Laptops based on Google’s Chrome operating system – Chromebooks – are known for their limited local storage capacity and necessity to rely on cloud storage solutions that cost money. Luckily for those, who plan to buy a Chromebook this year, Google now offers 1TB of online storage for free for a limited time.

During this holiday season – between now and the 1st of January, 2015 – those who purchase a a new, eligible Chromebook starting at $199 gets 1TB of Google Drive storage for two years – almost $240 in value – absolutely free, Google announced on Friday. Given that most Chromebooks come with only 16GB of NAND flash storage, which is not enough for normal work, the offer should make Chromebooks a little more competitive.

The move should help Google’s partners to sell more Chromebooks during the holiday season and give the search giant and PC makers an idea how free online storage affects sales. Perhaps, if Google and its allies find that 1TB Google Drive bundled with a Chromebook significantly spurs demand for Chromebooks, expect them to offer free online storage with future notebooks featuring Chrome OS.

The main problem of Chromebooks is that they require Google services and Internet connection to offer users advanced functionality. Since the quality of Internet connections varies, many people just play it safe and get familiar Windows-based laptops. Still, the situation is gradually improving and there are programs for the Chrome OS that can work offline as well. Moreover, if every Chromebook is shipped with 1TB Google Drive, many users will get an impression that such mobile PCs offer similar amount of storage as traditional laptops featuring Apple Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows operating systems.

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KitGuru Says: It is completely unclear how significantly free cloud storage spurs demand for Chromebooks. Would you buy a Chromebook instead of a regular notebook provided that you were given 1TB of cloud storage for two years free?

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