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Apr 20

Chrome OS Netbooks For Under $400, Says Google

Posted in: ASUS, Chrome, Google, netbooks, nokia, Notebooks, os, Today's Chili

Netbooks that will run Google’s new Chromium operating system will be competitively priced in the range of $300-$400, says Google chief Eric Schmidt.

The Chrome OS netbooks are expected to hit retail shelves by the end of this year or early next year.

“Those prices are completely determined by the costs of the glass, the costs of the processor and things like that,” says Schmidt in this video dug up by Tech Radar, “but in our case Chrome OS and Android are free so there is no software tax associated with all of this.”

Google introduced Chrome OS two months ago as a lightweight, browser-based operating system that would boot up in seven seconds or less. Google hasn’t revealed who will be manufacturing the Chrome OS netbooks, but already Acer has said it expects to offer about a million of these devices this year.

Chrome OS netbooks could also be available on contract from phone service providers, says Schmidt.

But it’s not clear how well that strategy will work. Other netbook makers have already tried that in the U.S. with limited success. For instance, Nokia offers its Booklet 3G netbook for $300 with a two-year AT&T contract that requires a monthly data service fee. But the device is also available without the plan at Best Buy for $600.

The novelty factor of the Chrome OS operating system aside, the netbook market is extremely price sensitive. And if Google wants a share of that pie it will have to beat the price of the Windows-based devices.

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Photo: (BlubrNL/Flickr)