Samsung WiFi-Only Chromebook Arrives Plus 3G Price Cuts

Google's Chromebook project hasn't exactly taken the mobile computing world by storm, but the search giant is hoping a software update along with a WiFi-only version of the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 will change that for the holidays. The login process has been streamlined, Google has revealed, along with some tweaks to the New Tab page that should make users feel more at home as well as highlight potential multimedia and gaming.

There's now a shortcut to the File Manager on the New Tab page, in addition to links to music apps and games in the Chrome Web Store. That store had a refresh recently too, with the aim of making discovering content more straightforward.

As for the new Samsung Chromebook, the WiFi-only Series 5 model will be available in piano black and priced at $349. It keeps the 12.2-inch display, 6hr battery, dual-core processor and twin USB ports of the 3G-enabled model we reviewed back in September, but cuts out the monthly data fees for 3G connectivity.

If you're desperate for 3G support, however, Google has announced that the existing Acer and Samsung Chromebooks now start at just $299 as of this week. Just be sure that you can comfortably live in the cloud before you sign up.