Have you seen the Samsung Chrome laptop? What do you think about it for classroom use?
We have played with the Chromebook and have mixed feelings. For high school / middle school students, this wouldn't be a bad tool to complete day to day tasks, projects, etc., but for an elementary student where completing tasks aren't always online, this is a detriment. Plus, each of our students already have an AD account for secure computer access, but with the chromebook, they also have to have a Google account. HS and MS students wouldn't be a problem, but elementary students don't always have access to Google accounts nor can they create these accounts at school (on the KDE network). I know a few small districts that LOVE the chromebook and use it faithfully with Google Docs/Drive. I would love for our district to work toward Google Docs, however with the new concept of Skydrive and Skydrive Pro, that has given Google Docs and DropBox a competitor for storage. In terms of production, SkyDrive and Google are hand in hand...it is all in what they experience...that comes back to how our HS/MS teachers use and promote Google/SkyDrive. Google is definitely more fluid right now and has a long-term life when the students go to college, however, I still cannot buy into getting a laptop that strictly runs as a browser powered by Google only. Even though we have our own district "cloud storage," the students cannot transfer documents from one place to another easily when using the Chromebook.
There are definitely pros and cons to the Chromebook, but ultimately, I see it as a browser device for elementary students and not a production device like it could be for MS and HS students. It, again, is all in how you promote, use, and integrate the technology into your lesson that will make it effective.