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Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

Summary: A price change for Chromebooks could be a huge game changer overall for these Google-powered netbooks from Samsung and Acer.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

Google is making some big changes for the Chromebooks just in time for the holidays that could give these netbooks the boost with consumers that they need.

First, the Goog has revamped the user interface a tad by producing a cleaner login experience and moving the New Tab page items around a bit for the purpose of making it easier to manage apps, bookmarks and most visited sites.

But the biggest and most important change is that Google is slashing the prices on the Chromebooks from Acer and Samsung to $299 each -- a much more reasonable price for one of these simple laptops. Those prices go into effect this week and will likely be permanent beyond the holiday season. (FYI, pricing might not be updated immediately on all websites yet, but they should be via Google channel partners soon.)

On the design front, Samsung is introducing a sleek, black version of its Wi-Fi only Samsung Chromebook Series 5 in the United States.

Sales for the Chromebooks might not have been where Google wanted them to be by now. A big reason was likely that the price tags were originally around $429 to $499, which was a bit ridiculous for a netbook that is basically only a browser and isn't actually that fast when in use. (Surely, these perform better than the average netbook, but that doesn't warrant paying an extra $150 to $200 for one.)

However, Chromebooks have proven to find a niche within the business and education sectors as they do provide a budget-friendly option for companies and schools looking to upgrade to simple systems as cheaply as possible with guaranteed support from Google.

For a closer look at just how easy Google boasts it is to "set up" a Chromebook, check out the very short clip below:

Related:

Topics: Mobility, Google

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38 comments
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  • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

    Don't know about the enterprise, but I don't think a regular consumer will be ready to pay anything more than 199 for a browser
    mKind
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

      @mKind
      Completely agreed. I think ChromeOS would have more success on thin clients. Lots of works in enterprise is done via only a web browser. having a cheap computer with a powerful browser which is not possible to become infected by viruses, etc is really a need in enterprise.
      majidazimi
      Reply Vote

      • Nope

        @majidazimi
        Enterprise are heavy MS office users too. Web browser won't wook.
        ZenithY
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

        @Rachel King: this is THE YEAR of the Crapbo.., er, Chromebook<br><br>Why do they keep insisting on this? The Netbook era is over. Microsoft won that war, but is losing the tablet war. Guess what? Google is also. But at least some players are trying to fight Apple's dominance with Google's PHONE OS (Honeycomb has failed). Google insists with its third-class netbook. Why?
        markbn
        Reply Vote

      • HTML devices era is over.

        @majidazimi Consumers need access to App Stores plus possibility to browse internet. Not opposite apporach to market like HTML browser plus possibility to download some apps from app stores.

        Netbooks, ChromeBooks and all sorts of Tablets which supposed to be HTML browsers have failed, marketing should finally realize that web browsing is not primary use case anymore.
        Nikolayev
        Reply Vote

    • Agreed

      @mKind For most consumers, a $200 (or less) ChromeBook price-point is when they will begin to take notice. Especially consumers that want or need a built-in keyboard and/or larger screen size on their mobile device. And remember what Google said at the Chrome OS launch: it's a companion device.<br><br>As are the Kindle Fire and B & N Nook Color products currently priced at approx. $200.
      Rabid Howler Monkey
      Reply Vote

    • Fire sale coming!

      @mKind Just as Google TV and Logitech parted ways and had the fire sale for its Google TV hardware. Chromebooks are not far behind. Seems Google thinks everyone is a geek and knows what all this stuff is. They have done a especially poor job advertising what Google Chromebooks are. Same with Google TV too but most of that with Logitech was over priced hardware. Google needs to get some non geeks working for it that know how to market to non geek consumers and realize a new OS like Chrome which the average person knows nothing about won't sell by itself.
      jscott418-22447200638980614791982928182376
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

      @mKind $200 might even be too much. I could see me getting one for $150, or free with a 2 year data plan through Verizon or Sprint. That's about it though.
      Champ_Kind
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

      @mKind Even at $199, I don't see how these cheap netbooks are worth the money. Maybe and it's a big maybe if they sold for $99 I would be intrigued.
      Masari.Jones
      Reply Vote

  • mom

    my mom does browsing and email and facebook and then more facebook.
    that's all she does. she don't know nuttin about specs and chips and all that "more" you can get for the same money. and she don't want to know. she don't do "more".

    so to replace her aging dell i got her the acer chromebook. she didn't miss a beat. bam, she's on facebook. she's happy.

    no virus, no virus cost, no update cost, no maintenance, no maintenance calls. yeah, it was worth it.

    i'd wager that most of my family could use a chromebook and never miss a beat. none of them do "more". it's all web all the time. my sister got a free printer with her big new desktop a couple of years ago and it's still in the box. her husband does use it for more than facebook... he buys and sells on ebay.
    oneleft
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

      @oneleft
      yep, most people need an internet getter and not a computer. Sony just dropped the price of their stand alone device to $79. Built in internet ability adds about $100 to the cost of a new TV.
      mswift@...
      Reply Vote

  • $100 more than a Amazon Kindle Fire?

    These look way more useful than the Fire, and they're not an Amazon sales tool.
    GoPower
    Reply Vote

    • no, they're a Google sales tool

      @GoPower
      which is far worse.
      William Farrell
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

        @William Farrell
        [i]"no, they're a Google sales tool, which is far worse."[/i]
        In your (not so humble) [b]opinion.[/b]
        Funny; you should [i]enjoy[/i] the company of other tools.
        rahbm
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

    http://4zi.net/ez

    http://4zi.net/ez
    ghrdstger
    Reply Vote

  • Still 3X more than their worth. $99 max.

    If they had potential to become be repurposed as W8 machines then I'd be interested at $99. But these don't so they're just not worth it. Save your money for a cheap W8 tablet, at least that way you'll get a touch screen.
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply Vote

    • Yawn.

      @Johnny Vegas
      Utterly predictable, and as facile as usual.
      rahbm
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

        @rahbm So anyone who disagrees that these Chomebooks are worth the fire sale price is some sort of hater? Oh wait, did I say fire sale? Sure did because that is what it is - a fire sale.
        athynz
        Reply Vote

  • At half the price they should double their sales!

    From nothing to ____.
    x I'm tc
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Samsung, Acer Chromebooks dropping to $299 this week

    They are just overpriced. 200$ still seems outrageous when you look at what you are getting. I'd pay 125$ for a Chromebook and not a penny more.
    Bates_
    Reply Vote
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