Acer America today debuts its new Acer C7 Chromebook, its next-generation mobile computer that runs Google's Chrome operating system and is priced at a low $199. The new Acer C7 Chromebook is the ideal additional laptop for families, students and business people that need a fast, easy and secure way to get online to do their computing in the cloud, such as using Gmail, keeping up on social networks, shopping, and paying bills.

"Today's computer users are doing more online heightening the need for enhanced security, quicker online access and an easy-to-use interface," Jim Wong, corporate president, Acer Inc. "The Acer C7 Chromebook provides all this at an affordable price, making it the right choice for families and students on a budget as well as anyone who wants a new or second mobile PC for web-based computing."

Google announced its newest Chromebook, made by Samsung. The 11.6-incher is completely fan-less, and just 0.8" thin, weighing 1.13 kg. It is designed to give you over 6.5 hours of usage on full charge, and smooth 1080p video playback. Under its hood is a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core ARM processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of local flash storage, in addition to which, you get 100 GB of space on Google Drive for 2 years. The latest version of Chrome OS comes with Google Now integration (real-time sync with data on the cloud). Connectivity includes HDMI, 802.11 b/g/n, and Bluetooth. A web-cam decks the top of the screen. The new Chromebook will be available through Play Store and Best Buy for US $249.99.A video presentation follows.

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, today announced two new products featuring the Google Chrome OS operating system: the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook laptop and the Samsung Series 3 Chromebox desktop.

"The new Samsung Series 5 Chromebook and Series 3 Chromebox provide the rapid, convenient and ever-improving computing experience that was so well-received in our first Chromebook," said Todd Bouman, vice president of marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "As the world's first Chromebox, the Series 3 provides users with the Chromebook's ease-of-use in a compact desktop product, which easily integrates with their existing accessories. The second generation Chromebook features powerful components housed in a slim, lightweight body, thanks to Samsung's advanced hardware engineering."Image courtesy of The Verge.

Things on the Chromebook front have been pretty quiet this year but it seems they will change soon as the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has received and tested a new machine running Google's Chrome OS. Seen below is the VAIO VCC111 Series, Sony's very first Chromebook, which features a 11.6-inch LCD screen (made by Samsung), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, an SSD, an SD card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, a HDMI output, a webcam, and a 4100 mAh battery.

Google has just struck a deal that will see it supply 27,000 Chromebooks to schools in the US states of Iowa, Illinois, and South Carolina. Rajen Sheth, Google's leader of Chromebook work for business and education announced the deal in a speech at the Florida Educational Technology Conference. "We now have hundreds of schools across 41 states that have outfitted at least one classroom with Chromebooks," he said. This is a particularly significant development, as Google is nurturing its future market base, and facilitating the evolution of computing devices from bloated Wintels to efficient Chromebooks that run off the cloud.

At CES 2012 Samsung Electronics has revealed its plans to introduce an updated version of its Series 5 Chromebook. Coming in Q2, the 'new and improved' Chromebook swaps the Atom N570 CPU of the first iteration with a Celeron processor, but keeps the 12.1-inch non-gloss display, the 2 GB of RAM and the 16 GB SSD of its predecessor.

The Celeron-powered Series 5 Chromebooks will start at $399 for the WiFi-only model and is set to reach $449 for the 3G version.