With its latest updates to Chrome OS, the Chromebook and the new Chromebox desktop unit, Google is hoping it can convince business and education customers to give its cloud-based operating system a second chance.
The problem is, Chrome OS and its hardware remain uncompetitive — not just against low-cost desktops and laptops, but against the burgeoning world of tablets.
When Google first started talking about Chrome OS back in 2009, the idea of a lightweight, cloud-centric, browser-focused operating system had a lot of potential.
The idea was simple: Most of what we do takes place in a web browser. So why not have a low-cost netbook that's essentially a souped-up web browser, and little more?
How Chrome OS Stumbled
By the time the first Chromebook devices started to hit the market last June, Google was actively trying to position the hardware — and Chrome OS — as an alternative for educational institutions and large corporations. Don't spend money on licensing thousands of seats for software, it said. Just use Google and our devices.
The problem was — as Mashable editor Lance Ulanoff pointed out in November — the typical Chromebook was both underpowered and priced disproportionately high when compared to other netboooks, full-sized laptops and tablets.
Moreover, education and corporate entities now have a new low-cost computing solution: The iPad.
The iPad's rapid adoption in the workplace and in the education market has not only helped kill the netbook — it's made Chrome OS a near-impossible sell.
A year later, nothing I see with the new Chrome OS updates or device pricing leads me to believe that Google will fare any better this time around.
Price It Low or Go Home
Let's cut to the chase. Samsung's new Chromebook and Chromebox are simply too expensive for what you get. The Chromebox is $329 — an outrageous amount of money for a Celeron-powered desktop.
Yes, the form-factor is small — but that still doesn't excuse the pricing. I can get a Windows 7 desktop from Amazon for less than this with better specs, a keyboard and mouse.
The new Samsung Series 5 (model No. 550) is even worse. The pricing starts at $449 and goes up to $550 with 3G service. That puts it squarely in the iPad's territory.
Is that a problem? Faced with the choice of outfitting an office with a suite of retina display iPads — which will be able to access 700,000 iOS apps and remain exceedingly portable — versus laptops that can't even store a file if you're offline, which would you choose?
If Google and its hardware partners are actually serious about moving units and building Chrome OS adoption, the Chromebox would be $250 and the Chromebooks would sell for no more than $350 at the high end.
Let's not even try to pretend that consumers are a target for these devices — again, an iPad, Android tablet or mid-range notebook will cost about as much as the priciest Chromebook. What's the incentive for being forced to live in a web browser?
Build a Chrome Tablet Already
I have long predicted that Google will — at some point — merge the Chrome OS and Android projects. Until then, it's shocking that Google and its hardware partners haven't at least attempted releasing a Chrome OS-powered tablet.
A tablet could be sold at a higher price point while still letting Google sell its cloud services to corporate and educational customers.
Even better, make an optional keyboard dock — like the Asus Transformer — to try to appeal to a broader selection of users.
To be sure, Chrome OS would still going to have to compete against Android and iOS (and soon, Windows 8) in the tablet space, but at least the tablet form factor would match the needs of customers.
By continuing to focus on a dead market (netbooks) and an even more dead market (desktops), Chrome OS severely limits its potential user base.
Would you seriously consider paying $550 for a Chromebook, or $330 for a Chromebox? Let us know in the comments.
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