Google Chrome to Be the Browser That Greets Sony VAIO Buyers

In a move that could quickly be followed by similar deals, Google has reportedly inked a deal with Sony to pre-install the Chrome web browser on new Sony VAIO computers. As JKOnTheRun notes, "this marks the first deal that Google has signed with a hardware vendor to get Chrome involved in consumers’ OOBE (out of box experience)." The out of box experience with a browser is particularly important on consumer systems, where many users will simply use whichever browser is already installed, and similar bundling deals are what helped propel Microsoft's Internet Explorer to dominant market share. There isn't any word on what kind of money changed hands here, but I'm guessing it was a significant amount, and this deal is another sign of strong momentum for open source browsers. Check out more details here.