In late 2010, an up-and-coming Google executive named Sundar Pichai took the stage in front of a bunch of reporters and explained that Google had a big new idea about laptops. In the future, he said, the only thing you'd need on your computer was a web browser - that was where all your apps, data, and connections would live going forward. Your computer didn't need much storage, Pichai explained, or any fancy hardware, because the cloud would do the work. The software designed for these new laptops, Chrome OS, was an enormous bet that the web would eventually overtake everything.

Chrome OS (which eventually became ChromeOS) has been, in many …

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There are a few things about using a Googlebook that immediately feel just right. The hardware is polished (since it's based on current laptops). The OS is familiar (if you've ever used a Chromebook). But most impressive, it integrates your Android phone with your PC so they feel more like one device. It's the culmination of a series of new ideas that blur the two devices together. After my first look, I went from doubtful to excited by the prospect of Google pulling it all off.

After an initial barebones announcement in May, Google is finally launching Googlebooks - its new line of Android-based laptops. The initial five Googlebook models …

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