A rumored Google event on December 7 could herald the long-awaited Google Chrome OS netbook, but the initial launch might be smaller than expected.
Google is reportedly hosting an event that promises “exciting news about Chrome” and that could means an official unveiling of its Chrome OS netbook. Earlier rumors of a launch in November have already fallen through, but a launch in just days would coincide with Google’s latest update to Chrome.
The netbook itself purports to have an interesting list of features, most notably a Cloud-based operating system, and according to early reports, the netbook can boot up in mere seconds. Interestingly enough, Google doesn’t seem poised to flood the market with the device; on the contrary, the rumor is that only 65,000 of the first iteration of the device will be made available to their “close friends and family.” If this is true, that could certainly raise some eyebrows, especially considering the chunk of the market Apple and Samsung now have. The longer Google waits, the more of a handicap it may be imposing on itself when the netbook does finally launch.
Google Chrome 8.0 was pushed through with little fanfare, but the added inclusion of a Web Store (essentially Google’s App Store or Marketplace) delivers more circumstantial evidence in support of the netbook announcement. It has long been announced that this Web Store will allow app vendors to create content not only for the Chrome web browser, but the operating system as well. With nothing but (substantial) rumor to go on, it’s too soon to tell whether any of this will be enough for Google to distinguish its device from competitors. However, if Google does have an ace up its sleeve, it appears we’ll find out this coming Tuesday.
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