In a blog post in the Official Google Blog, Linus Upson, Vice President, Engineering and Caesar Sengupta, Director of Product Management announced the introduction of a new member of the Google Chrome family, the Google Chromebox.

The Chromebox is a compact, powerful and versatile desktop perfect for the home or office. It comes with a new idea for cloud computing, with new hardware, a major software update and many more robust apps.

Like the Google Chromebook, the Google Chromebox is manufactured by Samsung and both are now powered by Intel Core processors - the old Chromebook was powered by Intel Atom processors. The new Chromebook and Chromebox, based on Intel Core processors, are nearly three times as fast as the first-generation Chromebooks.

The new systems support for hardware-accelerated graphics and an open-source firmware stack provide a much faster and more responsive computing experience.

Google says the new Chromebook boots in less than seven seconds and resumes instantly. With the Chromebox, you can be on a video conference while continuing to play your favorite game on the side.

With the new user interface you can easily find and launch apps, and use them alongside your browser or other apps. You can pin commonly-used apps for quick access, display multiple windows side-by-side or experience your favorite apps in full-screen mode without any distractions.

With the built-in ability to view Microsoft Office files and dozens of the most common file formats, you can access all your content without the hassle of installing additional software. Google Drive makes it easy to create, store and share with just one click. Drive will be seamlessly integrated with the File Manager and support offline access with the next release of Chrome OS in six weeks. With Google Docs offline support (rolling out over the next few weeks), you can keep working on your documents even when offline and seamlessly sync back up when you re-connect. In addition, there are hundreds of offline-capable web apps in the Chrome Web Store.

The revamped media player and a built-in photo editor and uploader enable you to easily play and manage personal media collections. Through the Chrome Web Store, you can access entertainment apps such as Google Play, Netflix, Kindle Cloud Reader and Pandora, and thousands of games including popular games like Angry Birds and console titles such as Bastion.

With Chrome Remote Desktop Beta, you can now securely connect to your PC or Mac from your Chromebook or Chromebox. With the underlying VP8 technology, it’s almost like you’re in front of your other computers in real time.

In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available to try out in select Best Buy stores in the coming weeks. In the U.K., they’re now available in a growing list of PC World and Currys stores.