Android) with an app store backing it up. So question is, is Chrome OS really relevant?
    Netbooks on their way out? Tablets cannot and will not take the place of a netbook. For starters, you can't input text fast enough with a tablet, making office work or even basic emailing nigh impossible on a tablet. Second, tablets are more expensive. Third, netbooks tend to run an OS that allows you to do useful things (Windows or one of many Linux distributions). The same thing can't be said of iOS or Android, which, no matter how great they are (especially Android) aren't suited to true work.

    I think we will see a division of the market: people who want to get work done will buy a netbook, people who want a nice toy will get a tablet.
    Reply
  • Silmarunya
    The intresting thing about Chrome OS is that it runs on ARM architecture. Granted, a wide variety of Linux distros can already do that, but netbook manufacturers never showed intrest in making ARM netbooks. A company the size of Google can easily change that.

    Finally netbooks will get a truly power efficient CPU rather than Atom. And if Chrome OS is written to be truly minimalist, it could be faster on an ARM than Windows is on x86...
    Reply
  • braindonor75
    SilmarunyaI think we will see a division of the market: people who want to get work done will buy a netbook, people who want a nice toy will get a tablet.

    While I certainly agree on the division, I feel there is a strong difference between a netbook and a notebook. My notebook I can get serious work done on, the keyboard is large enough and the screen resolution is high enough, my Acer Aspire one is good enough for email, surfing and basics, pretty much what a table is good for (which I probably will not buy unless there is some sort of real keyboard option).
    Reply
  • gallidorn
    Cloud computing shouldn't be such a scary thing to people, because they are after all using e-mail to send important messages and files.

    What is the difference if you are emailing those same documents or storing them in your google account. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, especially if you are already using gmail to host your e-mails!!!

    Storing your documents in google docs keeps everything on a secure server, so you don't have to worry about your hard drive crashing and losing everything.

    If more people understood how their data is handled, they might not be so paranoid about using cloud computing.

    Reply
  • gallidorn
    Cloud computing shouldn't be such a scary thing to people, because they are after all using e-mail to send important messages and files.

    What is the difference if you are emailing those same documents or storing them in your google account. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, especially if you are already using gmail to host your e-mails!!!

    Storing your documents in google docs keeps everything on a secure server, so you don't have to worry about your hard drive crashing and losing everything.

    If more people understood how their data is handled, they might not be so paranoid about using cloud computing.
    Reply
  • gallidorn
    SilmarunyaNetbooks on their way out? Tablets cannot and will not take the place of a netbook. For starters, you can't input text fast enough with a tablet, making office work or even basic emailing nigh impossible on a tablet. Second, tablets are more expensive. Third, netbooks tend to run an OS that allows you to do useful things (Windows or one of many Linux distributions). The same thing can't be said of iOS or Android, which, no matter how great they are (especially Android) aren't suited to true work.I think we will see a division of the market: people who want to get work done will buy a netbook, people who want a nice toy will get a tablet.
    You already have your stuff on someone's server. Your e-mail provider has any files or confidential information you've e-mailed or received.

    Are you going to stop using e-mail? I think not!!
    Reply
  • ginnai
    How often has anyone ever had an HDD fail? Apart from a virus, I have never lost a single byte to harddrive failure. I still use every harddrive I have ever owned... the oldest harddrive is 11 years old in May (granted its is in a home server that gets almost no use). The benefits of Cloud are primarily theoretical to me, it may come across as paranoid to address the cons of cloud storage security as any more probable... but without a solid item in the pro column, any con sticks out.

    I have been gradually moving towards Linux, but with a pay component in the newest Ubuntu... who knows what the future will hold.
    Reply