With almost 14,000 of these Chrome OS powered Notebooks out there, Google’s CR-48 pilot scheme is proving to be a massive success. Even so, there have been questions asked as to what Google plans to do with the other 46,000 of these devices that it hasn’t yet shipped. It’s either, they are planning on slowly releasing them (as they have been doing) or they may have even bigger plans in store.

Pilot program may be extended to Europe

A perusal of the Google CR-48 FAQ pages has revealed a nice little detail that I’m surprised we hadn’t really uncovered yet. It’s surprising that a lot of bloggers have been paying more attention to CR-48 shipments in the USA so much that they forgot to ask the crucial question; ‘will this sweet device make it to Europe and/or Canada’?

Google seems to answer this question quite clearly:

We’ve been inundated with requests for Cr-48’s from around the world. Unfortunately, due to product certification requirements, we are unable to distribute Chrome notebooks outside of the United States at this time. We are working hard on getting these certifications, and we hope to bring Chrome notebooks to your country soon. Thanks for understanding!

So you’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth! It seems like the Internet giant may have big plans for the rest of their CR-48 stockpiles. These devices may not be headed to users in the USA afterall, rather it is likely that users in Canada and Europe will be greeted by that all too familiar box at their doorsteps soon.

How will it be rolled out?

As to how Google plans to begin the roll out of these devices internationally , we’re not sure. It’s likely that they will begin shipping to users who already applied (during and after the Chrome Event) or they may re-open the applications for international testers only.

Why select country when the beta is only for the USA?

It’s interesting to note though that the current application form for the CR-48 has a country field. I found this odd as it didn’t make sense for Google to place an ‘international form’ for a ‘national application’. Was this simply a design flaw or is this another sign that we all overlooked?

3g partners in Europe

A lot of people have argued that the reason why the CR-48 program is not outside the USA is because of the Verizon 3g data plan which cannot be internationalized (as Verizon has little international presence). It’s been argued that it would be a logistical nightmare to set up different partnerships with other international markets due to their fragmantation.

Well, as the (Google’s) statement above suggests, this is the least of their worries. The hurdle for Google seems to be the certification of the device rather than finding 3g careers to partner with.

Potential to partner with T-Mobile

T-Mobile is one of the largest mobile phone careers in the world. It is a European company that you will find in pretty much all the European countries. It is likely that Google will select them for such a partnership. Afterall T-Mobile was one of the first companies to carny Andoid phones in the USA. They have a long standing history with Google and are strategically the best company to partner with.

So, for all those anticipating the CR-48 pilot program from outside UK borders; watch this space.