Acer in alleged Chrome OS monitor plot

Er, does Google know about this?

Updated Update: Heise has updated its story on the Acer DX241H to say that the PC will not run Chrome Os. It will merely be loaded with Google's Chrome browser.

Acer has announced the first Google Chrome OS device, according to a somewhat sketchy report out of Germany citing Acer itself. Oddly enough, the device is not a notebook. It's an all-in-one PC.

Heise Online reports that Acer has unveiled a Chrome OS–based all-in-one PC dubbed the Acer DX241H. According to Heise, which cites Acer itself, the 24-inch LCD display includes an ARM Cortex-A8 system-on-chip. Much like Apple's iMac, PC brains are built into the monitor. Allegedly.

The device also includes built-in speakers, USB ports, and both wired and wireless networking hardware, according to Heise. and it will apparently be priced at €299 (roughly $400).

Acer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And Google said it does not comment on rumor or speculation. But a source familiar with Google's plans said the company is concentrating on bringing Chrome to market on notebooks, as the company has said many times before. In December, Google released an unbranded beta Chrome OS notebook to a relatively small group of testers, and it said that Acer and Samsung would introduce commercial Chrome OS netbooks around the middle of the year.

Chrome OS is open source. Like Chrome – and unlike Android – its code tree is public. So anyone could take the code and apply it to a device of their own. But this is Acer, one of Google's closest partners on the OS, and it seems odd – to say the least – that the company would introduce a device that runs contrary to Google's stated plans.

What's more, part of the Chrome OS project is not open source. The work Google is doing to improve machine boot times is not included in the Chromium OS code tree.

Chrome OS is an operating system that puts all applications and data inside the browser. Other than the browser itself, there are no local applications – though you can install plug-ins. The idea is to make machines more secure – and, in a way, simpler – by putting everything on the web.

At least initially, Google has said, Chrome OS netbooks are meant to be inexpensive second machines. They're not meant to replace your primary system. ®