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Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month

By | May 11, 2011, 7:45am PDT

Summary: For $20 a month, students will soon be able to rent their own Google Chrome laptop, though the company hints that the enterprise sector would be its next stop.

Google is making a major push for its cloud-based Chrome laptops, this time, with the education sector.

In an interview with Forbes, a Google senior executive said that the company will begin leasing out the computers to students at $20 a month. But Google isn’t solely targeting students, and it is likely that the company’s real aim for the rental program is the enterprise sector.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are banging on our doors to get something like this,” the executive told Forbes.

The news echoes previous rumors that Google would start a Chrome rental program within the coming months. Manufactured by both Samsung and Acer, the computers are expected to retail for $500, far below that of most other laptops. Google is expected to announce the device’s June release date later today.

[Via Forbes]

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Google Inc., Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Ricardo Bilton

Ricardo Bilton writes for ZDNet's The ToyBox. His work has appeared in The Japan Times, The New York Observer, and The International Business Times, among other publications.

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Ricardo Bilton

Ricardo Bilton has no investments that may conflict with his work with ZDNet. Similarly, he has not worked with any companies that he may write about in his technology coverage.

Biography

Ricardo Bilton

Ricardo Bilton writes for ZDNet's The ToyBox. His work has appeared in The Japan Times, The New York Observer, and The International Business Times, among other publications. He lives in New York, and is a graduate of Amherst College.

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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
jpardue@... 12th May 2011
There are a lot of Windows laptops out there now for just over 400 dollars shipped to your door - from Dell for example - whcih inclues Windows 7.
View in thread
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LOL!
John Zern 11th May 2011
Small and medium-sized businesses are banging on our doors to get something like this

From the reception I've seen in previous article right here on ZDNet, I doubt that's an accurate statement. happy
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People are very tired of all of the security problems of Windows. For the
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
masses of employees, you just need browser, email, simple word processing, etc. This would save them a lot of money, and at the same time, fix the gaping security holes.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
jessiethe3rd 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy Dude... where have you been since the invent of Windows security essentials?
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And, you think that will keep you safe?????????
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
I can not stop laughing . . .
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
Cylon Centurion 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy

I can't help but ask why you think the workplace would just magically switch to chrome? That's a no-no.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
statuskwo5 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy If that's the case why not go with full-fledged Linux then?
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Cylon Centurion 0005: Using a browser is not exactly "magic". Again,
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
MOST EMPLOYEES USE JUST BROWSER, EMAIL, SIMPLE WORD PROCESSING. Why do you have such a hard time understanding that????
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statuskwo5: Many may use a full Linux distribution. But, it is more
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
expensive to administer and maintain. The beauty of ChromeOS is the simplicity.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
Cylon Centurion 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy

Cylon Centurion 0005: Using a browser is not exactly "magic". Again,
MOST EMPLOYEES USE JUST BROWSER, EMAIL, SIMPLE WORD PROCESSING. Why do you have such a hard time understanding that????

But, it is more
expensive to administer and maintain. The beauty of ChromeOS is the simplicity.

You just answred your own question. Why do you think businesses would switch to an untested and unsure product? Answer is they won't.
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How do you know what most employees need?
John Zern Updated - 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy
everyplace I've worked over the years they've used far more then Web serving and email, they run apps that GoogleOS have no equivelent for.

Word, Excel, AutoCAD, Gerber, Accounting packages, ect...

I could see having a ChromeOS box sitting in a corner for factory workers to check FaceBook at lunch, but nothing really important beyond that.

I can not stop laughing that you think this is some viable solution for enterprise!
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
audidiablo 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy
People are not tired of the security problem with Windows, at least not too many as people are used to Windows.

Google is a prime target of attack as it harvests so much data. Most people in enterprise don't play tic-tac-toe at work for a living and need real office suites to operate. Also with the down time with Google services people would have a field day dealing with the down time and when it effects one it effects all. Google is a gaping hole wink
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What's the point?
kikl 11th May 2011
I don't get it. You can run chrome on any laptop/netbook and use all the clowd applications offered in the google app-store. In addition you can use innumerable other applications. Get a decent linux distribution and you're ready to go. What does the chromium laptop offer, which cannot be had at the moment?
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ChromeOS makes everything more secure, and is much cheaper to manage.
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
It is also a modern OS. Run of the mill laptops running Windows are very boooooring.
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Message has been deleted.
jessiethe3rd Updated - 12th May 2011
  • Flagged
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Well, I really doubt that if you threw a Windows laptop against the wall it
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
would stick.
  • Flagged
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
statuskwo5 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy Define "modern OS".
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DB, business doesn't buy on exciting or boring
John Zern 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy
they buy on what gets the job done. Google could put dancing girls, movies, and lottery tickets into ChromeOS, but that's not whats needed to get the job done.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
audidiablo 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy

ROFL for days!!!! HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA you crack me up!
ChromeOS is not modern but more a stripped down crap version of Linux. Linux is free and you can install Ubuntu and have LibreOffice for free. Buy the netbook for 300-400 and you're ready to go! Saving money, speed and when the cloud turns into a hurricane of crap you can work offline with no issues! WHAT A CONCEPT! Oh and Windows looks nice just like OSX just as Ubuntu... ChromeOS looks like a web browser with tabs and that's about it... They should pay people 20 dollars a month to use it not the other way around.
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Let's Define Chrome
Hasam1991 11th May 2011
I think we need to see an official version of Chrome out, what is it? is it free? like a linux distro you can download to ISO and install? if so why pay 20 a month??

