
The Chromebook Pixel - mikeevans
http://chrome.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-chromebook-pixel-for-whats-next.html
======
javajosh
There are only three meaningful things you can do with a computer with specs
like this: development, design, or gaming. And yet ChromeOS can't do _any_ of
these things.

Perhaps this is a vanity product for the wealthy. But wealthy people are going
to just surf the web on an iPad.

I really don't get this product.

~~~
commandar
>And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things.

Am I just imagining all the posts I've seen on HN from people talking about
being extremely happy using Chromebooks as development platforms?

~~~
criley
How do you develop on this?

I'm used to using Linux, command line, text editors, local installs of the
product I'm developing for, virtual machines, etc...

Are you simply forced into using ALL websites to actually develop and unable
to use anything else?

Seems strange to pay $1250+ to develop on a machine that cannot even run or
test the code you write.

~~~
Kerrick
Chrome has a wonderful SSH client [0], and with a $5/mo Digital Ocean [1] (or
other [2]) VPS for all your UNIX work, it's a perfectly capable dev machine.

[0]: [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-
shell/pnhec...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-
shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo?utm_source=chrome-ntp-launcher)

[1]: <https://www.digitalocean.com/>

[2]: <http://www.lowendbox.com/>

~~~
rayiner
So you pay $1,300 to log into a $5/month remote box with 20GB of storage and
512MB of RAM?

~~~
Kerrick
Plenty of people already do this with the $250 Chromebook, and even iPad. The
$1,299 isn't for the 32GB SSD. It's for the 239ppi 2:3 multitouch Gorilla
Glass display. It's for the 4GB of RAM. It's for the dual core Intel i5. It's
for the impressively made aluminum chassis. It's for the 1TB of cloud storage.
It's for everything a high-end cloud device should be.

~~~
rayiner
If you're logging on to a remote server to do development,you're not taking
advantage of the dual core i5 or 4GB of RAM. You're logged into an image
that's giving you maybe 1 GHz of CPU and 512MB of RAM. You're buying a $1,300
machine to do development on a $300 machine, over a shitty internet
connection.

~~~
codeka
It depends what you're working on. If you're doing heavy client-side work
(e.g. WebGL) then a beefy client is preferable to a beefy server.

I agree though that I probably wouldn't buy this for development work. But I
do think that browser's are still better on beefy hardware than on gimped
hardware.

~~~
kevingadd
Sorry, but if you're doing WebGL development, the last thing you want is a
laptop with one of Intel's awful integrated GPUs.

~~~
iso-8859-1
Please qualify your claims with a statement saying that you actually developed
on the Intel HD series. Intel graphics are not what they used to be.

------
ok_craig
I wonder if they are doing this, at least in part, because they really want a
Chromebook that is high-end to display in their physical stores? Maybe having
a really nice, really expensive Chromebook will make the brand not seem cheap
to casual store browsers.

~~~
sharkweek
Interesting theory -- it especially makes the other Chromebooks seem like
better deals

~~~
RyanMcGreal
There's the famous framing story about the company that invented the bread
maker. Everyone was interested in their product but hardly anyone bought it.
They brought in a product specialist who told them to release a second, high-
end version of the bread maker. Once they did this, the base model started
flying off the shelves.

------
DigitalTurk
The Verge has more pictures.

[http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013480/google-
chromebook-...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013480/google-chromebook-
pixel)

It looks an awful lot like a Macbook: Just witness the aluminum-like color and
the black bevel around the screen. Where it looks different, it's uglier. The
hinge looks particularly bad. And judging by the pictures it's an awful lot
bulkier than a Macbook Air.

Chrome OS strikes me as an underpowered OS. That is, there's a lot it _won't_
do and it seems mostly suitable for underpowered machines.

UPDATE: this paragraph is wrong; I stand corrected! -- The ChromeBook Pixel
has a 4:3 display. Now, I recently came across an old laptop of mine that had
a 4:3 display and it looked off. I'm not saying that 4:3 aspect ratio a bad
choice in an objective sense, but it strikes me as a bad choice from a
marketing point of view.

For one hundred dollars less you can get a 13" Macbook Air. For two hundred
dollars more you can get a 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display. Both these
machines seem better than the Chromebook Pixel in every way, including battery
life (7 hours versus 5).

In conclusion, I think this is going to fail _badly_.

~~~
mcantelon
>Both these machines seem better than the Chromebook Pixel in every way

Other than not having a touch screen.

~~~
Lockyy
Because my laptop doesn't already get enough fingerprints all over the screen.

~~~
mcantelon
The fingerprint issue certainly hasn't stopped people from using tablets.

~~~
Lockyy
I wasn't being entirely serious, but fingerprints everywhere did bother me on
my iPad. They bother me even more so on my laptop, despite there being
significantly less, and it'd be worse with a touchscreen.

------
Raphael_Amiard
Am i the only one seeing this as a high-end computer with :

\- Linux drivers working out of the box

\- Amazing screens

\- Very easy to transform into a full fledged Linux development machine

I hope it can fit the bill, certainly looks promising from that perspective !
Anybody has a link to full specs ?

