Google announces 'Chromebooks' (Cloud-based netbooks)

[Candlelight]

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/11...book-laptops-no-word-on-chrome-based-tablets/

On the second day of its I/O conference, Google has announced the June 15th launch of Chromebooks, small web-only notebooks running the company's browser-based Chrome OS.These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won't wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You'll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won't need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don't need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you'll have the web when you need it.
Chromebooks will initially launch with models from Samsung and Acer, typically checking in as dual-core Atom-based machines with displays in the 11-12 inch range and limited onboard storage of 16 GB. Pricing for early models is said to begin at $350 and range up to $500 for a Samsung model with integrated 3G connectivity and limited monthly data allowances from Verizon. Google is also offering monthly subscription pricing for students ($20) and businesses ($28), providing them with a manageable fee that includes full support, software updates, and even hardware upgrades.

Interesting, but I'll never do it. Much prefer my stuff to be on my own machine in front of me, and quite often I'll be at a location without internet access or phone reception (a couple of relatives live 'out in the wildnerness' so to speak).

 

[Amaris]

That's not a bad deal, but I, too, like local storage. Maybe in 5 years when 3G/4G coverage is reliable and everywhere and security standards are above par for servers holding my very valuable customer information, it would be a good move (particularly as a business), but right now? Eh. I'll let the early adopters weed out the issues for me.

 

[Small White Car]

As machines I'm not really interested in them myself.

But as is pointed out here, their monthly rental pricing could make these a BIG deal for schools and businesses.

These things could be very successful even if no home users end up buying any.

 

[scottydog]

As with iPad, I don't see the value of this device. My laptop stays on pretty much 24/7, so the quick boot-up isn't an issue. Speed isn't an issue for me, either. Accessibility isn't an issue because I take my laptop everywhere. I guess I need to be convinced that I'm gaining something significant if I'm going to shell out hundreds of dollars for something.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And what happens if the cloud goes down?

 

[Arrqh]

Chromebooks actually will have local storage, they've demoed video and music stored locally playing on a device. The Cr-48 reference hardware from last year had 16gb of SSD storage. However you won't access it directly like a normal PC, it will probably serve as a mirror of your files in the cloud. If you lose access to the web I'd imagine you can work on files locally and they will automatically sync whenever your connection comes back.

I'm with Small White Car, these devices don't appeal to me personally but I could see some business and schools being all over it. There's a lot of robust management tools that are meaningless for a home user but really appealing if you're managing a whole bunch of these at once. And many schools and businesses are already using Google Apps.

 

[Danoz]

They've been talking about the "Google Netbook" for awhile, and I think it's a nice idea-- though $350-$500 is a rather ridiculous starting price considering you can get a lot of "bang for your buck" with a cheapy netbook running Ubuntu remix (and not find yourself locked into the Google Mothership). If they're serious about releasing a "browser on wheels" they need to think smaller and cheaper-- and they need to vastly improve their spotty calendar function (which I use religiously alongside my MacBook's iCal, but the web portion alone can be very buggy sometimes).

 

[M'Sharak]

And what happens if the cloud goes down?

Everyone can blame it on you.