Tag Archives: Chrome OS tablet
thechromesource Daily: Links for 5/11/11
Posted on 11. May, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 
0 Comments
The future of Chrome sounds exciting – it includes multiple profiles, the syncing of tabs in different instances and ARM for Chrome OS.
Google showed a demo today during the Chrome event where they had 10,000 fish running in Microsoft’s FishIE test.
Co-founder Sergey Brin says that “Chromebooks are a new model“, expects Google will had them fully deployed internally in a year.
While Chrome OS will be on multiple form factors in the future, don’t expect a tablet anytime soon.
Here’s an extensive pricing breakdown on the Chromebooks for Education and Business program.
Is the “Seaboard” Codenamed Chrome OS Tablet Overrated?
Posted on 28. Apr, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
A shout out is in order to our friends at Chrome Story, who were able to dig up some detailed information about a possible tablet being tested in the Chromium bug reports. But judging by this information, the device codenamed “Seaboard” seems to sport interesting specs. It is indeed tantalizing to see that there is a tablet being tested with Chrome OS.
NVIDIA Tegra 2
Atmel MXT Touch Screen
2MB of SPI storage (??)
1 GB DRAM
Two USB Ports
You can see all of the reports on Seaboard located here. It doesn’t look like this is a new device by any means, since I see some reports filed back as early as January. Also, it appears in some of these that testing is being done using a traditional keyboard plugged in to the device, which makes me suspect that the touch UI for Chrome OS is not complete.
Yet a Chrome OS touch device is an interesting proposition. It may be something that could fare better with users as opposed to a laptop with a keyboard because that sort of device comes with a set of expectations already that is going to come unfulfilled. This can already be seen.
Take a look at the bug reports yourself? Do you think that Seaboard has potential?
via ChromeStory, TechCrunch
Touch is Coming to the Browser: Chrome Getting Keyboard Interface
Posted on 28. Mar, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 6 Comments
Recently, changes to the new tab interface in Chromium provided a hint that Google will be adding touch capability in Chrome sometime in the near future. Now, the newest builds of Chromium have a keyboard added into the open-source browser that would be used with a touch UI as well.
Click to enlarge.
The feature revision 79125 indicates the addition of a “new simple keyboard” to the builds. As of right now, it appears that the keyboard itself is not currently functional. While it’s been added, most PCs don’t support touch anyways, so it’s clear that this is being developed for device that can.
Are we seeing evidence of Chrome OS and Android merging in the near future? That’s simply speculation at this point. Android’s tablet-focused version Honeycomb has been put under wraps for further development, and it is still expected that Chrome devices will start to appear at the midpoint of this year.
I did ask this question about Chrome and Android convergence on Quora a while back and got an interesting answer from Google product manager Prasenjit Phukan about the lines “blurring between classes of devices” .
Would you use a touch version of Chrome?
via Peter Beverloo
The New Tab Page Gets a New Look
Posted on 21. Mar, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 5 Comments
The overall look of the new tab page in Chromium is being changed, possibly to reflect an addition of touch capabilities. You can see the new look in this screenshot taken from a recent Chromium build with the “Experimental new tab page” switched on in “about:flags”. The main differences appear to be larger icons, a toggle system for multiple pages of app and a garbage can to get rid of unused icons.
This may be an indication that Google wants Chrome to offer touch for hardware devices. A hybrid gadget that entails both a laptop and a tablet may be in the works, but most computers like that are priced somewhat high. I’m not sure that the price point of Chrome OS will allow for a device like that, at least not in the near future.
One of the most challenging things about this is making the operating system work with both touch and a mouse. Designers must find a balance between the two and there are nuances to consider when doing this. Nevertheless, a product like the Samsung Sliding 7 would be a great fit for Chrome OS.
Would you buy a hybrid Chrome OS device?
via ConceivablyTech
Yes, Android is Cr-48-able
Posted on 05. Jan, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
As if this didn’t seem plausible.
Someone has been able to successfully port Android over to the Cr-48. This was made possible by Hexxeh’s Luigi Cr-48 firmware toolkit. Android has appeared in many other gadgets than phones, which is to be expected.
I’ve seen Android on laptops before, and I frankly don’t believe it has a future in the PC space. It lacks what you need for sitting in front of a computer. This is specifically why I still believe that there is a place for Chrome OS and Android.
Again, Chrome OS is built for the PC market. It will likely make its way to tablets in the future, but let’s be clear: it’s for computers. That’s why Google employees and executives are using it in the office at their desk and not Android because, well, that is what it was built for.
As it is, Android is fragmenting further with Honeycomb supposedly coming for tablet-specific devices. The Honeycomb team has even split off from the smartphone Android developers inside Google. So for those who believe that Chrome OS and Android will merge over time, there is a long way to go.
