Google has quietly acquired Neverware, a company that turns old PCs into Chromebooks. With this purchase, the Mountain View firm has a new string to its bow to continue developing the Chrome OS market, which is flourishing in the United States.
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It’s a quiet but important acquisition for Google. The Mountain View firm bought Neverware, a small company with which it had already collaborated in the past. This turns old PCs into Chromebooks in order to give them a second life. With this operation, Google should offer this solution, but officially.
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Neverware thus recovers old PCs, too slow, outdated or simply no longer used to give them a second life via CloudReady OS, based on Chromium. Thus, computers that were to end up scrapped become Chromebooks at a lower cost, given that the solution is completely free. An ideal solution for schools, whose budgets are often very tight. It was on Twitter that Neverware announced the takeover, and Google then communicated on it. The goal is to continue using CloudReady, but to fully include it in the Chromebook offer:
We can confirm that Neverware joins the Google Chrome OS team. As we continue to help consumers transition to the cloud, Neverware offers a compelling solution with CloudReady, which brings the ease, speed and productivity of a Chrome device. Building on our partnership over the past few years, we’re moving forward working closely with the team that helps consumers transition to Chrome OS.
Enrich the Chrome OS offer
Neverware has indeed already collaborated with Google for the design of CloudReady. With the takeover of Google, CloudReady could become a real tool for transitioning to Chrome OS.
Chromebooks have long been viewed as a very limited option in the laptop world. For a few years now, Google has been working hard to make its OS as attractive as it is productive, by making it compatible with all Play Store applications, for example. Today, Chrome OS represents a real alternative to Windows and is gradually settling on the market, exceeding 6% market share in the United States. In France, it is still struggling to win, not exceeding 1% market share, according to Statcounter.
