Google Working With Acer, ASUS, HP And More On Chrome OS Netbooks

Google have revealed the hardware partners that they are currently working with on their freshly-announced Chrome OS.  The search giant has named Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Toshiba as all helping to design and build devices that will run the new platform, which has been described as the Chrome browser with a new windowing system, on top of a Linux kernel.

Conspicuously absent from the list of collaborators is Samsung, who are already working with Google as part of the Android-helming Open Handset Alliance, and who have a range of well-received netbooks on the market.  Dell and Sony are also missing from the list, though given the pattern of membership from the OHA – where a second round of sign-ups significantly boosted the ranks just a few months later – we wouldn't be surprised to see one or more big names hop on board shortly.

Google also reiterated that Chrome OS will be a free, open-source project, although it is yet to specify when exactly in the second half of this year it will release the source code.  The first devices running Google Chrome OS are expected to arrive in the second half of 2010.

[via Android Community]