Google Chrome OS Netbook Sounds Like a Tablet

The netbook Google is building its Chrome OS around will reportedly boast tablet specs, industry watchers report. Apple, as our readers should know by now, is widely believed to be gearing up for launching its own tablet computer. While Google’s will not hit the market until the holiday season of 2010 (or so it is said), Apple’s device is expected to land in the coming months.

The IBTimes points out to rumors that Google has tapped several hardware manufacturers about its netbook, noting that tech-focused bloggers have already started speculating about the netbook's specifications. Besides the fact that Google’s device will reportedly run Chrome OS (as if that wasn’t obviously the plan), it is also said that the device will boast a chipset from NVIDIA's Tegra line, and an ARM CPU – a solution far more relevant than Intel Atom, as it drains less battery power, the report says.

Then comes the part where specs are broken down: “It is also rumoured that the netbook will sport a 10.1-inch TFT HD-ready multi-touch display, and would come with 64GB SSD [...], 2GB RAM [...] WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, Ethernet port, USB ports, webcam, 3.5mm audio jack, multi-card reader, etc. [...] The netbook, which is expected to launch in the holiday season of 2010, will reportedly also come with preinstalled Google apps such as Google Map, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Search by Voice.”

All right, maybe saying “Chrome OS Could Make Friends with an Apple Tablet” seems a bit far-fetched right now, but there’s even more room for speculation on the competition we’ll be seeing between Google and Apple, whose once fructuous relationship has been steadily decaying over the past year. Now that Apple is undoubtedly working on its own tablet, it will be very interesting to see how the two compare, both from a hardware standpoint, and from a software point of view. You might as well kick it off in the comments. We're in for quite a year on the tech front.