The long-awaited Google-powered computer made its debut today: At the keynote address for the second day of its I/O software developer's conference, Google executives announced two Chromebook laptops, portable computers that run Google's Chrome operating system.

The Chromebooks, from Samsung and Acer, will be available at retail outlets on June 15. The Wi-Fi-only Samsung laptop will cost $429; the $479 3G model from Samsung will feature wireless data service from Verizon. Acer's Chromebook will start at $349. In addition, a version of the Chromebook will be offered to students and educators for $20 per month, and desktops powered by Chrome will be available to corporations for $28 per month.

Compared with conventional lightweight and ultraportable netbooks, the advantage of Chromebooks running Google's Chrome software is that they're cloud-based: So office productivity tools such as word processing and other apps are available online at the Chrome Web store. Google also said overall maintenance for Chromebooks will be much easier, since the company will update Chrome for better performance every few weeks.

We're eager to test a Chromebook and see how it compares to the conventional models we've tested for Ratings of netbooks (available to subscribers). Would you be interested in a Google-powered computer? What about a Google tablet?

Google Chromebook website [Google]
Google unveils Chromebook laptop, launches June 15 [USA Today]
The Google Chromebook Breaks Cover At I/O 2011, Hits Retailers June 15th [CrunchGear]
Live from Google I/O 2011's day 2 keynote! [Engadget]