~~~
martythemaniak
Nope, I was wondering whether sticking Ubuntu or Mint on this would transform
it into a kickass Linux laptop. It's close, but there is a measly 32GB SSD and
no option for i7 or 8GB RAM.

~~~
nbouscal
I've been using my Cr-48 with Linux for development and it's actually pretty
doable, and it only has 16GB and obviously much worse specs. This is, of
course, going to depend very heavily on what kind of development you're doing.

------
pwthornton
As a Chromebook user, I find this device both very intriguing and expensive. I
use my Chromebook for writing, Web surfing, light code work. It's a nice
little machine to have around. It's not the main event, however.

For heavy-duty work, I use my 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, which not only has a
much better screen, touchpad and other hardware, but it also has a big SSD and
a full-fledged OS. Chrome OS is not a OS X competitor, and there are a lot of
things I simply cannot do on ChromeOS. The beauty of ChromeOS is that its a
lightweight OS that can be placed on cheap hardware to make it usable and fast
by serving as a thin client. I don't see it as a great OS to stick on
expensive hardware.

I find the Pixel to be an intriguing device, and hope that all laptops have
high pixel density screens within five years. This price point is too high for
ChromeOS. I'm not spending $1,000 for a machine that cannot do certain
computing tasks.

There are no good graphic or photo editors in the cloud. Editing audio and
video is very difficult to do as well. Using your machine as a development
device without connecting to a server is not possible. Not to mention that the
MacBook Pro can play games, run Windows and Linux, etc.

The Retina MacBook may have cost more than the Pixel is going to, but it is
worth several times more. Not to mention that Apple has spent a lot of time
working with hiDPI screens and has made the OS work well for it.

What would make an intriguing price point? $799. Perhaps $999. It will come
down to the software, however. I've never see ChromeOS with a touchscren.
Maybe it'll work well, and maybe what would really work well is a Pixel-like
device with a detachable screen. But the kind of people that spend more than
$1,000 on a computer are looking for more than just a thin client.

------
jbail
So, it is real!

It looks awesome, but at $1,299, I don't think it's priced well. That's $100
more than a 13" MacBook. I just don't see that much value in a Chromebook at
this point in time.

~~~
rdtsc
> That's $100 more than a 13" MacBook.

Some will see that as "So Chromebook is better than a MacBook then? They
wouldn't have priced it that high if it wasn't. I want one".

Kind of how some expensive wine is sold. Sell it for $15 / bottle and it gets
lost on the shelves among others. Put it in a special glass case and sell it
for $120 / bottle and surprise people will buy, taste it and think it is
really the best one they've ever head.

Not only this, now a cheaper Chromebook will seem like a really good deal.

~~~
unalone
I don't know anybody who _only_ bought a Mac because it was expensive. They
bought it because it was _worth_ the expense.

Chrome OS is an unproven platform that doesn't have nearly the popular support
of Apple's products, and it's coming from a company that's still fairly new at
both software and hardware design. That's not to say this will be a bad
product, but this is certainly a risky marketing strategy. I'd love it they
pulled it off – I like the thought of a web-only notebook, even if I don't
want one myself – so I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping they pull this
off.

~~~
mbillie1
Not many people in the tech industry buy Macs because they are expensive, but
I'd venture that (like many other trendy products) there are a good number of
people who have bought it for the status/trendiness/cost/whatever. Not that it
matters really, but it's an odd claim to make that all Mac purchasers were
informed consumers. Most consumers are relatively uninformed, regardless of
what they're buying, and loads of people buy things for no other reason than
that they saw a commercial on TV and can afford it.

~~~
cremnob
What's odd is making the assumption that all Mac purchasers weren't informed
consumers. Your attitude reeks of arrogance and superiority (which seems to be
common in the tech community).

>Most consumers are relatively uninformed, regardless of what they're buying,
and loads of people buy things for no other reason than that they saw a
commercial on TV and can afford it.

I have a few friends that work in creative at ad agencies and they would laugh
at this.

~~~
mbillie1
I'm not saying that it happens without advertising :) but it happens, right?

Also, I am not trying to be superior or critical - I'm not slamming Mac
owners, I own Apple products. There is nothing wrong with not knowing the GHz
on your CPU. It doesn't matter for many people, and that isn't an arrogant
judgment (or at least I don't mean it to be). I just think it's silly that we
sometimes assume all people will evaluate technology the way we (tech people)
do. Just because a thing is more/less expensive, more/less powerful, has
more/less storage, does not mean that it might not be the perfect solution for
someone else.

edit: I should add that I buy things for weird reasons all the time. I know
nothing about fashion - I assume that the $80 jeans are nicer looking than
then $40 jeans. Or I assume that the BMW 3x is a better car than the Accord. I
do of course try to look into these things thoroughly, but sometimes I don't
care, and I just want to buy a credible product. I suspect that lots of people
do this with lots of things that aren't their primary concern - that's all I'm
saying. A well-marketed, slick Chromebook could find an audience if for no
other reason that there are a lot of people who think about computers like I
think about cars: "I want a good one. This one looks pretty good to me, I
haven't heard anything bad, it has a good reputation, it looks well-made, I
don't want to spend the cycles endlessly investigating it, it's in my price
range, I'll grab it."

------
CGamesPlay
To help get context on this, I went back in time and looked at discussion
about the initial iPad launch:

\- <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1081505>

\- <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1081140>

The first poll is especially telling. Overwhelmingly, people said they
wouldn't get this device (2/3 of the voters). The initial iPad was obviously
very successful.

The complaints in the second thread are largely a mirror of the conversation
in this thread, except for back then, nobody came up with counterarguments in
favor of the iPad. Does that indicate that the market for this sort of thing
is different these days?

~~~
polshaw
1 in 3 people saying they want to get a new device is an extremely good
result. IMO the ipad 1 wasn't that great either.

~~~
monochromatic
Still using mine. It's a bit laggy, but perfectly usable. I use it every day,
and if it were inadequate in any way, I would go out and replace it tomorrow.

Honestly, the only thing I really miss compared to my girlfriend's newer model
is that her backlight gets dimmer than mine.

------
jjcm
I know this is going to seem like a nitpick, but laptops without magnetic
power connectors these days just feel cheap. It's such a simple addition that
greatly improves the product. I don't see why larger companies aren't all
converting over to them. I know apple has a patent on them, but there's tons
of prior art for heaven's sake. I think the only non-apple product out there
I've seen with them on it is the microsoft surface (though admittedly the
surface one is pretty bad, it's still better than this style of connector).

Overall though it seems like a nice product. I'd probably be interested if I
could install ubuntu on it.

~~~
mrb
I am pretty sure Apple patented magnetic power connectors, and that this is
the reason no one else uses them.

~~~
derekp7
Many of the deep fryers I've used years ago had magnetic power connectors. How
is Apple's design different? Is it just because it is "on a laptop", and not
"on a hot oil basket"?

Edit: I looked up the patent, and it appears they've patented various
improvements to the connector, such as universal orientation (can plug it in
either direction), and something to do with the polarity of the magnets.

~~~
evv
It looks like Microsoft got their patent because it transmits data as well as
power.

