From the first time I got a good look at Windows Phone 7, it had all the earmarks of the end of the line for Microsoft’s mobile aspirations. After spending an hour with a beta version of Windows Phone 7 in July, I was shocked (as were they) at how much was missing from the OS and thus how incapable it was – there were no signs of copy and paste, multitasking, devicewide search, or HTML5.

Now that Windows Phone 7 is shipping, the truth is even worse. I spent several days this wek reviewing a Windows Phone 7 device; in the process, I realized Microsoft made even more boneheaded decisions than I thought possible.

Google’s Chrome OS project is almost ready for the masses, according to a report.

Digitimes said today that hardware companies in Asia are putting the finishing touches on smartbooks running Chrome OS, with the intention of shipping them later this month. Acer and Hewlett Packard are expected to launch Chrome OS systems in December, Digitimes said.

One interesting tidbit is that Google reportedly plans on selling a Chrome OS smartbook (an ill-defined term that seems to reflect an improved Netbook) under its own brand, similar to what it tried to do with the Nexus One. CEO Eric Schmidt hinted earlier in the year that such a strategy was in the works, but it’s not clear how Google plans to sell such a smartbook: through carrier partners, direct from its Web site, or at retailers like Best Buy.

In any event, the Chrome OS smartbooks will likely coincide with the arrival of the Chrome OS Web Store, which will help make the smartbooks more attractive with additional apps outside of the stock build. Google has only said that it expects both parts of the Chrome OS strategy to arrive in the “fall,” but most observers have expected the company to get everything out before the official start of the holiday shopping season.

Smartbooks running Chrome OS could arrive this month