Google Cr-48 Chrome OS Notebook Gets First Reviews

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Google has shipped initial batches of its Cr-48 notebook, and also handed out units to the press during its December 7 Chrome OS briefing. We’re seeing a few reviews up already. The first impressions: not that impressive, but we have yet to see how the Cr-48 performs in the real world these coming months.

Google’s Chrome OS entails a drastic change in perspective. From a usual desktop approach, Chrome OS takes a cloud approach to computing. The notebook’s OS is basically a glorified web browser, with all of your applications residing on the cloud–or at least a big part of it, save for the user interface.

Reviews are mixed on the hardware, with some praising the rubbery plastic texture and build quality, but with some criticizing the non-standard keyboard. The built-in ports don’t work perfectly, too, according to some reviews.

As for the software, the Cr-48 was pretty fast, with an almost-instant bootup. The free 100 MB per month Verizon service with the built-in 3G modem was well-received, although reviewers suspect people will end up paying for more bandwidth, since the computer is almost always online.

Summing it up, users found the Cr-48 to be still something in its infancy. Google has a long way to go in developing and perfecting its Chrome OS and its notebook. Word is that Samsung and Acer will start manufacturing Chrome OS notebooks or netbooks by mid-2011, and we hope those will be more mature products when they finally come out.