OStatic

Following Google's announcement of its Chrome OS, which will arrive in late 2010 and is headed for netbooks, most reactions around the web are positive. There are some who say it has an ice cube's chance in Hell of succeeding, some who say it could be a geeks-only phenomenon, and we've provided our assessment of the mixed chances that Chrome OS has. There's no question that it is attracting interest from hardware developers and others, though. As a blog post from Google and IDG News Service report, Hewlett-Packard (the number one PC maker), Acer and Asus--all big players in the netbook arena--are among early Chrome OS partners.?

Today, Hewlett-Packard--the world's number one PC vendor--has announced a new line of notebook computers called ProBooks, with one shown here. The systems fall into the prosumer space (professional/consumer) and are bigger and more fully stocked than most netbooks. Notably, HP is offering SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 as an operating system choice on the ProBooks, in addition to Windows Vista and XP. HP's arch-rival Dell is also continuing to ship portable computers with Linux installed, and is seeing many users satisfied with Linux. Can Linux remain a fixture on portable systems?

We've reported on successful efforts to run the Android OS on netbooks and e-ink devices, and on how Android may ultimately be more successful on these platforms than on phones. Among other developments on this front, Qualcomm is running Android on its Snapdragon chipset designed for netbooks and mobile Internet devices. (Another Qualcomm chip powers the G1 Android phone.) Now, in a post called One Step Closer to the Google Linux Desktop, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is analyzing reports that Hewlett-Packard, ASUS, and other computer makers are in talks with Google about putting Android on netbooks.

News is swirling this week about new forms of competition in the market for sub-notebook computers, and open source is driving change in this space--especially in terms of price competition. As I wrote before, Linux-based laptops are going through a renaissance at the moment, especially driven by the $400 Asus Eee PC. These small, useful systems are moving from the VIA chips they were based on to Intel's Diamondville CPUs. Everex's $399 Linux-based Cloudbook laptops are also generating buzz. Now, Hewlett-Packard has a new entrant in the space, with its diminutive Mini-Note, aimed at shoolchildren.