Samsung's Chrome OS netbook specs leak, show dual-core Atom
updated 09:30 pm EDT, Thu April 28, 2011
Samsung Alex Chrome OS netbook pops up
Details of Samsung's first Chrome OS netbook escaped late Wednesday with a code page (since pulled) for Chromium OS. Codenamed Alex, it would have the same 1280x800 screen resolution as the Cr-48 but pack a significantly newer dual-core, 1.5GHz Atom N550. Also spotted were 2GB of RAM and one of SanDisk's P4 mini-SSDs supplying storage.
Most of the rest clung to the features of the Cr-48, such as its Qualcomm Gobi 3G modem as well as Bluetooth, Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi, and VGA video out. The webcam is the same design found in most of Samsung's netbooks. At least in the code on show, the Alex would have the same developer unlock switch as on the Cr-48 and would let owners freely hack the firmware.
Google had promised that the first Chrome OS computers would ship in mid-year and might use its Google I/O conference May 10 to show the first hardware using a finished version of the OS. Developers recently noticed that Chrome OS is now considered stable and, in Google's terms, should therefore be near ready to ship. [via ChromeNieuws.nl]
