Google names Chrome OS partners

Google has announced a list of hardware manufacturers who have pledged to build machines that will run its Chrome OS (operating system).

Google said a number of technology companies will manufacture devices compatible with Chrome OS.

Included in the list so far are Acer, Adobe, Asus, Freescale, HP, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Toshiba.

The open-source OS is currently in development and will be released to the public in 2010.

Netbooks, manufactured by Asus, Acer and others will most likely be the first on the market to operate the lightweight operating system.

In a blog posting Google said it had received many queries since it revealed it was going to enter the OS market.

One of the most frequently asked questions was about which machines and software manufacturers will run the OS.

The Chrome OS will be designed to work with Intel chips used on the vast majority of PCs, laptops and netbooks.

Partnering with Adobe, which makes Flash software, is important as the software is integral to multimedia websites for playing videos and displaying sophisticated graphics.

Google said that the code for the Chrome OS would be open sourced in late 2009 and that the software will be free to download and use.