CES 2012: New Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, Chromebox Introduced

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Computing is moving to the cloud, with many online services now doing more than their desktop counter parts. At CES, Samsung has introduced its latest Chrome OS based devices, including new notebook computers and a desktop computer reminiscent of the Mac Mini.

Samsung’s first release of its Series 5 Chromebook computer was met with mixed reactions. While the cloud computing idea was surely interesting, some reviewers found the notebook computer to be sluggish, especially with the use of the Atom processor, and the fact that everything is done over the Internet.

At CES, Samsung is introducing its next-generation Chrome OS computers, which not only include the usual Chrome OS powered notebook, but also a desktop.

Engadget reports that the new Series 5 Chromebook will not use an Intel Atom processor, but a beefier Intel Celeron mobile processor. While this is hardly hardcore gaming material, Celeron processors are known to process data faster than their Atom counterparts, although a bit lacking in terms of energy efficiency. The new Chromebook will still feature a 16 GB solid state drive and Google’s Chrome OS. Price is estimated at $399 for the WiFi-only version, and $449 for the 3G-enabled Verizon variant.

Meanwhile, the Samsung Chromebox takes a few cues from the Mac Mini, with the small form factor. The Chromebox will feature five USB 2.0 ports, DVI output, DisplayPort, and a headphone jack. But unlike the Mac Mini, which is meant to be a BYODKM device (which stands for “bring your own display, keyboard and mouse”), the Samsung Chromebox will ship with its own wireless keyboard and mouse.

Both updated Series 5 Chromebook and Chromebox are expected to be released by April 2012. The concept of the Chromebox has been met with mixed reactions, though. On the upside, a desktop will be mostly tethered to a home or office Internet connection, so there will be no lost connectivity, which is essential to a cloud-based computer. But users will likely want to have some local storage and local computing capability of sorts. Samsung is said to be eyeing the educational market with the Chromebox, but we’ll see for sure if there are takers by Q2 2012.