Google channel hails Chromebook

Onlookers predict the release of web-based devices will smash Windows refreshes

One of Google's top UK partners has hailed the upcoming release of the Chromebook and predicted the technology will spell the end of traditional system refresh cycles.

Devices running on Google's web-based Chrome operating system (OS) are soon to be launched in this country by both Samsung and Acer. The devices will be available for order on 15 June. Google partners VMware and Citrix will also be providing applications.

The search engine titan claims the lack of software on the machines allows them to be much faster than traditional systems. At the recent CRN Partner Connect event in Coventry, Peter Lorant (pictured), EMEA head of channel for Google Apps, demonstrated to attendees that the device can boot up in six seconds.

"This is going to be the most secure computing device available in the marketplace," he added. "For commercial, governmental and education [customers], this is going to be a tremendous innovation in the marketplace."

David McLeman, managing director of Google Apps partner Ancoris, claimed the release of the Chromebook "marks the end of the typical desktop refresh cycle that most organisations face every three or four years".

"Microsoft OS upgrades have typically driven the desktop refresh cycle and Microsoft's monopoly in this area will now begin to wane," he added.

McLeman suggested that organisations moving to the Google OS could cut their Microsoft licensing bill at least in half. The Chromebook launch will also help fuel channel sales of Google Apps, he added.

"We expect true cloud-based desktops to be the norm within the next three years," said McLeman. "Medium-sized businesses, which use a limited number of applications on a daily basis, are likely to be the first to take advantage of a web-only environment."