Despite their note that Chrome OS would not be available on any hardware in 2010, the search giant has said today that the operating system may still launch next month, in a limited software beta.
The company would “not go into details” on when or in what condition the operating system will launch, but it does confirm a public release is scheduled for this year.
Bugs in the software have dwindled, and a pre-release build is in the works.
The operating system will work on all PCs and tablets, but is designed to run best on netbooks.
Google Chrome OS should see a full release in the Q1 2011.
For a more in-depth look into Chrome OS, check our earlier article: Google Chrome OS
Result for: netbook
Dell has announced the upcoming availability of the Inspiron Duo tablet/netbook hybrid today, as well as pricing for the device.
The device will be available during the first week of December, and the base model will sell for $549.
Dell’s unique hybrid has a 10.1-inch multi-touch display.
The device runs on a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, has 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, 250GB of storage, and Windows 7 Home Premium as the operating system.
When flipped into a tablet, the 1366×768-resolution display uses Dell’s Duo Stage UI layer, which is much more touch-friendly than standard Windows 7.
A few of the installed apps are Dell’s MusicStage, VideoStage, PhotoStage, and BookStage.
Result for: netbook
Digitimes is reporting this week that global vendors are expected to begin selling netbooks and notebooks running the Google Chrome OS starting later this month.
Furthermore, Google will also launch its own Google-branded Chrome OS notebook, following a strategy similar to their launch of the Nexus One smartphone earlier this year.
The sources of the report are component makers in Taiwan.
Google’s branded device will be manufactured by Inventec with 70,000 expected to ship at launch. The Google Chrome OS notebook will run on “an ARM-based platform” and Google will not sell it through retail channels.
After Google’s initial launch, Acer and HP will launch Chrome OS notebooks in late December. ASUS is said to be watching the market before entering.
