Skip to main content

Google ‘student package’ to offer Chrome laptops for $20 per month

Cr-48Back in December, we got a glimpse of Google‘s Cr-48 notebook, powered by the company’s nothing-but-Internet Chrome OS. It wasn’t widely released, but the notebook made its way into the hands of enough knowledgeable people to psych people up for Google’s entry into the hardware space. Now there’s word that the company will today be announcing a “student package” plan, offering a Chrome laptop — presumably the Cr-48 or something similar — as part of a $20-per-month purchase plan.

The report comes from no less a reliable source than Forbes, which cites an unnamed “senior Google executive.” It is believed that this deal, which will presumably be revealed at today’s Google I/O keynote, is the test run for a more full-featured business offering. Forbes speculates that a package could be sold to professionals which sweetens the purchase of Google Apps, the company’s Microsoft Office-like suite of productivity tools that currently sells for $50 per year, with a Chrome OS laptop. Google Apps offers the advantage of cloud-based storage.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are banging on our doors to get something like this,” Forbes’ source said, further suggesting that the rumored (for now) “student package” is a test run. You have to respect the forethought here; give students access to a cheap, Internet-connected laptop and then, when they enter the professional world, they’ll already be well-versed in using Chrome OS for work purposes. The problem with anything cloud-related, of course, is the inability to work with saved content when no Internet connection is available. The Google source tells Forbes that a solution is very close to being cracked.

Editors' Recommendations

Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
This Google Chrome feature may save you from malware
Google Chrome app on s8 screen.

There are probably hundreds of thousands of Google Chrome extensions out there, and with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know whether the plugin you want to install is hiding malware nasties.

That could become a thing of the past, though, as Google is testing a feature that will warn you if an extension you installed has been removed from its Chrome Web Store.

Read more
Chrome has a security problem — here’s how Google is fixing it
Google Chrome icon in mac dock.

Google is looking to get ahead of high-severity vulnerabilities on its Chrome browser by shortening the time between security updates.

The brand hopes that more frequent updates will give bad actors less time to access and exploit n-day and zero-day flaws found within Chrome browser code.

Read more
This secret Samsung laptop may merge ChromeOS with DeX
A red Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 sits open on a table.

Samsung might be developing an Exynos-powered hybrid laptop essentially combining the DeX interface with ChromeOS.

Bringing back a codename from an unrealized concept in 2020 — the DeXBook — Samsung is once again rumored to be working on a Chromebook laptop with an integrated DeX interface. Exact details are sparse, except that the laptop is expected to utilize Exynos SoCs based on 5nm or 7nm nodes. Unlike DeX docks currently on sale, the hybrid DeXBook is looking for a more integrated approach.

Read more