Hasta La Gadget!

Samsung debuted its version of the Chromebook in May. Photo: Michael Calore/Wired.com

Google announced on Thursday that its web-only laptop, the Chromebook, is now available for pre-order in the United States via Best Buy or Amazon websites.

Google’s Chromebook hardware is currently offered by two manufacturers — Samsung and Acer — with two different product designs. Both manufacturers are offering Wi-Fi only and 3G versions of the device.

“Nothing but the web,” Google Chrome’s Twitter account wrote Thursday evening, linking followers to the sale page. Chromebook pre-orders ship on June 15.

As a web-only device, the Chromebook fits in perfectly with Google’s vision of a cloud-based future. Essentially, the Chromebook takes the netbook and strips it of the components found in most laptop computers. There’s no visible operating system outside of Google’s Chrome browser (hence the name), which means the interface is entirely web-based. There’s also no significant local storage (though it does have a removable SD card slot), which means everything you’re using on the device must be stored and accessed remotely from online servers.

Of course, Google’s cloud-based vision has you covered there. Want access to your photos? Upload them to Picasa, Google’s photo storage site. Hankering for music? Google Music (now in beta) stores all your music on the internet, streaming songs to the device. The same goes for documents (Google Docs), calendars (Google Calendar) and most other things you could think to use on your netbook.

Acer’s cutely titled “Cromia” comes with an 11.6-inch HD display, 6-hour battery life, and weighs just under 3 pounds. The Wi-Fi only version costs $380, and the Verizon-carried 3G version comes priced at $450.

Samsung’s model comes with a bump up in features, as well as a boost in price. The display is larger by about an inch, and it’s a little heavier at 3.1 pounds. But Samsung says its Chromebook gets an added 2.5 more hours of battery life than Acer’s slightly cheaper model. Samsung’s model will start at $430 for Wi-Fi, and $500 for a 3G version.

Google first debuted the Chromebook at the company’s developer-centric event in May, Google I/O.

We can’t say we expected Gilt to be the first place to offer Samsung’s new Chromebook but, well, here we are. Google’s now sending out emails like the one above to at least some folks that signed up to be a part of the Cr-48 pilot program, telling them that they can join a “limited time” sale on the high-end discount site starting today, June 1st. In true Gilt fashion, the Chromebook (otherwise known as the Samsung Series 5) will also come paired with a “limited edition” sleeve designed by Rickshaw. Unfortunately, “limited” seems to be the keyword here — the sale is only open to those that have received the email, and it’s not clear how many Chromebooks are actually available.

Update: And they’re all gone, but there is a wait list if you want to hang onto some hope of getting one before the official launch on June 15th.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Samsung Chromebook goes on sale early at Gilt (update: sold out) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google recently rolled out the beta release of Chrome 12, and now Cr-48 owners are getting a matching version of Chrome OS. This latest version, 0.12.433.48, brings bug fixes, Flash 10.2.158.22, a file manager context menu, and some spiffy new icons and avatars to its browser-based UI. We grabbed the update on our own Google-fied laptops and got some pics of the beta’s new bits for your viewing pleasure. We’re still getting acquainted with all of the changes, so if you’ve also copped the new Chrome OS let us know how it’s treating you in the comments.

[Thanks, Alex]

Google releases OTA update for Chrome OS, Cr-48 owners can upgrade now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reports are trickling in that Google has begun shipping the CR-48 to eager testers who’ve thus far been empty-handed after signing up for the units back in December. Could it be? Is the plucky prototype Chrome OS laptop getting a stay of execution after being declared all dried up back in March? That’s pretty unlikely, given the impending release of the Samsung and Acer netbooks that we saw announced during Google I/O. It seems a lot more plausible that the company is just exhausting the supply, so if you signed up late last year and haven’t received one yet, we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Google’s CR-48 apparently shipping again, doing the prototype death rattle originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 May 2011 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is there anything you don’t know about Google’s blowout I/O 2011 developer conference? If you’ve read our recap of happenings over in San Francisco this week, you should be well on your way to becoming the most knowledgeable Google geek in your local data cluster, but if you’re looking for all the key info in a more digestible format like, say, video, Google’s taking care of you as well. Both of the company’s I/O keynotes have been posted to YouTube, where they can be consumed in up to 720p resolution, and we’ve done our bit too by embedding them for you after the break. So what are you waiting for, your Googlification awaits!

Continue reading Google I/O 2011 keynotes available on YouTube (video)

Google I/O 2011 keynotes available on YouTube (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 20:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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