No Ad-Supported Chromebooks Coming, Says Google

Tweet

Amazon is testing a unique experiment in ad-supported gadgets with their “Kindle with Special Offers”, a Kindle eReader that will show you ads in exchange for $25 off the purchase price. Considering that Google is essentially an advertising company and they are offering some low-priced and monthly payment options for their Chrome OS devices, some in the media were curious if Google would offer an ad-supported version of the Kindle. But, Google executives said they aren’t planning an ad-supported version of the so called “Chromebooks” at this time.

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that at a Google I/O press event, Google Senior VP Sundar Pichai said that the company has “no plans at this time for an ad-supported” Chromebook at this time. There are two models of the Chrome laptops announced, the Samsung Series 5, which is bigger and nicer and will cost $429 or $499 depending on if you get a WiFi or 3G model. The Acer Chromebook is slightly smaller, and comes in at $349.

Google will also be “renting” the Chrome laptops to business and educational customers for $28 or $20 per month, respectively. It was this unique approach that made some wonder if Google would be offering cheaper laptops in exchange for watching an AdSense ad or something.

The whole Chromebook rental strategy seems to me to be another attempt by Google to change the status quo sales model in the United States. Remember they first tried selling the Nexus One directly to consumers, without any support from the carriers, as an unlocked device. It didn’t sell too well, and now the Nexus S is being sold by carriers. But, the Nexus One was a unique experiment in unlocked phone sales in the United States, and I can’t help but think that Google is once again testing these waters with laptop rentals. Of course, big enterprise customers can lease laptops from HP, Dell – but this is the first time that companies are offering rentals direct to customers.

Would you buy an ad-supported Chromebook?