谷歌寄望新款Chromebook电脑

    大概一年前，谷歌公司（Google）推出了首款Chromebook电脑。现在，它推出了升级版的裸机——包括笔记本和台式机，都由三星公司（Samsung）制造。问题是，只是因为新增加了点功能，消费者就会买账吗？

    谷歌并未公布具体销量，但号称已有超过500所学校装配了Chromebook。然而，搭载了Chrome操作系统的笔记本并没有赢得大企业的青睐。企业客户尽管正迈向云计算，但它们还是需要功能齐备的应用软件，比如微软公司（Microsoft）的Office套件。但Chromebook只能使用依托于网络的应用软件，如谷歌自己的文件处理和表格处理工具或电子邮件等。对绝大多数企业用户来说，这种功能有限、以网络为中心的功能依然无法满足需求。

    弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）的分析师弗兰克•吉列特称：“搭载Chrome操作系统的电脑适用于那些主要用电子邮件和软件即服务类应用程序的工作者，这类程序都是通过网络浏览器使用的。并不适合需要微软Office套件完整功能的人。这些人往往不用局域网，要处理大型文档或大量文档，而且经常出差，没法用无线网络（Wifi）。”

    新款Chromebook的确提供了几项新功能。用户能在线或离线查看Office文档，不过还是不能编辑。它还装载了内置谷歌硬盘（Google Drive），再过几周还能离线编辑谷歌文档（Google Doc）（所有谷歌文档的用户都能用上这一功能，而不仅限于Chromebook的用户）。谷歌称，升级版Chromebook比前几代产品要快3.5倍，开机仅需短短7秒。

    Chrome的操作系统产品管理总监凯萨•森谷普塔称：“Chrome的操作系统变得越来越好。过去一年来的进展让我们很欣慰，但这需要巨大的努力和长期的投入。我们必须对它持续进行投资，不断改进。”

    在某些方面，Chromebook可能有点超前于时代。Chrome操作系统还是一个处于开发过程中的产品，而不管谷歌喜欢与否，企业用户还是更依赖传统软件。更重要的是，这台初出茅庐的笔记本电脑身边强敌层出不穷，无不虎视眈眈——不仅有苹果公司的iPad和Macbook Air，还有所谓的“超极本”，即英特尔公司（Intel）一手推动的超薄笔记本电脑。这些装备都不便宜，但“超极本”到了今年年底有望降至700美元以下。更重要是，它们都是功能齐备的笔记本。而新款Chromebook的售价是499美元。台式机的价格是329美元。和“超极本”一样，Chromebook也采用了英特尔的处理器，而谷歌也很可能让硬件厂商生产搭载Chrome操作系统的“超极本”（森谷普塔表示，对于是否正在进行这种商谈，他既不承认也不否认）。

    About a year after announcing its first Chromebooks, Google is launching updated versions of the barebones computer -- a new laptop and desktop, both made by Samsung. The question is, will customers want to buy the devices, even with a few added enhancements?

    Google (GOOG) hasn't released any unit sales numbers, but the company says over 500 schools have now deployed Chromebooks. Then again, the Chrome OS-running laptops haven't exactly caught on with big business. Despite the move to the cloud, enterprise customers still need fully functioning business applications like Microsoft's (MSFT) Office suite. Chromebooks, however, are only useful for web-based apps like Google's own docs and spreadsheet tools, or email. For the vast majority of corporate users, that limited, web-centric functionality just doesn't cut it.

    "Chrome OS computers are for workers who mainly use email and software-as-a-service applications that are accessed in a web browser," says Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. "They're not for anyone who needs full Microsoft Office capabilities, who is often off the network, has large files or large quantities of files, and who travels a lot away from WiFi."

    The new Chromebooks do offer several new features. Users will finally be able to view Office files, both online and offline, though they still can't do any editing. The devices will also come with Google Drive built in, and the ability to edit Google Docs offline will roll out in the coming weeks (to all Docs users, not just Chromebooks owners). Google says the updated Chromebooks will also be 3.5 times faster than their predecessors, with an improved boot time of 7 seconds.

    "Chrome [OS] keeps getting better over time," says Caesar Sengupta, product management director for the Chrome operating system. "We're very happy with progress over the last year but this is a big effort and a long-term commitment. We have to be invested in this for many years."

    In some ways, Chromebooks are probably ahead of their time. Chrome OS is still a work in progress, and enterprise customers are still dependent on traditional software, whether Google likes it or not. What's more, the fledgling laptops have a growing roster of competitors to contend with—not just Apple's (AAPL) iPad and MacBook Air but also so-called Ultrabooks, a category of uber-thing laptops pushed by Intel (INTC). None of these gadgets are cheap, but Ultrabooks are expected to sell for slightly less than $700 by end of this year. More importantly, they're a fully-functioning laptop. The new Chromebooks, meanwhile, will sell for $449 a pop. The desktop version will retail at $329. Like Ultrabooks, Chromebooks are based on Intel processors, and it would make sense for Google to get hardware makers to manufacture Chrome OS-running versions of Ultrabooks (Sengupta says he will neither confirm nor deny that such talks are in the works).