In a surprise move Google seems to have taken a page out of Apple´s corporate philosophy by introducing a $1299 notebook with a retina like resolution.
The ´Pixel´ (a strange name for a device where Google promises you will never see a pixel again) sports a resolution of 2560×1700 on a 12.85" screen. The device has an 1.8GHz Intel core i5 processor with integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of flash storage for the Wi-Fi only model which means it won´t work without an always on internet connection like other Chrome notebooks.
To really use the device on-the-go there will be an (US-only) 4G LTE. Without it, the 32GB of storage won´t get you productive if you are out of your WIFI range. Google offers 1 TB Google Drive storage but that will only help you if your connectivity is guaranteed.
The aluminium body houses a touch-screen; the most innovative component of the Pixel. Chrome OS is said to be optimized for touch usage, but at this price Android touch tablets are hard to beat. In terms of value for money a full Windows 8 Pro ultra notebook with touch is a tempting alternative.
Google stated´ "You should think of it as the equivalent of a MacBook Pro´ and they position it for power users. It certainly means a tie-in to Google´s ecosystem, even more so than a MacBook.
Do you think this is real competition for the Surface Pro or the numerous alternatives on either Android or Windows 8? #Tech
Is it available in South Africa?
What do you mean it won't work without an internet connection? Have you ever used a chromebook? It comes with document viewers, editors, etc built-in. It will work almost to the extent that any computer works without internet access.
Apple doesn't have a touchscreen laptop. I wonder how soon they will follow.
Does this mean I can safely buy an existing Chromebook without worry that something new will be released a week later? I've been holding off and waiting for news of this.
+Ryanne Dolan of course it will work without internet, but will you be able to do real work with only 32 GB of real storage?
Could be interesting for photographers who require a large amount of cloud storage. The Pixel includes 1TB Drive for 3 years, which would cost alone $1'800.- So if you look on it from this perspective, the Pixel is more than free, you even get some money back…
Madness! I thought they were supposed to stop doing stupid things. Who in their right mind would pay $1200 for a laptop you can use to browse the net? Google needs to release a real operating system to compete in this segment. I can't believe such "smart" people can be so stupid!
Maybe you can install Ubuntu. =)
NERD PORN!
+Russell Deasley Nerd porn is a class in itself so I will withdraw the value for money question 🙂
+Henry Rouhivuori Better anything with a good support for Plasma Active.
+ Henry Rouhivuori Install Ubuntu? What's the point then? Will Ubuntu handle the resolution?
+Mario Garcia If what +Alex Reusch suggests is true, you are essentially getting 1TB of online store for 3 years, a $1,800 value for free and saving $500 in the process. Remember though its also installed with Chromium OS which is light and fast. There is value there, just not within the hardware. The value is external within the Google Drive storage capabilities.
I've never played with it. The device starts at $1200. I still have to find out if the apps I use will work on it. How much more money does it require to have those apps working on the Pixel? It'll be a nice alternative to a MBP if ever.
Sorry +Max Huijgen I am a Google Fan Boy so it this was always going to go down well with me, no matter what the price.
I like the concept of a Chromebook because the productive things I do on a computer can be accomplished on it with the limitations being a tradeoff for the price. But this is too expensive for why I'd want a Chromebook over other computers. There's always the $250 model with access to the same stuff!
Google is good but I don't think this one will beat MacPro
or Window 8 ultrabook
+Lee P. Jr yep! 1 TB Google Drive costs $ 49.99 per month. The first thing I did, when I saw the specs of the Pixel, was checking the prices for G-Drive.
I'm sorry I'm not spending $1300 on a laptop that can't even store stuff without an internet connection.
I suppose people still exist that will buy it. I mean I just watched a TV show in the morning where they showed a man chowing down into a $5000 foie-gras and truffle sauce burger. Anything is possible on this planet :/
At least the MacBook Pro or Surface Pro can run Lightroom and Photoshop…
and games +Angyl Bender 🙂
I use a mobile Internet connection 90%; I don't have the luxury of wi-fi spots for the most part. If 3/4G connections every go back to unlimited with Verizon, this chrome book would be a very compelling buy for me with on-line storage. For me, it's all about the price of Internet connection.
1TB of online store for 3 years, a $1,800 value for free
I´m pretty sure that next years 1TB will be half the 2013 pricing etc. Certainly not the equivalent of $1800 over three years
+Max Huijgen 1TB on a portable hard drive that you can carry with the laptop is about 100€, maybe 150€
'Pixel' must be referring to the proportions (rather square, compared to other models) and/ or the screen size (smaller than 13 inch). I like the name.
This laptop is primarily a strategic attack on the Surface. Or more precisely, on Microsoft's positioning of the Surface as the professional workhorse. Google basically claims that work that requires a high-end laptop, can be done on a Chromebook just as well. They are upgrading Chrome OS: not just for your second device, but also for your main computer. (In other words, you don't need Windows anymore.)
Still, for a high-end laptop, you'd expect at least a 128 GB SSD and why not 8 GB RAM.
Does anyone else see this product as a form of anchoring to make the price of other models more palatable? It certainly does not seem like a viable choice on its own but it might make people more willing to choose a mid-tier product.
One point of installing Ubuntu is that you get a complete operating system. You can run more than only Chrome.
