
Chromebox - zoowar
https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebox.html
======
i386
This is a terrible page and the product manager of this thing should be
ashamed.

The inmates are truly running the asylum. The technical specs are completely
irrelevant to the interests of the majority of consumers. This page needs to
show what this is capable of without the foreknowledge of what Chrome OS is or
is capable of or what Googles other offerings are.

Sell me a story! Tell me why my life is going to be better with it.

What most people going to ask: Can I use my social networks? Can I do my
internet banking? Can I get my photos off of my camera and share them? What
about my music? Can I watch movies? How about spreadsheets and word documents?

~~~
platinum1
[https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-
key.h...](https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-key.html)

Is that better?

edit: To explain, I think how they expect you to experience the website is:
<http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/> (from www.google.com/chromeos)

<http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features.html>

[http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-
key.ht...](http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-key.html)

[http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-
device...](http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-devices.html)

<http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebox.html>

So, we're looking at a relatively deep link, which assumes the reader has been
shown the main OS features and is looking for which specific product to buy.
That said, I agree that this page doesn't do much except show pretty pictures
and throw out a few tech specs, and won't sell the product on its own.

~~~
chmike
> Intel Core Processor

Why not specifying what processor and hardware is in the box ?

~~~
jyap
It's marketing. The emphasis is on the simplicity of the product.

That being said, it's a 1.9ghz Celeron CPU. That can give negative
connotations since Celeron is Intel's cheap line of processors.

~~~
genwin
Good to know. I just got a quad-core desktop for US$377. The Chromebox w/
Celeron would have to print gold to compare to that.

~~~
dangrossman
Most likely, your desktop would have to print gold to make up for the
difference in your power bill compared to a ChromeBox too. My desktop needs a
couple hundred watts; my Google TV box needs closer to 10. Running a full-size
desktop where you don't need the power is equivalent to a voluntary
subscription fee versus a one-time payment.

------
stickfigure
I used the Chromebook I got from Google I/O for a while. You have to
understand that it's not designed to be a hacker's computer or even really a
consumer device. It's designed to be a cheap, low-maintenance terminal for
generic business computing. This is the new 3270.

I actually think it's a pretty good product for that purpose. The economics
are compelling if you maintain hundreds of desktops. Instead of PC + Windows +
Office + McAffee + a large desktop support organization, you just have
ChromeOS devices and Google Apps. It's not sexy but 99% of the employees at
the DMV don't need sexy, they just need to run a handful of basic apps.

~~~
netcan
There is a lot of crossover between the anti-power user at work and the anti-
power user at home. The former gets a locked down machine managed by IT to
keep it running and uses the browser and a contant handful of apps. The latter
uses a machine that runs poorly because no one is managing it.

Making a disruptive improvement for one market would probably end up being
compelling to both so you focus on either for a start.

I don't like the decision to focus on office staff first. Google's in a great
position to sell to consumers. Also I think Apple demonstrated that going
through consumers first encourages better products.

~~~
ramses0
I've been using a chromebook at home as a mostly-primary computer, replacement
for a 13" MBP w/ SSD (which cost ~$2000 when it was new).

The only thing that's weird is printing, but for 90% of "generic internet
stuff" it works fantastic. ChromeOS just updated last night and I haven't even
had a chance to mess with it.

It will even work mostly-ish as a web-dev terminal as it'll do SSH as well as
chrome developer tools (although it _is_ slightly hokey).

I'm a 15+ year linux user and I don't mind using the chromebook at all AS AN
ADJUNCT TO A REAL COMPUTER!

A ChromeBook is ~1/10th the cost of a "real" computer, is SSD by default (only
I think), is great for "kitchen computing", great for travel (just turn on
password-protection and it gets very good battery life, and you don't mind if
it gets lost, stolen, or damaged and it's very lightweight).

It's got a lot of advantages even for a power-user, although it doesn't (yet)
replace a "real" computer / linux / osx box.

The things I've used my "real" computer for since then have been seashore
(gimp), inkscape, video editing, printing, and some minor gaming, and I've had
the MBP for 1-2 years and the chromebook for ~6 mo.

~~~
genwin
I don't see ~1/10th the cost. I'm on a netbook now, that I could re-buy for
under US$300 with 2GB of RAM and 250GB drive. It's great for travel and runs
5+ hours on battery.

------
vlad
For only $70 more, Google also sells the Galaxy Nexus, which is a similar
Samsung device but contains more storage, runs a lot more apps, can make or
receive phone calls and data over a cell phone connection, and even includes a
high definition display, and a (removable) battery, and NFC, and all in a
smaller package.

Since the Galaxy Nexus can use a keyboard and mouse over Bluetooth and run a
1080p display over HDMI, the advantage of the Chromebox is that it can run
multiple displays and connect external storage devices.

With Ubuntu for Android scheduled to be released later this year, a logical
progression is that Google's future home appliances and mobile devices will
run the same exact operating system, rather than two different ones.

