AN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google will try to win more converts to a
computer operating system revolving around its popular Chrome Web
browser with a new wave of lightweight laptops built by Samsung
Electronics.
Tuesday's release of the next-generation Chromebooks
will give Google and Samsung another opportunity to persuade consumers
and businesses to buy an unconventional computer instead of machines
running on familiar software by industry pioneers Microsoft Corp. and
Apple Inc.
Unlike most computers, Google's Chromebooks don't have a
hard drive. They function like terminals dependent on an Internet
connection. The laptops come with 16 gigabytes of flash memory — the
kind found in smartphones, tablet computers and some iPods. Two USB
ports allow external hard drives and other devices to be plugged into
the machines.
Chromebooks haven't made much of a dent in the
market since their debut a year ago. In that time, more people have been
embracing Apple's iPad and other tablet computers — a factor that has
contributed to a slowdown in sales of personal computers.
The cool
reception to Chromebooks has raised questions about whether Google
misjudged the demand for computers designed to quickly connect to its
dominant Internet search engine and ever-expanding stable of other
online services, ranging from email to a recently introduced
file-storage system called Drive.
"The Chromebooks have had less
to offer than tablets, so they haven't been that interesting to
consumers," said Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa.
Google says it
always intended to take things slowly with the Chromebooks to give its
engineers time to understand the shortcomings of the machines and make
the necessary improvements.
"This release is a big step in the
journey to bringing (Chromebooks) to the mainstream," said Sundar
Pichai, Google's senior vice president of Chrome and apps.
The
upgraded laptop, called "Series 5 550," is supposed to run two-and-half
times faster than the original machines, and boasts higher-definition
video. Google also added features that will enable users to edit
documents offline, read more content created in widely used Microsoft
applications such as Word and Excel, and retrieve material from another
computer at home or an office. More emphasis is being placed on Chrome's
Web store, which features more than 50,000 applications.
The
price: $449 for models that only connect to the Internet through Wi-Fi
and $549 for a machine that connects on a 3G network. Samsung's original
Chromebooks started out with prices ranging from $429 to $499. Like the
original Chromebooks, the next-generation machines feature a 12.1-inch
screen display and run on an Intel processor.
Google Inc. and
Samsung also are introducing a "Chromebox" that can be plugged into a
display monitor to create the equivalent of desktop computer. The box
will sell for $329.
The latest Chromebook and new Chromebox will
be available online only, beginning in the U.S. on Tuesday, followed by a
Wednesday release in the United Kingdom. The products will go on sale
in brick-and-mortar stores for the first time in still-to-be-determined
Best Buy locations next month.
The expansion beyond Internet-only
sales signals Google's determination to attract a mass audience to its
Chromebooks, just as it's done with smartphones running on its Android
software. More than 300 million mobile devices have been activated on
Android since the software's 2008 release.
Without providing
specifics, Pichai said several other computer manufacturers will release
Chromebooks later this year. Google plans to back the expanded line of
Chromebooks with a marketing blitz during the holiday shopping season in
November and December.
One reason Google is confident Chromebooks
will eventually catch on is because the Chrome Web browser has
attracted so many fans in less than four years on the market. The
company says more than 200 million people worldwide currently are using
the Chrome browser.
Like other laptop and desktop computers, the
Chromebooks will have to contend with the accelerating shift to the iPad
and other tablets. The iPad 2, an older version of Apple's tablet line,
sells for as little as $399, undercutting the new Chromebook. Other
low-cost tablets are expected to hit the market later this year. One of
them might even be made by Motorola Mobility, a device maker that Google
bought for $12.5 billion earlier this month. Google so far hasn't
commented on Motorola's future plans for the tablet market.
The
new Chromebooks also are hitting the market at a time when some
prospective computer buyers may be delaying purchases until they can
check out machines running on Windows 8, a makeover of Microsoft's
operating system that is expected to be released in September or
October. Microsoft designed Windows 8 so it can be controlled through
touch as well as keyboards. That versatility is expected to inspire the
creation of hybrid machines that are part laptop, part tablet.
Google shares added $2.81 Tuesday to close at $594.34.
Resource : Google News
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