Acer preparing Chrome netbook for summer launch

News site VentureBeat cited unnamed sources in reporting that the company would be rolling out multiple devices next month at the Computex conference in Taipei. The devices would reportedly be based on Google's Chrome Operating System.

The exact nature of the devices has not yet been reported, but the Chrome OS primarily targets the netbook market.

The Chrome OS was introduced by Google last year as an open-source platform which would highlight compatibility and security. The platform has more recently been overshadowed by the growing reach of Google's Android operating system, however.

The reports come as the market for both netbooks and portable tablets has been heating up. Apple has dominated headlines this year with its iPad tablet, while vendors such as Archos, Google and Microsoft have plans to take Apple on with devices of their own.

Most recently, Asus has been linked to a new entry to the market. The Inquirer has reported that the company was developing a netbook which could dock with smartphones and share a 3G broadband connection.