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Google recently published designs for a Chrome OS tablet that would compete directly with Apple’s newly released iPad. The tablet is still under development, but  pictures on Chromium.org give us an idea of what the hardware might look like, and how users might interact with it. Possible features include a 5 to 10 inch screen, on-screen keyboard, and multi-touch capability.

A video demonstrating how users would interact with the tablet is also available for download here.

The tablet is not the first of Google products that aim to rival Apple devices. The Nexus One was launched after the iPhone, and the Chrome OS itself competes with other operating systems -  not just Apple’s, but Microsoft’s as well.

Gartner analyst Robin Simpson says that, while it is debatable whether Google or Apple hardware is superior in quality, Apple definitely has the upper hand in terms of giving users better and easier access to content developed by independent third parties. Google seems to be making small steps in achieving a similar “ecosystem” by considering putting Chrome OS onto other devices, not just netbooks.

Via SMH, image via Wired.

Dell engineers have been having some fun with the new operating system that Google recently released to the public, as the massive open source project was released in its preliminary form to developers just a week ago. One Dell tech strategist has already mentioned that he and some of his colleagues want to get Chromium OS running on a test Dell  Mini 10v netbook.

Google intends to release Chrome OS next year as a lightweight operating system for netbooks. While they have not revealed their marketing strategy, they let everyone know they will be working with hardware partners from the netbook world. A Google spokesman refused to comment on whether or not Dell would be one of those hardware partners, but because Chrome OS is open source, we can expect a whole host of hardware companies to be interested in working with Google on Chrome.

Via Information Week.

The netbook world has been eagerly anticipating the Google Chromium OS since its initial announcement just a few months back, and Dell has already released a beta for those of us too impatient for the real thing. However, the work isn’t over; we could be getting a number of unanticipated but welcome features come the official release.

A recent demo displays the Chromium UI with a user accessing music playback application Lala. Google already uses Lala pop-up windows to play music through Lala in its search engine, and hopes to implement this as an attraction to prospective Chromium netbook buyers.

Lala sells streamable songs for 10 cents each and hosts users’ old music collections in the cloud. This will allow owners to get their music from anywhere with internet access without lugging around gigs of data, something netbook lovers in particular tend to appreciate.

And even if you don’t have internet access, Lala says its upcoming iPhone application will keep the last few hundred songs you’ve listened to on tab so you can play them without the internet. This could be a welcome addition to Chrome as well.

Anyway, here’s the demo:

Via Wired.

The Google Chrome operating system isn’t pre-installed on netbooks just yet, but if you’re interested, below are some netbooks that have been “officially” tested and that claim to be compatible with the software. On these netbooks, you can assume that everything works, including 802.11 Wi-Fi, Ethernet, the touchpad, and the suspend/resume functions.

• Acer Aspire One AOD250* – $299.99 at Amazon.com
• Acer Aspire One AOP531h – $269.99 at TigerDirect.com
• ASUS Eee PC 1008HA – $339.95 at Amazon.com
• ASUS Eee PC 900 – $282.25 at Amazon.com
• Gateway LT20* – $259.99 at TigerDirect.com
• Toshiba Satellite A205-S5000 (This is a 15.4″ laptop, but you can get one at netbook pricing for about $350 on eBay.)

*These netbooks ship with both Atheros and Broadcom 802.11 wireless adapters. The Atheros adapter works out-of-the-box with the Chrome operating system, but the Broadcom adapter does not.

Via Google.

The Chrome OS doesn’t yet provide anything that the Chrome web browser doesn’t, but we thought we’d share the procedure for downloading it onto your Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook anyway. First, grab yourself a USB drive that’s 8 GB or greater. (The actual download is roughly 7.5 GB.)

Essentially, the installation involves copying the Google Chrome OS image file onto your netbook. You’ll also need access to a computer that’s running Linux in order to turn the downloaded IMG file to a bootable file.

Technically, a Dell employee (nicknamed Doug A) came up with this entire process as he was testing out compiling a copy of the Google Chrome OS for himself after seeing it run on various netbooks last week. Doug A explains:

“To copy onto an USB key (8GB minimum), find another Linux machine and utilize the “dd” command to put the image onto the USB key. Example: dd if=ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov25.img of=/dev/sdb. In this example, /dev/sdb is my entire USB key… use “fdisk -l” to see how your USB key is named for your particular environment. Be careful to select your USB device (again, use fdisk -l to double verify and confirm the correct device filename) and not another device…”

The Google Chrome OS image file for the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbook is named ChromiumOS_Mini10v_Nov25.img and can be found here.

Via MobileComputerMag.

Google wants everyone to use their browser and what better way to do that than to provide low-cost bare-bones smartbook or netbook technology pre-installed with the Chrome OS? The company may look into advertising to cover the losses they may have to take for providing these rumored smartbooks and netbooks, but they also just acquired Teracent, a company that specializes in personalized display advertising.

The Chrome OS is free and most data is stored in the cloud anyway, so this situation would be quite feasible for Google. $20 per unit may seem a bit low, but you never know what’ll happen. Think Google will give out free smartbooks and netbooks? It could happen.

Via I4U.

Google says Chrome’s coming in 2010, and while some analysts correctly predicted that the project would be open sourced within days last week, the IDC is now saying that Google Chrome won’t see serious enterprise adoption for 10 years.

Analyst Al Hilwa of the IDC backed up this position by saying that, while updating on the cloud might be fantastic for Chrome OS netbook users, enterprises won’t easily get on board with the concept:

“[Cloud-based updates] are not going to eliminate problems. You’ll still have occasionally an update that comes in and it will screw up something. Enterprises don’t want to see that kind of thing. I think they’re making some bets on this and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.”

Furthermore, the fact that Chrome OS and the Chrome browser only run Web apps without access to downloadable local apps could be a turn-off even for netbook users:

“You wonder if netbook users are going to be okay with that, and if they will want to store everything in the cloud. Before it’s all over, there’s going to be some offline applications and then there will be some offline usage of data. They’re going to have Flash memory and people will store data locally. There’s almost no way around that.”

Based on that reason, Hilwa’s perspective is that Chrome OS will be a consumer phenomenon for five years, but it’ll be 10 years before Chrome OS can get 5% of the enterprise computing market in on the fun.

Via eWeek.

The community has long been waiting for Google Chrome OS-Based netbooks to arrive. It’s possible that they will be a reality in the very near future.

The Chinese netbook industry has always been at the forefront of technological innovation and this time, things are no different. Rumor on the street is that Chinese netbook manufacturers may be releasing netbooks equipped with the Google Chrome OS.

Currently, plans are for Google to release the full version of the Chrome OS next year, but they also plan to introduce a preview version of the software beforehand. Some sources in China have rumored that notebook manufacturers will start to introduce netbooks with Chrome starting as early as next month.

Nothing’s solidified yet, but we’ll make sure to keep you posted on any further progress.

Via JKOnTheRun.