Don't have an Internet connection? Well, until now, the Google Chromebooks were pretty useless to you. But, Google are now taking steps in addressing problems with offline access to services such as Gmail, Calendar and Docs. Quoting the Gmail blog:

Gmail Offline is a Chrome Web Store app that's intended for situations when you need to read, respond to, organize and archive email without an internet connection. This HTML5-powered app is based on the Gmail web app for tablets, which was built to function with or without web access . . .

 

Google Calendar and Google Docs let you seamlessly transition between on- and offline modes. When you're offline in Google Calendar, you can view events from your calendars and RSVP to appointments. With Google Docs you can view documents and spreadsheets when you don't have a connection. Offline editing isn't ready yet, but we know it's important to many of you, and we're working hard to make it a reality.

This will make the Chromebooks an actual, realistic laptop replacement. Nice work, Google.