Back in 2009, Google announced their Chrome OS to the world which took everyone’s favorite browser and evolved it into a full fledged operating system. The following year, the company revealed a prototype called the Cr-48 which was given out to select consumers for testing. About two years later, they unleashed the official Chromebook (a low-end laptop that uses SSD + cloud storage) to the world thanks to Acer and Samsung.
Fast forward through several Chromebooks later, Google wanted to push the envelope a bit further to create a high-end Chrome OS experience. Enter: the Chromebook Pixel. Google’s first piece of major hardware that’s designed and created by the software giant. With this being our initial exposure to the Chrome OS, I will explore the ins + outs of the OS and how this piece of machinery stack up against other laptops in the market. The complete analysis lies below.
Design/Keyboard
Google definitely looked to surprise many people when putting the Pixel together. From a design perspective, it an ergonomically constructed laptop. It is a simple but elegant piece of machinery. Sporting a smooth, aluminum body, and a glass trackpad that feels natural to use. On the rear of the Pixel, you have a LED light bar that glows a bright Blue when opened and displays a rainbow of colors when you close it.
The keyboard layout (non-chicklet keys) that is great for typing & backlit. Offering ideal spacing on a 6-row keyboard offering the usual Esc, Back, Forward, Refresh, Minimize, Windows Switcher, Brightness, Mute, Volume Up/Down, & Power buttons. Google replaced the Caps Lock with a Search button. To get all Caps, you just hit the ALT + Search to activate.
“This is hands-down the best display on a laptop in the market right now.”
Display
Being graced with the Pixel title, Google wanted to let you know what to expect before you even open the laptop. Google made the Chromebook go to Retina status. Even besting Apple’s high-resolution MacBook Pro by 100 pixels, the Pixel sports a stellar 2560 x 1700 resolution w/ 239 ppi. This is hands-down the best display on a laptop in the market right now. With the resolution being so good and well-lit you don’t even have to crank up the brightness near 50% to have a pleasurable view. As an added bonus, Google equipped the Pixel w/ a touchscreen panel for an additional navigational input that works exceptional well. You get a golf clap for this area, Google.
Performance/Battery Life
The beating heart inside of the Pixel lies a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor + 4GB of RAM. This effortlessly handled up my usual 20 Chrome tabs along while streaming music via Google Play All Access, and some YouTube watching as well. While streaming it can stutter a bit when taxed but for while perform divine as a daily driver. On the storage end: you have a 32GB SSD coupled w/ 1TB of Google Drive cloud storage and 2 USB 2.0 + SD card reader for ports.
Quenching the machine’s thirst is a 59Wh battery w/ suggested 5 hours of juice. With constant usage of streaming Google All Access Music, editing photos, watching many YouTube videos, and browsing the web w/ a minimum of 20 tabs open I got just over 4 hours. Of course a battery of that size should make for longer times but when you have a powerful display like this, it will affect battery life. This is probably the only drawback but a big one nonetheless.
Software (Chrome OS)
The vision behind Google’s Chrome OS is to take everyone’s favorite web browser & add a file browser that relies on Chrome’s web extensions. You still have some the usually keyboard shortcuts found in other platforms – like hitting CTRL + Tab to switch windows/tabs, ALT + Tab to toggle windows, CTRL + T to open new tabs, and CTRL + N to open new windows to name a few.
“If you love using the Chrome browser – you’ll love Chrome OS as it is essentially the same thing more or less.”
Since I am a heavy Google user: Chrome, Docs, Gmail, Play Music All Access, etc. – so I am at home w/ Chrome OS. I can edit photos (non-RAW), prepare documents, peruse the web, watch YouTube videos which all is mostly do a computer. The only two things truly missing: the ability to edit RAW photos + edit videos. There are great extensions within the Chrome App Store but nothing that fills that void. Other than that, if you love using the Chrome browser – you’ll love Chrome OS as it is essentially the same thing more or less.
Sound
Believe it or not the Pixel pushes out great, clear sound. There is no Beats Audio or any other software inside to beef up the audio experience. The speakers are actually hiding underneath the keyboard and pumps out awesome clarity. Giving the Pixel the best speakers on a laptop in my humble opinion.
Heat
The Pixel is not immune to heat output. It won’t cook eggs on it but can get warm pretty quickly. But strangely enough, it only gets humid on the top left corner of the laptop instead of the entire bottom.
“(The Pixel) is an outstanding machine by Google.”
TG 2 Cents
First things first, there is definitely a place for Chromebooks in today’s markets. The Pixel is easily the top tier of all of the Chromebooks. I’d easily want to use the Pixel’s touchscreen over any Windows 8 computer. After spending more time with the Pixel, I am seriously considering buying one to replace my dead Windows 7 netbook. It is an overall great experience, I wish the battery could be a bit longer but perfection isn’t achieved in one shot – most times. Despite that along with the pricing, this is an outstanding machine by Google.
To Buy Or Not To Buy
With the Chromebook Pixel costing $1,299 for the Wi-Fi and $1,449 for the LTE model w/ double the storage. It is still a pricey machine that many consumers would pay that price for Apple products. But if you are in love with Chrome OS and got the $$$, the Pixel is just for you. If you have the $$$ but not interested in the OS, invest in the Retina MacBook Pro If the $$$ isn’t there, go for the $249 Samsung Chromebook.
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