However, Android is supposed to be open and has many different App Stores like
Amazon Appstore that compete with Google's Android Play (Android Market),
while Chrome O.S. will allow Google to own the entire purchase process (like
Apple), which benefits the consumer by allowing them to purchase an app they
already own on their iPad, Android phone, Mac, PC, and XBox a 6th time.

~~~
etherealG
I think your point about the hardware is a good one. All these "small pc
equivalent" boxes seem to be overpriced to me, especially the arm-based ones
that are essentially competing with smart phones.

From the software side, it's a whole different animal. ChromeOS is intended to
be very different from Android. I don't think you can compare some of the
features like verified boot or integrated cloud services. Also, you can
install apps on android as you like with the flick of a setting. ChromeOS
doesn't have installed apps in the sense that they reside on the device. Apps
are websites in ChromeOS, no difference. I'm pretty sure "installing an app"
and "bookmarking a website" are the same thing in ChromeOS.

~~~
Achshar
>I'm pretty sure "installing an app" and "bookmarking a website" are the same
thing in ChromeOS.

Not quiet so. I write chrome apps myself and there _is_ is difference between
websites and installable apps. Mostly they have more API access and features
such as background processes. But the underlying technology is exactly same as
websites. It's essentially a local website that is not hosted on any server
but in browser's environment.

If you are interested to know exact differences then allow me to make a
shameless plug. This is a media player but is installable instead of hosted.
This makes it possible for the app to have a background page which runs even
if the browser is closed. Being instalable instead of hosted also has an
advantage of more flexible file API. But that is bound to change soon.

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fddboknafkepdchido...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fddboknafkepdchidokknkeidnaejnkh)

~~~
etherealG
Thanks for clarifying. I'm a bit disappointed in Google about this. I would
much prefer the apis to be shared completely between the 2 models and don't
see why they can't be.

Also, installable web apps should be something not specific to Chrome. Why not
make this an open standard so I can install my apps to other browsers without
extra effort from the app developer.

~~~
Achshar
As i said, the work is being done on APIs. Infact in developer channels of the
browser, I think all the html5 APIs are accessible to everyone. As for
background pages, there is no way of running a background page that is hosted
somewhere else because there is an internal api that allows communication
between pages's javascript in realtime. And such communication would not be
possible with a hosted file.

And there is a thing known as installable web-apps. Which basically means you
can install an app with just one manifest file hosted online. (it used to be
in about:flags but now i think it has landed in stable release, but not sure).
Which means no hassle of webstore or even maintaining a separate crx file,
just upload a manifest.js once and forget :) Unfortunately background
processing is not possible in hosted apps, just in installable ones.

------
SandB0x
What a travesty of a launch.

What can it actually _do_? Stop telling me about "multiple USB ports and
multiple display options". Should I get one instead of an iPad or a new
laptop? Is it a new name for a Google TV device?

"Place it anywhere" ? As opposed to what?

Buy now? OK I'm in the United Kingdom, that's lucky. Let me buy it from...PC
World? This leads to a page with a screenshot of a netbook/Chromebook and a
Chromebox somewhere in the background. The word "Chromebox" doesn't even
appear on the page.

~~~
idleloops
Yeah I noticed that too. Plus when I looked (followed the links), the only
Chromebooks on Amazon UK were Acer versions with Atom CPUs.

~~~
kamjam
Yeah, and does it have internal storage... if so how much, and how much is
free user space... if not, how do i add storage, usb?

I like how the specifications tab just gives us 2 pictures. Really, that's the
specifications?

Now I know there was a /sarc comment aboce about Apple and sepcs... but even
mobile phone websites have better specs than this!

Seriously Google, your average user is not going to give a sh!t about this at
moment and only those more tech savvy will likely but this right now!

------
sherwin
I used a Chromebook (Samsung Series 5) for an entire academic year as a
student. The biggest benefits were having everything synced in the cloud (so
you're not too attached to it), extreme portability (super thin and super
light, instant on is fantastic) and ~10 hours of battery life. I charged the
thing about once a week!

However, I question who would get a Chromebox though, because the portability
+ battery life + instant on are no longer relevant in this case, and those
were by far the biggest benefits for the Chromebook. For a little more (~400),
you could get a very respectable machine running a more powerful OS.

Some general thoughts on my experiences with the Chromebook: As a general
computing device, I thought it was more or less completely sufficient. I used
it to take notes (google docs / evernote) in class and it was awesome for that
(light and portable).

With more than 7-8 tabs, things can get slightly sluggish (read: not
instantaneous). Running more than 15 or so and you start getting serious
performance issues. This is less of a problem than I thought because it forces
me to maintain focus (I regularly can have >100 tabs when using my desktop).
Full screen 1080p video also was sluggish.

It has a shell, so you can SSH and code also.

Frequently less technical friends would ask "but ... it only runs chrome?" to
which I respond "well what can you not do in chrome?" and they have a very
hard time giving an example. With gmail / calendar / docs / evernote / your
music web app service of choice / etc, almost everything can be done in the
browser.

To be fair, I also use a powerful desktop for more intense tasks (photo
editing, coding, and occasional gaming). I doubt I would use the
chromebook/box as my primary computer.

~~~
corin_
> who would get a Chromebox though

Instant on is still a factor, maybe not for you and certainly not for me (my
home PC runs 24/7), but there's plenty of people who don't leave computers
running when not using them, and still would enjoy not having to wait while it
boots up.

The biggest use-case I see for the future is as a media centre connected to
your TV. Google are already trying to replace computer software with web apps,
why not TV software too - think Boxee or any other similar device, but all
through web apps. If it took off I think it would be awesome.

