NetbookTech

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, expects netbooks running the upcoming Google Chrome OS to be competitively priced between $300 to $400 dollars. In a YouTube video found by Tech Rader, Schmidt says:

“Those prices are completely determined by the costs of the glass, the costs of the processor and things like that.. but in our case Chrome OS and Android are free so there is no software tax associated with all of this.”

Sorry Schmidt but do you know what the average selling price of netbooks are these days? A netbook in the $399 price range is typically considered a “high-end netbook”. In fact most Windows 7-powered netbooks are actually below $350, with many close to the $300 dollar price point. Thus unless there’s something super extraordinary with a Google Chrome OS netbook, one would expect these netbooks to be available below the $300 dollar barrier.

Additionally, Schmidt expects Chrome OS netbooks to be available from mobile phone carriers on a subsidized basis but good luck convincing the average Joe to pick one up via that route.

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This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to most of you but the latest rumor on the Google Chrome browser/OS front is the notion that Google will bundle Adobe Flash with the system. Ah yes – a nice little poke at systems without support for Flash (ahem .. iPad?).

Of course Flash on a netbook is already a very painful experience – at least in the high definition video arena. Sure 10.1 will fix this for systems running NVIDIA and ATI graphics but the vast majority of Intel-integrated graphics systems will still perform rather poorly with Flash video.

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While the primary focus of the upcoming Google Chromium OS is the netbook form factor, this doesn’t mean Google isn’t considering other form factors for the browser-based OS. If you head on over to http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/user-experience/form-factors, you’ll find a variety of possible form factors for the Chromium OS – everything from tablets to laptops to desktop systems to large-screen displays. For each form factor, Google outlines the changes to the user interface one might expect with the Chromium OS.

On the netbook front, one would expect:

• Full Screen, Compact/Classic/Sidebar UI
• Omnibox may autohide on devices with limited vertical height
• Docking panels
• Tabs and Windows

Tables with 5 to 10 inch screens, one would expect:

• Full screen, touch-enabled UI
• Docking panels
• Tabs only
• High-resolution display
• Visual exploration

Laptops with 15 to 17 inch displays, one would expect:

• Windowed, classical UI
• Overlapping, or tiled window management
• Floating or docking panels

Desktops with 24 to 30 inch displays, one would expect:

• Windows, classical UI
• Overlapping window management
• Floating or docking panels

And finally for large display sized 40 to 60 inches, one would expect:

• Full-screen displays
• Auto-hiding Omnibox
• Docking panels
• Split screen
• Tabs only

Since everyone’s just a bit crazed over tablets these days, Google decided to show off concept renderings of what the Chromium OS would look like on a Tablet form factor. Here are the renditions.

IBTimes is out with a report on the rumored reference Google netbook specifications, and there’s nothing all too surprising here. According to the article, the Google netbook will feature:

• NVIDIA Tegra chipset (although it’s not clear which one)
• 10.1 inch TFT HD-ready multi-touch enabled display
• 64GB Solid State Drive
• 2GB of RAM
• Wi-Fi
• 3G support (hmm.. potential deals with mobile broadband companies in the works here?)
• Bluetooth
• Ethernet
• USB
• Built-in webcam
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Multi-card reader

About the only interesting tidbit here is the usage of the NVIDIA Tegra processor. As most of you probably know, the Tegra is a low-power system-on-a-chip featuring an ARM processor core and an NVIDIA graphics core (and accompanying chipset functionality).

With an emphasis on graphics and multi-touch displays, one has to wonder what Google has in store for us with the Chrome OS…

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A quick update on the Dell Chrome OS image that’s available for the Dell Mini 10v courtesy of Direct2Dell.com.

• The image is now running on the Latitude 2100 and Mini 9 systems too
• A new updated compressed image is now available to help improve download times (the pipe was also increased for the server)
• You can grab the updated image at http://linux.dell.com/files/cto – here – http://linux.dell.com/ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov30.img.gz

Lionel at Direct2Dell also sat down with Doug (the guy who’s been doing the Chrome OS tinkering) in this video interview:

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DigiTimes reports Acer plans on releasing a Google Chrome OS-powered netbook during the second half of 2010 – presumably once Google has delivered a release candidate of the new OS.

