Google Announces $1300 Touchscreen Chrome Laptop
The rumors were true!
Just today we heard rumors that Google was planning a touchscreen Chrome notebook to add to its Chrome OS line of computers. The rumors, stemming from a Wall Street Journal report, offered no indication beyond 'this year' as far as a release date was concerned. However, we now know exactly when this laptop is going to launch, because Google itself has let the cat out of the bag.
The company announced the Chromebook Pixel via the official Chrome blog this afternoon and the touchscreen functionality is not the only difference. While previous iterations of the Chromebook have been very competitively priced, this one costs quite a bit. Priced at just under $1,300, the Chromebook Pixel packs 4.3 million pixels into a 12.85-inch 2560 x 1700 display for a PPI of 239. Google boasts that this is the highest pixel density of any laptop on the market today.
Display aside, the laptop runs on an Intel Core i5 processor (dual core, clocked to 1.8GHz) with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4 GB DDR3 RAM
32 GB Solid State Drive with 1TB of free cloud storage (though it's only good for three years), 2 x USB 2.0 ports, HD Webcam, a clickable glass trackpad, a backlit keyboard, dual band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2x2, Bluetooth 3.0 and optional LTE.
Though it's nice to see the Chrome product line evolving, we're not sure the public opinion of the cloud has reached the point where people are willing to spend $1300-$1500 on a laptop that more or less requires a constant internet connection. That said, if you're all about the cloud, the Pixel is available to buy today on Google Play and will hit BestBuy.com in the near future. The WiFi version will cost $1,299 and will start shipping next week. The LTE version will ship in the U.S. in April and is priced at $1,449.
Check out the Pixel in action in the video below:
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Au_equus 2560x1700~3:2 Even with the high res screen, there are no specs saying that this should cost in excess of $700-800. 32gb ssd, i5, 4gb ram, and no discrete gpuReply -
xpeh So I can only have my data for 3 years? No thanks. Maybe if you can swap the SSD and install Windows, it might be worthwhile.Reply -
hobbit25 I don't really understand who this is being marketed for. Who would purchase a laptop this expensive only to be locked into one of the most restricted operating systems. While the hardware looks good, I don't see the purpose of a device like this.Reply -
COLGeek Nice display. Terrible cost. I don't see too many of these getting purchased at these prices.Reply -
robochump Google is pushing the design from Apple, its a shade greyer...lol. I am a little disappointed Google was not more original in design though I have no doubt it will be a solid product since Google is a quality company.Reply -
bllue High price tag, weak specs for the price, limited storage (the 3 year cloud is a joke btw). PassReply -
Memnarchon For $1200 you can get a laptop with i7 cpu, 8GB RAM, and a decent GPU (like 660M or 7870M) and 1080p Screen at newegg. Who will buy the Chromebook?Reply