Google Chromebooks go on sale in seven countries

[Emil]

Google's Chromebooks are now on sale in the following seven countries: the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. They were available for preorder in the US starting last week, but that exclusivity didn't last very long.

In the US, you can get them at Amazon.com or Best Buy. In the UK, it's Amazon.co.uk and PC World. In France and Germany, it's just Amazon.fr and Amazon.de. In Spain and Italy, you'll have to go to PIXmania.com, and finally Laptopshop.nl for the Netherlands.

Last month, Google unveiled Chromebook and Chromebox devices. The first Chromebooks are made by Acer and Samsung. The company also later confirmed it would keep the focus of Chrome OS on notebooks and that there were no plans to merge it with Android.

Acer's version will cost $350 with an 11.6-inch display, a dual-core Intel Atom processor, integrated dual-band Wi-Fi and optional 3G, an HD webcam with a noise cancelling microphone, two USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, and one HDMI output. The 2.95lb device will reportedly offer up to six hours of continuous usage.

Samsung intends to charge a little more for its Chromebook with pricing set at $430 for Wi-Fi only and $500 for integrated 3G connectivity. That gets you a larger 12.1-inch display along with 8.5 hours of battery life, and those upgrades push the total weight to 3.26lbs. It also trades the HDMI port for Mini-VGA.

These Chromebooks are the first test for Chrome OS. Google is really hoping its idea of an operating system that is essentially a browser takes off. The company's broader strategy is to have everything on the Web, so it can index it and monetize it with ads. Will you be buying one?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/44274-google-chromebooks-go-on-sale-in-seven-countries.html

 

[gwailo247]

According to the reviews I've read, its Chrome OS not the hardware that makes it an underwhelming product.

Kinda ironic if you release a device specifically to run your OS, and the OS is the issue.

 

[matrix86]

from the article:
The company's broader strategy is to have everything on the Web, so it can index it and monetize it with ads. Will you be buying one?

Even if I had originally been considering getting one of these (which i've been against this OS from the start) that last line of the article would be enough to make me say "oh hell naw"

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

anyone else laughing at how much they cost!

 

[aj_the_kidd]

xclusiveitalian said:
anyone else laughing at how much they cost!

I'm still laughing at the fact that they think this will be successful.

 

[fpsgamerJR62]

Looks to me like a netbook with less functionality but with a higher price.

 

[bakape]

Although I am a big fan of Chrome/Chromium OS, I must say, while the 329$ is still viable, the pricings are a real turn off. Guess I'll just install Chromium OS on my laptop and dualboot, once it gets here.

 

[Archean]

+1 fps. Plus Google's vision is based on very flawed foundation i.e. people should 'trust' a 'corporation' in such a way that they almost give up everything and anything to be stored in this 'cloudy sh*t', and then Google can mint money out of either i) selling information or ii) selling us pointless adds

 

[Arris]

So a chrome netbook for the price of a windows laptop. Let me think about that one...

"The company's broader strategy is to have everything on the Web, so it can index it and monetize it with ads."

A fairly sizable price and ads. No.

 

[Guest]

I dont love the cloud idea. You become web dependent for everything. I dont know about you guys but sometimes there just no internet access where you currently are.
I know someone will come and say get the 3g version but im not going to pay a 3g montly fee just for the times i cant get wifi or lan

here is one example.

Guy#1 : Can you show me the document before we get to the presentation.
ChomeBook Owner : sure i have it on my laptop.
ChomeBook Owner : oh wait there no internet hotspot here sorry cant access my document !
Guy#1 : so whats the point in carrying a notebook if you dont have acces to your stuuf unless your hooked up to the web


Cheers

 

[Kibaruk]

Incoming Fail, TAKE COVER!

I've been against google chromium OS from day 1, their "futuristic" vision of how computer world will be is far far far far far... far away, when broader bandwidth are accesible to all of us, maybe and just a maybe.

 

[chaboi390]

What is so horrifying about this is that Windows is now considering their next OS based on "Cloud" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[Guest]

What I dont understand is that these companies are pushing the damn cloud while ISPs cant handle the bandwith demand of our current needs. (they are considering putting in data caps)
So untill bandwith is not an issue, this will not work.

Mikey

 

[TechM633]

true dat.

 

[tw0rld]

The company's broader strategy is to have everything on the Web, so it can index it and monetize it with ads.

This is the reason why I will not be buying one. Local storage for me.

 

[captaincranky]

The company's broader strategy is to have everything on the Web, so it can index it and monetize it with ads. Will you be buying one?

The short answer: "not a chance in hell".

A shorter answer than even that, "no f****** way"!

The shortest answer I can adequately express myself with, "NO...EN-OH"!

I actually bought a Toshiba Satellite, (Celeron 900 2GB of RAM 160GB HDD Vista Basic 32 bit), for $299.00, cash and carry. So, the question becomes, " how much more would I have to pay to get all the "free" Google ads"?

 

[ViperSniper2]

Listen, because you need to wake up, like the rest of this World of Trolls and REALIZE a FEW THINGS ABOUT CHOME OS; Google's attack on clunky running operating systems is coming whether YOU and Others like it or not!

You *****s think Chrome is just a browser, but it's actually an Operating System Disguised as Browser, without any legacy code whatsoever. It's truly NEXT GEN STUFF, incorporating all of Google's incredibly fast technologies (including SPDY) as well as advanced industrial strength features in IPv6. Like Jumbograms...... which can be sized up to 4GiB (4.289GB) in size (this is an industrial strength container freighter on certain devices). Normal IPv4 packets are only measured in Kilobytes and for normal users in IPv6 they will go up in size quite a bit, but not into the GB range. Less packets, limited hops and more efficient routing along with a monstrous address space, will allow every device to have it's own address for decades into the future.