Do you have an Android computer? Tell us what you think about the performance.
via Hexxeh
Acer and Samsung Will Have First Chrome OS Devices, Toshiba Works on Tablet
Posted on 08. Dec, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Both PC manufacturers Acer and Samsung were named as the initial companies that would introduce Chrome OS to the consumer market, and a press event held by Google Taiwan today also pointed this out. It’s clear with the event today that Google wants to be in the ear of Taiwan, long known as a manufacturing design hub for the PC industry.
According to the report from Taiwan, Acer is working with Quanta Computer on manufacturing their device. Samsung will make theirs in house. Both products are expected to be release with Intel processors. There is a mention of HP making a device as well with Inventec, the manufacturer of Google’s pilot Cr-48 Chrome OS laptop.
There’s no word on specifically when these device will be available in 2011. At yesterday’s press event, mid-2011 was mentioned. Here’s hoping that we’ll see a some device previews at CES in January now that Google has announced some major Chrome OS news. We’ll be reporting live from CES in Las Vegas, where Toshiba is rumored to by readying a Chrome OS tablet prototype.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 12/8/10
Posted on 08. Dec, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Toshiba plans to display a Chrome OS tablet alongside an Android and a Windows 7 one at CES in January.
InterContinental Hotels plans on using Chrome hardware for call centers, business services and to loan them to guests.
Technologizer’s Harry McCracken thinks it’s going to be hard for any other cloud operating system to compete with Chrome.
The Citrix announcement at yesterday’s event makes Chrome OS “weaponized” for business, says Google 24/7′s Seth Weintraub.
Chrome engineer Alex Russell gives an excellent explanation on how the Chrome ecosystem benefits developers.
Eric Schmidt’s Complete Comments on Chrome OS at Web 2.0
Posted on 16. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 6 Comments
If you want to you can scroll down and watch this for yourself (go to 42:46), but I thought it would be better to provide a transcript of what was said yesterday during the Web 2.0 Summit when at the end of Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s talk he was asked about Chrome OS.
Take what you will from the release comments. I’m sure the CEO knows all but we haven’t heard anything from Google PR yet about the fact that Chrome OS was supposed to arrive in 2010.
Arpit from Comcast: (asks an Android fragmentation question, then) Where does Chrome OS fit? What’s the logic of Chrome OS, another platform? Now I’m confused. On a particular sized device is it going to be Chrome? Is it going to be Android?
[...]
Video: Eric Schmidt at Web 2.0 Summit
Posted on 16. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Well, here it is. This is the full video of the Web 2.0 Summit, and I’ll go ahead and quote Schmidt’s words about Chrome OS here. It’s the very last question, by the way.
Eric Schmidt’s Comments on Chrome OS at Web 2.0 Perplex
Posted on 15. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
Speaking at today’s Web 2.0 Summit, Google CEO Eric Schmidt didn’t talk about Chrome OS until asked. When he was at the very end of his Q&A session, some answers given didn’t sound like the company line.
Schmidt emphasizes that initial Chrome OS devices would come with a keyboard, but he also made note that the operating system is open source so manufacturers can do as they wish with the platform.
He then quickly said that the first devices with Chrome OS would run on an Intel processor.
Then Schmidt said something interesting: he expects the software to arrive in the next few months. When asked about the next version of Android, Gingerbread, he said that would be arriving in the next few weeks.
When I can get a hold of actual quotes or recorded video of the event, I’ll post it here.
Intel is Taking a Backseat with Google’s Chrome OS Netbook
Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 7 Comments
Could the real reason why Google wants to go through trying to release another hardware product be because they want to shake up the computer hardware industry?
As if it’s not enough forgoing Windows as the standard operating system for a device, Google is trying to change the culture that makes up the core components of a notebook-like device. As has been rumored, that may include using an ARM-designed chipset instead of one of Intel’s Atom processors.
Report: Google Branded Chrome OS Netbook in November
Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
The IT manufacturing industry-based Digitimes is reporting that Google is planning to release its own netbook loaded with Chrome OS in November.
There are no details on when this product may ship, but if this is true we should expect some kind of announcement pretty soon. The report also states that devices made by Acer and HP will make their debut in December. The report says that contract manufacturer Inventec will be producing the Google-branded device, while Quanta Computer is handling the latter two.
It isn’t a stretch to believe at this point that a Google-branded reference device will arrive first now that there have been rumors of a Nexus Two type of device in the smartphone space. This could showcase to other companies thinking about Chrome OS the value of using top shelf components and possibly cloud processors made with ARM chips.
Still, it begs the question whatever happened to the rumored tablet that was supposed to arrive soon.
