Acer To Demo Netbook With Google's Chrome OS

Acer plans to show off the first netbook that operates on Google's Chrome OS at a trade show in early June. According to various news reports, Acer will show the device at the Computex Taipei show on June 1-5. Acer hasn't confirmed these reports, but has said the company will be one of the first hardware manufacturers to offer a Chrome OS-based device. Google plans to release the OS in the later part of this year and has confirmed that Chrome OS-based netbooks will begin appearing by year's end.

Announced late last year, the Chrome OS has become an attractive option to some manufacturers because it doesn't require a ton of resources. This lightweight, browser-based platform enables devices to boot almost immediately. Holding true to Google's vision of cloud computing, the Chrome OS has a strong emphasis on cloud-based applications and storage. As we reported last month, Chrome could help users cut the cord with their printers forever by enabling cloud-based printing. The Chrome OS uses a Linux kernel derived from Ubuntu.

Acer isn't the only manufacturer that is planning to offer devices built around the Chrome OS. Samsung, ASUS, and Lenovo are also expected to launch Chrome OS devices. In addition, Dell has shown a demo of Chrome running on a netbook.