Just as the internet seekers predicted, Google has taken the wraps off of its first Chrome OS-powered netbook at an event in San Francisco.
Only for the brave
The Cr-48 is a work in progress system that will be distributed to specially selected individuals to test drive the new operating system, which is still some way from completion. Nowhere is this 'test-system' mentality more apparent than with the stealthy all-black chassis, bereft of any sort of branding or design frills.
We don't know too much about the netbook's internals, but we're guessing that the basic specs will be the prototype for retail devices. The Cr-48 packs a 12.1in screen - although the resolution isn't known - a full-size keyboard, onboard WiFi and 3G, a webcam and an unspecific amount of flash storage for the OS. All of this should keep running for more than eight hours of 'active' use and more than eight days of standby in a package that tips the scales at 3.8lbs (1.7kg) and measures under an inch thick.
Even though the Cr-48 is a limited model, Google is still looking to recruit people into a sort of public beta. Applications are open until December 21, although unfortunately it's only open to those in the US for the time being.
For the rest of us, Acer and Samsung are expected to launch retail units based on Intel CPUs in the middle of next year, although there weren't any firm details beyond that. However, it was made clear that Google wouldn't be allowing systems that dual-booted Chrome OS and Windows.
A very thin client
Thankfully, this will give the developers plenty of time to work on the OS, which is still pretty far from completion. USB support is largely missing and there are plenty of tweaks still to be made, but what's there is apparently looking very solid. The OS can boot in under 10 seconds and resume from sleep almost instantly, while first-time set up takes only a few minutes, since all user data is automatically pulled from the company's servers - assuming you have a Google account already.
It will still support multiple user accounts, though, and guests can use an 'incognito' mode to log in.
Addressing one of the common concerns, the launch made it clear that Chrome OS would be able to run offline, as would any Web Store apps, providing that they've been programmed for it. Even Google Docs will work when it isn't connected, with changes being synced the next time the machine goes online. Hopefully this won't be a problem too often, though, since the Cr-48s will come with 100MB of free data over 3G every month for two years through Verizon in the US
