Chrome is doing great. Android is doing great. Google is doing great. But what about Chrome OS? And what about Chromebooks? These machines were set to revolutionize the notebook industry, and we’ve heard radio silence on them ever since Google I/O 2011. But it sounds like Google’s working overtime behind the curtains in order to get these positioned in places where adoption is going to be easier than in the consumer market. According to TechCrunch, reporting from the Florida Educational Technology Conference, Google has placed “hundreds” of Chromebooks across schools in 41 U.S. states. Even today, hundreds of schools are already using them, but few specific figures were given beyond that.

It was reported that three new deployments of these machines will soon his various schools, with 27,000 students provided with Chromebooks on a 1:1 ratio. It’s quite possible that digging into consumers from the school is truly the way to go. Apple too started with education years back and worked outward; perhaps if students grow used to Chrome at school, they’ll want it at home.

Either way, these machines feel like a good fit in education; perhaps more so than in average, every day use of consumers. We’re just glad that Google’s not shelving the whole thing. The company has been killing faltering initiatives left and right lately, so it’s good to hear Chrome OS is a dream that’s still alive.

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/Google-Placing-Hundreds-Of-Chromebooks-In-41-US-States/

Google Chromebooks are hogging limelight. These are notebooks running on Google’s recently launched PC operating system Chrome OS. Acer and Samsung are the two technology makers that have already launched Chromebooks. Unlike the customary computers, Chromebooks are with no hard disks. Instead of built-in flash memory, Chromebooks store data in cloud servers.

Every activity you do on these notebooks is automatically stored in cloud. It means you can access the stored data from anywhere in the world, and, of course, from any computer. Both Acer and Samsung have slashed prices of their Chromebooks, evidently due to the sluggish response in the market, we assess Chromebooks in depth.

What is a Chromebook?
Chromebooks are Google’s official notebooks with its own PC operating system, Chrome OS. It was indeed an effort from the Mountain View web giant to make the personal computer industry like the mobile industry. The company wanted to succeed Chrome OS the way Android did with lots of products from various manufacturers. For hardware solutions, Google made contracts with Samsung and Acer. Thus, we had the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 XE500C21 and Acer and AC700-1099 Chromebook. Google advertises the Chromebooks as faster, simpler and more secure computers.

Chromebooks tech specs
Samsung Chromebook: Samsung is a leading notebook maker. The company launched its Chromebook with huge fanfare. The device sports a 12.1-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800. It is equipped with an Intel Atom TM dual core processor, built in dual-band Wi-Fi, 3G, Webcam 3, two USB 2.0 ports, 4-in-1 memory card slot and mini VGA port. The Samsung notebook weighs at 3.06 lbs and it has a battery backup of 8.5 hours.

Acer Chromebook: The Taiwanese technology giant is another laptop manufacturer that has launched a Chromebook. In comparison to Samsung Chromebook, the Acer’s seems to be more feature-rich. It comes with an 11.6-inch high definition widescreen CineCrystalTM LED-backlit LCD display. The notebook runs on Intel AtomTM dual-core CPU and it is with built-in dual-band Wi-Fi, world-mode 3G, HD Webcam, HD Audio Support, two USB 2.0 ports, 4-in-1 memory card slot, HDMI port, Chrome keyboard and others.

Chromebook features
Instant booting: Chromebooks take only 8 seconds to boot up. The notebooks behave like mobile phones in booting.

Documents and apps are stored in cloud: The entire apps, documents and other files are stored in the cloud. As you work on a Chromebook, the data is automatically saved in cloud. In case of a normal computer, you will have to hit the save button frequently not to miss the data. Moreover, a hard disk failure may lose your data. But on Chromebooks, everything is stored in cloud instantly.

Anywhere accessibility: As the data is backed up in cloud, you can access them from anywhere. You won’t have to carry your laptop or a memory stick to use your data in your trips.

Chromebook drawbacks
Security issue: In cloud computing, data is saved in someone else’s computers. Once you store data in cloud on a Chromebook, it is actually in Google’s servers. Criticisms have risen against Chromebooks that private data can’t be processed in them.

Connectivity limitations: Reading the article till here, you might have understood that to use a Chromebook smoothly, you should want spotless internet connection (either Wi-Fi or 3G). Otherwise, you can neither store, nor retrieve the data.

Only for high educated users: Chromebooks works based on internet apps and they have software items like Google Docs in place of Microsoft’s Office package. Most less-educated computer users won’t have heard of Docs or they will be less familiar with such online apps.

Individual users: Chromebooks are for individual users. To access the computer, you have to log in using your Google username and password. The entire process can only be managed with this Google ID on a Chromebook. So, a Chromebook should be one user’s private machine. No others can access it.

Price and availability
Both Samsung and Acer have recently slashed prices of their Chromebooks evidently because of slow response from market. As of now, both companies sell their Chromebook for a price below $300. On release, Samsung Series 5 Chromebook cost $429 and Acer AC700 Chromebook was $349.

Wrap-up
The idea behind Chromebooks is wonderful, indeed. But they have failed to grab the market because of their completely-depends-on-internet factor. Constant internet connection is a must-have requirement for Chromebooks. Failure in connectivity will be a curse for users. Anyway, Google’s attempt to take on Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS with Chrome OS has not reached into expectations for the time being, however.

Source:http://nvonews.com/2011/11/24/google-chromebooks-prices-slashed-features-and-drawbacks/