Google's game changer
Last year Google demonstrated prototypes of its Chrome OS operating system, a stripped down version of Unix designed to boot the computer straight from power on into the Chrome web browser in a matter of seconds. This month, at the Google Conference in San Francisco, it announced its business plans for the Chromebook, and those plans could shake up the hardware and software industry.
The Chromebook (a Chrome OS-based netbook) is being released first in the US. In a radical change to the way people buy computers, the Google machine will be sold on a monthly subscription of $28 per month with a minimum of a three year contract, which works out at $1,008 over the course of three years. There is a $20 per month rate for students. That price includes software updates, Google support, and free hardware replacement should anything fail. Because Chrome OS is a cloud-based system with very little locally stored data, if a machine fails and has to be replaced, moving to a new machine is a painless process.
According to Gartner Research, the typical US business spends between $3000 and $5000 over the three year lifetime of a machine, mostly in the form of support and security costs and upgrades. Google reckons that Chrome OS does away with most of those costs. The other cost element that has to be factored into PC ownership is the cost of software, and even with bulk licensing deals and falling prices, the cost of adding a copy of Microsoft Office to each PC is not insignificant. Chromebook users avoid this cost by using Google Docs, Google Calendar and so on, all of which are included.
The Chromebooks will be manufactured by Acer and Samsung who will also be releasing them as off-the-shelf products in mid-June, both in the US and Europe. Screen sizes are expected to be 11.6 inches or 12.1 inches, with retail prices of $350 to $450. Chromebooks require net connections to be useful and the cheaper models will come with built in WiFi whilst the more expensive models will also support 3G connections over the mobile phone network. So far in the UK, the mobile operator Three has announced that it will be a Chromebook connectivity partner but has yet to disclose pricing. However, it currently offers a very affordable "all you can eat" contracts for £25 to £40 per month for smartphone users, so I expect Chromebook costs to be equally reasonable.
The Chromebook isn't going to be suitable for everyone. Anyone who runs specialist software, such as graphics packages, computer-aided design, accounts, and so on, probably still needs a traditional desktop PC. But for the increasing numbers of people who use a PC simply as a window to the world, for word processing, email, and web browsing, a cheap, fast, no-complications Chromebook could be just what they need.
27th May 2011
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.