TAIPEI, June 1 Asia Pulse - U.S.-based Google Inc. announced Tuesday it will build a research and development center in Taiwan for its Chrome operating system exclusively, as part of the search giant's effort to promote the emerging platform in business and educational markets.
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome at Google, said Google will expand its manpower in the R&D center in Taipei by hiring more local engineers to build a new operating ecosystem with Taiwan's original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs).
The mission of the new center will be different from the traditional notebook manufacturing model, as the members in the center will discuss product features and details with Google's global Chrome OS team, he said.
Pichai made the remarks at the company's press conference at Computex Taipei, the world's No. 2 computer technology fair behind Germany's CeBIT.
Chrome OS, which originates from the web-based Chrome browser, provides users with a faster and easier access to the Internet on a variety of devices, said Pichai. But Google so far does not have any plans to use the OS on tablet PCs.
As the number of users of Google's Chrome browser has increased from 70 million to 160 million during the past two years, the company plans to launch Chrome-based notebook computers, or Chromebooks, in the middle of June.
The 12.1-inch Chromebook, branded under Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930), will go on sale in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.
The smaller Chromebook, sizing 11.6 inches and bearing the logo of Acer Inc. (TAIEX:2353), does not have a rollout schedule yet.
Still, Acer and Google have already agreed on the prices. The Wi-Fi version of the Chromebook will start at US$349 (NT$9,995) in the United States, while the 3G version will be tagged at US$429.
The newly unveiled device can also be rented in the business market with a monthly fee of US$28 per user, while its monthly rental price in the educational market is lower at US$20 per user, Pichai said.
(CNA) ms 01-06 1017
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