~~~
icebraining
Is Intant-on really a feature now that suspension works reasonably well?

------
markessien
Try answering the question "What does it do?" by reading the copy on the
website. Almost impossible. The questions I wanted to know were: Will VLC run
on this? Can I download stuff and put on a hard drive? The website does not
seem to indicate this.

~~~
Groxx
I'd guess everything the Chromebooks can do. Which essentially means: run
Chrome. They're meant to be (rather exclusively) always-connected devices, and
not for heavy offline use. And you can run VLC if/when they target NaCl.

That said, I don't have a Chromebook, and haven't watched the changes for a
while. Anyone have a link or something handy for what they're up to lately?

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
<https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features.html>

------
Groxx
Interesting. Too bad the 'specifications' tab is so anaemic - I'm curious how
this stacks up against e.g. a Mac mini, or other mini computers.

edit: Amazon has a _lot_ more info: [http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-
XE300M22-A01US-Series-3-Chrome...](http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-
XE300M22-A01US-
Series-3-Chromebox/dp/B007Y8DJEA/ref=br_lf_m_2858603011_1_4_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=1370516602&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2858603011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GNK507R1N4S1TG2F3YT)

edit the second: it seems pretty competitive with a Mac mini, actually. 1.9ghz
Celeron instead of 2.3 i5, same RAM, and same graphics card. The 16gb SSD vs
500gb HDD might make the Chromebox feel snappier, though. And at $329 vs $599,
it's quite a bit cheaper.

~~~
maguay
Afraid a Celeron isn't very competitive with an i5, even at the same speed. At
least not comparing to similarly clocked computers running here. A dual-core
Celeron based PC here is significantly slower than a similarly clocked i5 Mac
Mini.

~~~
mda
They are both based on same sandybridge architecture, i5-2415M has 3MB L2
versus celeron B840's 2MB. i5 also has 4 threads.

So Clock frequency IS the main differentiator here, 1.9Ghz vs 2.3-2.9Ghz (with
turbo), which probably corresponds to 30% to 60% difference in general.

Specs of both processors:

Celeron B840: [http://ark.intel.com/products/59801/Intel-Celeron-
Processor-...](http://ark.intel.com/products/59801/Intel-Celeron-
Processor-B840-\(2M-Cache-1_90-GHz\))

i5-2415M: [http://ark.intel.com/products/53449/Intel-
Core-i5-2415M-Proc...](http://ark.intel.com/products/53449/Intel-
Core-i5-2415M-Processor-\(3M-Cache-up-to-2_90-GHz\))

~~~
maguay
Oh interesting. The desktop I was referring to has a 4 year old Celeron at
1.9Ghz, so possibly its older architecture makes it more different, but not
sure.

------
smellypantsman
This is absolutely perfect for my business' use case: 4 customer support
advisers who currently use Win7 with just browsers open to our custom built
web app. This will be so much cheaper and less maintenance. Only downside is
that while it supports 2 screens currently (I'm hoping an update fixes this
real soon) it can ridiculously only show the same thing on both screens! No
extended desktop.

I was first to buy one at PCWorld on Tottenham Court Road in London yesterday
for £279. Will be testing it out next week.

~~~
jurre
May I ask why you would run win7 on those machines and not a free linux
distro?

~~~
smellypantsman
Multi monitor support. Win7 laptop plus hdmi screen plus displaylink screen.
Displaylink linux drivers are iffy. With chromebox really really hoping they
get the extended desktop support in soon to use the 2 displaylink ports (would
be great if could use the vgi too for 3rd screen but presume not possible)

------
georgemcbay
For $199 I'd consider it. For $329, no way.

~~~
mtgx
I think $150-$200 would've been the sweet spot for a ChromeBox, and $200-$300
the sweetspot for a Chromebook, depending on the configuration, quality of
materials, etc.

Also, I see no reason why these shouldn't be running ARM chips. All you're
using is the web, so it's not tied down to the x86 architecture like Windows
is.

~~~
hollerith
>I see no reason why these shouldn't be running ARM chips.

Because there are no ARM chips as powerful as the Celeron in the Chromebox.

------
arihant
I installed ChromeOS on my old VAIO recently. It is definitely not bad in the
sense that things it cannot do don't fall in the 99%. I would be happier if
Google manages to bring the Play store and run android apps on it. Anything I
could imagine the machine couldn't do, there's an app on Android that does it.

If this could run Android apps too, $329 would appear to be a bargain.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Eventually there's going to have to be some merger. I think it could be Chrome
OS becoming a variant of Android, considering there's now Chrome for Android.

