So I was really excited when I got an email earlier from “The Chrome Team” with the subject “Be the first to get a Chromebook”.  At first I was thinking “Maybe they accepted me into the pilot program!” but then I opened the email to find this.

 

Okay, so the Chromebook is officially on sale pre-sale.  I click the ‘Go get one’ button to be forced to create an account with Gilt.com to even view the Chromebook and more importantly, it’s price.  $500… are you kidding me?  $500 for a computer that is supposed to simplify and revolutionize mobile computing.  The specs of the laptop rival that of $199 Acer’s you can buy at Microcenter.  The biggest insult however is not the price but instead the company that is selling this thing.

If you read about Gilt on Wikipedia, this is what you’ll learn.

Gilt Groupe visitors must be members in order to view sales. Membership can be requested at the website, but otherwise it is by invitation only. New sales typically start at Noon EST, last 36–48 hours, and feature merchandise from a single brand or small groups of brands at prices 50%-70% off of manufacturer’s suggested retail prices

Does that mean the Chromebook at $500 is 50-70% off the suggested price?

On top of that, Gilt has nothing to do with technology or gadgets.  The closest they come is a tech blog which is barely advertised and seems more like an after thought than anything else.  They don’t even mention the Chromebook which their own website is selling.

Let me get to the point.  If the Chromebook is going to be $500, I believe it’ll be a failure.  In order for it to be successful, I think it needs to aim for the price point of netbooks.  The reason I feel this is because netbook users are looking for the same thing, a small cheap computer that gets great battery life.  Googles market is nerds, not yuppies who want to buy designer fashion.  What the hell were they thinking?