$20 Google Chrome Netbooks/Smartbooks Coming?

Nov 25 2009, 10:38am CST | by Robert Evans

It's time for some speculation! Ever since the Chrome OS Developer chat people have been speculating like crazy over the future of Chrome OS. According to Fudzilla, Linux expert Glyn Moody weighed in recently and speculated that Google could be working on a series of bare-bones, stripped-down Chrome OS netbooks that cost as little as $20.

Since the OS is free and virtually all data is stored in the cloud, it would be possible to create some utterly minimalist Chrome netbooks and smartbooks. $20 seems a bit low, but the thought is that Google will look to in-computer advertising as a way to cover what losses they have to eat. Google did just purchase Teracent, a company that specializes in personalized display advertising. Glyn definitely has some basis for his speculations.

I think it's highly unlikely we'll ever see a $20 netbook...but we could very well see some smartbooks come in at that price range. It's in Google's best interest to have as many people viewing the Internet through their browser as possible. A cheap (or, with a carrier, free) computer with Chrome OS would be a great way to attract the unwashed Internet masses.

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Robert Evans
The excitement about new smartphones, tablets and anything mobile drive Robert to unearth the latest rumors and developments in this fast moving space. He adopted 4G as soon as it become available and knows where the mobile market is going.
Robert can be contacted directly at robert@i4u.com.