~~~
beagle3
And yet, they wouldn't have been able to use it if Apple didn't let them,
because it does power - and that's covered by Apple's patent.

Luckily (for them) most of the incumbents have patent cross-licensing deals,
so MS doesn't worry about Apple suing them for patent infringement, and vice
versa.

------
ConstantineXVI
That is one beautiful laptop (note that it's not 16:9 either). I feel like
we're missing something, there's no way Google would be blind enough to build
such a powerful machine (vs existing Chromebooks) that's so limited by the OS.
There's either something we aren't being told or Google's jumped entirely off
the deep end.

(Alternative: there's no way they could do a "Retina" Chromebook for
reasonably cheap, but the Nexus 10 would seem to disprove that)

~~~
spankalee
Discliaimer: I work for Google, but don't know about real strategy decisions
about this.

I think it's all about establishing more demand for web apps.

Already I can do everything I need to in Chrome except for a nice development
environment, though Cloud9 is getting closer, and music apps like Logic. Those
are quite doable though, especially with the Chrome App APIs, someone just
needs to get the ball rolling.

The current crop of Chromebooks were really inexpensive and nice for the
money, but they weren't going to appeal to the cutting edge tech users who
will loudly demand and use better web apps. Chrome needs something that
inspires, and I think the Pixel will do that. I've used it for a while now and
the hardware is incredibly nice. It'll also create space between the $200-300
Chromebooks and the Pixel for some decent mid-range devices.

~~~
rayiner
I can't imagine there are that many people who want to spend $1,300 to use web
apps. People use GMail, Google Docs, etc, because they're cheap, not because
they're good. That's why the $250 Chromebooks sell any units--because they're
cheap. This thing takes the "cheap" aspect out of the equation, which seems
like a mind-blowingly stupid decision.

~~~
NateDad
I use gmail and google docs because they're good. Why else would I use them?
Cheap? There's plenty of free email programs out there. None compare to gmail.
I'll agree that when I need to get really down and dirty with a spreadsheet, I
whip out Excel, not google spreadsheets, but for most of my "lists that need
some numbers to add/multiply together", google spreadsheets work great and are
always available from wherever I am.

Which is not to say I think you're wrong. No one's going to spend this much
money on something so limiting. If we were 10 years in the future and we all
had gigabit network speeds, and there were enough awesome web apps to replace
the hard working desktop apps (photoshop, IDEs, CAD, etc)... then yes.... but
I would still hope the specs would be better for the price. 4GB of RAM in a
$1300 machine? What is this, 2005?

------
speeder
I think it is purely amazing the specs for that price.

But I am really bothered by the fact that it is...

A Chromebook.

I hate "cloud" stuff, I like to have stuff where I know where they are, and
who can see them.

Also I live in Brazil, where internet is patchy, at best. And it is sad it
does not support Ethernet... I like Ethernet! It is faster and more stable!

But impressive, very impressive, well done Google.

If anyone here has a idea if there are a way to use Chromebook as non-
Chromebook (specially, non-cloud), tell me :)

~~~
recoiledsnake
>I think it is purely amazing the specs for that price.

The display specs are amazing, but storage is a paltry 32GB so I guess it's
compensated there.

~~~
yuxt
They also provide "One terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage, free for 3
years"

~~~
NateDad
I don't have to start paying a monthly charge on my HD to access my stuff
after 3 years....

~~~
MatthewPhillips
Instead you get to get to copy it over to your new machine, or forget and lose
it. Convenience costs money.

------
revelation
With 4GB of RAM, USB 2.0 (how do you even get that? what kind of oooold
chipset are they using?) and only 32GB of storage, this thing is ridiculously
overpriced and pretty much dead on arrival.

~~~
codeulike
What do Chromebooks use their hard drive for, exactly?

~~~
scarlson
ChromeOS, Ubuntu, movies, music, books, web caching.

------
btipling
This is basically a $1,300 web browser. I don't get it, beautiful touch
display or not.

~~~
DanBC
Most computers are $1,300 web browsers.

~~~
TillE
No, most computers are sub-$1000, probably sub-$500 web browsers.

~~~
DanBC
Eh, not with that resolution.

MacBook Pro = about $1,200 MacBook Pro Retina = about $1,500

~~~
Cookingboy
And when you buy that Macbook you have the OPTION to use it for more if you
need it, with the Chromebook you simply need a second computer.

------
jonpaul
The battery life is crap. I honestly didn't think that $1300 was awful.
Pricey, but not awfully pricey. And then I saw the battery life... only 5
hours =( If you want to delight the user with a mobile, battery life needs to
be a priority. 5 hours is industry standard in crap laptops. Even the el'
cheapo Chromebooks (my cr48) get better than 5 hours.

------
bitcartel
Where are the _real_ specs? Google have gone and copied what Apple do, and
just dumped marketing blurb everywhere.

"Intel® Core™ i5 Processor (Dual Core 1.8GHz)" - What's the model number?
There are numerous Core i5 processors and their performance varies, which one
am I getting? <http://www.cpubenchmark.net/laptop.html>

32 GB SSD - What kind of read/write speed? Standard SATA or mSATA interface?

4 GB DDR3 RAM - Is the RAM soldered or user upgradeable? How many ram slots?
What's the maximum capacity?

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but at that price, I do actually want to know if
I'm buying an appliance or a computer.

~~~
wmf
Chromebooks are definitely appliances.

I only found two current Dual Core 1.8GHz i5s:
[http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced/?s=t&FamilyText=3rd...](http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced/?s=t&FamilyText=3rd%20Generation%20Intel%C2%AE%20Core%E2%84%A2%20i5%20Processors&CoreCountMin=2&CoreCountMax=2&ClockSpeed=1.8%20GHz)

The SSD specs don't matter because you can't run anything that would stress it
and officially it's not replaceable.