How the graphic drivers work can maybe be tricky. Intel drivers aren't the best I have seen.
That is exactly what I've been waiting for, a Google Surface. Now they need to price it $400.
Why would anyone want a computer that has a glorified Web browser as operating system?
+Gijs van Dijk You're not confusing Chrome OS with the Chrome browser, are you?
This is actually a very smart purchase for a business person on the go. Your work is store securely on Google Drive, most if not all office production applications are also external. The device can easily handle multimedia for presentation and relaxation. The form factor is light weight and secure. For the average person at home it doesn't offer the bang for the buck. However, for the professional on the go. it makes a lot of sense.
Most people don't realize that a lot of tasks they currently do on computer also require an internet connection. Chromebooks support quite some stuff offline as well, Docs, Presentations, Gmail etc.
Sure, 1200 dollar is a lot of money, but this a hell of a device! And this certainly is the computing concept of the near future. I use a chromebook as my daily driver and I absolutely love it.
I am not +Riemer Thalen cause that's exactly what Chrome OS is. You can't really do anything with it, as far as computer use is concerned. What you can do with it, you can do just as well with a phone or a tablet. The stuff you want to use a real computer for, you cannot. Real computers are used for more than just web browsing, email, wordprocessing or presentations.
This thing is a $1300 internet consumption device, not a productivity device. It doesn't do anything a $300 tablet doesn't do just as well.
Comparing it to a Macbook Pro? Or any laptop with a full blown operating system for that matter? Don't make me laugh. Other than the price, it's not even in the same universe.
I guess it can work people that think the photo editing options on G+ is like using Photoshop. Or that Google Sheets does the same thing as Excel.
Shit, I got bigger CF cards in my camera than this thing has storage. Not that it matters, there is no way to process the RAW images anyway.
It's almost insulting that a company like Google will put a $1300 crippleware computer into the market and claim with a straight face it can compete with something like a Macbook Pro or that it is suited to power users. Apparently Google doesn't have a clue about what power users are and how they use computers.
+Gijs van Dijk you might accuse Google from not knowing what a "power user" does on a computer, but reading your post also makes clear that you don't have the right understanding of how the chromebook model works (or can work for you). If you define "power user" as someone that uses a very specific application, sure you're right that this cannot be done on a Chromebook, yet. The keyword here is "yet". It's almost naive to think that applications like for instance Photoshop will not move to the web, becaise the web has so much advantages over a local PC. Cloud platforms have much more computing power than any standalone computer will ever have. If Adobe doesn't do it, somebody else will and will eventually beat the traditional parties offering local software.
As for things like storage, you really don't care about local storage when you get 1 terabyte for free for three years. My Chromebook only has 16GB of storage, it's long from full, because everything I do is in the cloud.
You are correct though, Chromebooks and Macbooks are indeed not in the universe, Chromebooks are in the universe that is one step ahead, it just takes a while for the rest to notice.
The words ´almost´ and ´eventually´ are predominant in your comment and while Chrome may be a glimpse of the future it´s not the powerhouse a heavy office user or photographer wants. Yet.
That's right, +Max Huijgen , but someone's got to try first, right? That's how innovation works, push the boundaries!
It looks quite beautiful and I'm keen to take a look at one.
I love google but I'm a big fan of apple's attention to beautiful and solid design. I have a samsung chromebook (and a macbook air). I love it but I have to say that the chromebook is tinny. Does what it says on the tin and I like it, but its tinny.
+Jasper Sauer nothing wrong with bringing out this device and there is a group of customers who have the needed always-on, always stable internet connections, but as a general purpose laptop it´s too expensive and too dependent on internet.
Which reminds me of all those evenings on hotel rooms which advertised with WIFI only to discover that I didn´t get a signal and support staff went home hours ago….
All great people are so excited but until you can run real software on it or run real software in the cloud and you have real world (not advertised) 1gbit Internet speeds everywhere and anywhere, devices like this are useless for anyone doing real work. My raw files are 100mb a piece; imagine having to upload 1000+ of them to the Internet first before you can sort and process them. No thanks.
Even if that's the future, which I don't think it is, I want to decide where my data is going instead of getting Google shoved down my throat. I have seen too many developments that were to make the pc obsolete and it's still alive and kicking. So forgive me for being pessimistic. I think you'll always have real pc's. At home. But there will be a plethora of other devices that will let you access your data through the Internet everywhere.
Personally I think some people had a bit too much of the Google cool-aid.
+Shaker Cherukuri that´s why I compare Google´s strategy with Apple. An expensive device which simultaneously locks you up in an eco-system.
Wow nice machine mr.max i will be happy to chat with you
I like Google products but this one is really not a great one!
From: http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/21816/googles-chromebook-pixel-even-worse-idea-windows-8
"As Archie Bunker used to say, well whoop-tee-do. That might make YouTube videos look nice, and will show off Netflix streaming TV and movies to their best effect, but it's not going to help you do budget analysis on a spreadsheet, or get much real work done when you're not connected to the Web."
From same article: AND…
"Oh, and the Pixel also has three microphones. Be still my beating heart — three microphones! That surely makes it worth every penny of its $1,300 pricetag, or $1,450 for the LTE version when it comes out in April."