CNETAnalysis: Google Australia has today posted a blog post pointing Aussies to where new low-cost Chromebooks can be purchased. Those excited for Google’s own Chromebook Pixel will still have a wait ahead of them though, as the first batch of Chrome books in Australia are from manufacturers Samsung and Acer. JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman will stock the laptops, and Google is now selling them directly through its online Chrome store. The Samsung Series 3 is AU$349, while the Acer C7 is cheaper at AU$299. Cheap, always on Chromebooks represent Google’s specific vision of computing, and diverge from mainstream streams in a number of key ways. The Chrome OS isn’t compatible with other computing platforms and all applications for the system are downloaded via the Chrome web store. The machines are light on internal storage too, with only 16GB on a built-in solid state drive. Google offers Chromebook owners 100GB of cloud storage on Google Drive to make up the difference, but this storage is only free for the first 2-years after a Chromebook purchase. Google does promise that it’s system is fast, though, with boot-up times of 10-seconds or less. It’s also hard to argue with the price of these systems, with comparable (albeit more powerful) Ultrabook computers starting at three- or four-times the price.
