Google opens preorders for the $899 Googlebook

Google opened preorders on September 21 for Googlebook, a laptop line running a ChromeOS-Android hybrid with Gemini wired through it, from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo at $899 to $1,299. Machines reach US stores on October 4, on both Intel x86 and ARM chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek.

The pitch is continuity rather than raw power: Android apps beside desktop Chrome and Linux tools, phone files on the laptop, tasks handed between devices, and a Gemini-driven “Magic Pointer” as the headline feature. “The first version of Googlebook is really about building an amazing laptop for the Android community,” Android chief Sameer Samat said — which is the MacBook-and-iPhone argument, aimed at the two thirds of the world that carries Android.

• Confirmed Preorders opened September 21; prices run $899 to $1,299 from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo. Axios
• Reported Android apps run beside desktop Chrome and Linux tools; a Gemini-powered “Magic Pointer” is the headline feature. Axios