Which means NO MORE NAT! .....right now in good old fashioned America, we still have carriers refusing to invest in the new equipment technology (too cheap like AT&T and Time Warner) to bring everybody into the future with IPv6 support. Instead only businesses and governments get the chance to use the faster far better protocols of the Future in IPv6. Verizon is only giving you IPv6 on 4G while Sprint is working to provide it for everyone. IPv6 brings IPsec now being required security. Which is far better than SSH, TLS, etc and is slow because it's encrypted on the device. IPsec is automatically encrypted enroute and includes everything sent!!!

Improved secure hypertunneling of IPv6 will make your connection to the Cloud as secure as performing compute tasks as if on your local device. The Cloud becomes your computer, but you will still have the power to compute applications on your local device cached to your system. You won't really be on the web until you leave Google's Cloud Space and then.... you are anonymous and protected from intrusion, malware or virus infection always. Because you're only operating a sandboxed browser encrypted through a Secure Hypertunneled (like VPN but better) path that's hides you behind Garden Walls, but with full free access rather than controlled access of Apple's iOS for instance!

Most people are now using their computers primarily for internet web access, email and providing content today. The object of both Chrome Browser and Chrome OS is to provide productivity along with that content, since you're already only using the web anyway. They are both prepared w/ new API's to run applications even after you close your browser and no other browser is capable of doing this. So.... Chrome Browser becomes an Operating System within a browser,Trojan Horsed right into your present OS. Where do YOU spend most of your time? Most likely you live on the Web and Chrome will in time make your legacy OS simply a hindrance as well as totally obsolete for evermore!!! ......Apple seems to think pacifying you with a dual boot OS simple incredibly inept Safari browser will keep you happy, so they can continue to sell you what you don't even need anymore!!!

Now with Google Chrome you must think FAST... like in "SPDY" FAST= like in up to 64% faster than plain HTTP than everything else out there!!!!
http://www.chromium.org/spdy/spdy-whitepaper

 

[captaincranky]

Listen, because you need to wake up, like the rest of this World of Trolls and REALIZE a FEW THINGS ABOUT CHOME OS; Google's attack on clunky running operating systems is coming whether YOU and Others like it or not! You ****** think Chrome is just a browser, but it's actually an Operating System Disguised as Browser, without any legacy code whatsoever. It's truly NEXT GEN STUFF, incorporating all of Google's incredibly fast technologies (including SPDY) as well as advanced industrial strength features in IPv6. Like Jumbograms...... which can be sized up to 4GiB (4.289GB) in size (this is an industrial strength container freighter on certain devices). Normal IPv4 packets are only measured in Kilobytes and for normal users in IPv6 they will go up in size quite a bit, but not into the GB range. Less packets, limited hops and more efficient routing along with a monstrous address space, will allow every device to have it's own address for decades into the future. Which means NO MORE NAT! .....right now in good old fashioned America, we still have carriers refusing to invest in the new equipment technology (too cheap like AT&T and Time Warner) to bring everybody into the future with IPv6 support. Instead only businesses and governments get the chance to use the faster far better protocols of the Future in IPv6. Verizon is only giving you IPv6 on 4G while Sprint is working to provide it for everyone. IPv6 brings IPsec now being required security. Which is far better than SSH, TLS, etc and is slow because it's encrypted on the device. IPsec is automatically encrypted enroute and includes everything sent!!! Improved secure hypertunneling of IPv6 will make your connection to the Cloud as secure as performing compute tasks as if on your local device. The Cloud becomes your computer, but you will still have the power to compute applications on your local device cached to your system. You won't really be on the web until you leave Google's Cloud Space and then.... you are anonymous and protected from intrusion, malware or virus infection always. Because you're only operating a sandboxed browser encrypted through a Secure Hypertunneled (like VPN but better) path that's hides you behind Garden Walls, but with full free access rather than controlled access of Apple's iOS for instance! Most people are now using their computers primarily for internet web access, email and providing content today. The object of both Chrome Browser and Chrome OS is to provide productivity along with that content, since you're already only using the web anyway. They are both prepared w/ new API's to run applications even after you close your browser and no other browser is capable of doing this. So.... Chrome Browser becomes an Operating System within a browser,Trojan Horsed right into your present OS. Where do YOU spend most of your time? Most likely you live on the Web and Chrome will in time make your legacy OS simply a hindrance as well as totally obsolete for evermore!!! ......Apple seems to think pacifying you with a dual boot OS simple incredibly inept Safari browser will keep you happy, so they can continue to sell you what you don't even need anymore!!! Now with Google Chrome you must think FAST... like in "SPDY" FAST= like in up to 64% faster than plain HTTP than everything else out there!!!! http://www.chromium.org/spdy/spdy-whitepaper

Thanks for clearing that up for us. I eagerly anticipate your 18th post.

Well yes, I am "just saying that".

If speed is that important to you, then your time must be very valuable indeed. It logically follows that you must really be some sort of VIP. So then, why waste your precious time here foaming at the mouth. You certainly haven't changed my mind about anything.

That said, I am grateful to you for yanking Google's nose off my a**, and on to yours. Thanks again.

Oh and BTW, next time skip the caps and the asterisks.

 

[Archean]

Did he just woke up from sleep in some cave? I mean existing operating systems have support for IPv6 for many many years ........... so whats the big deal in it being supported by chrome as well?

 

[captaincranky]

Is he just woke up from sleep in some cave? I mean existing operating systems have support for IPv6 for many many years ........... so whats the big deal it being supported by chrome as well?

Perhaps he was on the Google mother ship, and enjoyed all the probing.

 

[Archean]

Ah that explains it, so when next time Google's services go down, I wonder what will happen to chrome book ................

Oh wait ..... they will form "Chrome Book Owners Club".