Poor sales of Chromebooks won't stop Google from promoting Chrome OS

If it weren't for Android, Google would have a pretty lousy record when it comes to working with hardware manufacturers. Google TV has been a bust to date (though the latest update may help resuscitate the platform), and sales of Chromebooks, systems that run the search giant's Chrome OS, have been very modest.

And that's putting it mildly. According to DigiTimes, Acer has only sold 5,000 Chromebooks since it launched them last summer, and Samsung has supposedly sold even fewer of its Chromebooks. Those numbers make the BlackBerry PlayBook sales figures look like a rousing success in comparison.

Despite those abysmal numbers, Google hasn't given up extolling the virtues of Chrome OS, with executive chairman Eric Schmidt talking it up in a speech earlier this week. In theory, it does have some advantages, like far speedier boot-up times than Windows systems, but the fact that it forces users to rely on the cloud for all of their application needs is a significant drawback when you're not connected to the Internet.

Should Google give up on its Chrome OS and Chromebooks? If not, how can it improve sales? Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section.