Likewise, RAM is officially not upgradeable/replaceable.

~~~
bitcartel
That's a shame. I'm sure quite a few people were interested in putting Linux
onto the machine.

------
Terretta
Google Drive 1TB for 3 years = $1,800

Chromebook Pixel 1TB for 3 years = $1,300 + free laptop

Or put another way, commit to Google Drive for 3 years of 1TB, get 30% off and
a free Chromebook Pixel.

------
glogla
Oh boy. If only they gave it 128 GB drive.

The way it is it's useless for me (and I guess most people on HN, though I
think basic Ubuntu could fit into 32/64 GB), but it still makes me cautiously
optimistic that after years of stagnation and perhaps even regression, the
1366x768 era might be nearing it's end. I can hope that in a year,
"reasonable-resolution" (as Linus called it) laptop like the Pixel will be not
outrageous or top of the line but simply normal.

And the screen aspect ratio is just a cherry on top.

~~~
dnissley
I can't wait for a teardown. I'm crossing my fingers for there to be an ssd in
there attached to an msata interface which could be easily swapped out for
something bigger.

I'm guessing that the ram is soldered in though, due to the thinness of the
device. Oh well, 4gb is workable.

~~~
damniatx
It's use msata interface. teardown picture :<http://goo.gl/Gt2oN>

------
hmottestad
I feel there is far too little discussion here on the screen.

This laptop screen is amazing. Since we today have light, fast, power
efficient and sturdy laptops. The next big thing, is the screen.

A TN screen on a laptop is just sad. My first Macbook pro felt horrid just
because I was used to a PVA desktop screen. I kept adjusting and adjusting the
screen.

If you take a moment to appreciate your crummy laptop screen you will notice a
few things.

1\. The screen has a tint to it. Ranging from green to purple from the top of
the screen to the bottom. Put the screen on its side and this is very clear.

2\. The viewing angles are horrendous. Put on a black background and try to
adjust the screen so that it's evenly black top to bottom. At arms length this
is impossible, and really annoying when watching a movie.

3\. Try having a friend stand behind you while you work and show him a picture
of your girlfriend, he'll be shocked at how pale she has become.

I'm currently on a Macbook with retina screen. I have an iPad with retina
screen and I have a normal 24" 1920x1200 desktop which used to be my best
screen, but is now only better than the screen on my old ipod touch.

People complain about their laptop keyboards. I complain about laptop screens.

~~~
shrughes
Meanwhile, plenty of TN screens are fine -- the 15.6" FHD 95% NTSC gamut
screens floating around out there are great, the 13.1" FHD screens on the Vaio
Z were great, and meanwhile many IPS screens have a shimmer effect when you
move your head off-center, or have weak color gamut. The only good IPS screens
are found on some Elitebooks and Precisions.

------
bluthru
I'm glad Google is going to offer a high-end Chromebook, but I'd really like
to see a $400 model that improves on screen quality and size. A 15" IPS
Chromebook would be the sweet spot for me.

Also, I can't help but think that making a chromebook touch screen is a waste
of money. Gorilla arm, anyone?

~~~
dragonwriter
> Also, I can't help but think that making a chromebook touch screen is a
> waste of money. Gorilla arm, anyone?

Having touchscreen available in additional to traditional keyboard and
trackpad laptop interface doesn't raise the gorilla arm problem (since you can
still interact the normal way, and aren't forced to use touch to do anything),
but enables using touch for workflows where gorilla arm isn't likely to be a
problem.

------
MatthewPhillips
3 TB of Drive for free is incredible. Just 2 TB sets you back $99/month
normally.

EDIT: KevinEldon corrected me below, it is 1 TB for 3 years, my mistake.
Normally that would be $49/month.

~~~
KevinEldon
The offer is 1 TB free for 3 years.

~~~
bvdbijl
That's pretty sneaky to call it 3TB....

~~~
calebegg
Where do they say that?

~~~
bvdbijl
Oh, now it says

    
    
        Since this Chromebook is for people who live in the cloud, one terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage*
    

It used to say 3 TB

------
naner
So this looks like it could be a very nice Linux laptop assuming all the
drivers are open source (nothing bad stood out in a cursory glance of the
specs, though I imagine the noise-canceling and touchscreen won't work on
vanilla Linux). Only issue is how well your favorite Linux interface (Gnome,
KDE, etc) will scale to such a high pixel density.

------
obilgic
Even though I use my chromebook every day, I think this is a very high price
point for this device.

Seems like they release a new chrome os device every few months, I would much
prefer updating my chromebook every year for 400$-500$ with faster lighter
version, instead of investing 1300$.

------
wvenable
The price ($1,299) should be in the title of this post so people can avoid
getting excited about it.

------
rehashed
I was going to jump on this as soon as it was announced. Sadly, I don't think
this is suitable for Android development given the specs. What are your
thoughts? My GF is very tempted to take over my macbook pro...

------
samstave
It all started a few years ago. People didn't understand at first. It looked
hap-hazzard.. but now. Now they get it - but even more than that, they're
trapped.

One used to be able to expect both freedom and choice. Now they have neither.

It was a kicker too, starting out with a service here, a device there, a bit
of infrastructure over there.... but now? Now its one big system. From bit to
brick, its all one big pipe - an experience fully enclosed, encapsulated,
enumerated, evaluated and.... exploited. For every single bit of information
about, well, _everything_.

They worked their way down the layers. What was once a web service is now the
actual physical net.

You cant push a packet without them seeing it.Most people don' care though -
they bought into the web services decades ago. Phones were next, then laptops,
service providers and frequencies.

Its basically the commercial version of the NSA these days, hell, there hasn't
even been a real difference between the two for some time now.

Now, pretty much any connection is provided by them. They started out nice
enough... do no evil and all... but when you're the only game in town - it's
pretty hard to not abuse your power. Hell, its more than power. Power is
limited... omnipotence is not. That's what they are now - omnipotent, and
there isn't anything anyone can do about it now, either.

Every spoken word, every communication mashed out from keyboard to carrier is
captured in the goog. They pretty much own thought at this point...

------
mrb
Two words: reading maps.

A high-PPI screen is _heaven_ for using Google Maps. I always get so
frustrated on my 1080p screen: even with the browser map in full screen mode,
I can't seem to see "enough" of it when browsing random geographical locations
and trying to get a sense of how the surrounding area looks.

A 239 PPI screen allows displaying a character in an 8-pixel font (eg. "fixed"
on Linux) in a 1x1mm area. You could have _all_ the tiniest roads and cities
labelled on the map, even if barely readable.

------
kunai
Props to them for making the display vertically rather than horizontally
oriented. I've been incredibly tired of the stupidly short 16:9 displays
dominating the market. However, one has to wonder why such a good display is
being wasted on a product like this. Great specs, great display, but horrible,
crap operating system.

Who needs this kind of laptop to just browse the web? I would buy this in an
instant if it had some custom Linux distribution on it.

I guess it's Retina or nothing, then, unfortunately.

------
bitsoda
Besides being too expensive for something in which you can't do real work
(yes, I know, you can SSH into a hosted box, but why would I pay $1300 and
$X.XX for hosting, to essentially use this new machine as a dumb terminal),
what's the point of having a touch screen on a laptop? Haven't we concluded
that this is a horrible idea? Just look at this demo
([http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013480/google-
chromebook-...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013480/google-chromebook-
pixel)) from The Verge, Dieter fumbles around trying to hit a tab.

It strikes me odd that Google, a company with no shortage of talent, can't get
retail right. Who is this laptop for? The 12 year old Engadget/Verge reader
who thinks this Chromebook Pixel is the nail in Apple's coffin?

This is so misguided. I know I shouldn't be so infuriated over a botched
product launch, but this irks me for some reason. I guess it's because I like
Google's products and want them to succeed in hardware, but I lose hope when I
see questionable decisions like the manufacturing of this neutered MacBook Pro
ripoff. Ugh.

------
ceol
Direct link to specs:
[https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebook-
pix...](https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebook-pixel/#pixel-
specs) (scroll down and click "full specs")

I think it's interesting they chose a 3:2 aspect ratio. The price is a bit
high for the specs you get, but I suppose a lot of that is the (multi-
touch)screen.

