Global Chromebook shipments in 2014 are expected to be only 4-5 million units which is low when compared to Windows based devices.
The big problem according to supply chain makers in Taiwan is that consumers still don’t trust cloud-based storage, another problem is that consumers have always got to be online to access content.
Hewlett-Packard (HP), Toshiba, Dell, Acer, Asustek (ASUS) Computer and Samsung Electronics have all been aggressively promoting their Chromebook products with some prices already reaching US$199 in the USA.
In Australia several manufacturers are working on trying to get Chromebooks into schools, several retailers that ChannelNews has spoken to claim “sales are slow”
Taiwanese manufacturers claim that Chromebooks were unable to reproduce the same sales phenomenon as netbooks because of the popularity of mobile devices.
Currently Intel is developing a new “Braswell” chip to succeed its power-efficient Bay Trail processor found in PCs. The US processor Company who are also investing heavily in tablets is planning on bringing over 20 Chromebook designs to market this year.
“Last year, we had only four designs on Chrome. Today I can announce that we will have over 20 designs on Chrome,” said Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel’s PC Client group, last week.
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Skaugen said that Intel is currently developing a processor, code-named Braswell that will be used to build entry-level desktops, notebooks and convertibles.
The chip will be designed with Intel’s 14-nanometer manufacturing process, but Skaugen declined to say when the chip will arrive.
Previously, Intel has also said it is working on a 14-nanometer chip called Cherry Trail, a follow-up to its 22-nm Bay Trail chip. Cherry Trail, however, will be in use in tablets.
