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Google Chromebook
(Image Credit: http://www.pcmag.com)
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The upsurge
in the sales of tablets has left many laptop manufacturers in a quandary,
whether to shift their R&D to design tablets or to innovate and offer
products that combine the user-friendliness of tablets with the productivity of
laptops. Apparently Google has opted to do both. The internet search giant has
collaborated with a number of tablet manufacturers to produce its own line of
tablets. In addition to the Google Nexus tablet devices that the company has
offered in the market, recent reports have hinted at the possibility that the
company will be offering a Google Chromebook with touch screen capabilities.
According to
a DigiTimes report, a 12.85-inch Google Chromebook will be offered by the
company before the year ends. Although the other features of the new Google
Chromebook remain uncertain, adding touch screen capabilities into the device
may increase its appeal in the market, especially when it is already being
offered at a rather affordable price tag.
Since the
Google Chrome OS is already designed with touch screen compatibility, it will
easy for the company to simply add a touch screen display on any of its
upcoming Google Chromebook offerings. According to the report, the company already
placed orders for touch screen netbooks from a Taiwanese manufacturer, Opal.
The company is already offering two other models of the Google Chromebook
manufactured by Acer and Samsung.
There is
also a possibility that the next model of the Google Chromebook will have the
Google brand since the company itself placed the order for the devices. The
current models of the Google Chromebook are being offered at a price tag that
range from $200 to $450. The low price tag is mainly aimed at appealing to a
number of budget-conscious consumers. However, the low price also resulted to its
reliance on the cloud application suite of the company since the two current
models of the Google Chromebook only offers a 16GB SSD.
Despite its
low price point, the Google Chromebook has not made much of an impact in the
market. Some industry watchers have indicated that the low price point may not
be enough to offset the limited capabilities of the device when it is offline.
With the
possible addition of the touch screen capability on the Google Chromebook, some
industry watchers are speculating on a possible increase in the price of the
device. In fact, the increase may even bring it up to the level of its
competitors, which may take away its low price advantage.
It remains to
be seen whether the search giant would release a Google Chromebook featuring
touch screen capabilities since no statements were made by the company in
connection to the report.