~~~
reirob
The 3:2 aspect ratio is certainly interesting to Google but not to users. It
is even less vertical space than with 16:9 or 16:10. So what good is that much
horizontal space, apart for ads in a column left or right of the content.

~~~
takluyver
I think you have that backwards: 3:2 == 1.5x as wide as it is high. That's
more vertical space than 16:9 (1.78x) or 16:10 (1.6x).

~~~
reirob
You are absolutely right. Thanks for correcting. Then it seems like a a move
in the right direction.

------
colin_jack
The big problem for me would be chrome os, the hardware looks nice though.

------
moron4hire
Is the 1TB Google Drive account complimentary with the purchase? And for how
long? Cuz that's $600 in the first year, right there.

~~~
ebbv
It's free for 3 years which is supposedly "the lifetime of the laptop." Which,
I dunno, I would think part of the attraction of a Chromebook would be that it
would have a longer life due to everything happening on the cloud, and thus
the local CPU, etc. being less important. Ergo, it should have a longer life.

------
andrewmunsell
So... Can I install Windows on it?

~~~
newsoundwave
With 32GB of storage, you probably wouldn't want to.

~~~
andrewmunsell
Yeah, it's kind of unfortunate they stick an amazing screen into a laptop with
only as much storage space as a Micro SD card. And then charge $1300 for it.

------
skc
I'm confused. People said the Surface Pro was overpriced. This thing does
much, much less than a Surface Pro but costs $300 more.

And it's being praised?

Wow.

~~~
SquareWheel
It's a laptop with a good screen. Pretty much what people have been wanting
for years.

~~~
adamors
It's a laptop - <everything you do on a laptop> \+ browser.

Pathetic is what it is.

~~~
SquareWheel
Sounds like you're not in the target demographic. That's okay, there are other
products for you.

------
onemorepassword
Just ignoring the specs and the Chromebook concept for a second (yes, this
baby is useless for most of us, obviously), I'm very impressed with the
design.

This is the first time ever I've seen a laptop design that is not a total
Apple rip-off and looks classy. At least it doesn't scream "compromise" like
99% of all other non-Apple laptops.

------
NateDad
The screen is the only thing to like. If it had 256gb drive, 8gb RAM, and an
i7, then I'd be a lot more likely to look at it (and install ubuntu on it).

Yes, it has a touch screen... do people actually like touch screens on their
laptops? Is that worth such a huge premium for such mediocre hardware
otherwise?

------
andreasklinger
Love the fact that it neither has windows key nor mac key :)

~~~
rz2k
It appears to have a Google key[1], where you'd normally find Caps Lock.

[1][http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/7734569/2013-02-...](http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/7734569/2013-02-21_01-39-23-1020_verge_super_wide.jpg)

------
rodolphoarruda
> The WiFi version ($1,299 U.S. and £1,049 U.K.) will start shipping next
> week(...)

Uh, will there be a non-wifi version?

~~~
guyzero
Versus the wifi-plus-LTE version.

------
spinchange
I love it but it's too niche and rich for my blood. I get the idea: A
beautiful, super high-res touch display with keyboard running a Cloud OS. The
only problem is for this dollar you're in Mac territory and while maybe you
sacrifice touch display, you suddenly have far more robust hardware and local
I/O. If money was no object, I'd get one in a heartbeat. But realistically...

It is a thing of beauty. It just seems uneconomical / impractical at this
price point which is necessitated by the display.

Edit - I was going to suggest a PC laptop with touch display, that you could
always install ChromeOS on in a boot partition, but your're just not going to
get that resolution. This is for someone who wants a _beautiful_ thin client
above all else.

------
paul_f
My theory is the Pixel is for corporate customers not consumers. Dramatically
lower IT support costs since no local storage. Probably increased security as
well. And this version takes care of the high end of that market.

------
gtr32x
This is actually ringing a bell in me right now. For such a high end
Chromebook, without the ability to feasibly add in another OS, the price tag
seems far out of reach for all the current offerings online with regard to
what one may achieve.

In fact, I really won't be surprised if Google has a bag of online goodies
under its table right now just waiting to be unveiled alongside with the
launch of the Pixel. Unless they push with this, I just don't the current
market place for such an expensive Chromebook. If Google does push forward a
new set of online tools/cloud offerings, it might be groundbreaking.

------
weej
I could see ChromeOS converging w/ Android into a single platform that allowed
for android app emulation while running x86_64 apps natively.

I realize they're completely separate teams, but at what point do they
converge to provide a greater value-add to the product?

