The Lowdown on Google Chromebooks

On the 11 of May, Google announced that the first Google Chromebooks would be available from Samsung and Acer from the 15 June 2011. This blog post outlines a number of fairly substantial boasts, such as battery power that will "last a day of use on a single charge" and layered security so heavily embedded into the OS itself that Anti-Virus is no longer necessary. Google cited "speed, simplicity and security" as the key focus of Chrome OS, designed "without the headaches of operating systems designed 20 to 30 years ago" . Enticing indeed, and it a starting price of around 350$ - 500$ dollars it's cheaper than an iPad, standard laptop or MacBook. But it yet remains to be seen whether the Chromebook will dominate the consumer market, or remain more of a novelty amongst web addicts.

It's all well and great that Chromebooks bring it hard in terms of the internet, providing full force browsing and extensible apps and a bunch of other useful connectivity features, but what if you need more? In short, your going to need something else. Considering how limited they are in many ways, some of argued that Chromebooks would need to be cheap and dispensable , even as low as 150$, for them to truly succeed in the consumer market. On the other hand, the Chromebooks simplicity and lack of baggage are still one of Googles biggest selling points, and at less than 10 seconds boot up time, Chromebooks certainly appear set to become one of the fastest ways to explore the internet - but that comes at a price, the price being NO heavy duty applications whatsoever. Imagine a laptop with NO programs whatsoever and no desktop, but a bunch of super nifty apps and features not to dissimilar to the iPad , and you have Chromebooks in a nutshell.

Both Samsung and Acer have announced their respective ranges of Chromebooks. The Samsung range at girst glance looks pretty damn sexy, almost in league with the Mac air (agem, kinda). However , as you'll notice, there isn't really much info just quite yet. In fact , four identical lines per product to be precise. They do however offer a little bit of insight into the Chromebook specs elsewhere:

• Display : 12.1-inch 300 nit Display , 1280×800 resolution


• Weight : 1.48 kg


• Dimensions : 11.6×8.6×0.8 inches


• Battery backup : up to 8.5 hours of continuous usage


• Processor : 1.66GHz Intel Atom Dual-Core N570 Processor


• Network : Built in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G (optional)


• Video Chat/call : 1 mega-pixel HD Webcam with noise cancelling microphone


• Audio : High-Definition Audio Support


• Storage : 16GB mSATA SSD


• Ports: 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4-in-1 memory card slot, Mini-VGA port, HDMI port


• Fullsize Chrome keyboard


• Oversize fully-clickable trackpad

• Display: 11.6-inch HD Widescreen CineCrystalTM LED-backlit LCD, 1366 X 766


• Graphics: Intel GMA 3150


• Weight: 1.34 kg. 48.7 oz


• Battery backup: 6 hours of continuous usage


• Processor: Intel Atom Dual-Core Processor


• Network: Built in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G (optional)


• Video Chat/call: 1.3 Megapixels Webcam with noise cancelling microphone


• Audio: High-Definition Audio Support


• RAM: 2048 MB


• Ports: 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4-in-1 memory card slot, HDMI port


• Fullsize Chrome keyboard


• Oversize fully-clickable trackpad

Chromebooks are scheduled for released in the US on the 16 of June 2011 and will be available for purchase from Amazon and other leading retailers. You may want to wait for the first hand-ons review to come out though, or you may want be one of the first to lay your hands on Google's latest fad. The models for sale are already pre-listed on Amazon now, click the links below for a squiz.