A little less than two years ago we set out
to make
computers much better. Today, we’re announcing the first Chromebooks from our
partners, Samsung and Acer. These
are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won’t wait minutes for your computer to boot
and browser to start. You’ll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the
software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies
and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won't need to worry about losing
your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single
charge, so you don’t need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like
your phone, you’ll have the web when you need it. Chromebooks have many
layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain.
Even more importantly, you won't spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it
up to date.
At the core of each Chromebook is the Chrome web browser. The web has millions of
applications and billions of users. Trying a new application or sharing it with friends is as
easy as clicking a link. A world of information can be searched instantly and developers can
embed and mash-up applications to create new products and services. The web is on just about
every computing device made, from phones to TVs, and has the broadest reach of any platform.
With HTML5 and other open standards, web applications will soon be able to do anything
traditional applications can do, and more.
Chromebooks will be
available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
More countries will follow in the coming months. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available
from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from
leading retailers.
Even with dedicated IT departments, businesses and
schools struggle with the same complex, costly and insecure computers as the rest of us. To
address this, we’re also announcing Chromebooks for Business
and Education. This service from Google includes Chromebooks and a cloud management
console to remotely administer and manage users, devices, applications and policies. Also
included is enterprise-level support, device warranties and replacements as well as regular
hardware refreshes. Monthly subscriptions will start at $28/user for businesses and $20/user
for schools.
There are over 160 million active users of Chrome today.
Chromebooks bring you all of Chrome's speed, simplicity and security without the headaches of
operating systems designed 20 to 30 years ago. We're very proud of what the Chrome team along
with our partners have built, and with seamless updates, it will just keep getting
better.
