Google will unveil the first Chrome OS netbook on Dec. 7, according to industry reports, which also gave advance hints of today's Android 2.3 release. Meanwhile, the latest ComScore report shows continuing advances for Android in the U.S. market where was said to have moved to 23.5 percent share, with Samsung taking the lead in Android handset sales.

Google is hosting an event Dec. 7 where it will likely demonstrate the first netbook based on its cloud-oriented, Linux- and Chrome browser based Chrome operating system, says a story in our sister publication eWEEK. Google emailed eWEEK an invitation to a Chrome-related event, stating, "On Dec. 7, we will host an event in San Francisco where we plan to share some exciting news about Chrome."

The event will feature Chrome OS on a Google-branded netbook, according to several sources, including Engadget, which said that only about 65,000 units of the Intel Atom-based netbook will be available, and only for Google employees and their friends and family.

Early prototype of Chrome OS interface

The Google event may possibly showcase the formal launch of the Chrome Web Store, says eWEEK. The store will provide an outlet for programmers to showcase and sell web-based applications for Chrome OS, says the story. The version of Chrome OS available on the initial netbook will still be in beta, says eWEEK.

Last month, Google CEO Eric Schmidt publicly stated that that Chrome OS netbooks wouldn't arrive for several more months. Yet, it was subsequently rumored that the first Chrome OS netbook would be unveiled by end of the year, even if it may not yet be ready for mass consumption. Hardware partners that had previously been listed as supporting the netbook-oriented OS include Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba.

Gingerbread popping out of Google's oven

A release today of Android 2.3 was predicated by a number of industry reports and leaks, and was highlighted clearly by one tablet maker. As AndroidGuys reported, a Notion Ink blog recently stated that "6th December is another big day for Android and you will find out how fast Notion Ink can work. (Eden is extremely compatible with 2.3)"

Notion Ink's Adam prototype

"Eden" is a tablet interface Notion Ink showed off in October for the Android-based Adam tablet that the company first unveiled at the CES show in January. The 10-inch (1024 x 600) touchscreen tablet is equipped with an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and will offer an optional Pixel Qi dual-mode display, says the company. The Adam may be unveiled this week, the story adds.

ComScore: Android keeps moving up in U.S.

Android's U.S. market share reached 23.5 percent in October, putting it one percentage point behind Apple's iOS at 24.6 percent, according to new numbers from ComScore's ComScore MobiLens service. This figure compares with 21.4 percent for Android and 24.3 percent for iOS in September, says an eWEEK story on the report.

U.S. smartphone subscriber share by OS, 3-month average ending Oct. 2010
Source: ComScore MobiLens

RIM's Blackberry OS share fell to 35.8 percent from 37.3 percent share in September, according to ComScore. Meanwhile, Microsoft was said to have accounted for 9.7 percent of smartphone subscribers, down from 10 percent in September, while HP's Palm rounded out the top five with 3.9 percent, down from 4.2 percent.

Samsung vaulted Motorola to become the leading manufacturer of Android smartphones in the U.S. through the third quarter, says the report. Samsung was said to have comprised 32.1 percent share of all Android phones sold, a 300 percent increase from the fourth quarter 2009, when it garnered 9.2 percent Android share. 

Samsung's ascendance is based on strong sales of its Galaxy S Android phone (pictured at right), which it sells on all the major U.S. carriers under various names, as well as in locations around the world.

Galaxy S variants include Verizon Wireless' Fascinate, AT&T's Captivate, Sprint's Epic 4G (with slideout keyboard), T-Mobile's Vibrant, and the Mesmerize on U.S. Cellular. All told, these devices have accounted for more than three million smartphones sold in the U.S., says eWEEK.

Galaxy Tab hits one million in sales

While Samsung is cleaning up on Android phones, the Korean consumer electronics giant can also crow about fielding the most successful Android tablet to date. On Friday, Samsung confirmed to eWEEK that it had sold more than one million Galaxy Tabs (pictured below, left) worldwide, up from 600,000 just two weeks before. 

Samsung's success should be put into perspective, however, says the story. According to eWEEK, Apple shipped one million iPads in less than one month from April to May, and sold 4.19 million units in the company's fourth quarter, ending Oct. 19.

eWEEK has also published some slide show pictorial reports on the Galaxy Tab recently, including Don Reisinger's "Samsung Galaxy Tab: 10 Reasons it won't catch Apple's iPad," here, and "Samsung Galaxy Tab mimics iPad in concept, but not all details: iFixit," here. The publication has also posted a slide show accompanying Clint Boulton's recent review of the Galaxy Tab.

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