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Google’s so far remained tight-lipped about what its Chrome OS will bring, but that hasn’t stopped rampant speculation online, nor claims of having leaked versions installed.

But while Google has yet to offer official imagery or videos of its upcoming OS, it’s clear from the company’s other products how the giant will approach its wannabe Windows destroyer.

Google is all about efficiency and simplicity. Don’t expect loads of configuration and customisation options - instead, Chrome OS is likely to present a streamlined interface akin to Google Mail and its Chrome browser.

The system will essentially be an extension of said browser, either ‘forcing’ or strongly urging the use of solely online services - not only regarding applications, but also in terms of storage. The latter of those things could provide a revenue stream for Google, by having users pay for extra space online.

The windowing model is likely to be tab-based, enabling users to mix and match windows from different apps into coherent workspaces.

Elsewhere, we expect a no-frills taskbar, rooted at the screen’s foot to make Windows users feel at home, but also taking on board some aspects of Mac OS X’s Dock. We don’t, however, expect to see a prominent trash - Google would prefer to you to never delete anything, just in case.

Here’s our mockup Google Chrome OS screenshot that shows how we think the OS could turn out:

And here are the close-ups…

THIRD-PARTY APPS: Google’s apps offer services to cater for most people’s needs, but for those who need more, third-party apps must be available. Whether these are restricted to web apps remains to be seen, but charging companies to have icons ‘installed’ by default could be a good earner for Google.

STORAGE SPACE: With Google being keen on cloud computing, and offering plentiful storage for all its web-based products, it’s feasible that Chrome OS could store everything online, via a refined and revamped (but paid-for) Google shared storage solution. If local storage is enabled (albeit discouraged), we suspect synchronisation tools will be offered.

WINDOWING MODEL: On seeing Safari 4 beta’s top-most tabs, the rumour mill went berserk, (wrongly) claiming Apple would soon embrace a tab-based windowing model for Snow Leopard, enabling you to mix and match app windows into user-defined workspaces. With Chrome OS being an extension of the Chrome browser, such a model is a no-brainer.

SEARCH ANYWHERE: Google remains king of search, so expect Chrome OS to largely make the files-and-folders system redundant, instead encouraging access to content - applications, documents, document content, and so on - via a search interface. This might resemble Google Quick Search Box (available as a standalone app for Mac, or as part of Google Toolbar 5 for Windows).

OPEN APP ACCESS: In a nod to both Windows and Mac OS X, it’s likely open apps will be accessible from a taskbar (along with status widgets and a clock); taskbar app icon badges could provide basic information, such as an unread email count.

TechRadar has spent our first few hours testing out Sony’s first netbook, the rather tasty little Sony Vaio W, Sony’s first foray into the world of netbooks.

And while Sony is still shy’ing away from using the term ‘netbook’ (this one is officially referred to as a ‘chic mini notebook’ on all of Sony’s press and marketing bumf) the guys at Sony are the first to admit that it is one.

After all, the Vaio W boasts the familiar feature-list and specification that we have come to know as ‘netbook spec’ – an Intel Atom Processor N280 (1.66GHz), 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Motion Eye webcam, a couple of USB ports and so on.

Sony is pitching the Vaio W at a new market – those that have perhaps wanted (’aspired ‘) to own a shiny Vaio before, but have not had the spondoolicks to treat themselves to one. The pricing is not going to be anywhere near the budget-netbook level, but then we would never have expected that from Sony.

If you want a sub-£300 netbook then you can stop reading right now and head over to check TechRadar’s recent reviews of some pretty decent offerings from the likes of MSI, Asus, Medion or Acer.

The Sony Vaio W will set you back £399 when it launches later in August (or perhaps even a shade less if you manage to find a retailer offering a decent deal).

Why pay more?

So why should you shell out £100 more than you might on one of those netbooks from the aforementioned brands you can find on your local supermarket shelves? For us, there are two immediate reasons. Or perhaps three, if you are a Vaio fanboy (yes, they exist!).

The first reason you can justify spending the extra money on the Vaio W is the (86 per cent full-size) keyboard. The last time we tested out one of these was on the rather-overpriced (but still very desirable) Sony Vaio P ultra-portable ‘notbook’.

The initial impression when using the Vaio W’s keyboard is a slight concern that the mini isolated-style keyboard’s keys are just a little too small, but after around half an hour of bashing away at the keys your fingers find their way to where your brain wants them to go without bashing their neighbouring keys.

It’s a small point, but a vital one. Too many netbooks are still shipping with cheap, bouncy, unresponsive keyboards. Fine, if all you want to use the thing for is to look at your photo library and watch the iPlayer in the bedroom. Not fine if you want to use it for writing, blogging or doing anything that involves typing more than three words!

