Last week, Google announced that they were working with Samsung to make a super cheap Chromebook, which would retail for $249 in the United States. What they didn’t tell us was that they were planning on forgoing all of their Research and Development costs by just copying the MacBook Air. We probably should have guessed, because, well, it’s Samsung.
While the netbook went up for preorder through Amazon, Newegg and other popular retailers at the time of announcement, Google decided to wait until today to put the device up for sale on its own Google Play store. As of now, Google is showing that the device is in stock and is ready to be shipped for standard 3 – 5 day delivery. Google has also listed an extra power adapter as well as the Booq Viper Hardcase on the Google Play store as well, though these accessories are not yet available for shipment.
If you’re unaware, Google Chromebooks run on Google’s custom Linux distro which goes under the name ChromeOS. ChromeOS has changed drastically over the past year-and-a-half as it now features a windowed interface and a much improved user experience. One interesting thing about ChromeOS is that it’s totally cloud based and relies on Google Drive for storing files, photos and other content. At the moment, Google is marketing the Chromebook to families that want an extra computer as well as students who want a cheap laptop. It’s probably not a smart move to market it as a cheap alternative. Remember Netbooks and how successful they were industry wide?
Image Credit: Business Insider
