Google Makes the Chromebook Pixel Official; Will Retail for $1300

[dgstorm]

[video=youtube;j-XTpdDDXiU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j-XTpdDDXiU[/video]​

Earlier today the Wall Street Journal posted a story that seemed to confirm the Chromebook Pixel is in fact a real device. Google took that one step further and officially confirmed it! The device looks very impressive, but also comes with a mammoth pricetag of $1300. Here's the press statement and link to the Chromebook blog,

Chromebooks were designed to make computing speedy, simple and secure. For many of you, they have become the perfect, additional (and yes, affordable) computer: ideal for catching up on emails, sharing documents and chatting via Hangouts. We’re tremendously grateful to our partners—Samsung, Acer, Lenovo and HP—for their commitment. The momentum has been remarkable: the Samsung Chromebook has been #1 on Amazon’s bestseller list for laptops every day since it launched 125 days ago in the U.S., and Chromebooks now represent more than 10 percent of notebook sales at Currys PC World, the largest electronics retailer in the U.K.

So what’s next? Today we’re excited to announce our newest laptop—the Chromebook Pixel—which brings together the best in hardware, software and design to inspire the next generation of Chromebooks. With the Pixel, we set out to rethink all elements of a computer in order to design the best laptop possible, especially for power users who have fully embraced the cloud. The philosophy of Chrome has always been to minimize the “chrome” of the browser. In much the same way, the goal of the Pixel is to make the pixels disappear, giving people the best web experience.


Let’s start with the screen. This Chromebook has the highest pixel density (239 pixels per inch) of any laptop screen on the market today. Packed with 4.3 million pixels, the display offers sharp text, vivid colors and extra-wide viewing angles. With a screen this rich and engaging, you want to reach out and touch it—so we added touch for a more immersive experience. Touch makes it simple and intuitive to do things like organize tabs, swipe through apps and edit photos with the tip of your finger.

The Pixel has been engineered with the highest quality components to ensure it’s comfortable to use all day long and meets the needs of demanding power users. The body of the Pixel is made from an anodized aluminum alloy to create a smooth and durable surface; vents are hidden, screws are invisible and the stereo speakers are seamlessly tucked away beneath the backlit keyboard. The touchpad is made from etched glass, analyzed and honed using a laser microscope to ensure precise navigation. The Pixel also has powerful, full-range speakers for crisp sound, a 720p webcam for clear video, and a total of three microphones designed to cancel out surrounding noise.

Other aspects of the Pixel include:

Speed: Speed has been a core tenet of Chrome and Chromebooks since the beginning. For Pixel, it’s critical that the overall experience, everything from loading webpages to switching between apps, is near instant. Powered by an Intel® Core™ i5 Processor and a solid state Flash memory architecture, the Pixel performs remarkably fast.
Connectivity: The Pixel has an industry-leading WiFi range thanks to carefully positioned antennas and dual-band support. Long-term evolution (LTE) is engineered directly into the machine, delivering fast connectivity across Verizon's network, the largest, fastest 4G LTE network in the U.S. (LTE model optional). It also comes with 12 free GoGo® Inflight Internet passes for those times you need to connect while in the air.
Storage: Since this Chromebook is for people who live in the cloud, one terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage* is included with the Pixel. This enables you to save, access and share photos, videos, documents, and all of your stuff from all of your devices, from anywhere.

Finally, as you’ve come to expect from all Chromebooks, all of your favorite Google products like Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps and Google+ Hangouts are integrated and just a click away. And since it’s based on Chrome OS, the Pixel boots up in seconds and never slows down, requires almost zero setup or maintenance, and comes with built-in virus protection. Best of all, it stays up to date with automatic updates every few weeks.

If you want to be part of the next step in the Chromebook journey, the Pixel will be available for purchase starting today on Google Play in the U.S. and U.K., and soon on BestBuy.com. The WiFi version ($1,299 U.S. and £1,049 U.K.) will start shipping next week and the LTE version ($1,449) will ship in the U.S. in April. If you’re interested in a hands-on experience, you can visit select Best Buy (U.S.) and Currys PC World (U.K.) store locations.

