back to article Google plots pre-Christmas Chrome OS iPad killer

Google will have a spec-tastic, low-cost, possibly even free Chrome OS tablet in punters' hands a month before Christmas, it has been claimed. And now the bad news: it's likely to be only available in the US, and if you want to get the tablet for a lot less than the iPad, you'll need to take out a Verizon data airtime deal. …

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  1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    low-cost

    So save on the $300-500 list price of an iPad by signing up to a 3year $100/month 3G contract ?

  2. Rich 30
    Thumb Up

    maybe...

    Could be good. If only we knew what size the screen might be.,

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    I would also bet

    That it can run Davlik apps as well as Chrome apps, making a convergence between the Android and Chrome marketplaces.

    Either way, Apple must be shitting themselves, they already lost the mobile game to Android, the Tablet arena is much newer and it's only gonna take a few months of Android/Chrome tablet sales to eclipse that too.

    1. Sean Baggaley 1
      WTF?

      "Apple must be shitting themselves"

      Hardly.

      At the low-end of the market, the only possible race is to the bottom, with competitors slitting each others' throats to stay in the game and thus getting mere pennies from each unit sold.

      Apple are more than happy to stay at the luxury end of the market. They will sell fewer units, but they make far more money off each sale.

      Clichéd Analogy®: Ferrari sell far fewer cars than Ford, but they make much more profit from each one sold.

      Ferrari are still going strong and don't care about the low end, cheap tat side of the market.

      1. spegru

        However one thing about Ferrarri

        is that it's *very* easy to see what Ferrari's USP is against Ford. Can you really say that about iPhone vs Android?

        A fairer comparison might be BMW vs Ford - and they overlap: alot

        If it's at least reasonably open, I'll be getting one.

        1. ThomH

          @spegru

          I have quite possibly misunderstood based on the rumoured specs, but I thought the point of Chrome OS (as contrasted with Android) is that the browser is the OS, with a browser-level native code extension for any occasion where Javascript can't quite cut it, though you're still explicitly performing tasks as part of the normal HTML page interaction process. So I guess there's one level on which you can say it's no more open than iPhone OS 1, but in practice you're coding at exactly the same level as the built-in 'applications' so a more realistic answer would be that it's entirely open.

          I naturally assume WebGL will be in there, alongside canvas, so I applaud the engineering decision.

      2. Jeff Power
        Troll

        Well...

        Well, Ferrari is owned by Fiat, and they sure as hell do care about the low end, cheap tat side of the market.

        Ford used to own Aston Martin and Jaguar - which, while not really quite at the same level as Ferrari, are certainly well at the end near it. This would be better with the later poster's comparison between BMW and Ford, as Jaguar and Aston Martin are more in that market than that for Ferraris.

        What are we talking about again?

    2. ThomH

      An interesting interpretation

      The sum total of Android handsets outsold the iPhone at one data point in one territory, and that means the game is already lost? I'd suggest you have a prejudiced interpretation.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good thing

    As sorry as I am to say it, only Google could come up at this point with a credible contender to the iPad. However, as it is just a glorified browser, I wonder if people will really flock to it. It would have to be dirt-cheap. Even if Verizon were to offer it free, how many people would be willing to spend $30 per month just so they can browse the web? The iPad is so much more, and it's going to take a long time for web apps to compete with the App Store.

  5. Miek
    Unhappy

    Title A is required

    "Google will have a spec-tastic, low-cost, possibly even free Chrome OS tablet in punters' hands a month before Christmas, it has been claimed."

    Yipee ...

    "And now the bad news: it's likely to be only available in the US, and if you want to get the tablet for a lot less than the iPad, you'll need to take out a Verizon data airtime deal."

    bugger :(

  6. Magnus Ramage

    It'd better be free...

    The Friday after Thanksgiving is Buy Nothing Day in the US! Not the best celebrated public holiday, but a funny day to launch a new product. (Actually I gather it's also a really busy shopping day there).

  7. JaitcH
    Go

    Nothing less than a Google declaration of war against Apple?

    Could this be perceived as a anything less than outright war, if the rumours are true?

    The US governments reaction to this will be interesting to observe, although if Verizon was including the Gpad as a freebie in a airtime deal they might just get away with it.

  8. Alastair 7

    Probably a good idea

    Google needs to get Chrome OS out of the door before everyone gets used to the idea of Android tablets, or it's never going to take off.

    It's incredible though- when it was first announced, ChromeOS was decried as being a useless stripped-down OS with no features. Yet, compared to the iPad it's actually competitive. Funny, that.

    1. Rob
      Thumb Up

      Not interested...

      ... unless it's got Android on it, so yes completely agree with your comments. I can't be bothered with Chrome, I will definately buy an aPad in the future though.

  9. insanity
    FAIL

    Once Burnt...

    So Google expect punters to 'forget' about their previous foray into the hardware market, where they offered crap support and then withdrew the product once they decided they couldn't be bothered any more?