Secondly, the 10.1-inch high-res (1366 x 768) screen on the Vaio W boasts the same resolution as a lot of 40-inch high definition televisions. And, while we hate having to use the same adjectives as Sony has used on its press release, it really is ’stunning’ and ‘vibrant’ and it is basically one of the best netbook screens we’ve seen to date.

We have yet to try out watching high-def movies and TV progs on the thing. To be honest, we’re yet to be convinced that it will do the movie-viewing thing on an Atom processor with 1GB of RAM, but hey – we’ll wait until we do the full test on that front. And on that note, the Sony product manager demo’ing the Vaio W to us today did mention that there should be an option to upgrade to 2GB of RAM, should you want to. (HINT: Yes, we would want to).

In terms of more basic, everyday use – ie looking at the internet – the advantage of the Vaio W’s impressive screen resolution is that you don’t have to scroll sideways when viewing websites.
Battery-life? Three hours or more. “Some of our competition, shall we say, push the boundaries a little when it comes to battery-life claims,” said one of the Sony reps demo’ing the Vaio W. “Sony doesn’t do that.”

Extra battery-life

And if you need a six or seven hour or more battery-life, Sony is going to offer a six-cell chunky battery as an optional extra.

And finally, talking about optional extras, accessorising is also the order of the day here, with Sony charging you £40 for a nice little wetsuit-style bag and coloured mouse to accompany your new netbook. And while forty quid is a lot of money to spend on a little neoprene bag and a mouse, if you are going to shell out £400 on one of the nicest netbooks yet developed, you may as well shell out a bit more to protect your new toy.

So, to recap, you are paying extra here for one of the best keyboards yet designed for a small form-factor laptop, for the lovely, bright screen and – if it floats your boat – for the aspirational value of the Vaio brand. And while you can probably get a decent full-size laptop deal at your local PC World for £400 right now, if you want one of the best mini-computers on the market you won’t go far wrong with one of these when Sony launches them in mid-August.

Oh. And they come in a nice shade of berry pink too, if the only way you can justify shelling out for one is to pull the old trick of buying it ‘for the missus’.

Gripes? Not many, really. No HDMI output. No slot for a SIM-card for 3G internet access. But hey, we are being picky! Get yourself a cheap PAYG dongle for those occassions when you are away from Wi-Fi and get yourself a Blu-ray player to watch your movies with. Done.

Sony is all set to make its first foray into the world of netbooks, announcing that a new entry to its popular Vaio range, the Sony Vaio W series, will be priced at 60,000 yen or around £390.

The Sony Vaio W is the Japanese computing giant’s first official ‘netbook’, although Sony would still rather hear it called a ‘mini notebook’.

The Vaio W packs in a 10.1-inch screen and a 1.6GHz Atom processor running Windows XP on 1GB of RAM. Which means it has pretty much exactly the same spec as the slew of other Asus, Acer, MSI, Medion and other leading netbooks currently out there on the supermarket shelves.

Here at TechRadar, while we were fans of the Sony Vaio P, the ultra-portable (and ultra expensive!) PC released earlier this year, we can only hope that the Vaio W is priced at a more reasonable level, in line with its spec.

Decent build and keyboard

In addition to a decent 1366 x 768 screen, if the build quality is good and the keyboard is not averse to taking a daily hammering (as our older, bigger Vaios aren’t), then Sony may well find a market of consumers willing to pay a premium for a sexy-looking, well-constructed mini PC.

Sony describes the Vaio W as “a charming mini notebook with a stunning wide screen that brings a refreshing splash of colour and fun to this hot vacation season.”

It continues: “Pick up this chic mini notebook, and you can catch your friends’ attention and catch up with the latest news all the while you’re catching the sun. It comes in three dazzling colours — sugar white, berry pink and cocoa brown….The screen’s bright and vibrant colours deliver your friends’ and your own photos and videos in all the beauty that they deserve.”

TechRadar has contacted Sony UK and we will bring you our detailed hands-on appraisal of Sony’s new netbook as soon as we get our mitts on one.

You can pre-order the Sony Vaio W now from Sony Style Store over at www.sonystyle.eu.

Specs

Model VPC-W11S1E

Processor Intel® Atom™ Processor N280 (1.66GHz)
OS Genuine Windows XP Home
Memory 1GB
HDD 160GB Hard Disk Drive (Serial ATA)
Screen 10.1″ X-black LCD with LED technology, 1366 x 768 resolution
Weight & Size 1.19 kg, 179.6 mm (depth) x 267.8 (width) x 32.4 (height)
Others WLAN 802.11b/g/Draft-N, Bluetooth®, Motion Eye webcam

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