Will Google resurrect the smartbook?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The idea of a smartbook has been tantalizing, but first generation attempts have fallen prey to their own immaturity. Now, though, there is a chance that Google could resurrect the smartbook with the Chrome operating system. Later in November, smartbooks running on the Chrome OS are expected to hit the shelves. On top of that, Google is expected to release its own Chrome notebook computer. (It will be interesting to see how this turns out, since the Nexus One smartphone from Google pretty much just faded away.)

Google has been promising a Chrome OS for about a year now, and it appears that the company is ready to launch. Some of the company's partners include Qualcomm, Acer, ASUS, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, Adobe, Texas Instruments and Lenovo. Google is doing its best to make the Chrome OS appealing, offering it as a viable (and free) consumer alternative to Mac OS and Windows. However, as InformationWeek reports, Google has a tough road ahead:

For decades, consumers have had only two operating system choices for their computers: Mac OS and Windows. There's Linux, of course, but it's never really been a viable option for those who aren't technically savvy.

Google wants Chrome OS to appeal to the masses. It comes at the right price -- free -- but it faces many obstacles, not the least of which is Google's lack of retail success. Against the retail might of Apple and Microsoft and the years of brand loyalty accrued by those companies, Google will have to do a lot more to sell Chrome OS than it did to sell the Nexus One.

Chrome OS is designed for most activities to take place within the cloud, or on the web. The idea is to make the OS a very thin client on top of Google's already-launched Chrome Internet browser. Also due to launch before the end of the year is the Chrome app store. A Chrome tablet has not yet been announced, though; it is possible that Google is not quite ready to take on the iPad.

An exact date for the launch has yet to be set, though, and there is some speculation that it may not come off. However, if Chrome OS is set to be released this year, it is likely that it will be soon. Google probably doesn't want to miss out on potential holiday sales.

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