Google developing touch-screen Chrome OS laptops, report says

Google is reportedly developing touch-screen laptops running its Chrome OS operating system and readying them for a release later this year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is adding the touch-screen capability to its laptops, which are known as Chromebooks, to compete better against Microsoft. Last year, Microsoft introduced Windows 8, which is designed for touch-screen computers.

The report, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” says it’s unclear when exactly Google will release the touchscreen computers or which company will build the hardware.

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Google Chromebooks have been on the market since 2011 but didn’t make an impact until last year when more companies began building their own versions.

So far, Samsung, Acer, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo have built a Chromebook or will soon start selling one.

Most Chromebooks are built with limited hard drives in order to keep prices down, but Google makes up for that by giving users storage space in the cloud.

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