Google Chrome OS Notebooks Available June 15

After two years of development, the first Google Chrome OS notebooks will make their worldwide debut June 15.

Samsung and Acer will be the first companies to launch Chrome OS devices. Samsung’s device will sport a 12.1-inch screen with an 8-hour battery life, while Acer’s device will be a 11.6-inch display and a 6.5-hour battery life. Samsung’s device will retail for $429 for the Wi-Fi version and $499 for the 3G version. Acer’s more portable notebook will start at $349 and up.

Google SVP of Chrome Sundar Pichai said during Wednesday’s keynote at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco that both Chrome OS notebooks will be available starting June 15. It will launch in the U.S. on Amazon.com and in Best Buy stores nationwide, but the United Kingdom, France and other countries will get the chance to buy Chrome OS notebooks at the same time.

Google has been testing Chrome OS in the wild through the CR-48 notebook, but those devices sport unstable developer versions of Google’s web-centric OS. Since then, Google has fixed most of Chrome’s bugs and made it compatible with Intel’s dual-core processors.

Chrome OS is the search giant’s attempt to create a cloud-based operating system. Unlike traditional desktop operating systems like Windows and Mac OS X, Chrome OS only runs web-based applications through a modified version of the Chrome browser. As a result, Chrome OS can start up in a matter of seconds and has a longer battery life.

Originally designed for netbooks, the rise of tablets has forced Chrome OS to evolve into a notebook OS and could even make its way onto tablets and other form factors