AN FRANCISCO--The second day of Google's annual Google I/O developer conference was all about Chrome.

Leading the charge on the news front was the announcement of the first Chromebooks, notebooks that are based on Google's Chrome OS and provide an always-on and always-connected computing experience.

During the press conference following the keynote address on Wedneday, where the first two Chromebooks were introduced, Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, emphasized that Chromebooks represent a new model of computing.

"It offers an end-to-end computing experience," he said. "It's very different from a (Microsoft) Windows machine. The always-connected and always-on capability of it offers a totally different experience."

Samsung and Acer will each be offering Chromebook notebooks starting June 15. The Samsung Chromebook will cost $429 in the U.S. for the Wi-Fi only version and $499 for the 3G version. Acer's Wi-Fi only Chromebook will cost $349.The devices will be available for sale in the U.S. from Amazon and Best Buy.

Google will also be selling these Chromebooks internationally in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy.

Though the Chromebooks look as if they're pitted against inexpensive Netbooks and even possibly new tablet PCs, the pricing seems expensive given that the devices leverage only Web apps from Google's cloud services. No real software is running on the devices.

As a result, the relatively high price tag for the first Chromebooks has come under fire from some critics.

"It's pretty interesting," said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Gartner. "But at these prices, will consumers buy it? At $499, that gets you a pretty capable Netbook or even an iPad."

The initial Chromebooks are priced similarly to other Netbooks with more functionality, as well as to tablet PCs. But Google's Pichai defended the pricing, saying during the press conference that it's fair, considering the quality components that are in these initial models.

"A good display and processor will cost you about $150 per device," he said during the Q&A with reporters. "And then you have the good trackpads and other quality components. These aren't meant to be cheap computers. They're meant to offer a great experience."

Google co-founder Sergey Brin chimed in during the press conference with his own thoughts on pricing. He took an informal poll by a show of hands among journalists in the audience to see how many people were using laptops that cost less than $500. Only one person raised her hand, while the majority said their laptops cost more than $800 or $1,000.

"The One Laptop per Child initiative has been super successful," he said. "It may not have been exactly what (Nicholas) Negroponte had hoped for. But it has driven components down in price. So Chromebooks may not be $100, but they're pretty cheap." Sumber : http://news.cnet.com/