It’s one of the most exciting times in the history of personal computing, thanks to a rapid pace of change, innovation and consumer adoption of devices. Our goal is to continue to push the experience forward for everyone, working with the entire ecosystem to build the next generation of Chrome OS devices. We hope you enjoy what’s next.

Posted by Linus Upson, Vice President, Engineering

For those interested, be sure to check out our sister-site @: http://www.thechromebookforum.com/f...xel-official-will-retail-1300-a.html#post8002

Source: Google Chromebook Blog

 

[thc1967]

Seems like a really freaking expensive network device with an awesome display. Dollar for dollar, any laptop is better in every way except screen.

 

[johnomaz]

WHAT!?!?!?! 1300 dollars!? They gotta have something special up their sleeves because if not...WTF. Is it a full on Android device, doubt it. Does it have a core i7 processor, nope...i5. If they are banking on a high quality screen to watch video on...I'll pass. People can get a 10" nexus device that can do all the same stuff for less than half the price.

 

[zomnomnombie]

My guess is that the specs is going to be on par with a Macbook and high end Windows laptops hence the price.

 

[kodiak799]

Here's the main problem (with today's connection speeds) with cloud storage: those of us with honking big files (well over 50 megs) don't want to wait to d/l and u/l files, in addition to loading them. I've had 300meg files and I could never get work done using cloud for anything other than back-up.

And airplane wifi is expensive (and still not present on many routes). After your 12 passes run out, I guess you better find alternate methods if you'll do work on a plane.

Cloud storage is kind of a fail. I get why Google is pushing it, but they can collect all their marketing data just by getting people to back-up to the cloud.

All-in-all, this device is ridiculously overpriced when there are superior ultrabooks on the market for cheaper (some even with touchscreens). Increasingly I'm really seeing opportunities for MS in the mobile/tablet market because of such overreaches (that is, assuming MS can get out of its own way).

 

[xeene]

At this price, it's a failure. I wouldn't pay more then $500 for netbook.

 

[Asgard]

I agree, since the announcement I knew that it was not for me, because I require a higher end computer. But I was considering as a gift. But with that price I can give something way better.
Why Google?

 

[skennelly]

At this price, it's a failure. I wouldn't pay more then $500 for netbook.

+1 Especially when the chromebooks have been a failure to begin with. They can't seem to sell those things at $250, let alone $1300.

 

[Redsnk95]

Samsung Chromebook $249 + Seagate Wireless Plus 1 TB $199

Seems that would be a better solution....?

Touchscreen on a laptop makes very little sense to me. I like the idea of this laptop and what all it has to offer hardware wise...just way to much money.

 

[kodiak799]

I wonder if this isn't a page out of the Apple pricing strategy. Package is as new and exciting cutting edge, and then slap a ridiculous high price on it to make it trendy and elite....wait for the early adopters to get suckered in and then turn them into long-sticky customers.

Only explanation I can come up with. Apple owns the high margin early-adopters. If you plan to launch a bunch of new products and services, that's the group you need to grow you market while getting good margins (as opposed to a much lower margin volume strategy for the mass market).

 

[kodiak799]

Touchscreen on a laptop makes very little sense to me.

Agreed. Unless the keyboard is detachable, turning it into a tablet.

 

[pdroid]

WHAT!?!?!?! 1300 dollars!?

My reaction exactly. You gotta really be drinking the Google kool-aid to go for this.

 

[cybertec69]

In today's economy, yea:blink:, good luck.

 

[meishkov]

$1,300 is pretty ridonkulous, maybe it's packing some killer internals that'd make it a decent IDE?? Would only hope for that price...but I wouldn't mind getting one, but oh wait I forgot, Big Red stole my unlimited data, so when I'm not near Wifi, that 1TB of cloud storage could get mighty expensive.:angry:

 

[obxsalvo]

At that price I would hope the key board is lit.