That said, personally, I'd rather see Chrome OS on phones and tablets, and
Android die off, since Chrome OS is the most web-first platform out there.

~~~
josteink
While Chrome OS is definitely the most web-first platform out there, right now
that does not really work to its advantage.

Right now Android has the massive advantage in being able to work reasonably
well while offline, something you can just forget with _most_ web apps run on
top of Chrome OS.

For a "desktop PC" I'm sure Chrome OS will be more than sufficient, since
internet connectivity is not going to be an issue. For mobile devices however,
you must always assume connectivity is missing, flaky or slow.

When web-apps finally get the whole offline thingie working a web-first option
will become much more of a real option also for mobile, but it's the web which
will need to drive it, not the other way around.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
What are you implying? I think almost all modern browsers support app caching
manifests, meaning web apps work offline.

~~~
jeffool
I think joestink could've instead said:

When web-app DEVELOPERS finally get the whole offline thingie working, a web-
first option will become much more of a real option...

/edit: Then again, I'm not positive if Google Chrome's "intalled web apps"
often being shortcuts are developer's fault or Google's? I'd love someone with
insight to tell us.

~~~
drivebyacct2
It's an awkward combination. By installing a Chrome App, the app can use more
and newer (read: more privileged and untested) APIs. These can help make
offline apps better. Sometimes they simply look like links but DO enable other
functionality. This is the case with several of the Google Apps.

I agree that it's confusing and it's one area where Google could (and I'm not
saying they will, I really hope they don't) exert themselves and use the
Chrome Web Store as a way of gating "web apps" in Chrome (versus branded
"Chrome Apps")

------
g-garron
I prefer to add 270 dollars and get a Mac Mini, that may even run as a server
If I want to. (I can even install Chrome on it). There is maybe a market for
Chromebox, but for sure we are not that market. :)

~~~
ernesth
I prefer to subtract 100 $ and get a zotac zbox or acer veriton that may even
run as a server if I want to. They also are "fast, compact home or office
device[s] [that can be] Set up [...] the way you want with multiple USB ports
and versatile display options."

------
josteink
While definitely an interesting development in computing, I find the
advertising used disingenuous.

They advertise "built-in anti virus" all over, when the truth probably is that
there is no anti-virus at all. You can argue that there is a lack of _need_
for this and as such advertising for a device without mentioning anti virus at
all would make it seem "unsafe" or confusing for the less technically
inclined.

But still claiming it has things it doesn't just to make the marketing
department's job easier is in my books disingenuous. It's factually
inaccurate. It's a lie.

To me it sounds like "Macs can't have viruses" all over again: It supposedly
is safe and "has anti-virus" because it isn't Windows. That's pretty cheap and
far from factual.

~~~
ajuc
Why do you thik there's no antivirus? There are antiviruses that run on
unices, like ClamAV for example - it's open source, they can include it for
free - maybe they did.

~~~
vidarh
ClamAV for Linux et. al. primarily targets Windows threats. It's primarily
used to filter e-mail or scan SMB shares, not look for threats that might
affect the machine they run on, so it'd seem a very odd choice to include.

------
eidorianu
Google Galaxy Nexus: ~400 usd (Play Store)

Menotek Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter: ~13 usd (Amazon)

Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000: ~50 usd (Staples)

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000: ~50 usd (Staples)

Full Android ICS Desktop, battery, camera/mic, hspda+, 1920x1080, Chrome for
Android.

EDIT: added camera/mic, format

~~~
hollerith
Intriguing. Have you or someone you know actually used this setup?

------
chj
Where is the target of this device? Certainly I won't buy this, but neither
can I think of any reason for a sane people to pay more than 100$ for this
box.

People will get an iPad instead, rather than paying 3xx$ for a dumb box.

~~~
metatronscube
I wish I got the new ipad that's for sure. The first generation ipad beats the
pants off my Acer chromebook and its got even worse with the new shiny UI.

And remember $300 over here (sunny Britain) is more like 300 quid, which is
more like equivalent $460!! over there ;)

No one I have shown this to would buy it and they think im insane for doing
so.

------
tbundy
Looks fun, but $329 isn't throw-away money. Given that I don't need another
computer, the price just isn't cheap enough to say "yeh, why not:.

~~~
koide
You are likely not the target

~~~
GFischer
Who is? (honest question). I don't get the target from the page.

~~~
koide
I see two main targets: Grandmas (sorry to stereotype the tech savvy grandmas
out there) or rather tech savvy sons of grandmas which want something that
just works for their mothers and that automatically backs things up for them.
And enterprises who want to kick Microsoft prices in the nuts.

~~~
tbundy
I see the Grandma use case, but it's so niche I can't see that being viable.
As for enterprise, you'd have to have a pretty "progressive" company... and
one that would be very sure that you'll never need a desktop app. Again, I
would think very small numbers.

I realise Chrome OS is somewhat still a market experiment, but I think it
would've gone a lot further at a better price point. For ~$200 I would put one
in my living room for checking the web & controlling my home web apps. I see
that as the perfect way to get people familiar with it (thinking of it more
like a tablet, a limited utility), then once NaCl goes mainstream, you have a
who market who's ready to start replacing their other PCs.

~~~
koide
I can tell you that a huge international bank (as far as "progressive" as you
can get) went Google Apps and ditched Office, so your thinking might be a bit
off.

------
tomflack
"...and don’t slow down over time."
([https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-
key.h...](https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-key.html))

That is a huge claim and one that will be false as web technologies continue
to need more power.

