Chrome OS on the cheap: Samsung Chromebook (pictures)

The Samsung Chromebook features an 11.6-inch matte screen.

Chromebooks come with a Search key rather than a Caps Lock key. Clicking it lets people launch apps from a grid that pops up or initiate a regular Web search.

An 11-inch MacBook Air is wider than the Samsung Chromebook, but it's not as deep or as thick.

The back of the Samsung Chromebook is where the ports are located: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and HDMI 1.4. There's also a SIM card slot and power plug.

Chrome OS gives you tips on how to swap out iTunes, Skype, and Microsoft Office with Web-based alternatives -- from Google, of course.

When the Samsung Chromebook is closed, its hinge bulges up out of the top.

What computer is totally free of bugs? At least this beetle knew which key to land on.

The bottom of the Samsung Chromebook has four rubber feet and two speaker grilles. The sound can be muted by whatever clothing is on a person's lap.

Google has now integrated Chrome OS and Google Drive, so logging on to a Chromebook grants mostly seamless access to online files. The first synchronization can take a long time.

The Samsung Chromebook, left, is smaller, thinner, lighter, and cheaper than the earlier Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook.

A wide touch pad accommodates multitouch gestures. You can tap lightly or push down more firmly to click buttons.

The Samsung Chromebook has clean, uncluttered lines, except for a protruding hinge on the top.

On the left edge of the Samsung Chromebook is an SD Card slot and a headphone-microphone jack.

The Samsung Chromebook has a non-backlit chiclet keyboard with controls for screen brightness, volume, window switching, and browser navigation along the top. A wide touch pad supports multitouch gestures.

A welcome screen gives tips on Chromebook usage such as the touch pad and Google Drive.

The Samsung Chromebook uses a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, a dual-core system-on-a-chip based on the ARM Cortex A15 design.

The Samsung Chromebook offers tips on using its touch pad when it's first run.

Atop the Chromebook is a Webcam for Google+ hangouts or other video tasks.

Want to install a Web app? Google's Chrome Web Store has them for sale. Many are little more than pointers to a Web page, but some such as games can be quite sophisticated.

When the Chromebook is first started up, it asks for language and network settings.

Samsung builds the new Chromebook, but Google makes the operating system and gets equal billing on the top cover.

The MacBook Air is significantly thinner -- and more expensive -- than the Samsung Chromebook.

The MacBook Air tapers to become very thin at the front edge. Not so the Samsung Chromebook.