The Google Chromebook project is an interesting endeavour which revolves around the concept of cloud storage and low power devices. This means you can offer really affordable laptops which lack local storage and perform basic tasks in a relatively quick manner. Of course, it’s not for everyone and I personally see Chromebooks as an excellent supplementary device for taking on business trips. According to the latest research from IDC, Google Chromebook sales have surpassed Apple Macs for the first time on record in the US. IDC analyst Linn Huang told The Verge:
Chrome OS overtook Mac OS in the US in terms of shipments for the first time in 1Q16,”
“Chromebooks are still largely a US K-12 story.”
The latest data also estimates Apple’s US Mac shipments totalled around 1.76 million during the last quarter. In contrast to this, Chromebook sales reached nearly 2 million thanks to the likes of Dell, Lenovo and more producing various devices. Apparently, a large portion of this success is down to the popularity of Chromebooks in US schools. This makes sense due to the low cost, and ability to easily carry the units around. Furthermore, being able to log into online education servers, access reading material and write documents via Google’s Drive service is a compelling argument for the education system. Whether this translates to other locales is currently unknown. However, other countries may try to emulate this success in the near future.
What do you think of Chromebook devices? Do they have a useful place in the market or are they too restricted?
