Google Chromebooks are headed to international markets, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, Google announced, adding the manufacturers of the devices include Acer, HP and Samsung.
"To help improve computing for organizations, we're rolling out Chromebooks to businesses and schools in these same countries as well," the company announced on its blog. Businesses and institutions can learn more about this initiative on Google's Enterprise blog.
The Chromebook will reach more U.S. buyers as well, as 1,000 Best Buy stores nationwide have signed on to carry the inexpensive laptops (as low as $249), which run on Google's Chrome OS and largely depend on the Google Drive, Google's cloud storage service, to operate. The number of Best Buy stores where the Chromebook will be sold now nearly doubles the previous number and the computers are expected to be available within the next few weeks.
According to Google, in the U.S., the Samsung Chromebook has been at the top of Amazon's best-selling laptop list for 149 days since launch and in the U.K., Dixons says Chromebooks make up more than 10 percent of laptop sales in Currys and PC World stores.
The international rollout is also occurring just one week after Sundar Pichai, the Google executive who headed up the Chrome browser and operating system, was moved over to oversee Android. Pichai took over from Andy Rubin, who moved on to "start a new chapter at Google," CNET reported.
Google plans to continue expanding Chromebook availability internationally.
"We're looking forward to bringing Chromebooks to even more countries in the months to come," the company said on its blog. The Chromebook Pixel, Google's most recent laptop, has garnered mixed reviews, according to CNET, as "some critics have called the Pixel 'too much machine for the software,' while others have noted its high price and cloud limitations as consumer obstacles."
