Google has launched its first range of
laptops that will run on its web-based chrome
operating system as it goes head to head with
Microsofts Windows .
The Chromebooks, made by
Samsung and
Acer, will be available for order in the UK from June 15 2011. The new devices run an operating system which discards nearly all the standard features expected in an
OS like Windows or Apple's Mac OS X, instead focussing entirely on accessing the web through Google's chrome browser.
Google's aim is to encourage people to do all their work in 'the cloud', using products like their own
Google Docs to accomplish tasks such as working and streaming
music and video rather than storing it on a hard drive.
According to the internet giant, Chromebooks are not weighed down by
software and applications common to most laptops so they boot up in in just ten seconds, enabling people to get online much faster than a standard operating system. The company said battery life on the device will last a day, security updates will be done automatically and they will be faster than traditional laptops.