
Google retires the Pixel C tablet as it shifts focus to the Pixelbook - LearnerHerzog
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/28/google-retires-the-pixel-c-tablet-as-it-shifts-focus-to-the-pixelbook/
======
kleiba
I don't know, but I still like the idea behind the "netbook": small, portable
form factor with real keyboard, cheap machine, decent battery life, GNU/Linux.
To me, it's too bad that the netbook was pretty much been pushed off the
market by the advent of the tablet PC, but as this fact suggest, I'm obviously
part of a minority here.

~~~
on_and_off
I am not sure I understand your comment regarding this article.

Aren't chromebooks (except for the pixelbook which is very nice but not cheap)
the direct successors of netbooks ?

~~~
maxxxxx
I think the problem with Chromebook is that they are too reliant on
connectivity. The disk are too small and I would like to run real desktop
apps.

~~~
stewbrew
_net_books usually have small disks too and rely on connectivity -- hence the
name.

~~~
khedoros1
Netbooks run the same OSes as more powerful PCs do. Sure, the concept was that
they'd be good for lightweight web browsing, but that was kind of a stretch
even when they were popular. The way that I used it never really relied on the
net. I installed the software locally. Netbooks are just small laptops.

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etaioinshrdlu
Sigh. I'm building these into a "kiosk"-like application where the great
touchscreen, nvidia graphics, and good cpu are awesome.

We sort of knew this would eventually happen but it still sucks.

Developing on Android in Java is pretty gross, esp without rooting.

I would love some sort of vanilla Linux tablet that had something like a 10
year SLA and basic support. Ideally a system with PC architecture hardware
that has great support by vanilla linux kernel.

The idea is to reduce your dependency on a Big company that only cares about
consumer whims for a couple years at a time.

~~~
jdietrich
There are a huge range of kiosk touch displays that'll connect to standard PC
hardware. There are also all-in-one solutions like the AOPEN eTile 19M.

IMO a consumer tablet is absolutely the wrong device for a kiosk application.
They don't have the ruggedness, the warranty or the mounting options to
provide a reliable and hassle-free installation.

[http://cdn2.blocksassets.com/assets/aopen/aopen/0a5bKLXyDqjI...](http://cdn2.blocksassets.com/assets/aopen/aopen/0a5bKLXyDqjIwcz/AOPEN-
WT19M-FB-eTILE-19M-Value-FanFree.pdf)

~~~
etaioinshrdlu
I think this is a great idea. Thanks.

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twblalock
So, where can one go for a well-made Android tablet these days? Is Samsung the
only game in town? The Amazon tablets aren't that great.

A few years ago, my parents bought Nexus 7 tablets to use as e-readers and for
games. At the time, they were obviously the best small Android tablets and the
purchase was a no-brainer. If they broke today, I'm not sure what I could
recommend as a replacement.

~~~
revelation
How are they still using the Nexus 7? I mean, mine didn't outright break, but
it sure as hell doesn't have a remotely usable performance. Something with the
storage in them degenerating to the point of a cassette drive.

~~~
frou_dh
I had a Nexus 7 (2012) that was barely ever used. Even that became comically
slow as dirt. Was really an eye-opener about how bad a lack of attention from
a vendor can be. They'd moved onto the next thing and evidently did not care
one iota.

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jefflinwood
That's a shame - the Pixel C was the nicest out of the Google Nexus/Pixel
tablets I've owned - luckily I skipped the Nexus 9, but the Pixel C was head
and shoulders above the Nexus 10. The keyboard was the first I've seen for a
tablet that wasn't just an afterthought (and that includes the Surface Pro 1).

I think this really only leaves the Samsung S3 as a premium Android tablet out
there, which is a shame.

I had high hopes for a Nexus 7 replacement with Pixel branding - and I
understand the whole "phablet" argument against a mid-size tablet - but it
doesn't sound like that will be the case.

~~~
junkscience2017
my Nexus 9 has worked well for years and of all of the Nexus products I have
purchased (4,5,9,10,5x), it has been the most reliable over time. I don't see
anything to replace it with.

