Google will make its web-powered portable PC available in nine more countries soon, and its bringing the message with a bit of rhyme and not much rhythm.
Nine nations, including New Zealand, Philippines, Norway, Denmark, Mexico, Chile, Belgium, Spain and Italy, will see the arrival of the Chromebook to their retail stores soon, although Google did not announce a specific date of availability for any of the countries.
"Chromebooks are coming to nine more nations to improve computing for all generations. So we'd like to say our Hellos to our new global Chromebook fellows," writes Google director of Chromebook marketing and "occasional versifier" David Shapiro in a poem posted on the Google blog.
Although Google did not specify when the Chromebook will be available in the said countries, it did drop a few hints for some of the countries.
"To Mexico and Chile, Hola we say, tons of apps and free automatic updates are starting today. And in the coming weeks - very soon, you'll see - Chromebooks will be in Belgium, Spain and Italy," Shapiro writes.
Google will offer different Chromebook models in different countries, but the range will most likely include the 11.6-inch Acer C720, the bigger 14-inch HP Chromebook 14 and the 13-inch Toshiba Chromebook 13. The Chromebooks will be available for sale in physical retail stores, including Mexico's Office Depot and Dick Smith in New Zealand.
Chromebook is Google's web-powered PC known for its almost dirt-cheap prices, at least for most models except Google's own light, sleek and aluminum-covered Pixel. They are powered by Google's ChromeOS instead of Windows, a defining feature that can either be a deal-maker or a deal-breaker, depending on the user's needs.
The web-centric-ness of ChromeOS, which was obviously based on Google's Chrome browser, means users get to enjoy a smooth computing experience without thinking about updating their machines. ChromeOS will take care of that for the user. The Chromebook will surely make an adequate PC for users whose computing is composed mostly of checking emails, logging to Facebook, shopping online and watching YouTube videos occasionally.
The Chromebook, however, might lack several features for those who do more than watch cat pictures on their computers. Although Google provides a number of apps that lets users edit text files, spreadsheets and slides online and adds to its growing list of apps that can be used offline, the Chromebook still does not provide support for software traditionally used in Windows, such as iTunes, Photoshop and specialized business software.
Still, research shows the Chromebook is growing in popularity even as overall PC sales have slumped. They are particularly enjoying success in the enterprise and educational markets and have sold 2.1 million units for an average price of $338 in 2013. Although the figure barely makes a dent in the 315 million laptop units sold in the same year, ABI Research says the Chromebook is "a disruptive force" in the portable PC market and predicts Chromebook sales to reach 11 million units in the next six years.
