If you thought that the landscape consisting of notebooks and netbooks, in addition to the exponentially growing tablet segment was already saturated, think again. Google has come up with its latest computing device that strives to carve a niche for itself among a host of smaller laptops, overgrown tablets and netbooks. Google has introduced certain new features to its Chromebook that has been launched in different models by Samsung and Acer lest people try to compare it with just another netbook in the market.
With Google Chrome firmly entrenched as the most popular browser in the world, it was only logical for Google to come out with an operating system on its own and with Chromebook, Google has attempted to do just that. There can be no two opinions about the fact that the specs of Chromebook justifiably put this device in the category of netbooks below laptops that are obviously more powerful and have faster processing power. At the same time, innovations introduced by Google are enough to get Chromebook a foothold in the narrow landscape of smaller laptops and tablets that have a huge and ever growing market of their own.
What is evident is that Google is trying desperately to differentiate its Chromebook from existing netbooks by saying that these are tablets with keyboards. It is a business ploy to create a market to sell Chromebooks to not only small laptop buyers but also those who might be lured by the idea of a real keyboard which is not there in tablets. One major difference between Chromebooks and netbooks available in the market is that whereas netbooks are essentially Windows based systems, Chromebooks are powered by Google’s latest OS developed by it.
Another feature differentiating Chromebook with netbook is the ability of the user to access his data from anywhere, even without his Chromebook. This is possible because of a new feature called Living in the Cloud by Google that stores the data on its servers. Chromebooks are amazingly fast and boot up in just 8 seconds which is not possible with existing netbooks.
Talking about the features of Chromebook, it is powered by Google’s specially designed OS and has a fast dual core 1.66 GHz Intel Atom processor with a 2GB RAM. It has 16 GB of internal storage which can be expanded with micro SD cards. It has 2 USB ports and a video out facility. The dimensions of the Chromebook are 11.6×8.6×0.79 inches, which is comparable to existing netbooks and it weighs 3.3 pounds which is also the weight of a majority of netbooks in the market. Chromebooks have powerful batteries that provide non stop excitement for amazing 8.5 hours which is higher than most netbooks.
One innovation of Google that is creating ripples in the market is the subscription scheme that allows enterprises and educational institutions to enjoy Chromebooks for as low as $23 per user per month for a three year period. This is one facility that makes it different from all netbooks in the market.
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In brief: • Though basically in the same category as other netbooks in the market, Google is trying desperately to differentiate its Chromebook from them saying it is a tablet with a keyboard. • While most other netbooks in the market are Windows based devices, Chromebook runs on specially developed OS by Google. • With the help of a new Living in the Cloud feature, users can access their data from anywhere from any other computer which is unique for Chromebooks and not available in any other netbook.
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