According to foreign media reports, Google may adopt a monthly rental fee model for the sale of Chrome OS laptops, charging between 10-20 US dollars per month.
Google Vice President Sundar Pichai had mentioned that due to some minor bugs and Google's efforts to improve "compatibility, such as digital cameras on Chrome OS," the release date was postponed until summer 2011.
Specifically, Google plans to release Chrome OS in the summer of 2011, which is around June-July.
Neowin reported that Google will sell Chrome OS laptops at a subsidized price, requiring consumers to set up a Gmail account and then pay monthly fees, though the duration is not determined. It is unclear whether the monthly rental fee model is aimed at Gmail users or Google Apps customers. 3G services will also be included in this model.
Chrome users would pay 10-20 US dollars per month. After adopting the monthly rental fee model, Google will take responsibility for hardware updates, automatically upgrading storage if users are willing. Some problematic hardware can also be replaced for free. Additionally, if users do not want to choose the monthly rental fee model, they can directly purchase from OEMs.
Google hopes that the sales channels for Chrome OS laptops will be similar to those for Android devices, meaning it won't only rely on direct sales by Google.