~~~
notatoad
my nexus 9 has kind of shocked me as well. Originally i was unimpressed, but
three years later the software has gotten to the point that it's totally
stable and all the overheating issues seem to have been worked out. the build
quality is still kind of shitty, but overall the tablet is working better than
when it was new and i have no need to replace it (other than the ever-present
want for shiny new things).

~~~
weego
My nexus 9 is the most disappointing piece of tech I've ever bought. It used
to crash all the time when watching video which was the entire point of buying
it, it crashes when it hits 40% battery, which is all the time because the
battery only lasts a couple of hours.

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vinkelhake
I got a pixelbook a couple of weeks ago and I freaking love it. Before that I
had a Yoga 2 pro running arch. I'm using Termux on it to get a local linux
environment that doesn't require turning on developer mode. It's good enough
for the light coding that I do on it (emacs, clang, cmake). I also use Termux
for SSH rather than the chrome extension.

So far it has been amazing. The hardware feels top notch.

~~~
nofilter
What about the screen tho'? I would love to use a Pixelbook, but I simply
can't go for any screen < Retina.

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izacus
Uhh, what do you mean? It has an excellent 12.3" 2400x1600 screen which is
"retina" by any definition.

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nofilter
Oh man, didn't realize that! So that actually makes it a doable replacement
for my MBP once it wears out. Considering I use Codeanywhere as my IDE, I
don't really need anything that, but a netbook, like Pixelbook is.

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Improvotter
Will it still receive updates? I don't own a Pixel C, but I'd just like to
know since it bugs me immensely that every device Google delivers is
discontinued in less than 3 years. My Nexus 5 was marketed as a stock Android
device that would get updates immediately and now it hasn't been receiving
updates for 1-2 years. I know that the problem kind of lies with Qualcomm
because of some security applications, but it still pains me to see this.

This imo is the same as planned obsolescence. Can we really not get phones
that will be supported and working for 5 years or more? Not all of us get a
new phone every year like you Americans.

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w33ble
Devices from that fruit company are the best bet as far as I can tell. My 3
year old tablet is still getting updates. My 2 year old phone is too, and I
expect it’ll continue getting them for at least another 2 years; my phone
before this one got updates for 4 years.

I’ve considered jumping ship many times, but device support seems so poor
across the board in Android land I find it hard to justify the move. Like you,
I don’t want to buy a new phone every year. I’m watching to see how the Pixel
phone support plays out.

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Abishek_Muthian
The main caveat in Pixel C is android, Pixelbook fixes it with ChromeOS.

ChromeOS's window management is far suited for productivity than android and
in some cases (IMO) even mainstream desktop operating systems. Android app
ecosystem is an added bonus, albeit missing some essential features like HW
acceleration, better clipboard management etc.

ChomeOS + android > Android + Chrome browser !

~~~
pythonaut_16
This is one of the things Microsoft really got right in Windows 10. Tablet
mode works well for when you want to have a single app on the screen at a time
(and even works for normal desktop apps), while traditional mode works great
when you've got a mouse and a keyboard hooked up.

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on_and_off
I have been on the verge of buying a Pixel C or Pixelbook for my parents :

\- They currently have an aging nexus 10

\- my dad does not want an apple product

If Google had created a new Android tablet instead of the pixelbook, I would
have bought it.

The pixelbook looks really nice but I am not sure that the mix of Android and
Chromebook will be easy for my parents to pick up.

~~~
guiambros
I just gave a Samsung Chromebook Pro to my 83 yo mom. She has been a long time
Windows user, so wasn't sure she'd pick it up. She _loved_ it.

This model runs Android apps natively, so it has access to all apps in the
Play Store. Some weren't converted to take full advantage of large screen
resolutions, but so far I haven't found anything that doesn't run.

She had a very short learning curve; in a day or two she was doing everything
she used to do with Windows (which wasn't much - email, photos, browsing,
spotify, some light printing). The fact she was an Android user probably
helped a bit. Also having a touch screen and pen was a huge bonus, so she
doesn't have to fiddle with the mouse trying to click on tiny spots.

I considered buying a Pixelbook, but at 2x the price, it was hard to justify
considering her use.

( _Full disclaimer: I work at Google, but in a different team, not related to
hw or Chrome /OS. I purchased the device at the store, full retail price_)

~~~
sireat
You can now print locally on a Chromebook? This used to be a big minus.

~~~
on_and_off
Aren't virtually all printers able to print via wifi these days ?

Note : I don't own a printer, so I am not entirely sure.

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cubano
I absolutely love my $65 Samsung Chromebook I got on a Black Friday sale a few
weeks ago, and while of course it bogs when I have 15 tabs open, I am
constantly surprised at how well it performs even under heavy loading.