Chairman JT Wang has apparently expressed great confidence that Acer will be the first vendor to deliver a Chrome-based netbook in the market. The real question is, does it really matter that they’re first movers in this market? Just look at recent Acer history with their dual-booting Windows/Android netbook to see why being a first-mover isn’t necessarily a good thing.

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Do you have a Dell Inspiron Mini 10v? Are you feeling a bit adventurious?

If the answer to both question is an affirmative yes, then you might be interested in hearing Dell has released a highly experimental version of the Google Chrome OS for the Mini 10v. This image is based on the source code released by Google last week with some minor tweaks to get it working for the Mini 10v.

According to Doug A at Direct2Dell, there are some “caveats”. They are as follows:

• Could take 5-10 minutes for the Chrome OS network connection manager to “see” the wireless access points
• Issues with connection manager and underlying components which can easily break or cause the system to hang
• No reboot or shutdown option in the menu – press power to reboot the system

As you can guess, this is unsupported software so use it at your own risk. Make sure to back up your system before hand!

Read more about the installation process and details about the image over at Direct2Dell. You can download the USB key image file at http://linux.dell.com/files/cto

Those of unfamiliar with Google Chrome OS can read more about the OS at http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os. (or you can check out the below video on what si Google Chrome OS):

Could these really be early screenshots of the upcoming Google Chrome OS slated for late 2010? An “unfamiliar source” sent these screen grabs to the folks over at Mashable and man.. they certainly look real enough. Of course with no real confirmation from Google, there’s really no way to tell.

A couple of interesting observations:

• There’s a nice application dock at the top of the screen with large visible icons
• On the lower right hand side is a very sparse looking task tray which currently has a battery indicator, the current time, and maybe icons of the current running apps?
• The version watermark on the lower left hand side says “Developers beta 0.1.15”

Certainly interesting screen captures – real or otherwise. Plus, it’s making us think about what Google has in store for us with the Chrome OS. Can you realistically live entirely off of the browser full-time (assuming you have no need to play video games etc)? It’s an interesting proposition eh? What do you think?

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Who says the netbook industry is boring?

Google announced Tuesday night that they were indeed working on a new operating system, separate from the Android OS, called the Google Chrome OS. Targeting initially the netbook market, the new Chrome OS will be available to consumers in the second half of 2010 and will be Google’s attempt to “re-think what operating systems should be.”

In a posting on the official Google blog, Sundar Pichai (VP of Product Management) and Linus Upson (Engineering Director) laid out the key aspects of Chrome OS – “speed, simplicity, and security”. The new OS will be “fast and lightweight” from the get go; have a minimal user interface that’s designed to “stay out of your way”; and a redesigned security architecture that eliminates the need for users to worry about “viruses, malware, and security updates.”

In other words – “It should just work.”

Continuing on, the two of them describe additional features that will be a part of Chrome OS including:

• Support for both x86 and ARM processors
• Running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel
• It’s all about the web – the web is the platform with Chrome OS
• Designed for a range of devices – from netbooks to full-sized desktop systems

With this announcement, it’s clear Google sees an opening here in the world of operating systems. Netbooks have allowed Google and many others to promote the notion of all-day computing as well as cloud computing. Ironically enough, it’s the low-power nature of netbooks that has finally made the late 90’s idea of thin-client PCs a reality. When consumers are at home, they typically want the best in a computer system. Yet when they’re on the road, things change. People want long battery lives, instant-on capabilities, and the ability to access their content no matter where they are. To that end, a new OS that delivers on speed, simplicity, and security makes a great deal of sense. Combine that with cloud computing and web applications, and you have a powerful platform in the making. Why work on Microsoft Word when you can stay within Google Docs? Why deal with Outlook when you can send and receive email through Gmail?

This all leads to the inevitable question of “why do we even need Windows?” And yes.. this is where Google Chrome OS comes in. If done correctly, Chrome OS has the potential of supplanting a decent portion of the netbook market away from Windows. It surely won’t eliminate Windows simply because there will still be a large populace that insists on familiarity and Windows, love it or hate it, provides that familiarity.

Google will open-source Chrome OS later this year and is already actively talking to partners about this project. It’ll be interesting to see what Chrome OS ultimately looks like for netbook systems. We’re certainly excited! In the eyes of Google, the future is indeed the web (and ultimately cloud computing).

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