~~~
metatronscube
Exactly, I get to 10 tabs and it grinds to a halt. That's 10 sites with
nothing more than text and a few images (hardly 5 plugins)....its seriously
underpowered as is and with the new UI update its as slow as a dog on the
Acer.

~~~
tomflack
Being slow because it is underpowered is different to what I'm referring to -
becoming slower over time because web technologies move past the capabilities
of the hardware.

~~~
metatronscube
Well its creaking at the seams right now, I think given the progression of web
technologies (even if they begin to use more hardware acceleration) it is
going to become much slower over time as more intensive tasks are offloaded to
the Hardware, its not an good indication at the moment that after a UI update
its noticeably slower (at least for me) and a lot buggier.

~~~
tomflack
The quote I was referencing is of course talking about the new hardware, not
the old hardware you are referring to.

It just strikes me that 'never' is a long time.

------
fruchtose
Everything about this product is bizarre. My prediction: low sales. Google
does not understand physical products very well.

~~~
mtgx
There's no bad product, just bad pricing. I think Google and their partners
really don't know how to price a new category product. They should be priced
_aggressively_ like the iPad was (when people expected it to be $800-$1000),
and also as the iPhone, even though in the beginning Apple tried to sell to
the "early adopters" with a higher price, too. But they quickly learned their
lesson after just 2 months.

Google has already been through a few of these situations already ($300 Google
TV set top box, $430 Chromebook at launch, $800 Honeycomb tablet at launch)
and they still haven't learned anything. They haven't learned that the "early
adopter price" tactic doesn't work well anymore. You need to price it for
mainstream from day one, maintain the price throughout the year, and then just
update the hardware for the same price every year. Consumers don't want to be
cheated into buying a product that is twice as much at launch, compared to 6
months later.

------
chaostheory
I think this would be a great product, in a world where iPad and tablets with
Android and Windows Mobile don't exist.

Google should work on fixing and polishing Google TV instead instead of this
if they want to work on set top boxes. Even with the updates late last year,
Google TV compared to the competition is still lagging especially in the UI /
UX department.

~~~
WiseWeasel
You mean that weird box that's way more expensive than others and ships with a
kludgey qwerty keyboard for use in your living room? They should just call it
a wrap on that one too.

~~~
chaostheory
Yeah it is a piece of garbage compared to everything else. Now it looks like
every TV manufacturer will be using it as their TV's OS, so things may change
in the future. TVs will resemble the Android phone landscape.

------
jablan
I don't question the usability of this, but I really don't get the price,
which I think is too high. I guess that for the same price one could buy 15"
laptop with the roughly same components, so you would effectively get a screen
and a keyboard for free. Where does the additional cost come from? Stripped
down OS?

~~~
jyap
Small storage, cheaper Celeron processor, cheap amount of RAM. The additional
cost I'm guessing would be a hefty mark up. Perhaps they are trying to achieve
Apple levels of profitability.

------
simonz05
How does Google manage to only have one retailer who actually sells the device
in Europe. It feels as if every time they [Google] introduce something new and
cool (phone, computer ...) it is only available for a selected few. Then when
we all forgot about it they add a few more retailers.

~~~
jeffool
That's not by accident. Exclusive partners gain that status by agreeing to
help subsidize the product in some way, shape, or form. And they want their
money's worth, so they (the partner) make sure the contract lasts just long
enough for you to not care after the contract ends. Of course, the first party
is hoping the product catches on, is insanely popular, and continues to drive
demand after the contract is up. That doesn't always happen.

So, it's a catch-22. Do you as a first party go it alone, and incur more cost,
or curtail your retail spread and take less of a hit up front? From the
disinterest in the retail Chromebooks, Google made the right call there.

That said, I wouldn't have minded a CR-48... But it was a little costly, and
the other models were a little too wimpy. I'd think Google would take a risk
by taking a loss on one huge product push... But I guess not.

~~~
simonz05
I guess my problem, as a consumer, is that I never expect to actually to be
able to buy a Google hardware product. Compared to a hardware company like
Apple, I know I can go to my local store to get that fancy device I just heard
about on the radio. While, with Google, It's like their glasses, their
autonomous car, their phones, their computers; it seems to only be some really
polished R&D thing.

~~~
jeffool
Oh no, I get you, and it sucks.

------
esun
"Chrome devices are available in select countries."

2% of all available countries.

I wish Google understood how badly this undermines their international
marketing. Apple understands this better.

------
wamatt
Hope this works for Google, but my suspicion is consumer segment will be tough
for them.

Iterative design methods ("lets release and see what happens") in consumer
hardware, may not be as suited as the Apple method viz. highly designed,
integrated (aka ecosystem) and engineered approach.

