Google Expected to Show Off Chrome Netbook
Even though Google's Chrome OS is still in beta, expect to see Google unveil a netbook running Chrome on Tuesday, demonstrating the abilities of its operating system. The device, which will be powered by an Intel Atom chip, won't likely be a mass-market machine as only 65,000 to 100,000 units are rumored to be in production. However, the idea is to show the world that the Chrome Web browser is fit to run a product like a netbook, which could spur more people to make the move away from Internet Explorer, Firefox, and other browser competitors. Right now, Chrome accounts for 9.7 % of browser use, according to Net Applications.
Google's main drawing point is speed. It should be able to boot up in seconds on the netbook in comparison to its browser competitors.
Google released Chrome as open-source in November 2009 with the goal of getting Chrome OS machines from partners such as Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba. The idea was to get such devices to customers in time for the holiday shopping season. However, Black Friday came and went and no Chrome OS machines were available. At the Web 2.0 Summit on Nov. 15, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Chrome OS was a few months away from release on notebooks for the public.
It looks as if the timeline has lagged a bit, and the showoff event Tuesday will be full of bells and whistles with no products to sell. A launch of Chrome notebooks probably isn't going to happen until 2011. Netbooks, once so popular, have been lagging ever since the introduction of the iPad, and then copycats such as the Android-based tablet and Samsung's Galaxy Tab. It will be interesting to see what kind of market share Google will have left.
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