Is a Google Netbook in the Works?

Posted 12/17/2009 at 12:30pm | by Bart Salisbury

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Take your pick: astromancy, pendulum reading, spirit boards, tasseography, cartomancy, crystallomancy, or even cheiromancy. It all amounts to the same thing: making stuff up about the future based on the thinnest (if any) real world information. Now center stage in the world of ‘let’s pretend’ is speculation about a possible Google Chrome OS netbook, produced by none other than Google.

What’s the basis for this projection? The obligatory unnamed sources, a vague posting on the company web site, and an unsubstantiated report of a request-for-proposal being issued to an unidentified manufacturer. Wave a handful of bones over the mix and all signs point toward Google releasing something in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Anything concrete, like actual specifications? Sure, it will have an ATOM processor, unless something else is used, like Nvidia’s Tegra. Memory and hard drive? Naturally. And mobile enabled? You bet, with it more than likely tied to a carrier (or two) with a subsidy for subscribers. It’s the stuff of dreams.

Making things up about the future doesn’t mean it won’t happen. But, just as with Bigfoot or UFOs, I’ll reserve my excitement until something tangible is trotted out.

Image Credit: wildolive/Flickr