------
Juha
There is a second version (XE300M22-A02US) with Core i5 processor and 499$
pricetag: [http://www.chromestory.com/2012/05/two-chromeboxes-
second-49...](http://www.chromestory.com/2012/05/two-chromeboxes-
second-49999-intel-core-i5/)

~~~
hollerith
Advantages this version of the Chromebox has over the base-model Mac mini:
slightly faster Core i5; more USB ports (6 versus 4); more DisplayPorts (2
versus 1); comes with more RAM (4 gigs versus 2 gigs); $69 cheaper (using the
Chromebox's list price versus Amazon's current price for the Mac mini).

Advantages the mini has over the Chromebox: memory upgradable to 16 gigs
(Apple says 8 gigs, but others report that 16 gigs works) whereas the
Chromebox's memory does not _seem_ upgradable at all; Firewire and Thunderbolt
ports whereas to attach an external drive to the Chromebox your only choice
seems to be slow USB 2; storage upgradeable (specifically, you can add an SDD
or a second hard drive to the mini).

How repairable and upgradable the Chromebox is I do not know -- googling for
"chromebox teardown" finds nothing interesting. iFixit gives the mini a
relatively-high repairability rating of 8.5 (but adding a second drive to the
mini requires an expensive custom cable).

Size and weight are very close. Both have the power supply _inside_ the
device.

~~~
dubya
The Chromebox apparently uses a verified boot, so no Linux unless you can
replace the bios. It's a shame since a small footprint, low-power, turnkey
Linux box would be just the thing for a number of applications, though the
Chromebox lacks a way to add fast storage.

~~~
hollerith
Thanks. I do not understand why someone other than Apple or Samsung does not
make something like this (without the price premium Apple wants for OS X and
without the verified boot).

------
fierarul
The UK store doesn't have any of the new generation Chromebooks and especially
not the new box. So, select countries means only one: USA.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
I'm not seeing the new units for sale on Amazon.co.uk (though they do have
updated copy and product shots for the Chrome device range) but the second-gen
Samsung Chromebook is listed on the John Lewis website, which is one of the
other retail partners.

------
guard-of-terra
This is true shame after the success of wall plug PCs and all-in-one boards.
It should be ARM and cost 99$ For 330$ you can build a cheap but full scale
PC. Why does it need 4G RAM? Is Chrome so bloated now?

------
debacle
1\. Can I install Ubuntu on it?

2\. Can I increase the RAM?

3\. Will it run LibreOffice?

If the answer to all of those is 'yes', I forsee myself buying this in the
future.

------
robin_reala
I’d assumed Displayport had died off in favour of mini-Displayport. Is this
common any more?

~~~
hollerith
Maybe they do not want to take the support calls from users who would have
mistaken the mini-Displayport for Thunderbolt. (Not that I approve of the
effect of such a decision on the proliferation of port types, just that I can
see it from Google's point of view.)

------
jasomill
Given the 16GB SSD, clearly Google assumes users will be storing most
everything online. First question I'd have as a consumer, then, is, does it
include some "cloud" equivalent of a Mac mini's Time Machine? Specifically, if
my Google account is hacked and the attacker deletes all my music, photos,
documents, email, etc., can I recover them?

If not, saving a couple hundred bucks plus the cost of a USB backup drive
seems short-sighted at best.

~~~
jellicle
Or if the attacker is Google just locking you out of your account one day?

------
rufugee
I really wish they would have provided Google TV features with the
Chromebox...that would make it compelling from where I sit.

------
ksat
I think it's a good choice in india. We have customers who bought our software
but first they need a computer to use it. $329 is not cheap but there's the
'google' brand to it, so to customers 'we are not recommending something bad'.
Wonder how much will it cost in india though.

~~~
89a
> We have customers who bought our software but first they need a computer to
> use it

Is your software a web app then?

~~~
ksat
Yeah

------
rglover
It'd be nice if it was just "Chromebox" and not "Samsung Chromebox." Seems
like a product that could have been decent but got rushed out the door and
manipulated by bureaucracy. Google needs to stop letting things like this leak
out, it's embarrassing.

------
llgrrl_
It'll be a very capable PC or thin client if that's at all possible.

I wonder how feasible it is to put a Linux distribution here and get it
working. I know it is possible with the Chromebook, and if it's gonna work for
the Chromebox, then shut up and take my money.

~~~
jyap
16gb SSD of hard disk spare really limits your options if you're loading up a
Linux distribution.

But seriously you can something with cheaper and better specs for less that
$329 to run Linux.

~~~
jrockway
_But seriously you can something with cheaper and better specs for less that
$329 to run Linux._

But as small and quiet and that can drive two 30" monitors?

I have an Eee Box running Linux; it's physically larger, only supports one
monitor (as far as I can tell), and the hardware video decoder can only do
720p. (The hardware video decoding is important because the Atom cannot decode
720p H.264 in real time itself.)

------
gouranga
Sorry but for that price, no way.

------
antr
I would personally not use this machine, but I would I definitely see my
parents/kids using it. It comes across as a low cost, low maintenance PC, and
this is just want I would like my kids to use (vs the Windows/OS X
alternatives).

------
kapowaz
It reminds me of some other similar device I can't _quite_ put my finger on…

------
gmig
Google's Chromebox page states: Processor: Intel® Core™ processor RAM: 4 GB
RAM

Newegg's Chromebox page states: Processor: Intel Celeron B840 1.9GHz RAM: 2GB
DDR3 1333

Amazon's Chromebox page states: Processor: 1.9 GHz Celeron B840 RAM: 4 GB

~~~
corin_
Newegg are wrong, it's 4GB.

