Acer to launch first Chrome OS netbook, Android-based Aspire One sales disappoint

Acer loves it some Google. And unless Google's trying to stamp out your revenue stream, who doesn't? Now Acer chairman, JT Wang, says that he expects to be first to market with an official Chrome OS netbook -- sometime in the second half of 2010 according to DigiTimes' sources. In fact, JT says that Acer's been working on a Chrome OS device since mid-2009. This despite admittedly weaker than expected demand for its dual-boot Android netbook, the Aspire One AOD250. Guess even the Google halo isn't enough to shoehorn its smartphone OS into a market dominating position on cheap ultra-portables. It's worth pointing out that DigiTimes' moles aren't saying anything new with the launch time-frame since Google's target for its gold Chrome OS build has been 2H of 2010 ever since the lightweight OS was announced. Not that the timing matters too much since we'll likely be seeing plenty of Chromium OS netbooks flooding the grey market long before the second half of 2010. 


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/02/acer-to-launch-first-chrome-os-netbook-android-based-aspire-one 

Who Would Use The Google Chrome Operating System?

If you use the Internet, chances are you know about Google (if not, get out from under your rock!). From their search engine giant status to their release of their Android operating system for Smart Phones, Google has invested much into today’s technology. Add in their online Office suite, affectionately known as “Google Docs”, their extremely popular email service, their excellent calendar product, and their up and coming Chrome browser, and it becomes easy to see that Google impacts a vast number of computer users today.

But soon it may be that Google has an even bigger impact in the typical user’s computing experience. Google is set to release the Chrome Operating System (OS) that replaces the typical OS on a personal computer. Instead of booting up the computer and running various applications to get your work done, the system instead would boot up to a browser. The browser would then connect to various applications in the cloud, and you would use the remote app for getting things done. Please note the Chrome OS is a different product than the currently available Chrome browser, even though the Chrome OS will no doubt incorporate the browser product.

While some may decry a browser based operating system as a featureless and gadget free computer, that is exactly the target Google was shooting for. Linus Upson, Google’s Vice President of Engineering in charge of Chrome, had this to say on the topic: