The tech market just got a little more crowded. Following the successful product launch of its popular Nexus line of devices, Google will release a Google-branded, touch screen version of its Chromebook netbook by the end of 2012 reported The China Times.

A new report coming from China claims that Google will be the latest company to offer a touch-screen laptop later this year. The report, published by the Chinese language China Times, and discovered by Taiwan's DigiTimes, claims that the laptops will run Google's Chrome operating system and will feature touch-screen functionality. The report also claims that these devices will be launched under Google's own brand, joining the company's Nexus line of mobile devices.

The time frame certainly sounds like a stretch to us, but the idea of an in-house produced Chromebook from Google makes perfect sense. The third generation of the Chromebook laptop from Samsung was a verified hit, scoring the No. 1 spot on Amazon's bestseller list, and is now the best notebook seller of all time on Amazon, according to PC-Tablet.com

Taiwan's Compal will provide internal components for up to 20 million Google Chromebooks, set to start shipping sometime toward the end of this year, according to the report.

"It's not perfect, but it's very good, even excellent compared to what else you can get for $249," said Information Week in its review.

"For workers who can operate independently without the management console and support, the US$250 price is very competitive compared to netbooks and laptops," Mark Levitt, director of enterprise software and communications at Strategy Analytics said.

"It's not crazy to think that Google would release a touchscreen Chromebook. The development site for Chromium has posted tablet interface mockups in the past, and in April 2011, Google confirmed that it was working on a tablet version of its browser-based operating system, though the company didn't say whether any products would come of it," said PC World.

Of course, a touch-screen Chromebook would also present new challenges to Google. Currently, Chromebooks are generally offered for between $200-$450, a low price point that also reflects the laptop's reliance on Google's cloud-centric OS. Adding touch-screen functionality to the normally low-cost Chromebooks could significantly increase the price of the device, and move it up among higher-priced Windows 8 touch-screen laptops.

"For folks living entirely in the cloud, the Chromebook is now a primary computer", Chrome OS Senoir Vice President Sundar Pichai said, implying that most users were not yet ready for the new machines. "Many people use the Chromebook today as the perfect additional computer for their home,"

"To us, Chrome OS represents the most distilled form of cloud computing we can find," said Pichai introducing the new Samsung Chromebook at a San Francisco event Oct. 18.

Google and Samsung market the laptops as one of the most user-friendly computing devices available. Google emphasizes that Chromebooks automatically install security updates and require minimal maintenance from users. Google claims the new model boots up in less than 10 seconds, and offers 1080p video. While the device includes 16GB of local SSD storage, buyers also get 100GB of cloud-based Google Drive storage for two years.

Instead of having to purchase and install office productivity software such as Microsoft Office on the device, office users can tap Google's Web-based productivity app suite, Google Docs, to create and edit documents. They can also install other apps from the Chrome Web Store.

Called "Docs," "Sheets," and "Slides," Google transforms productivity software into apps, which offer word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools as self-contained software for download at the Chrome Web Store.

In a regular Chrome browser, the apps act more like bookmarks. But in the Chrome OS, these same bookmarks can be made to appear as buttons in the bottom left of the Chromebook start-up screen, mimicking the experience of using a traditional computer.

The Chromebook is squarely aimed at people who want another device lying around the house, but don't expect it to do much more than browsing, word processing, and maybe watching the occasional video on Youtube.

Chromebook runs on Chrome OS, which, for those unaware, puts a version of Google's Chrome browser on top of a Linux foundation, where Linux PCs run Linux apps, though, Chrome OS devices run browser apps. But you can't run several popular programs -- iTunes, Skype, Portal 2, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Spotify, or Netflix.

Despite a few shortcomings such as poor display quality at certain viewing angles, and the Chromebook's flimsy plastic casing, reviews for the laptop are overwhelmingly positive, stressing that there is plenty of value packed into that $249 price tag.

Google has yet to comment.