------
nwenzel
I get that Google wants to try weird stuff. But how did Samsung green light
this adventure? I can't imagine that it's easy/cheap to produce these things
in small production runs.

------
orionlogic
Majority of these mini PC's used in conference or meeting rooms, as an easy
way to hook up PC with TV. However, next month when Apple announce to open
Apple TV as an development platform, there will be an interesting convergence
of mini Pc's and tv boxes. Which will probably lead to long rumored Apple TV
box.

You don't know what this Chrome box do because Google doesn't know either.
Companies threw hardware and see what developers can do, and see where it
evolves.

------
scrrr
Not even my parents would want to use this. No Skype.

~~~
G5ANDY
The website in no way makes this clear, but I think you can video chat through
your Skype account using the built in IMO app.

------
skrebbel
Soo, it's an Asus Eee Box without a real OS? Sad..

~~~
jrockway
The Eee Box has an Atom processor.

------
moondowner
I know a lot of people who use their PCs and Laptops only for Facebook and
YouTube. This will definitely please them.

------
robmcm
It's the perfect PC for the majority of non savy users, who unfortunatly will
probibly never hear about it...

~~~
hollerith
I am struggling to imagine a situation where I would be tempted to recommend a
Chromebox over an iPad to a non-savvy user. (The iPad 2 is currently available
from Apple's online store for $399, and remember that the Chromebox's $329
price does not include keyboard, mouse or monitor.)

The only thing coming up for me is if the non-savvy user's vision is really
horrible, such that he or she will always be using a big TV as a monitor, then
the Chromebox wins because even with Airplay Mirroring, the user would have to
look at the iPad to manipulate the elements of the iPad's user interface.

I think you are letting your enthusiasm for Google's commitment to innovation
or your enthusiasm for ChromeOS's being based mainly on open-source codebases
or your enthusiasm for the open web bias your thinking about what would be
best for a non-savvy user!

------
g-garron
I still think that

>It would be better if Samsung and Google could low the price a little bit.

That is what I wrote months ago.

[http://www.garron.me/linux/chrome-os-chromebook-ready-
prime-...](http://www.garron.me/linux/chrome-os-chromebook-ready-prime-
time.html)

The price is too high for what this thing is capable of.

------
stef25
I desperately want a thin client "device" I can hook up to my tv / stereo to
stream in music and movies from my network storage downstairs. If this can do
it with nice to use software then I'll definitely but it if it saves me a
couple hundred bucks compared to a mac mini.

~~~
phase_9
AppleTV + XBMC? <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4iEl3BqhUI>

------
rkwz
Who is this aimed at?

~~~
mikemoka
I have no idea. Why would a business buy something like that? Please
elaborate.

~~~
netcan
I can think of some. A lot of people use browser almost exclusively at work.
Salespeople, customer service people, etc. If the business software they use
is web based, they use a browser.

~~~
mikemoka
I don't know, what if they need to edit a report with a company template
someone made in Word? There are full fledged PC for sale at less than that
price. Salespeople are often on the move and would probably use a netbook I
think.

~~~
raldi
How do businesses currently share Word docs? They either email them around or
put them in a shared folder. And when that happens, and the ChromeBox user
clicks it, GMail or Google Drive will happily open that Word doc in Google
Apps.

~~~
mikemoka
I may be mistaken but I don't remember being able to keep the template of a
word document while editing it in google docs, changing examples anyway,
slightly more complex excel files could also not be supported I think.

------
engtech
Has anyone tried to use a home Chromebook as a development tool connecting to
a corporate network over VPN and using VNC to connect to a linux box?

I think it would be much better for my marriage if I could handle the "work
emergencies" from the same room as my wife.

~~~
wonderyak
I use my CR-48 as my normal portable laptop. I can code with web based IDEs,
SSH into my boxes if needed and it has ~8 hours of battery life. I absolutely
love the device, I just think any price over $299 is barking at the moon.

------
keithvan
It seems Google is trying to break into the consumer hardware space to compete
against Apple -- Chromebox + Chromebook + Nexus (and likely Motorola
developments)... I'm not sure how I feel given they haven't been blockbuster
successes thus far.

------
varelse
Unfortunately, I consider gadgets like this to be a harbinger of how they'll
handle projects like Glass. I know people love Google's R&D efforts but... I
loved Xerox PARC's R&D - it took Apple to productize it successfully.

------
bizodo
How long until ur phone becomes a chromebox esque device that u can just plug
into any screen or better yet wirelessly connect to any screen.

~~~
drivebyacct2
'ur phone'? Also, many Android devices already do this.

------
firefoxman1
What a non-description it starts out with:

> " _The Chromebox is a fast, compact home or office device._ "

So...it's a computer. Why call it a "home or office device"?

------
lcargill99
it's in a fullsize case, but the Compaq cq2701 seems to have more and better
for $20 less... ( bought one for my wife last weekend .) It's a 2.3 GHz G630T
dual-core, which is fine for her uses. Yeah, it's Win7, so what, wanna fight
about it? :) It could be Chrome O/S-ed in a short interval...

------
nodesocket
Assuming this runs ChromeOS, which is basically just the Chrome browser. Can
it download, install apps?

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
You don't strictly "download" or "install" web apps, Chrome's "installed" apps
are glorified shortcuts. There is a Chrome store full of web apps. However,
thanks the HTML5 and app caching, these applications will work offline.

