Acer To Launch Chrome OS Netbook Next Month

Barence writes "Acer is preparing to launch devices based on Google's Chrome OS at next month's Computex trade show, according to reports. Multiple sources have apparently told VentureBeat that the company will show off devices at the Taipei show at the beginning of June. It doesn't specify what the devices are, although given that Chrome OS is primarily designed for low-powered laptops and Acer's status as the world's second biggest PC maker, it seems inconceivable that the devices won't be netbooks. Meanwhile, Google is considering implementing a Coverflow interface into Chrome OS. One design adheres fairly closely to Apple's template, and allows users to flip through applications and web pages with 'hotkeys and swiping gestures.' Favicons will be displayed beneath the pages, allowing users to click these and head straight to the application."

Inconceivable that the devices won't be netbooks?

[sznupi]

Why inconceivable? Since Acer already is big with netbooks, they don't have to prove much there.

And considering that ChromeOS device could be just as well based on ARM chip (with many advantages of that route), it could as well be a new kind of devices, at least as far Acer is concerned (tablets? They do fit with "lack" of features of ChromeOS). Not saying this is what will happen...but inconceivable?

Re:Competition

[Rogerborg]

EEE netbooks used to ship with a Linux distro. You know what killed that? Returns. Joe User booting it up, braying "The hell? Where's my Windows?" and returning it. It got so that retail salesweasels were begging people not to buy them, because they got dinged for all the returns.

Sure, me and thee don't want to pay a Windows tax - I'm writing this on an EEE with Ubuntu 10.04 - but me and thee are not a significant market.

Re:Competition

[coniferous]

Mod Parent up. 1) Joe Blow sees a cheap computer 2) Buys said computer. 3) Realises that he can't install msn messenger and SuperDupertexasholdem.exe on it. 4) Thinks that it's stupid and returns it. If people educated themselves on these magic boxes, there would be no need for tech people.

Re:Competition

[sznupi]

Yeah, stories from one camp, apparently, claimed just that.

But some manufacturers quickly stepped forward saying that their Linx netbooks don't have higher return rates at all.

Re:Competition

[Culture20]

Today not one of the 126 netbooks and laptops - sold under 13 brand names - runs Linux.
Not one of the 75 desktops.
Explain.
Tell me what went wrong.

You typed Walmart into the location bar instead of Dell? Notice how even Dell's Linux offerings cost *more* than the Windows ones. Someone with a lot of cash made some deals to own the netbook market (because they rightly saw that the determining factor was price). Since Walmart is _only_ about price, they dropped the "expensive" options. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndoan1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19 [dell.com]