The ridiculous price point of the Pixelbook literally makes me laugh out loud.
A thousand fucking dollars for a damn Chromebook?? Absurd.

I personally like the $199 price point and would love to see manufactures
deliver a kick-ass chromebook at that level....something that almost matches
the Pixelbook performance.

~~~
jdietrich
> I personally like the $199 price point and would love to see manufactures
> deliver a kick-ass chromebook at that level....something that almost matches
> the Pixelbook performance.

That's not going to happen, for obvious reasons. The processor in the
Pixelbook costs more than the entire BOM for a $200 laptop.

The Pixelbook is sort of a crazy idea, but it represents Google's belief that
ChromeOS can be more than just a cheap option for schools and casual users.

~~~
fpoling
I have used Samsung ARM Chromebook from 2012 for development (mostly Java plus
occasional C++). It was OK. The limiting factor was memory, not CPU.

I think a new cheap and small ARM Chromebook with 8GB would be very attractive
option for me as a travel laptop. Sadly I am such a minority...

~~~
jdietrich
DRAM prices are insane at the moment, so we're going to see manufacturers
scrimp on it for a while. Hopefully the price of DRAM should start to ease in
the latter part of 2018.

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stefanpie
I mean once you start getting into the upper price range for tablets you might
as well start to consider purchasing a 2 in one laptop with a touch screen as
well. But it appears as Google has bet on it's various chromebooks to fill the
gap between tablet and laptop with providing the features most regular
consumers want.

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latch
Am I wrong in thinking that Google is crazy to not have a proper linux option
for the Pixelbook?

They get alpha geeks away from OSX and Macbooks. They get a platform they can
own and leverage. Get the developers, expose them to the tools, let them build
stuff, and cross compile it or whatever to ChromeOS and Android.

Have it dual boot into ChromeOS so your family can give it a spin.

~~~
ISL
Crouton allows exactly that. Except for the limited disk space, I'm a big fan
of the ChromeOS/Crouton option. I've used a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (? 1920x1080
screen) as my laptop for many years now.

It's nicer than a dual boot, as you can swap between the runtimes on the fly.

Adding dedicated delete, home, page up, page down, etc. keys would make the
chromebooks even better.

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skybrian
Just enabling dev mode on a Chromebook is apparently pretty insecure against
local exploits [1]. An officially supported way of running Linux could do
better than that.

[1] [https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/06/how-to-install-
linux...](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/06/how-to-install-linux-on-a-
chromebook/)

~~~
nl
It’s exactly as insecure as a standard x86 PC then (ignoring recent Intel
issues!).

Yes this is less secure than the default config.

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TheDong
For regular x86 PCs you can use secure-boot and load your own signing keys,
then sign your own linux kernel.

As far as I know, chromeos has no option for that. Either it has only google's
signing keys, or secure-boot is entirely disabled via devmode.

That's clearly a massive step down in security from most modern x86 laptops.

~~~
nl
Yeah fair call. Although I’ve never met anyone who has actually done that.

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junkscience2017
the Pixelbook will fail because it is too expensive. I love Chromebooks and
think they make sense in a lot of cases...but at a $350 price point.

I still use my Nexus 9 (typing this on it)...and skipped the Pixel C due to
costs and bad reviews

Google's entire "upscale" Pixel effort seems doomed. The Nexus effort was
mostly perfect: decent hardware at attractive prices and stock software with
reasonable updates.

Apple commands a premium in part due to Apple Stores being plentiful. When my
son cracks his iPhone screen, he walks to the Apple Store and he has a
replacement screen in about an hour. What can Google offer? Nothing similar.

~~~
twblalock
It's a serious problem for Android, and one that many people don't recognize.
Part of the reason people are willing to pay more for Apple products is the
customer service.

Similarly, I know people who buy or lease luxury cars because they know they
will get a nice loaner car when they send theirs in for maintenance at the
dealership. For example, some of those people really would be satisfied with a
Camry, but they spend the extra money on a Lexus ES to get a better service
experience.

~~~
chiefalchemist
Just the same, part of the reason people don't buy Apple is because they don't
want to pay extra for service. For most of the middle and lower end such
hardware (i.e., tablet) is a commodity. No sense paying extra for that.

Note: Not saying I agree, only that not everyone can afford / wants to pay a
premium for Apple.