~~~
magicalist
That's not really true, it's more that installable apps _can_ just be a
glorified shortcut. The majority of apps that did that at launch of the store
hurt them on that perception, I think.

Installable apps, like extensions, usually reside mostly locally and can have
elevated permissions on some things:
[https://developers.google.com/chrome/apps/docs/developers_gu...](https://developers.google.com/chrome/apps/docs/developers_guide)

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Well yes, that's true. They do have elevated permissions. I didn't know they
resided locally though, I thought they just used cache manifests.

------
riobard
Anyone knows what is DisplayPort++?

~~~
jrockway
It's a DisplayPort that will emit VGA signals for a passive adaptor.

~~~
riobard
Thanks! Seems DP++ can do regular DP, HDMI, DVI, and VGA, which is pretty
awesome!

------
halayli
Google and marketing will never get along:

"compact home or office device" <\---- WHATEVER THAT MEANS!

------
xxqs
nice specs, I would put Debian on it and use as a portable network analyzer.
I'll probably do so as soon as it's available in my country

~~~
WiseWeasel
You would have to flash the BIOS to get past the Verified Boot security.

~~~
ZeroGravitas
What you say appears to be true, yet quite misleading since there's a simple
process, provided by Google and built into the device, for flashing the BIOS
(or at least there was on the Series 5 Chromebooks):

[http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-
fo...](http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-
os-devices/samsung-series-5-chromebook)

~~~
WiseWeasel
Ah, thanks for the clarification. That'll learn me to parrot information from
random people.

------
chayesfss
can my kids run minecraft on it? If so I might purchase one.

------
macca321
Will it run Windows 7?

~~~
gfosco
Will it blend?

------
cooldeal
Looks like there's major spin on this on that page.

Whats a Intel Core(TM) processor? Dig deeper and it's an anemic Celeron, not a
Core i3 or i5 or i7 as the name implies.

Why is there no mention of storage AT ALL? Because it's a 16GB(!) SSD.

The Amazon page says "No Blue Screens"? What happens to ChromeOS if RAM gets
corrupt? It doesn't crash and magically keeps running? Most BSoDs nowadays are
due to hardware issues.

Edit: Why the downvotes? Is it forbidden to criticize Google here? Or is it
just Google employees? Care to reply instead?

~~~
jyap
Yes, there is a noticeable pro-Google bias on Hacker News. Links that show
Google in a negative light are instantly backed up by Google employees. This
comment will probably get down voted. I seriously don't care about votes and
don't know how the system works and get annoyed when people complain about
down votes (like it actually matters).

~~~
mcantelon
The top comment starts "This is a terrible page and the product manager of
this thing should be ashamed" which doesn't seem to indicate an HN pro-Google
bias.

------
recoiledsnake
Hope it does better than the dismal sales of Chromebooks last year.

The consumer space between cheap laptops/netbooks and an iPad is vanishingly
small.

------
89a
Funny how many USB ports it has when it's capabilities are limited to a web
browser. What on earth would you be plugging in to them.

~~~
jonknee
I have one on the way amd will be testing with a barcode scanner and mag
stripe reader which makes a total of four USB devices.

------
wavephorm
Raspberry Pi makes products like this completely obsolete. I see nothing here
worth paying an order of magnitude more money for. Google seems to have a
really bad habit lately of building products that nobody wants.

~~~
AntiRush
The Raspberry Pi is targeted squarely at enthusiasts (which, granted, is
probably most people here).

It comes without an operating system, any storage, a case, or even a power
supply. This is a huge, if not insurmountable, barrier to entry for a large
portion of the population.

The Chromebox is a turnkey, plug in power, plug in TV, surf the web product.
They couldn't be more dissimilar.

~~~
corin_
> _plug in TV_

Just a quick note: The biggest piece of feedback I got from a journo friend of
mine who just reviewed this chromebox is actually that out of the box it won't
do HDMI or VGA (without buying an adapter separately that is), which seemed
odd to me (and to him) given being easy to connect to a TV seems like a big
use case for the chromebox.

edit: In case anyone wants to see his hands-on piece, it's at
[http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-mac-
desktops/sams...](http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-mac-
desktops/samsung-chromebox-1082362/review)

~~~
hollerith
>out of the box it won't do HDMI or VGA (without buying an adapter separately
that is)

Some DVI ports can send VGA signals, in which case it would just be a matter
of getting a cable with DVI pins on one end and VGA pins on the other.

In other words, the DVI spec contains a VGA-compatible part and an HDMI-like
part so that a single DVI port can send VGA signals or HDMI-like "DVI-D" (DVI
digital) signals.

Moreover, DVI-HDMI cables are common although some DVI ports cannot provide
audio to go along with the video and others cannot speak the High-bandwidth
Digital Content Protection protocol.

------
Morg
I think there's a typo in the price, they meant to sell it for 29 bucks and
they put 329 instead.

