Google said it plans to release two Intel-based Chrome OS notebooks from Acer and Samsung, next year with Verizon providing cellular connectivity.
Users will get 100MB of free data every month for the first two year and they can also purchase additional plans.
Google’s vice president of product management Sundar Pichai said during a launch event that Chrome OS "can span a wide variety of devices, form factors, underlying chip architectures. Our earliers partners are planning Intel architectures, so partners will help us lead the way and we'll support them where they want to go."
He added Google isn’t fully done yet with Chrome OS development even though strides have been made.
As a result, Google is instead launching the Chrome OS Pilot Program. The program, which will provide the beta Cr-48 notebook to select users "is intended for early adopters, [and] users who are used to using beta software," Pichai said.
The "Cr" part of Cr-48 is short for Chromium. The device will have a 12.1-inch screen and full-size keyboard, as well as an oversized, clickable touchpad. It will also include world-mode 3G and 802.11 dual-band Wi-Fi. Google promised eight hours of active use and eight days of standby, as well as a webcam.
It also will not have caps locks or function keys, hard drives, or spinning discs. There is "more than enough" GB, Pichai said. The device also features a jail-breaking mode. "It's fully available for you to break into," Pichai said.
