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| image courtesy of Engadget |
As part of the plethora of the new products from Google this week, they previewed their up-and-coming Chrome OS as they prepare to launch with notebooks next year. The Chrome OS will offer its users fast boot up time and instant resume from sleep mode, Google Cloud Print (wireless printing to your home printer from any location), Multiple user support, Chrome OS data is encrypted by default, making it the most secure OS out there, Offline ability, Chrome notebooks will have Verizon 3G data support integrated (pricing starts at $9.99 w/ no contract). Google is offering a Chrome OS developer laptop to test out called the CR-48. The laptop is equipped with a 12.1inch screen, webcam, flash storage, built-in 3G and Wi-Fi, 8 hours of battery life and 8 days of standby time. Expect Chrome OS notebooks to arrive mid-2011 from Acer and Samsung. Keep reading past the break for a release by Google.
Last year, we announced our effort to design an operating system that is built and optimized for the web. Many people already spend all their time in a web browser, and by building an operating system that is essentially a browser, we can make computers faster, much simpler and fundamentally more secure.
We’re not done yet, but Chrome OS is at the stage where we need feedback from real users. Some of the features of Chrome OS require new hardware, but we didn’t want to sell pre-beta computers. Instead we’re launching a pilot program where we will give test notebooks to qualified users, developers, schools and businesses. We’re starting with the U.S. and will expand to other countries once we get the necessary certifications. To participate in the pilot program, visit the Chrome notebook website.
The test notebooks exist only to test the software—they are black, have no branding, no logos, no stickers, nothing. They do have 12.1 inch screens, full-sized keyboards and touch pads, integrated 3G from Verizon, eight hours of battery life and eight days of standby time. Chrome notebooks are designed to reach the web instantly, are easy to share among friends and family, and simply by logging in, all of your apps, bookmarks and other browser settings are there. Setting up a new machine takes less than a minute. And even at this early stage, we feel there is no consumer or business operating system that is more secure.
In the first half of next year Chrome notebooks will be available for sale from Acer and Samsung. More manufacturers will follow. Also, Chrome OS is designed to work across a wide range of screen sizes and form factors, enabling our partners to deliver computing devices beyond notebooks.
We’re excited to get Chrome notebooks into the hands of users. The data from our test pilots is key to building something wonderful. We look forward to working together to make computers better.
