Google takes retail head on and expands Chromebook availability
Naysayers be damned: If you’ve been one of those people going on and on about the downfall of Google’s Chrome OS, you may want to think again. Chromebooks have apparently been so successful in their very limited existing sales channels that Google has decided to massively expand availability, and take retail head on.
In a recent blog post on the matter, Google stated that Walmart has already begun selling the $199 16GB Acer Chromebook in about 2,800 stores across the US. Additionally, starting this weekend, Staples will begin selling a mix of Acer, Samsung, and HP Chromebooks in more than 1,500 retail locations across the country. Office Depot, OfficeMax, and regional chains Fry’s and TigerDirect will also begin selling Chromebooks later this summer.
If that’s not enough, Google is finally paying some more attention to the international crowd, too. Retail availability will be expanding in ten other markets worldwide, including all 116 Tesco locations in the UK, along with all Media Markt and Saturn stores in the Netherlands. FNAC in France, Elgiganten in Sweden, and all JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman stores in Australia will soon carry Chromebooks, too.
We’re still a long way from full worldwide availability, but this is nonetheless a great step forward – and it further demonstrates Google’s ongoing commitment to the platform for the foreseeable future. There’s never been a more exciting time than now to be a Chromebook user!
[Google]
