Alan Adams: Did you miss out on the Chrome OS notebook? Psst, you can still get one

Monday, January 31, 2011

Did you miss out on the Chrome OS notebook? Psst, you can still get one

A fair number of Betanews readers have asked how they could get Google's unbranded Cr-48 notebook running Chrome OS. On Dec. 7, 2010,�the information giant announced a pilot distributing 60,000 notebooks -- a grand test for those folks ambitious enough to live on the web for as long as six months. I assumed that Google had given out all the laptops. Either it didn't or there's a new batch to be had.

In a blog posted late this afternoon Eastern Time, Heaven Kim, Google product marketing manager, writes: "If you already live on the web and are itching to get your hands on a Chrome notebook, we've teamed up with a few Web Store apps for a chance to�test-pilot the Cr-48. Check out blog posts from�MOG,�Box,�LucidChart, and Zoho for more details. Then go ahead and�rock out with 10 million songs,�manage your files in the cloud,�perfect your diagram drawing skills or�move your office onto the web. While you're at it, you might also discover a new favorite app among the more than 2,000 apps in the�Chrome Web Store."

Google is promoting Web Store partners through a simple but compelling offer: Try the service, then sign up to get a Cr-48 notebook. Do you want one? Are you bummed for missing out in December? Google is giving you a second chance.

By the way, there's other Google OS news shakin' up the InterWebs today. Google has released a preview of Honeycomb (aka Android 3.0). I'll be royally ticked if my Nexus S with single-core processor can't satisfactorily run Honeycomb. Google, you've been warned.

I've written extensively about the Cr-48. Among them, an overview and seven-day segment living in the cloud:

1. "Who really needs a Chrome OS laptop?"

2. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 1: Getting acquainted"

3. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 2: Becoming a cloud citizen"

4. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 3: Living with Flash"

5. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 4: Who is the cloud for?"

6. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 5: My life in the cloud"

7. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 6: Adopting a new lifestyle"

8. "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 7: Settling in for the long haul"