What user is going to drop $1200 on a machine that only lets you browse the
web? Unless GOOG plans on providing some large backend for virtualization or
offloading CPU processing what's in it for the "power" user.

There's more to this than we're privy to. I don't see a user needing this kind
of horse power for just cloud-based applications. That doesn't make sense.

------
nakedrobot2
The absolute best news about this computer is that it has a 4:3 screen, as it
should be. This is the first 4:3 screen I have seen in a very long time. On
top of that, it is a fantastic resolution. This is great news.

~~~
babebridou
I completely agree with you here. fullscreen web doesn't really work in 16:10,
even in portrait. It's among the reasons why I preferred my iPad to my Xoom
for web browsing a couple years ago.

Now I wish you could switch to portrait on this one and still keep the
keyboard.

------
Vervious
Why didn't they just turn it into a tablet? The trackpad seems almost
extraneous, and the keyboard could be an add-on. Not to mention the square
form factor that makes it look bulkier than it really is.

~~~
wmf
Isn't that the Nexus 10?

------
saym
> delivering fast connectivity across Verizon's network, the largest, fastest
> 4G LTE network in the U.S

Will the Pixel be locked? I doubt that Google would make this arrangement, but
it is a question worth asking.

------
zmanian
One strong point for installing arbitrary Linux distros on the pixel is that
the Intel linux gpu drivers are fully open source. The downside of the arm
chrome book has been the Samsung binary blob

------
KaoruAoiShiho
This is the Tesla roadster. It's an aspirational product for those who can
afford it, those who wants to live in a brand new, and not quite ready for
primetime, cutting edge world.

------
mcfazeli
What I find rather shocking is that 10% of all UK laptops are Chromebooks.
When and how did that happen? This is all while Apple is still dominating the
Windows exodus!

~~~
recoiledsnake
The original source says this:

>In PC pro stores with a Google Zone, sales of Chromebooks represent over 10%
of our notebook sales.

That's a far cry from "10% of all UK laptops are Chromebooks".

First they're talking about sales, while your statement is talking about
install base.

I suspect the "other" below is mostly Android, so it's not even a blip on the
radar in Statcounter stats for UK.

<http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-GB-monthly-201201-201301>

------
muyuu
No info on RAM?

I was wondering if this could be worth installing Linux on it.

~~~
haarts
It has 4GB of it. [https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebook-
pix...](https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebook-pixel/#pixel-
specs) scoll down, click 'full specs'

------
vbl
For that money I want a real OS.

------
OWaz
I wonder if existing Chromebook users would want to pay for a Chromebook
Pixel, or if they're content with what they have.I thought Chromebooks were
about low price points, an alternative to expensive machines which people
primarily used for web browsing. I guess there's going to some people who
don't care about the number of gigabytes on their laptop. They just want sharp
graphics and constant online access.

------
druidsbane
A retina Macbook Air would have higher virtual density and resolution. This is
only 1280x850 vs 1440x900 if you assume a 2x scale factor the way retina does
things. It is nice, but 32GB, thicker and only runs a browser limits it
compared to everything else out there: macbooks, windows, linux... even
tablets and phones have 64-128GB now for much less and can run Chrome.

~~~
raylu
Where'd you get those numbers?

------
influx
I wish Google would come up with a unique design, they have the talent for it,
this looks very much like an Apple product to me.

~~~
naner
Any thin laptop with a minimal case ends up looking like an Apple laptop.
There's not really much they can do...

~~~
rayiner
Hardly.

See: [http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9P8WdCCk5cE/UJuZ-
QMgYhI/AAAAAAAABZ...](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9P8WdCCk5cE/UJuZ-
QMgYhI/AAAAAAAABZQ/vzjVr4lquFI/s1600/samsung-
series-9+latest+images+wallpapers+pics+photos.jpg)

[http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/05/X1_close...](http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/05/X1_closed.jpg)

[http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/08/Thin...](http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/08/ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-Ultrabook.jpeg)

------
dangrossman
I'm still waiting for Chrome to support high DPI displays on Windows. It looks
terrible in Windows 8 with DPI scaling enabled.

------
dysoco
Everyone is saying that you can easily turn this into a development machine
with SSH or a web IDE like action.io ... but what if I don't have internet?
You never leave your home?

What's the point of a mobile chromebook if I won't use it ouside my home or my
workplace? And last time I checked there isn't open WiFi in the streets.

------
erikpukinskis
People are (correctly) pointing out that the consumer/pro value proposition is
not really there.

I suspect this is a pure enterprise play for Google. Institutional customers
who value the management features of the ChromeBook platform but want to give
their employees something nicer than a $300 netbook with a laptop screen.

------
mikemoka
Google Store // Play Store // Google Phone // Chromebook Pixel

Apple Store // App Store // iPhone // Macbook Pro

Microsoft Store (<http://content.microsoftstore.com/Home.aspx> ) // Windows
Store // Windows Phone // Microsoft Surface RT

ok, very innovative strategies I'd say..

------
tszming
No one think this is a good news in fact?

People really need to thanks Google for bringing up the competition all the
time. Now Apple have little reason not to add support for retina, lte, multi
touch display in the coming MBA models.

On the other hand, it is a little strange that Google didn't mention the
weight of the Pixel.

------
habosa
This is pretty incredible. Not for me, but definitely a great product. I take
issue only with the 32GB internal. I know it's a cloud device but it would be
nice to be able to store some local videos to watch on that incredible screen.
I guess that's what USB 3.0 is for, but still.

~~~
habosa
Wow, no USB 3.0? That's a huge mistake.

------
Detrus
This promo video <http://youtu.be/j-XTpdDDXiU> looks and sounds like Apple's,
apart from white backgrounds. Speech writing is the same, uses the same words
like delightful, great, blah blah. Weird.

------
mark-r
Interesting screen aspect ratio of 3:2, halfway between the 4:3 of yore and
the nearly inescapable 16:9 widescreen. It seems like a nice compromise,
better than 16:10 if height is important to you.

I wonder how long it will be before other manufacturers pick it up?

