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Google Chrome operating system’s first appearance scheduled

While Google is remaining mum about all the details, I’ve learned that they will be demonstrating the new Linux-based Chrome desktop operating system on Thursday, November 19th.

At this point, I don’t even know if they’ll be releasing it as a beta, although that would be pretty silly of them just to show it off and not let people get their hands on it. Still, that may prove to be the case. According to a Google public relations representative, “While this will be more of a technical announcement, we will be showing a few demos that will definitely be of interest to you as well as a complete overview and our launch plans for next year.”

Last week’s rumors that Chrome would actually be launched in 2009 have been revealed as clearly wrong. But while we may not have Google Chrome for Christmas, it appears we will get it sometime in 2010.

What exactly will Chrome be like when it does arrive? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that Google Chrome OS will initially be targeted at netbooks. The plan has always been that it will be available pre-installed on both ARM and x86-powered netbooks. It will also be available as a downloadable and installable operating system.

One major PC vendor, Lenovo, has already committed to selling a 3G wireless connected netbook that will use Google’s Linux-based Android. It should be easy for them to also deploy Chrome on the same package. Numerous other hardware vendors, such as Acer, ASUS, Hewlett-Packard, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba have committed to releasing netbooks with Chrome.

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Nokia Ousts Symbian OS From High-End Handsets

Nokia says its Linux-based Maemo operating system is the future of its high-end smartphones, ending hope for Symbian OS to reign supreme. The change emphasizes how far behind the world’s largest handset maker has become.

Nokia told a group of Maemo developers that by 2012 its legacy Symbian operating system would be gone from the high-end N-family devices, The Really Mobile Project blog reports.

Symbian is today the world’s most successful smartphone OS, accounting for 50 percent of global sales. Most of these handsets do not, however, compare favorably to Android-based or iPhone devices.

Gartner recently estimated that Symbian will remain the world’s best-selling smartphone OS in 2012, with Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone following, in that order.

The blog reports there is no current plan to roust Symbian from Nokia’s video-focused X-series or enterprise-focused E-series handsets. In fact, the company plans development tools capable of supporting both operating systems.

For more than a decade, Symbian has been Nokia’s operating system of choice. Yet, it took computer companies–Apple, Google, and to a limited extent Microsoft–to create the high-end smartphones customers want to purchase.

That is an incredible put-down for Nokia, which has been investing in operating systems and tools for many years, yet never seemed to figure out what customers want (that isn’t a lowest-price handset).

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Google expects new operating system to be running low-cost computers by 2010 holiday season

Consumers will have to wait until next year’s holiday shopping season to find out if Google Inc.’s new operating system can deliver on its promise to make low-cost computers run faster.

Google set the late 2010 target date Thursday during its first preview of a much-anticipated operating system that eventually may mount a challenge to Microsoft Corp.’s Windows — the foundation for most personal computers since the 1990s.

The Internet search leader announced plans in July for an operating system named after its Chrome Web browser. At the time, Google said Chrome OS would be ready during the second half of 2010. That left open the possibility that Chrome OS computers could be on sale as early as next summer.

But Google is taking its time so outside programmers can contribute to Chrome OS, which is being developed under an open-source model in which anyone can help with development and share improvements. Google also intends to work closely with computer manufacturers to ensure they meet the Chrome OS’s requirements.

Chrome OS is initially expected to be limited to people looking for inexpensive, lightweight computers designed for Web surfing. None of the so-called “netbooks” running Google’s operating system will have a hard drive, and they will need Internet access to run applications.

That could limit interest among users who need their machines on the go and might find pockets of time without Internet service on planes or trains.

Still, Google views the Chrome OS netbooks as a supplement to fully loaded computers that run applications on a hard drive. Google believes the Chrome OS could get heavy usage, given that most people spend most of their computer time connected to the Internet anyway.

Suggested retail prices for the Chrome OS computers won’t be set until closer to their debut. Google executives, though, indicated the Chrome OS should be in the same $300 to $400 range of other netbooks, even though the company isn’t charging manufacturers to use its system.

The computer manufacturers that have expressed an interest in using the Chrome OS include Acer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

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