Chrome OS update brings credit card autofill, physical keyboard autocorrection, and more
Chromebooks have come a long way in just a few years. What was once an online-only affair has expanded into a much more capable platform with a growing number of offline-capable apps, a handful of Android apps, and increasingly complex online apps as well.
Chrome OS continues to evolve all the time, and in the latest update hitting the stable channel (43.0.2357.81), is bringing a number of unspecified bug fixes, performance improvements, and a few new features to the table that will make the Chromebook experience even better.
Probably one of the biggest changes here is autofill settings for credit cards from Google Wallet, which should make filling out payment information online much easier. Next on the list are some keyboard changes. First, the physical keyboard will now offer auto correction, handy for those who do a lot of typing and are looking to sort out minor typos on the fly. Second, the virtual keyboard UI on Chrome OS is getting a Material Design upgrade.
The last noteworthy change in the update will affect the least amount of users, as it is only for the 2nd-gen Chromebook Pixel. Pixel owners will now be able to say “Ok Google” anywhere in the OS, making voice search much more useful on Chrome OS.
The new Chrome OS update should be rolling out to many users right away, though it could take a few days to reach everyone.
Report says global Chromebook sales will touch 7.5 million this year
We recently reported that the Google Chromebook sales have reached 5.7 million in 2014, with more expected later this year. And according to a report by research firm Gartner, this is indeed true as they believe there will be at least 7.5 million units of the Chromebooks sold in 2015.
It is interesting to note that most of the Chromebook sales come from the education sector, while small businesses and professionals tend to look towards alternatives. But with more powerful Chromebooks scheduled to arrive later this year, we expect that to change.
“Since the first model launched in mid-2011, Google’s Chromebook has seen success mainly in the education segment across all regions,” said Isabelle Durand, principal analyst at Gartner. “In 2014, the education sector purchased 72% of Chromebooks in EMEA, 69% in Asia Pacific, and 60% in the US.”
Luckily for Google, Chromebooks are also being used outside of the U.S. on a large scale, which goes to show that there’s plenty of awareness among global consumers about the product.
Source: Gartner
Via: Digitimes
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Gartner: Worldwide Chromebook sales to reach 7.3 million units in 2015
Manufacturers have been releasing a slew of new Chromebooks throughout these past few months, and it looks like it’s paying off. According to technology research firm Gartner, a total of 5.728 million Chromebooks were shipped in the year 2014, with 4.820 million units being sold in North America. 72% of those units were sold to the education market alone. In fact, at the rate Chromebooks are currently selling, the report states that worldwide sales are on track to reach 7.3 million units by the end of 2015, which would be a 27% increase year over year.
In terms of specific OEMs, Acer surpassed Samsung to become the number one worldwide Chromebook vendor in 2014, selling more than 2 million units. Samsung took the second place badge with 1.7 million units, and HP came in third with 1 million units.
Although the consumer and education segments may have held strong numbers for 2014, Google has been struggling to gain a foothold in the business sector. From Gartner:
In the business segment, purchases of Chromebooks remain low despite interest from small and midsize businesses (SMBs) and vertical industries. Google is increasingly targeting the business segment with its Chromebook for Work suite of office applications and has continuously improved access and functions by making more applications and services available offline.
Though it’s still a way off, the report also states that worldwide Chromebook sales could reach up to 7.953 million units in 2016. Do you own a Chromebook? If so, would you recommend one to a friend or family member?
Chrome OS file manager gets new sorting functionality for thumbnail view
Google’s Chrome OS typically sees new functionality hit its dev channel before it makes its way downstream to normal installation, and that’s still the case with the latest feature to the lightweight operating system.
The new feature involves being able to sort files in Chrome OS’s file manager, letting you filter things alphabetically, by size, by type, or by date modified. It’s really partly a bug fix, since Chrome OS has technically always been able to sort files, but up until now you haven’t been able to do that in thumbnail view.
The new sort functionality sits in the overflow menu of the file manager.
If you didn’t use thumbnail views, you may not have even noticed this bug, but rest assured, the fix has been implemented and is on the way.
source: Francois Beaufort
via: OMG Chrome
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Viber’s calling and messaging app launches on Chromebooks
In order for Chrome OS to succeed, Google needs all the support it can get from developers. Hardware companies are certainly doing their part, namely by offering Chromebooks to people at affordable prices. That’s why it’s important when a popular service such as Viber launches on the platform, like today. Now users can start using the app to communicate with friends or family directly from their Chromebook, just as they would on iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Not only can you send text and picture messages, but also make phone and video calls to your contacts. It’s free too, which comes in handy if you’re trying talk to people across different countries.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Chrome Web Store
Chrome OS gets a new launcher and more Material Design
Early adopters have had access to a redesigned Chrome OS launcher since last month. Now, Google is making that feature available to all users of its web-based operating system. Today’s fresh, stable update to Chrome OS also comes packed with a number of Material Design elements, bringing a new look to the Files app and the default typeface. Just as well, there’s an updated calculator app, support for password-protected zip files — plus, of course, the customary bug fixes and security revisions. So expect to see changes the next time you boot up your Chrome OS machine, some visible, others not so much. Either way, rest assured they are for the better, especially the Google Now-equipped Chrome Launcher 2.0.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Software, Google
Source: Google
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