????大概一年前，谷歌公司（Google）推出了首款Chromebook電腦。現在，它推出了升級版的裸機——包括筆記本和臺式機，都由三星公司（Samsung）制造。問題是，只是因為新增加了點功能，消費者就會買賬嗎？

????谷歌并未公布具體銷量，但號稱已有超過500所學校裝配了Chromebook。然而，搭載了Chrome操作系統的筆記本并沒有贏得大企業的青睞。企業客戶盡管正邁向云計算，但它們還是需要功能齊備的應用軟件，比如微軟公司（Microsoft）的Office套件。但Chromebook只能使用依托于網絡的應用軟件，如谷歌自己的文件處理和表格處理工具或電子郵件等。對絕大多數企業用戶來說，這種功能有限、以網絡為中心的功能依然無法滿足需求。

????弗雷斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）的分析師弗蘭克?吉列特稱：“搭載Chrome操作系統的電腦適用于那些主要用電子郵件和軟件即服務類應用程序的工作者，這類程序都是通過網絡瀏覽器使用的。并不適合需要微軟Office套件完整功能的人。這些人往往不用局域網，要處理大型文檔或大量文檔，而且經常出差，沒法用無線網絡（Wifi）。”

????新款Chromebook的確提供了幾項新功能。用戶能在線或離線查看Office文檔，不過還是不能編輯。它還裝載了內置谷歌硬盤（Google Drive），再過幾周還能離線編輯谷歌文檔（Google Doc）（所有谷歌文檔的用戶都能用上這一功能，而不僅限于Chromebook的用戶）。谷歌稱，升級版Chromebook比前幾代產品要快3.5倍，開機僅需短短7秒。

????Chrome的操作系統產品管理總監凱薩?森谷普塔稱：“Chrome的操作系統變得越來越好。過去一年來的進展讓我們很欣慰，但這需要巨大的努力和長期的投入。我們必須對它持續進行投資，不斷改進。”

????在某些方面，Chromebook可能有點超前于時代。Chrome操作系統還是一個處于開發過程中的產品，而不管谷歌喜歡與否，企業用戶還是更依賴傳統軟件。更重要的是，這臺初出茅廬的筆記本電腦身邊強敵層出不窮，無不虎視眈眈——不僅有蘋果公司的iPad和Macbook Air，還有所謂的“超極本”，即英特爾公司（Intel）一手推動的超薄筆記本電腦。這些裝備都不便宜，但“超極本”到了今年年底有望降至700美元以下。更重要是，它們都是功能齊備的筆記本。而新款Chromebook的售價是499美元。臺式機的價格是329美元。和“超極本”一樣，Chromebook也采用了英特爾的處理器，而谷歌也很可能讓硬件廠商生產搭載Chrome操作系統的“超極本”（森谷普塔表示，對于是否正在進行這種商談，他既不承認也不否認）。

????About a year after announcing its first Chromebooks, Google is launching updated versions of the barebones computer -- a new laptop and desktop, both made by Samsung. The question is, will customers want to buy the devices, even with a few added enhancements?

????Google (GOOG) hasn't released any unit sales numbers, but the company says over 500 schools have now deployed Chromebooks. Then again, the Chrome OS-running laptops haven't exactly caught on with big business. Despite the move to the cloud, enterprise customers still need fully functioning business applications like Microsoft's (MSFT) Office suite. Chromebooks, however, are only useful for web-based apps like Google's own docs and spreadsheet tools, or email. For the vast majority of corporate users, that limited, web-centric functionality just doesn't cut it.

????"Chrome OS computers are for workers who mainly use email and software-as-a-service applications that are accessed in a web browser," says Frank Gillett, an analyst with Forrester Research. "They're not for anyone who needs full Microsoft Office capabilities, who is often off the network, has large files or large quantities of files, and who travels a lot away from WiFi."

????The new Chromebooks do offer several new features. Users will finally be able to view Office files, both online and offline, though they still can't do any editing. The devices will also come with Google Drive built in, and the ability to edit Google Docs offline will roll out in the coming weeks (to all Docs users, not just Chromebooks owners). Google says the updated Chromebooks will also be 3.5 times faster than their predecessors, with an improved boot time of 7 seconds.

????"Chrome [OS] keeps getting better over time," says Caesar Sengupta, product management director for the Chrome operating system. "We're very happy with progress over the last year but this is a big effort and a long-term commitment. We have to be invested in this for many years."

????In some ways, Chromebooks are probably ahead of their time. Chrome OS is still a work in progress, and enterprise customers are still dependent on traditional software, whether Google likes it or not. What's more, the fledgling laptops have a growing roster of competitors to contend with—not just Apple's (AAPL) iPad and MacBook Air but also so-called Ultrabooks, a category of uber-thing laptops pushed by Intel (INTC). None of these gadgets are cheap, but Ultrabooks are expected to sell for slightly less than $700 by end of this year. More importantly, they're a fully-functioning laptop. The new Chromebooks, meanwhile, will sell for $449 a pop. The desktop version will retail at $329. Like Ultrabooks, Chromebooks are based on Intel processors, and it would make sense for Google to get hardware makers to manufacture Chrome OS-running versions of Ultrabooks (Sengupta says he will neither confirm nor deny that such talks are in the works).