I recently got a Google Pixel Chromebook and wanted to share some observations.

Hardware

Having used both PCs and MacBooks, I think I have a fairly well-balanced expectation of how devices should respond. I'm very pleased with the hardware for the Pixel. It "feels" solid with no cheap feeling areas that were immediately visible. 

You can tell that Google took a lot of cues from Apple when they built this device. I love the MacBook keyboards because they're light on the fingers and backlit. The Pixel keyboard feels the same way and when my wife saw that the keys were backlit, that was a big plus for her. 

The trackpad is responsive and attaching an external mouse was easy. I enabled bluetooth and it discovered my Microsoft bluetooth mouse. The mouse settings didn't seem as granular so I couldn't really dial-up the mouse speed as much as I liked but it was passable.

One thing to note is that the audio plug is a little tight. When I plugged in my headphones, I initially thought that the jack was broken because the headphone plug just kind of dangled inside loosely and wouldn't output my audio. After some online searching, I found I just needed to push it in just a little harder because the laptops jack is a little tight. 

The nicest aspect of this device, by far, is the screen. I mean OH MY GOD what a gorgeous display. It's one of those that makes you realize how nice things could look and how you wish all your devices looked this nice. I have to believe this is the reason the Pixel is so pricey.

ChromeOS

This is my first foray into ChromeOS. I've tried it out sparingly in the past at Best Buy but that's about it. I think it's an okay experience for someone who solely wants to surf the web or do some basic documents. At this point, power users may feel that this device is anemic for their needs and I'd have to agree. Being a developer, there's a host of tools that I need local access to that ChromeOS just can't handle. I spoke with Joe Marini of Google and he feels that Chrome Package Apps will help fill the gaps for more feature-rich native-style apps. 

The tie-in to Google Drive is certainly nice (along with the 3-years of 1TB cloud space) but I think it takes some getting used. For me, I still like having access to local documents, especially since I travel frequently. Yes, I know I can do some things offline and the Pixel comes with some limited disk storage but the expectation is clear that you will use this device while connected to the Internet. Hence why they offer a Verizon LTE option in this device. That way, you can connect whether WiFi is available or not. It's the whole "living in the cloud" thing and Microsoft and Apple are heading down that route as well so it's not a stretch to imagine everything just living on the Internet. For me, though, some old habits die hard. :)

Price

The Pixel comes in two flavors: 32GB w/Wi-Fi ($1,299) & 64GB w/Wi-Fi & LTE ($1,449). While the device is gorgeous, I can't picture myself (or most anyone else) dropping that amount of money of it especially when there are feature-packed touch devices like the <a href="http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Samsung-Series-7-Ultra.htm">Samsung Series 7</a> & <a href="http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/ebtext.to?page=kirabook">Toshiba Kirabooks</a> and Apple's great lineup of MacBooks for similar pricing. And I'm not alone in this opinion. This feels like a nice reference device for Google. A kind of "look at what we can do when we want to build something really nice" type of thing. And I think Google did a good job at this. I just don't think they're going to sell a lot of them; at least not at those price points.

 






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