Samsung has a Google Chrome laptop coming out (it’s out now…). If you consider the less than positive coverage this initiative had (Google, and OS’s seem to bring up some specter of horror to the techno press…), this new product would have to literally fly, and deliver golden eggs to get any kudos.
For me, the prospect of having a laptop which only works in the gravity well of a WiFi hotspot is something which I could deal with…I suppose. I wonder if this new form of laptop will survive… I hope so, in that merely knowing that there is a competing laptop out there which boots in less than 10 seconds, along with the shivers this would send to the rest of the big players might be worth it.
Samsung Chromebook Could Redefine the Modern Laptop
http://mashable.com/2011/06/10/samsung-chromebook-review
Product: Samsung Chromebook Series 5 3G Notebook
Price: $500 (3G and Wi-Fi data connectivity, includes 100MB of 3G data per month for two years; Wi-Fi model without 3G is $430), on sale to the public beginning June 15
What it’s good For: Browsing web pages, watching videos on YouTube, listening to music, writing, chatting, video conferencing — anything most people would want to do with a small laptop.
Who it’s good For: Web users, general Internet surfers, just about anyone.
Limitations: You can play Angry Birds on it, but don’t expect to play any graphics-intensive 3D games. High-end software, such as sophisticated speech recognition apps and Photoshop are not available on it (yet). Doesn’t work if you can’t get online.
Bottom Line: Samsung’s Chrome OS-running laptop with its 12.1-inch screen and adequate performance is refined from the get-go, quick to set up, hassle-free and easy to use. This slim and simple appliance could change the world of computing.
The minute I booted up this Samsung Chromebook for the first time, I immediately become aware of its extraordinary appeal. Exactly 7 seconds after I pressed its power button, I was ready to begin computing.
But wait a minute. This is not Windows, nor is it a Mac. It’s not even Linux (update: it has Linux underpinnings, but this is a brand new approach). This slim laptop has Google’s new Chrome OS on it, a fast and lightweight operating system that’s tailor-made for the web, and ready to jump all over whatever you might want to do online. It’s basically just a Google Chrome browser, where you use web-based apps for everything. The best part is, it all feels so seamless, and it makes you wonder why you’d ever need one of the cumbersome conventional operating systems to get things done.
It’s easy to get started. After entering my Gmail username and password, I was suddenly presented with the familiar Google Chrome browser I usually use with Windows 7, synced up from the cloud with all my Chrome browser preferences, bookmarks and extensions, and ready to go. I felt like I was home. Total setup time: about the time it takes to boot up a typical laptop.
Part of that setup is a friendly and quick tutorial about how to use the laptop’s touchpad. Just like with Windows and Macs, you can choose to tap to click, or you can click the touchpad, which functions as a button. I especially like the way you can adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad, where it felt just as responsive as the best touchpad I’ve ever used. I’m not a big touchpad fan, though, so I plugged a wireless USB mouse into one of the Chromebook’s two USB ports, and it was immediately recognized and usable.
