• Forbes, Wednesday, May 11, 2011 11:44 AM

Hoping to outmaneuver Microsoft, Google on Wednesday is expected to announce a new Chrome laptop in a $20 a month "student package," which combines both hardware and online services. "The product is almost certainly a precursor to an enterprise offering," writes Forbes. "Google Apps, an online product with features similar to Microsoft Office ... is sold to business for $50 a year ... An inexpensive Chrome laptop could be added to that for a small premium."

"Lower the price point, pack it with products, target starving students and Google may well be about to implement a genius extension of its laptop -- and overall -- businesses," NBCBayArea.com writes. "The program is just a first step though," notes Softpedia. "Google's real plan is to expand it to businesses as well ... Plenty of companies would love the idea of replaceable devices that depend completely on the cloud."

"If true," VentureBeat writes of the rumor, "the move has the potential to completely reshape the way consumers adopt computers, and it will also serve as a not-so-subtle Trojan horse for Google's online offerings." "The $20/month program for student laptops gives Google a backdoor into schools, and also in the mass adoption of its services," explains ReadWriteWeb. "Working the disruptive, flying under-I.T.'s-radar angle comes naturally to Google, which has, for years, pushed employees to use its products and services without I.T.'s knowledge or consent."

Google already offers schools and universities a free and ad-free version of its Google Apps software, but, while a number of schools have signed up for these services, many still have chosen alternatives like Microsoft's Live@Edu solution.

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