Google Enters Premium Laptop Market with Googlebook
Google has launched its new laptop line, Googlebook, which starts at $899 and goes up to $1,299. This puts it in direct competition with premium laptops like the MacBook Air and mid-range Windows models.
The underlying idea behind Googlebook is that Android phone owners can use their phones as an extension of their laptops, much like iPhone users do with Macs. To achieve this, Googlebook combines an Android-based operating system with ChromeOS-derived desktop foundations.
Googlebook will run on five different manufacturers' hardware: Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. The base configuration includes 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and the displays range from a 13.4-inch 2.5K LCD touchscreen to a 15.3-inch panel.
The real test for Googlebook will be how well Android apps behave on laptop displays and whether developers commit to creating handoff support in their applications.