14 DAY TRIAL // In the second and final day of the Google I/O developer conference, the Mountain View, California search giant revealed to the world the highly anticipated Samsung Series 5 netbook which was specially designed by the Korean company to run the Chrome OS operating system.
Samsung is one of two partners selected by Google for the consumer launch of Chrome OS, and its Series 5 netbook range will be comprised of two models.
The main difference between the two comes from the connectivity options supported, since Samsung will be releasing both a Wi-Fi plus 3G model, available through Verizon Wireless, and a Wi-Fi only version of the Series 5.
The rest of the hardware specifications are identical and both netbooks are powered by an Intel Atom N570 processor, which packs two computing cores running at 1.66GHz, and 2GB of system memory.
Graphics is handled by the integrated Atom GPU and storage is provided by a 16GB solid state drive which is based on a Samsung design.
As far as the screen is concerned, this measures 12.1-inch in diagonal, it features LED back lighting, and it also packs an anti-reflective coating which should make it behave better when exposed to direct sunlight. Its resolution is set at 1280x800 pixels.
Alongside its 0.79-inch thin chassis, Samsung has placed two USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, a headphone out jack as well as a special port for an optional VGA dongle.
Samsung Series 5 netbooks also include a 1MP webcam as well as a 6-cell battery pack, which can provide up to 8.5 hours of use, according to the manufacturer.
The notebook will be available in the US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Italy starting with June 15, and more countries should be added to the list later in 2011.
In the US, the Samsung Series 5 netbook will be sold by Amazon and Best Buy. Pricing is set at $429 for the WiFi only model and $499 for the WiFi + 3G version.
