ChromeOS CR-48 Preview

FedEx dropped off my Google (GOOG) ChromeOS laptop demo unit this morning.  The box has the now famous exploded hamster jet cover art and very few parts inside. I also ironically got a Steve Jobs figurine in the mail today too.  They didn’t seem too happy to be in each other’s company:

Read on to see the CR-48 in action..

Intel (INTC), for being Google’s ChromeOS launch partner, got to put the following card in the box:

The CR-48, as Google calls its ChromeOS reference machine, is just a bit smaller than a 13-inch MacBook Pro, which I happen to have available to compare against.

Some initial notes after a few hours of use:

• Intel’s card in the box smacks of back room negotiations. Google wanted a branding-free netbook, Intel wanted  “Intel inside”.  This was the compromise.
• The rubberized body isn’t bad but I still prefer Aluminum, at least at the moment.
• The start up is very quick..and good thing too because the battery it came with only had a few minutes of charge on it.  Google claims about 8 hours total, I’ll have a chance to test this shortly.
• I love the keyboard.  It feels very similar to the MacBook Pro that I use day to day, perhaps better.  I also like the Search key which lives where where Caps Lock was. I am already using it instinctively.  I don’t think I’ll miss the ALT/Option key either. The one downside is lack of backlit keys.  This is going to make typing at night difficult.
• I am not used to the trackpad.  I can’t slide one finger around while the ‘tap’ finger rests on the trackpad like I am used to.  It also doesn’t click and drag the way a MacBook does and is significantly smaller than what I am used to, though it is only one button like Apple’s trademark design.

Usage:

• It pretty much works as advertised.  You open it up.  Put in your wireless settings and take a snapshot of yourself.  You log into your Google account and off you go.
• Activating Verizon’s free 100mb a month data plan is quick and easy, almost as easy as setting up AT&T on an iPad.
• The browser is quick.  At least as quick as the Chrome or Safari Browser on my MacBook Pro.  Maybe quicker.
• It isn’t immediately clear how to put photos onto this machine.  I popped in an SD card and went to Picnik.  There is an upload button which invoked a very X-Window/Linux-like File manager.  It is pretty easy to brows to the SD card (or USB attached storage) and upload what you want.  Google will likely want to pretty/simplify this up before this goes mainstream, however.  With 32GB SD cards costing around $50 and 64GB SD cards under $100, it is pretty easy to add a lot of storage to these things.
• Familiar sites like YouTube and Facebook work flawlessly.
• The speakers aren’t good.  Listening to music is painful and tinny.  Headphones are the way to go.
• The camera is as good as a typical laptop camera for video chatting.  I was able to use Google Talk video to chat without any issue.
• I’ve been using this for a few hours without one single error.  This might be a lot less Beta than most of Google’s early releases.
• Powering down and bringing up the CR-48 is simple and quick (see video).  Also, closing the lid and opening it back up gets you going pretty quickly

Video tour:

I’m not a cinematographer, nor, in the interest of getting it up fast, did I edit this at all. But if you want to see some raw video of how the CR-48 works, here it is:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p77QU12iyA8&w=600&h=375]

More to come as I dive further into using the CR-48. (Meantime, here’s another great video, from Engadget.)