Hasta La Gadget!

There is a lot of competition in the notebook market, competition that not only rides on the latest and greatest hardware, but also on the software. Apple’s notebooks, powered by OS X, have their own standing in the market, and so do Windows powered machines. Chromebooks are the new kids on the block, but according to the NPD Group’s research, Google’s browser based OS ended up taking a significant chunk of U.S. notebook sales in 2013.

The figures reveal as massive improvement from last year when Chromebooks only equalled to two-tenths of one percent of all computer and tablet sales in the U.S. This year, NPD Group claims, the Chromebooks accounted for 10 percent for all computer and tablet sales and 21 percent of all U.S. commercial notebook sales through November. Amazon’s list of most popular products during the holiday shopping season have two such notebooks from Acer and Samsung. According to the retailer, these Chromebooks were two of the three best selling notebooks during the holiday season in the U.S. One major reason why customers are turning to Chromebooks is the price, most models are priced around $200, much lower than an average Windows 7 powered notebook. The percentage is expected to rise in 2014, with a new crop of Chromebooks expected to be unveiled at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show 2014 in Las Vegas, next month.

Chromebooks Accounted For 21% Of U.S. Notebook Sales This Year [Research] original content from Ubergizmo.

If you’re buying a new laptop this holiday season, you should probably get a MacBook Air. Its build quality is best-in-breed, its 12-15 hour battery life (on the 13" model) absolutely embarrasses the competition, and its operating system is extremely reliable and polished. Plus, despite what you may have heard about Apple products, it’s actually quite affordable compared to the competition.

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Chromebooks aren’t known for being the beefiest machines out there, but they’re getting some hot new guts. Google just dropped the news that there are Chromebooks on the way rocking Intel’s new 4th generation CPUs, bringing serious computing power and better battery life to the table.

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Historically, most of Acer’s device lineup has been focused on Windows products — it’s the fourth-largest PC maker, after all — but a less-than-pleasant second quarter seems to have given the company reason to switch its strategy up a bit. According to the Wall Street Journal, Acer is looking into expanding its Google-centric efforts; although it will continue a strong partnership with Microsoft, the Taiwanese manufacturer aims to offer more Chromebooks and Android products, while pushing fewer laptops or tablets sporting Win8. Chairman J.T. Wang told the Journal that smartphones, tablets and Chromebooks are expected to make up 10-12 percent of the company’s revenue by the end of this year, while that number should bump up to 30 percent in 2014.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Mobile, Microsoft, Google, Acer

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Source: Wall Street Journal

Sure, you can already snag one of those Chromebooks from places such as Amazon, Best Buy and Google’s own Play shop. But, starting today, the Mountain View-based company is making various Chrome OS-sporting laptops available at more retailers around the globe — over 6,600, to be specific. Google says the likes of Walmart and Staples will now have a selection of Chromebooks up for grabs, while Office Depot, Office Max and Fry’s are expected to do the same “in the coming months.” For those across the pond, you can expect to find some of Google’s laptops at Dixon retailers in the UK, as well as Mediamarket, FNAC and Elgiganten stores in the Netherlands, France and Sweden, respectively. All in all, this is definitely a good thing for Google’s plan to get its Chromebook machines in as many locations as possible.

Filed under: Laptops, Google

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Source: Google