I would pay Apple 20 a month to use the macbook air, that thing is cool!!
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
statuskwo5 11th May 2011
@Hasam1991 Exactly, why pay for something that is already readily available for free. Get Fedora, Ubuntu, or Mint instead of their bastard child Chrome OS.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
mm71 11th May 2011
I hope Google subsidizes this & gives me a config better than the one I can get for that money, I would grab the laptop, format it & use my old XP license. Maybe even my desktop Win7 license would work. Thanks in advance Google.
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For sure, it will only be a managed solution running ChromeOS, including
DonnieBoy Updated - 11th May 2011
data plan. You could buy one outright if you want to install XP.
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Not worth it
iPad-awan 11th May 2011
This is a rip off. Even a community college student will know this. The only way this will get in to students will be if Google pay off a college official to make it a requirement -- and since this is evil Google we're talking about it'll probably happen
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Managed notebooks, including data plan for $20 a month is dirt cheap. Lets
DonnieBoy 11th May 2011
wait and see if it is a decent data plan, and what the hardware is. Could be revolutionary.
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Data plan might be worth it for non students
iPad-awan 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy
If they have a good data plan then it might be worth it. However, you still have to log in to your Google account and that mean they can track everything about you.

Students usually can use the university wifi.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
jessiethe3rd 11th May 2011
@iPad-awan

That's the trade off - tracking everything about you.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
audidiablo 11th May 2011
@DonnieBoy

It is dirt cheap but what you get is just about that... Dirt.

The hardware is mediocre at best and you could probably get a nice Windows 7 Netbook with 3 times the specs for less than 500.

There is nothing revolutionary about it as you can also access Google Garbage from any PC without the need for their spyware crap and half baked wanna be OS with crap tools that require you're online to use. What happens when Google servers crap out? Guess everyone who's got one gets to do nothing all at the same time... This is priceless I can't wait to see the GFail happy
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data?
Shumake 11th May 2011
didn't see anywhere in the write-up that the laptop, at $20 per month, includes internet access. Did I miss something Donnieboy?
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Gosh, BE patient. They will announce it later today. We do not know what
DonnieBoy Updated - 11th May 2011
hardware, what (if any) data plan, etc, etc. I only said "if it had a decent data plan". I was speculating that it MIGHT be a good deal depending on the data plan. We also do not know what hardware it will be.
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Ownership?
rrogers1753 Updated - 11th May 2011
If Google owns the PC, do they also own the data and content on the PC? What about privacy and sensorship? Google has a questionable track record in those areas.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
Cylon Centurion 11th May 2011
@rrogers1753

Well, seeing how the data would be stored on their servers.... Yeah, ain't happening.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
Delvardo 11th May 2011
Will you people get a grip? Google DOES NOT HAVE A CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. If your network admin has to contact Google, be prepared to wait for days for a response to your EMAIL. Yeah, like the enterprise is going to go for that... I mean come on...
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
statuskwo5 11th May 2011
Once I see the specs of this computer only then will I be able to say that $500 is " far below [the cost] of most other laptops".
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Specs & rental conditions ?
RelaxWalk 11th May 2011
Hi,
It's very interesting. Can you give some more details? For example, What are the hardware specs? Can the laptop be used disconnected? What happen in case there is hardware issue?
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
Cylon Centurion 11th May 2011
Another thread dumbed down by a certain Google eyed fanboy. Look, businesses won't be switching to Google Chrome, nor would most "rent" a laptop for $20 a month. They're both assinine thoughts.

Sometimes, I think Donnie just likes to hear himself talk, even though 99.9% of it is nonsense.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
fromthehip 11th May 2011
I have a $500, 2.8 GHz, dual core, lap top running Ubuntu 10.04. Sure, it came with Win7 on it. How do you figure that the Chrome laptops, retailing at $500 are "far below" most other laptops?

FTH
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Forget the enterprise
roberto.ortega@... 11th May 2011
Forget the enterprise, I have a 9 year old asking for his own laptop, if these come with insurance I think I have a winner.
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Cost of other laptops
nonnal 11th May 2011
"...the computers are expected to retail for $500, far below that of most other laptops..."
REALLY? That strikes me as a little Mac-eyed. Ordinary users can buy a wide variety of laptops in that range. I think that Google would have an easier time selling a stripped-down OS (which admittedly has its merits, especially regarding ease of maintenance, etc.) if it were cheaper than your standard entry-level laptop.
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
madeinhawaii@... 11th May 2011
We are in the photography and art business... we need Photoshop as well as a number of other art/photo editing software. I don't see how the Cloud OS could benefit us.
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Maybe for some applications...
gszimmerman 11th May 2011
In the oil and gas exploration business, we could use an inexpensive, web only, laptop, almost disposable to park at a remote site where we only need browser access for an proprietary app and don't want folks doing other things. Wouldn't be my primary laptop.
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Rentals?
trm1945 12th May 2011
Assume a three year lifetime for a laptop and you get a cost of $720 for the rental. What's the advantage over buying a Dell etc. and reselling it or donating it for a tax receipt after three years?
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RE: Eyeing the enterprise, Google to rent out Chrome laptops for $20 a month
jpardue@... 12th May 2011
There are a lot of Windows laptops out there now for just over 400 dollars shipped to your door - from Dell for example - whcih inclues Windows 7.

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