May 14, 2011 by Vincent
Chromebooks To Be Available on June 15th
For those who’ve been longing for a Chrome OS machine, the wait is almost over. The first two Chromebooks models, built by Samsung and Acer respectively, will be available on June 15th in U.S. (from Amazon & BestBuy), U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
They are available in two flavors, WiFi only or with 3G. In U.S., the 3G models are bundled with 100MB data monthly from Verizon for two years.
Both the Chromebooks are powered by Intel Atom Dual-Core Processor, two USB ports, one memory card slot, HD webcam with noise-canceling microphone and a full size Chrome keyboard. What sets them apart are the larger 12.1″ Samsung screen compared to Acer’s 11.6″, Samsung’s 8.5 hours battery life, compared to Acer’s 6 hours, and Samsung’s Mini-VGA port compared to Acer’s HDMI port.
With a smaller screen, the Acer Chromebook is slightly lighter at 2.95 lbs (Samsung’s weighing at 3.26 lbs).
The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook will be selling at $429 for WiFi-only and $499 for 3G. Being smaller, the Acer Chromebook is more affordable at just $349 for WiFi-only. No pricing information is available for Acer’s 3G Chromebook at this point.
Chromebooks for Business and Education
For schools and businesses, Chromebooks can be purchased with a subscription plan. With a minimum order of 10 units, education institutions and enterprises can opt to pay $20/user monthly and $28/user monthly for three years. 3G Chromebooks will cost an additional $3 monthly per user, and they too will be bundled with Verizon’s 100MB monthly data.
During this period, full warranty, technical support and updates will be provided. After the three years contract has ended, those who choose to continue paying will receive new Chromebooks to replace their aged laptops.
A three-year commitment is considerably longer than what most consumers are comfortable with. But Google decides that the period is just right with its market research showing that most institutions do not replace their machines in less than three years.
Offline Support for Google Docs, Calendar and Gmail
If your work don’t demand any unique desktop software, chances are you will find most of your software needs available in the form of web app. Google itself offers some of the most widely used apps for free, like Docs, Calendar, Gmail, Picasa and Picnic.
For now, you obviously have to be online to access these apps, but that will soon change. Google is said to be readying offline support for Google Docs, Calendar and Gmail. Perhaps they’d be ready just in time by June 15th, but don’t quote me on that.
Introducing the Chromebook:
Source: Official Google Blog / Engadget
Naz - May 14, 2011 @ 1:22 pm
Google’s Chromebooks will snatch the market from Apple iPads as these are more useful than iPads.
What about videos, either videos will be viewed online or can be saved in chromebook’s memory?
Vincent - May 17, 2011 @ 10:54 pm
Videos can either be streamed online or viewed from an external memory. I don’t think you can save anything on the Chromebook itself.
Delena Silverfox - May 16, 2011 @ 7:17 pm
Want! Oh, this just looks way too tempting not to look into further. I’ve been shopping around for a computer, and also been considering putting my own together.
now I’m going to have to think about Chromebook, too! This is amazing.
Delena
Amol Mhetre - May 18, 2011 @ 7:38 am
Hey, Thanks for the sharing such a useful information with us .. keep in touch !!
Toni - May 21, 2011 @ 7:17 pm
I think Acer is the best. With HDMI and $80 cheaper than Samsung, make Acer absolute winner from Samsung
Vincent - May 22, 2011 @ 2:38 pm
Have to agree. No HDMI is a deal breaker for many. Not to mention Acer is lighter and cheaper.
Mark - June 25, 2011 @ 3:44 am
So my question is…how would the Chromebook compare to something like a Macbook Pro?
Is this laptop something that is supposed to revolutionize the mobile computing industry.
Am I going to have to throw my wife’s new Sony Vaio and get us chrome books???
Mark
waterpearls - July 11, 2011 @ 4:42 am
Hi,It is a very nice and informative post.Thanks for sharing your information on chromebooks here.The video is very easy to understand and helpful for many viewers.
Ashish - July 13, 2011 @ 12:03 pm
wat about the price and availability in India??
Jeremy - August 21, 2011 @ 12:18 pm
I don’t see any point in buying a chromebook since the price is almost the same as a netbook and it doesn’t even offer much features as well.
johnr@trench coat men - January 9, 2012 @ 3:46 pm
Well then better look for more similar reviews about chromebook and its features, as what one of the commenter stated below, me myself has a chromebook already, and have been enjoying its full features, you guys should consider to be less skeptic about these matters, but if you don’t need it actually, you need not to buy it. CHeers!
SMS Reseller - September 23, 2011 @ 4:18 pm
I will go for samsung!
super oyunlar - October 5, 2011 @ 10:10 am
if google in it’s all ways cool.
zarc@button spy cam - October 26, 2011 @ 9:26 am
Google’s OS, One of it’s best feature is it’s security built in, Chromebook employ’s “defense in depth” for multiple layers of protection, i.e data encryption, sandboxing and verified boot.
plaster molds - November 29, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
A netbook is good for casual users who are not connected in a network, but for those superusers who prefer fantastic security features, then a Chromebook can be the fittest choice of device.
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Hey, Thanks for the sharing such a useful information with us .. keep in touch !!
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