Google to open up Play store

Google’s Chromebooks are set for major changes in the next few months with the Google Play Store - and 2.2 million Android apps - coming to the ultra-affordable devices.

This is an answer to one of the main issues with the machines - that many popular apps like Microsoft Word, Skype and the Dashlane password manager haven’t been available for use with Chromebooks, which starts as low as $400.

Android is the dominant mobile operating system, with an 86 per cent market share, according to market tracker Gartner, of software geared to run on phones and tablets.

On several Chromebooks (only four models will be available in Google Play Store) Android will also be optimised for running on computers, with mouse and touchscreen.

Think of a Chromebook as a glorified tablet, a small computer with a physical keyboard, that’s light and easy to tote around.

Google’s Chromebooks have struck a chord with students.

Earlier this year they surpassed Apple MacBooks as the second best-selling kind of computers, after Windows.

The low price also entices consumers and IT departments.

The bad news: you have to be online, generally, to use them. The lack of software in the Google Chrome web store was also an issue.

This is where apps like MS Word, Skype, Dashlane, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom were missing in action.

The Google Play Store will initially only be available on four models of Chromebooks: The Asus Flip C100, Acer Chromebook R11, Acer Chromebook C738T, Google Chromebook Pixel.

Google says it will roll out the software upgrade to more models in the coming months. TNS