The concept behind the Chromebooks are that they're built for web-access and have next to no installed programmes - functioning mostly via Google's cloud applications. As a result they boot up very fast (eight seconds). The downside is, you can't use them offline.
While other web-based operating systems, like JoliCloud, are available for download, these devices are the first to be designed solely around cloud-based computing.
Prices for Acer's offerings start at US$349.99 and Samsung's at US$429.99 on Amazon.