Until now, Chromebooks had not been much more than glorified netbooks; underpowered curios best suited for technological novices. The 13-inch, touchscreen, retina-displayed, full-powered Chromebook Pixel — once a thing of myth — appears to be anything but. And it should be enough to make Apple very, very nervous.
Built by Lenovo, the anodised aluminium Pixel is purpose-built for working in the cloud. Rather than the standard 16:9 resolution, the Pixel is optimised for viewing internet-based content with a 2560×1700 resolution on a 3:2 aspect ratio — which provides 18 per cent more vertical space than the conventional 16:9 layout. That’s 4.3 million pixels total, 239 per inch — appreciably more than the 13-inch retina MacBook Pro’s 227 ppi. What’s more, the display is Gorilla Glass and doubles as a capacitive touchscreen.
In terms of inputs, the Pixel features a full-sized keyboard, an SD slot, dual USB ports and a trio of integrated mics which not only cancel out background noise when videoconferencing on the 720p webcam but also mitigates the noise generated when you’re pecking away at the keyboard. Like other modern etched glass trackpads, the Pixel’s trackpad can handle natural scrolling and multi-finger gestures.
The Pixel runs on a speedy Intel Core i5 processor and utilises either a 32GB or 64GB internal SSD. If that’s not enough space for you, Google includes a full terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage for three years. Finding a web connection is straightforward either through the built-in Wi-Fi receiver or with an optional Verizon LTE connection.
The Pixel ships with Google’s app suite pre-installed with another couple of thousand available on the Google Web Store. It also boasts in-browser text and spreadsheet editing capabilities thanks to its Quick Office integration, seamless background updating and built-in security services — take that Kaspersky.
While a full-powered laptop is untested waters for Google, the company’s recent hardware successes — the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 are all excellently built — give us high expectations for the Chromebook Pixel. If nothing else, Google has shown that it knows how to pick the right partners to build its dream machines.
The 32GB Wi-Fi only edition retails for $US1300 ,while the larger 64GB, LTE-enabled version will list at $US1450 when it ships first week of April. You won’t be able to get your hands on it in Australia though. This is a US-only product that you’ll have to import. Both models will be available on the US Google Play store.
We’ve just gotten our hands on a review unit, so stay tuned for a hands-on later today and a proper review shortly.