GOOGLE FINALLY UNVEILS CHROME OS LAPTOP
Google has finally unveiled the first laptop to run Chrome OS, more than two years after the netbook operating system (OS) was first announced.
The black, unbranded laptop, dubbed the CR-48, will initially be available only to developers and a limited number of consumers. The laptop has a 12.1in display, a full-size keyboard, and a battery that will last for around eight hours.
Google didn’t say if or when it was going to start selling its own lightweight laptops. However, Intel-based systems from Samsung and Acer running the OS will ship by mid-2011, Google confirmed.
Not only is this the right time to build these products, but they’ll be very successful
According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the CR-48 is very much like the Network Computer devices that he was pitching as chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems 13 years ago. Only this time around, he believes the idea will catch on.
Like the Network Computer, the CR-48 is designed to run software over a network. But instead of Java, which proved to be clunky and hard to develop on the Network Computer, Chrome OS developers can use the same web-development tools they’ve been working with for years.
“Our instincts were right… but we didn’t have the tools,” Schmidt said of the computer industry’s failure to make lightweight computers that could compete with Microsoft’s Windows OS.
Google thinks web applications are finally ready to displace Microsoft’s hegemony, and businesses will buy PCs that can’t run Microsoft Word or Excel.
“I think there’s every reason to believe that, when you go back and you look at history, not only is this the right time to build these products, but because they work and they work at scale, they’ll be very successful,” Schmidt said.
Google’s Chrome laptop boots up in 60 seconds. It can resume operations almost instantly from Sleep mode. The CR-48 automatically encrypts all data. It uses a Trusted Computing Module (TCM) to digitally sign components of the OS and check them for evidence of tampering.
Google’s vice-president of product management, Sundar Pichai, said Chrome would be “the most secure consumer OS that’s ever been shipped”, thanks to a number of other security features, including verified booting and sandboxing.
Chrome OS systems are designed to be always connected. A deal with US phone carrier Verizon means US users will get free 3G wireless, capped at 100MB per month, for two years. Verizon will also offer plans for more bandwidth-intensive users. It has not yet been confirmed whether UK users will be able to get their hands on the laptops, with or without bundled mobile broadband.
“Why do I think this strategy is going to work well?” Schmidt asked. “A lot, because of mobile computing.”
Increasingly, mobile devices such as BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones are becoming critical business tools.
What’s next for Chrome OS?
The Network Computer never managed to win the hearts of enterprise software developers. Google seems to understand that it will take some work to convince them to write programs for Chrome OS PCs that can’t run Windows programs.
Pilot programmes with American Airlines, Intercontinental Hotels and several other companies are already underway. However, Google wouldn’t reveal when it would begin trialling the Chrome laptop with consumers or how interested parties could get involved.
Google has also officially opened its web application store for Chrome browser users. The store offers highly interactive, graphically rich applications from a variety of sources, including National Public Radio, Amazon and Electronic Arts.
A new technology called Crankshaft will accelerate the performance of JavaScript applications for the Chrome browser, which has about 120 million active users.
“We expect the number of available apps to grow very rapidly,” Pichai said.
Google has finally unveiled the first laptop to run Chrome OS, more than two years after the netbook operating system (OS) was first announced.
The black, unbranded laptop, dubbed the CR-48, will initially be available only to developers and a limited number of consumers. The laptop has a 12.1in display, a full-size keyboard, and a battery that will last for around eight hours.
Google didn’t say if or when it was going to start selling its own lightweight laptops. However, Intel-based systems from Samsung and Acer running the OS will ship by mid-2011, Google confirmed.
Not only is this the right time to build these products, but they’ll be very successful
According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the CR-48 is very much like the Network Computer devices that he was pitching as chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems 13 years ago. Only this time around, he believes the idea will catch on.
Like the Network Computer, the CR-48 is designed to run software over a network. But instead of Java, which proved to be clunky and hard to develop on the Network Computer, Chrome OS developers can use the same web-development tools they’ve been working with for years.
“Our instincts were right… but we didn’t have the tools,” Schmidt said of the computer industry’s failure to make lightweight computers that could compete with Microsoft’s Windows OS.
Google thinks web applications are finally ready to displace Microsoft’s hegemony, and businesses will buy PCs that can’t run Microsoft Word or Excel.
“I think there’s every reason to believe that, when you go back and you look at history, not only is this the right time to build these products, but because they work and they work at scale, they’ll be very successful,” Schmidt said.
Google’s Chrome laptop boots up in 60 seconds. It can resume operations almost instantly from Sleep mode. The CR-48 automatically encrypts all data. It uses a Trusted Computing Module (TCM) to digitally sign components of the OS and check them for evidence of tampering.
Google’s vice-president of product management, Sundar Pichai, said Chrome would be “the most secure consumer OS that’s ever been shipped”, thanks to a number of other security features, including verified booting and sandboxing.
Chrome OS systems are designed to be always connected. A deal with US phone carrier Verizon means US users will get free 3G wireless, capped at 100MB per month, for two years. Verizon will also offer plans for more bandwidth-intensive users. It has not yet been confirmed whether UK users will be able to get their hands on the laptops, with or without bundled mobile broadband.
“Why do I think this strategy is going to work well?” Schmidt asked. “A lot, because of mobile computing.”
Increasingly, mobile devices such as BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones are becoming critical business tools.
What’s next for Chrome OS?
The Network Computer never managed to win the hearts of enterprise software developers. Google seems to understand that it will take some work to convince them to write programs for Chrome OS PCs that can’t run Windows programs.
Pilot programmes with American Airlines, Intercontinental Hotels and several other companies are already underway. However, Google wouldn’t reveal when it would begin trialling the Chrome laptop with consumers or how interested parties could get involved.
Google has also officially opened its web application store for Chrome browser users. The store offers highly interactive, graphically rich applications from a variety of sources, including National Public Radio, Amazon and Electronic Arts.
A new technology called Crankshaft will accelerate the performance of JavaScript applications for the Chrome browser, which has about 120 million active users.
“We expect the number of available apps to grow very rapidly,” Pichai said.
