Why is this – the cost of a device without the cost of a typical OS (say 7) is more than the cost of a device without the OS (I am assuming Chrome is free)? iSuppli places the cost of a Chromebook at $500 based on an estimate of $330 in parts. How will such a device sell to more than the hobbyist or someone paranoid over malware? Even the wifi only version only saves you $70. Unlike laptops, the entire concept here is to rely on the web and that either comes with a data plan (3g) or wifi and a wifi plan. There will be some connectivity issues that will sometimes be a negative. Both connectivity and inconvenience are added costs.
I had hoped this would be a wifi iPad with keyboard and with very minimal storage needs. Perhaps the iPad is subsidized by purchases through the store.
Article here seems to argue that netbook experience is pretty substandard and getting users to buy in to an online-only approach will not go unless it simply works better than a netbook.