The back to basics notebooks have already found a niche in education and in enterprise over the past 12 months but 2015 could prove to be the year when Chromebooks really become a serious alternative to Wintel laptops aimed at consumers too.
On December 11, omgchrome revealed leaked details and images of a new, bigger, more powerful Chromebook that Acer has in the works. It boasts a 15.6-inch display (Chromebooks usually have an 11-inch or a 14-inch screen) and a next-generation Intel Broadwell processor for better graphics and longer battery life and is expected to be unveiled at the 2015 International CES in January.
However, it now looks as if the Acer model is going to be the first of many devices to offer the same specifications. Digitimes is reporting that Dell is also putting the finishing touches on its own 15.6-inch Chromebook and like Acer, its cut-price notebook is going to use the same Intel processor yet should cost less than $300 when it goes on sale.
Digitimes claims that Google has instructed the growing number of Chromebook makers, which also includes HP, Samsung, Asus and Lenovo, to keep prices for the next-generation devices below the $300 mark -- $50 less than the cheapest Windows notebook with the same Intel processor and 15-inch display size.
At the same time, Google is working with developers to bring more of the best Android apps to the Chromebook desktop. The first batch, announced in September, includes Duolingo, Evernote and Vine, and Google is inviting users to nominate which apps should also get the Chroembook treatment.
As such, the Chromebook is set to morph from a simple virus-free notebook that runs web-hosted apps rather than big software applications into a mobile device that offers all of the productivity of a proper computer with all of the benefits of an Android tablet.
Software companies are already starting to take Chromebooks seriously. Earlier this year Adobe launched a Chromebook version of Photoshop and even Microsoft, which sees the Google-conceived notebooks as competitors, now offers Office Online Apps for the device.
But as well as supporting Chromebooks, Microsoft is also looking to beat Google at its own game. At its partner conference back in July it announced that it wants to offer consumers Windows-powered notebooks for $200.
The first "Chromebook Killer," the HP Stream, which includes a 12-month subscription to Office 365, an 11.6-inch HD display and an Intel Celeron processor, is already on sale for $199.99 and is expected to be joined by a host of other similarly affordable notebooks in 2015, many of which will make their debut at the 2015 International CES in January.