  10. Dan 10

    Sounds positive...

    ...but, as well as the obvious question of availability outside the US, a potential deal-breaker is the reliance on the cloud. More info please!

  11. isurrenderall

    I'd prefer an Android tablet

    I spend a lot of time away from internet access (my college doesn't have wireless internet access), so I think I'd be a lot better off with an Android tablet.

  12. Si 1

    Interesting, but...

    Tegra 2? Hasn't Nvidia blown both the thermal and power targets for that chip? Maybe we'll have a rash of overheating gPads in the new year...

    Now if they can just keep the size around 7" it should actually be portable, unlike the oversized iPad.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Great phrase

    "if mole he be" - I like that, that's a band name in the making!

  14. ThomH

    So, definitely the new Microsoft then?

    In terms of: where have all the original ideas gone? Is this it from now on — wait for someone else to launch a popular product then usurp them with essentially the same product under more liberal licensing?

  15. JDX Gold badge
    Alert

    I'll wager...

    ... that Google's pad might be good, but not as good as something made by a hardware company using Android. Just like the Googlephone, in other words.

    1. Rob

      eh?

      All their kit is made by HTC, who have proven they can make quality hardware.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Commitment? google commitment?

    Okay, I suppose el goog has dipped toe in water in sense of mixing hardware with firmware with software.

    But will it do the whole h'Apple?

    Will el goog do hardware, firmware and software proper and properly?

    For example, google maps on a handheld device compared to iPhone and TomTom might just be a deal clincher in road warrior scenarios or will it?

  17. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Chrome OS vs. Android?

    I think someone at Google has been hitting the Jenkem a little too hard.

    Chrome OS was originally targeted as a netbook/smartbook OS, now they want to not only convert it into a touchscreen OS but one that competes with Android?

    This might be the most retarded thing I've heard out of the Chocolate Factory... maybe the cynics are right when they describe Google as a bunch of caffeine riddle assburger kids running around with no direction whatsoever.

    Anonymous of course, Google nevar forgets

  18. MS Rocks
    FAIL

    Great.......

    Google say they will be able to sell these devices quite cheaply.

    This is because if you buy one, they will be able to capture information about how you spend your time online and the sites you visit. They will then offer this information about your online activities to the highest bidder, who will use the information to try to sell you things you do no need.

    Google are EVIL. I would rather eat my own liver than buy one of their crappy products.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      and Apple are saints?

      google collect info and use it for adverts.

      but so do Apple.... or have you been absent from IT for the past 3 years of Apples latest development and offering?

  19. MD Rackham

    Just like all the "iPod Killers"...

    ...it's likely to have a big marketing splash then disappear from the market after six months.

    Instead of creating a somebody-elses-idea-killer, why can't they just create their own product with some ideas of their own?

    Those specs sound positively Zune-tastic.

    1. qwertyuiop
      Thumb Down

      @MD Rackham

      "Just like all the iPod killers... ...why can't they just create their own product..."

      You mean like Apple "created" the iPod? More like copied all of the personal music players that were already on the market!

      1999 - "Personal Jukebox" by Compaq

      2000 - "Creative Nomad Jukebox" by Creative

      2001 - first iPod

      iPhone? - too many existing mobile phone manufacturers to list

      iPad? - hardly the first tablet PC in the marketplace

      Great innovation by Apple? They have rarely, if ever, been truly innovative. What they ARE good it is making a better-looking version of somebody else's idea and giving it "must have" status.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Jobs Halo

      Dictionary

      Agreed!

      Looks like all the dictionaries specially printed for Microsoft with the definitions of 'Innovate' and 'Innovation' customized to their liking will have a second-hand value after all!

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Too bad that they opted to partner with Verizon tho

    Verizon uses EV-DO for 3G. Guess how many country outside the US have EV-DO providers.

    Hope the receiver is actually dual-mode EV-DO/UMTS. I'd hate to bring one in from the US and not be able to use it.

  21. Tom 7

    Oh goody!

    I cant wait to get one and stick Linux on it - there's no need for Android on a device of that capability.

  22. Giles Jones Gold badge

    Argh!

    Why Chrome OS and not Android? The UI is lame, Android is more powerful.

    For once Ballmer was on the money when he accused Google of being confused. Google say that Android and Chrome OS are for different markets, mobile and personal computing?

    Surely they are the same thing? a personal computer device just needs to be a bit more powerful and bigger.

    Chrome OS will access remote applications. So no network link, no apps?

  23. James 93

    Not true!!

    http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/chrome-os-tablets-coming-from-google-and-verizon-on-black-friday/

  24. Don Mitchell

    The Bad News

    The bad news is not that it is US only, the bad new is it is a thin client. Server companies have been trying to foist this on the public for years now.

  25. Dan 10
    Thumb Down

    Internet rumour-mongering at it's finest...

    It's complete bollox, people!

    "The author...apparently fabricated all these specs"

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