Chromebooks are dropping in price -- but the question is whether the drop will help to raise their appeal. The new price cuts, as much as 30 percent, affect Acer AC700 models and Samsung's Chromebook Series 5. The laptops, based on Google's Net-oriented operating system Chrome, have not yet caught on, but the new pricing could give them a boost. The Acer Wi-Fi
model will go for about $300, from its former price of $350, and the Verizon 3G model has been cut from $449 to $399. Samsung's Series 5 Chromebook, formerly $430, will now be $350. 'Tis the Season'
Google's Web-oriented Chrome OS came out in 2009, with the idea that a Net-based computer
could be an attractive alternative to Microsoft 's and Apple's platforms. The Chromebooks, which first became generally available this summer, use the cloud for all work, play, communication and storage . In a posting Monday on the Google Chrome Blog, entitled "Tis the season for Chromebooks," Google Software Engineer Miranda Callahan noted that the Chrome OS has recently undergone "a bit of a facelift," with a boot-up in eight seconds and a "fresh, clean login experience."
"We've also been working closely with our partners to continually improve the overall Chromebook experience while making them even more affordable," he wrote.
A new Tab page makes it easier to manage
apps , bookmarks, and most visited sites, and there are new shortcuts, such as to File Manager, music apps, and games. When the Chromebooks came out in the summer, the key advantages touted by Google included the machines' always-connected state, instant-on, an all-day battery, the ability to "access
your stuff everywhere," built-in security , and continual improvements to the OS and apps that did not require user updating. Pay-As-You-Go
From the standpoint of security, the companies have described Chrome as "the first operating system designed from the ground up against the ongoing threat of malware and viruses." (continued...)
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