You'll also get some new functionality from Google's Chrome OS updates, which include a new app launcher, customizable background, multi-window support, Google Drive integration and Google Docs offline editing, and a remote desktop app.

In short, the laptop hardware is still pretty basic but updated for better performance, and the Chromebook's cloud capabilities have been improved. As laptops designed solely to get you online, Chromebooks were never meant to be powerhouses -- but working on the web with a Chromebook should be much faster and more responsive. With budget laptops priced about the same as, or even lower than, these online-only laptops, however, Chromebooks may still be a tough sell.

New Samsung Chromebox

Samsung also introduced a new desktop PC running Chrome OS, the Samsung Chromebox Series 3.

Like the Series 5 Chromebook, this mini-PC has an Intel Celeron dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM. For connectivity, the Series 3 Chromebox offers wireless-N, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 3.0, DVI, six USB 2.0 ports, and two DisplayPort++ outputs. The DisplayPorts are compatible with HDMI, DVI, and VGA.