------
bound008
Why isn't there 8gb of ram? Even as a die hard apple user I still can't see
why they didn't try and beat apple on such a simple and clear specification
that when you spend all day in a web browser will help with how fast the
device seems.

------
akandiah
I'm saddened that it's 2013 and we still have to deal with laggy screens!

[http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013932/chromebook-
pixel-h...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4013932/chromebook-pixel-hands-
on-video-and-impressions)

~~~
Shooti
If Chrome for Android is anything to go by it's not the screen, but Chrome's
touch handling.

------
ezolotko
1\. The design is "borrowed" from Apple 2\. Average specs for the price 3\.
ChromeOS cannot do anything this kind of hardware allows you to.

Verdict: Could be a good Windows PC if the design was original and the specs
were better.

~~~
ezolotko
Forgot to mention - touchscreen on notebook laptops is useless - your arms get
tired and your screen gets dirty very quickly. Also: google are regular
copycats.

------
tlrobinson
I wish the screen folded 180 degrees around so you could use it as a tablet.

~~~
mediagearbox
I agree with this, that would probably be the icing on the cake. At least help
on the steep price jump.

------
theboywho
Some years from now, people will refer to this (Chromebooks and everything
related to Chrome OS) as Google's biggest strategic mistake.

Google's second biggest strategic mistake will be Glass.

I just hope Google would recover.

~~~
nickconfer
I'm curious as to why you think these products won't succeed, and particularly
what opportunity they're missing by focusing on these.

------
sevenatenine
I was surprised at how expensive this was seeing as how there is a $250
chromebook. It's a big step up in price and I don't see what the advantage of
it over say a macbook pro would be.

------
smallegan
Anyone notice how closely the video ad resembles an Apple ad? Come on google,
how about a little originality? I'd love to try one of these out in person
though.

------
zmanian
I've never understood why Mark Shuttleworth and Cannonical never built a halo
laptop for Ubuntu. If they knew this was in the works, it starts to make sense

------
RexRollman
Personally, I wish you could get one without the touchscreen. I understand
people like touchscreens on tablets but I don't see the need for it on a
laptop.

------
tree_of_item
Anyone else think this is a perfect proving ground for something like asm.js?

<http://asmjs.org/spec/latest/>

------
DonnyV
12.85" display....really. I blame Apple for all these new over priced tiny
screens. At least make it a 15" and the ability to run Android apps.

------
celerity
This screen and 4:3 would make this an almost perfect Ubuntu Linux laptop for
me. Too bad it probably won't be installable for a long time!

------
pm90
What kind of apps can you run on this? Chrome OS wasn't a touch based OS as
far as I recall... have they integrated touch into the OS now?

~~~
dragonwriter
> What kind of apps can you run on this?

Well, its Chrome OS, so anything that runs on Chrome browser anywhere
(including Native Client apps), plus additional apps using the Chrome OS-
specific APIs.

> Chrome OS wasn't a touch based OS as far as I recall... have they integrated
> touch into the OS now?

Chrome browser (and, therefore, Chrome OS) has been integrating touch features
for several versions. Since I don't use Chrome on touch devices (except Chrome
on iOS, which is a different beast) I'm not that familiar with it, but my
understanding was that the support was pretty far along by now.

~~~
hiker
Or nuke Chrome OS and install a OSX/linux/windows/whatever-rocks-your-boat on
the hardware. I do _love_ Chrome OS though.

------
akurilin
On the plus side, seems like high PPI screens are getting more popular, thank
gosh. Next stop desktop monitors, or at least so I hope.

------
RexRollman
"Speed has been a core tenet of Chrome and Chromebooks since the beginning"

Too bad the OS is seemingly always tied to low end - dog slow hardware.

------
pdknsk
"Lightbar. Just because it looks cool."

If the next iteration looses the touchscreen and is fully Ubuntu supported, I
might get it.

------
mchristoff
Can you wipe it and install Android?

------
gkcn
Where are the home/end/pgup/pgdown keys? It doesn't have a function key as in
Mac either.

~~~
iso-8859-1
You probably need to use the other modifier keys. But it's weird... it's not
even a PC-101! I guess Google has really gone back to the roots... PC/XT or
PC/AT :P

PC/XT keyboard:
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IBM_5150_...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/IBM_5150_Keyboard.jpg)

Discussion briefly mentions PgUp:
<https://plus.google.com/+JeffJarvis/posts/g9gcXLPuVVQ>

------
martindale
Only 100MB/mo for the LTE? That's like 8 refreshes of the TechCrunch homepage.

------
anonymous
> 3:2 display at 239 ppi

YES

FUCK YES

I WANT TEN (provided I can install a different linux distro on them)

Too bad google won't sell one to me yet.

------
37prime
I still can't get over the price tag for a Chromebook regardless of the specs.

------
snuze
Google, stop trying to make ChromeOS happen, it's not going to happen.

------
o0-0o
I just called every best buy in nyc and no one there has heard of it.

------
wuster
Intel Core i5 and HD 4000 - I think this thing can be Hackintoshed!

~~~
silasb
That is what I'm thinking.

------
alexpeiniger
Looks like a great device. Really looking forward to try this out.

------
sidcool
1 Terabyte Google Drive cloud storage!!!! Jesus it's brilliant!

------
bane
wrong direction..$250 should be the target for mass uptake. This is $1050 in
the wrong direction...it's almost like they don't want mass uptake of this
concept quite yet

------
webreac
I will be interested only when virtualbox will run on it ;-)

------
codeulike
Is an Apple touchscreen laptop now looking more likely?

------
codenerdz
I hope this means MBA Retina will be coming soon :)

------
Stenerson
For $1,300 this should come with Google Glass

------
przemoc
Google, you forgot about a trackpoint.

------
soemarko
wouldn't this be a better win 8 device than surface? it works on a lap... or
maybe running hackintosh?

------
twanlass
Why is the screen nearly square???

~~~
iso-8859-1
Because it has an aspect ratio of 1.5:1. See
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_%28image%29#3:2>

------
sidcool
This has touch!!! Holy laptop!!!

------
sidcool
Oh, but $1299 is expensive.

------
ams6110
The price is insane.

------
ilaksh
will the intel hd 4000 graphics do webgl?

