The Chrome OS notebook pilot program is in full swing, to the point that several applicants have received their laptop. I’ve looked through a bunch of the application videos, but this unboxing by Ed Albro from PC World seems to be the most thorough and clear so far. Check it out.

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The OS was originally supposed launch well before the holidays, then it was pushed back to late November, now it’s looking like we won’t see it until next year, outside of beta anyway. Google says it will have more to share later in the year. Guess what, guys. It is later in the year. It’s very late in the year in fact, so just tell us it won’t be ready until next year. That’s all we need to know.

Several manufacturers have held a “no comment” status on launching Chrome netbooks. That can’t be a good thing. I figured there would be some excitement about a slim new OS that won’t have the crazy licensing fees of Microsoft products. Really makes me wonder why the OS has caught a delay. Is Google having trouble partnering with manufacturers? Did they back out after agreeing to support the platform a year ago?

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You might remember Microsoft’s Courier, the dual-screen tablet that could fold like a book and had an amazing demo video. It’s dead, folks. Done. Microsoft said the project would no longer be supported. Alongside that bit of bad news comes word that HP is canceling its Windows 7 tablet, the same tablet Steve Ballmer debuted at CES 2010. HP is reportedly displeased with Windows 7 as a tablet platform and will be moving to Google products.

The HP cancellation is the big news of the two. Dropping Microsoft for Google’s cloud operating system is a first for big manufacturers, and it points to a growing sentiment in the development community. The world wants simple products, and while some might decry iPhone OS and its relative lack of features, no one can deny its success. For the average consumer, Windows just doesn’t make much sense.

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But Google is only releasing Chrome on pre-selected hardware devices. There will be no download for your current netbook. There will be no install disc. If you want Chrome, you’ll have to buy a new machine. I was surprised to see Google take this path because it really limits the initial install base. I know a lot of people who would love to drop Chrome on a separate partition, if only to give it a shot. Those same people are highly unlikely to buy a new machine for the OS, though. The only way the hardware limitation makes sense is that it controls the Chrome experience for users in the same way Apple controls the OS X experience. Approved hardware should ensure a positive initial experience for every user, giving Chrome the kind of word-of-mouth power it needs behind the marketing.

Now obviously the most appropriate place for Chrome is the netbook market, where computers are designed with basic tasks in mind. By stripping down the specs, manufacturers are able to offer netbooks at unprecedented prices, something consumers have really loved. I’ll avoid extended discussion about the sole merit of netbooks being price, because I think that should be clear to everyone at this point (laptops at the netbook price sell just as well as netbooks these days). Chrome allows manufacturers to drive costs even lower because there is no “Microsoft Tax.” Imagine a netbook plunging to $199 (ignore Black Friday deals for a moment). You wouldn’t be able to keep those things on the shelf. Hell, I’d get one just to stream content to my TV. At that price point, more consumers would likely be willing to give the new operating system a try, especially if it sports the Google brand.

Google isn’t aiming for an overnight coup with Chrome, just a nice, slow bleed. By slowly turning money-conscious consumers toward a simpler operating system, Google can leech people away from Microsoft from the bottom up. Granted, Chrome isn’t going to replace Windows for the people who want to play Modern Warfare 2, at least not on their gaming rig. But even those guys need a laptop, and $199 looks a lot better than anything running Windows.

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First and foremost, Chrome OS is about speed. “We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast,” said Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of product management. It should be so fast that it will be able “to boot up like a TV,” according to Pichai. If you’re trying to figure out whether or not your TV has a boot time, just think of the time it takes for the screen to warm up to fully vibrant color. That’s how quickly Chrome will go from pressing the power button to ready to check email. About 7 seconds. Now that’s fast.

Most of that speed comes from the shift to web applications from traditional local applications. Everything in Chrome OS will be managed on the web, even Photoshop-like functionality (though that will come at a later date). For consumers it means no more software updates or hardware backups. The first will be nice, but I’m sure people will have trouble getting used to trusting their data to Google (let’s just avoid the discussion of how that’s already the case, shall we?).

A lot of people wondered why Google would need two operating systems. The company says that Chrome OS is all about the web, while Android is more app-oriented. Chrome, much to my surprise, won’t support any Android apps. Pichai and Sergei Brin were pretty clear about the intentions for Chrome – that it’s all web, all the time – and that it won’t share in Android’s Marketplace.

Check the gallery at Gizmodo for some official screenshots.

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At long last, though, Google is set to take on Redmond with their first operating system designed for full PC application, the Google Chrome Operating System. Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of product management says Chrome OS is “our attempt to rethink what operating systems should be.”

Initially designed for the netbook market, Chrome OS has a huge task before it. Windows currently runs almost 90% of the PC market. That’s not exactly small potatoes. Google is in a good position, though, as netbooks continue to gain popularity and manufacturers look for lighter-weight, faster operating systems to run the trimmed-down computers. Acer, for example, has already agreed to develop several netbooks to run on Android for 2010.

Set for release in the second half of 2010, there’s still no word on what Chrome OS will cost. Market analysts at Enderle group expect simply a nominal fee, which is one thing that could easily woo manufacturers. Microsoft does not release its manufacturer prices, but most analysts speculate they charge something like $20 for XP and as much as $150 for Vista. Undercutting that price could result in not only a deal for manufacturers but a price cut for consumers as well.

Google hasn’t said much regarding Chrome OS as a system for running high end PCs, like the gaming PCs a lot of us geeks are concerned with. The OS is based on Linux, though, so I’d imagine they can beef it up for just that sort of capability. For now, the OS is meant for folks looking for a quick OS for web browsing and other simple applications.

Microsoft has yet to comment.

Source: Reuters

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