~~~
iso-8859-1
yes, even the oooold intel graphics can do this.

------
Zenst
Had a few friends who got invites and have one to play with for a month now.

Must say I'm somewhat feeling meh about this on many levels.

Initialy the price was a wake up and I thought, ok I'm missing something so I
did a little digging and still think its too expensive for the sum of parts.

Issues I have are:

1) Price 2) Limited local storage 3) Only USB2 and no USB3 4) No 3g or 4G
options in the UK and given the price I'd expect at least 3 years worth of
unlimited 3G internet based up consumer prices and that spec. 5) battery life,
is somewhat lacking

Concerns that may also be worries when I know more are:

1) Keyboard mic could be used to snarf passwords via applications that have
access to the mic 2) No vents apparent and suspect hidden under the keyboard
which is worrying in case of spill/splash 3) Screen mooted to have good
viewing angles so more mindful to shoulder surfing

But in general for what you get it seems way too expensive and look forward to
a teardown.

Now all that said Google did somewhat get burned on the Nexus 4 pricing and I
don't know if they are over compensating or what. They may be releaseing at a
silly price for those with more money to burn, then gradualy lower the price
to fit all price pockets.

Another aspect a friend said was it has 1tb for 3 years cloud storage and
whilst nice and with that local storage overly needed I do think such lockins
to Google without being able to tap alternatives and cheaper alternatives
distracting from the price. Remember Microsoft many years ago got lambasted
for tieing in everybody to IE on windows as default and not offing a simple-
janet-and-john alternative for the happy people. This ties in more than that,
but different times.

When I factor all that it is and is not I still think if I had that money I
would get a macbook air and I have never had Apple product and very much a
google fan, but this is so over priced to me that it would be insane to buy
one at that price, least for me.

I would also add that two wifi ipads with retina screens and a bluetooth
keyboard works out cheaper and with that, it does somewhat again highlight the
price factor.

So with all that I'll stick with my plans to get a Chromebook (cheap one) and
probably get one even cheaper 2nd hand now :) that and my netbook with built
in 3g modem and twice the battery life is still nothing to worry about.

I would like to see a resolution like this but with more storage, USB3, built
in 3g modem (3G in the UK is faster than USA 4G and CDMA 4G with voice is a
battery nightmare apparently as well as a kludge somewhat). Also at the very
least twice that battery life.

So I will with for a tegra 4 version, which will make more sence on more
levels.

~~~
kinlan
The vent is along the back of the hinge. We don't have any API's in js to
access the microphones other than getUserMedia API.

On the Drive integration, there is access to other developers for FS for apps
and extensions, so it is not just tied to drive
[http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/fileBrowserHandler.ht...](http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/fileBrowserHandler.html)

There is quite a lot of local Storage 32gb and 64gb.

~~~
Zenst
Thank you and reinsuring too know. With that I'm apprecieting the platform
more and more :)).

------
guylhem
For my mobile devices, I usually don't care a lot about the brand, and only
slightly the costs - I simply get what best matches my needs.

I want all my data in the cloud + permanent access on a powerful device where
I can do everything (ie I don't want something underpowered causing
limitations).

The $150 difference for a minimal LTE connections makes this thing attractive
- that means no need to look for wifi hotspots and then spend a minute to ask
for the damn password to restaurant owners.

The 1TB cloud storage, if it can be shared with other computers at home, would
just kill any need I have of Dropbox and others. That is also a big plus. If
the cloud storage can somehow be used to host static websites with a custom
domain name, I would also cancel at least 2 hosting accounts. (add some
PostgreSQL capability and that'd be 3 hosting accounts I'd cancel)

 _BUT_ :

\- 4Gb of RAM? Who though that it could be decent for a high-end laptop? 8Gb
is the bare minimum I will consider. I will want to run heavy stuff on that
thing if there is an i5 and a low battery life instead of an ARM. (heavy
stuff: a gazillon tabs, editors, many pdf files, editing documents, cpu-hog
websites doing pretty graphs like <http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/trends/>)

\- 64 Gb of flash??? Really??? How will I get permanent access to my 1Tb of
data if I'm in a place without LTE or WIFI ???

I purchased a 512 Gb SSD for my Macbook Air as soon as it was available on
OWC, just because I can't stand the pain of missing some document or music or
whatever

I don't want to care. I want my problems to be solved. 1Tb: ok, 64 Gb cache:
fails.

As attractive as this chromebook may look like, I won't buy one because it is
not solving all my problems - even if I'm one of these users who want
everything in the cloud.

I want everything in the cloud but the online storage is only up to 1 Tb. I
have more data that this, but ok, I can live with that minor limitation.
However, I want a full backup locally accessible for whenever connectivity
might be a problem.

If it is somehow possible to upgrade the RAM and the SSD (in the early days of
Zaurus and Simpad, there were shops doing BGA reflow for such needs), and if
for say $1000 more I can get than done and get at least 512 Gb of SSD and 8 Gb
of ram, I may buy one.

1 Tb of SSD and 8 Gb of ram means I will buy one, but only if at this
$1400+$1000=$2400 pricetag there are no better options to run Linux or OSX on
similar hardware (1.5 kg, high res touch screen, slim laptop) - because _I
don't care about the brand_.

These are a lot of conditions for me, so I'm not sure about what the market is
for that thing. Certainly not me at least.

------
yourmind
I love it.

------
recoiledsnake
Does it run Android apps?

What use is the touchscreen apart from scrolling or tapping on links in the
browser?

The Verge calls it a hair thicker than the Air, am I the only one that feels
that it's a lot thicker? Comparison photo:
[http://cdn0.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/7732773/theverge...](http://cdn0.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/7732773/theverge-
pixel-19_2040_verge_super_wide.jpg)

~~~
jfb
It is significantly larger than the 13" MBA, and only barely smaller than the
13" rMBP.

~~~
cma
It has a larger screen than either (due to the aspect ratio).

------
rogerchucker
$1300? How do you say WTF in Google-ese?

------
rogerchucker
Is it impossible to develop Chrome apps on a Chromebook? Do IDEs like
ShiftEdit and Cloud9 allow that?

------
floetic
Who cares. Next.

