ChromeBook Pixel unveiled, premium laptop with the best screen ever
There were a lot of rumours going on about Google Chromebook and the search giant finally released ‘Chromebook Pixel’. This laptop, unlike previous Chromebooks, is made for people who live on cloud. The feature set of this laptop is quite impressive with 12.85 inches display having 2,560×1,700 pixels resolution which is 4.3 million pixels. The aspect ratio of this screen is 3:2 and the laptop is powered by Intel Core i5 chip inside. There is 1 TB storage offered for free on Google Drive for 3 years.
The search giant will also launch a laptop having LTE radio built in. Google has signed up with Verizon Wireless for 100 megabytes usage per month for 2 years mobile broadband. There will also be GoGo offered with 12 Wi-Fi inflight stations for free.
The screen of ChromeBook Pixel is the best feature of this laptop and it has 239 pixel density. This is higher than 220 ppi pixel density of Retina MacBook Pro. Google says that this laptop screen has highest pixel density ever.
Wi-Fi basic version of ChromeBook Pixel will cost you $1,299 and it is available at GooglePlay. The cost of LTE model is $1,449 and it will be available in US from this April. LTE has 64GB SSD and Wi-Fi model has 32GB SSD.
ChromeBook Pixel is assembled in Taiwan but Google didn’t disclose the hardware partners. Sundar Pichai, the VP at Google said that this laptop has good quality hardware inside and it is made for users who live on cloud.
The screen of this laptop is its biggest attraction and users will immediately notice high resolution. The aspect ratio of 3:2 is also very unusual for a laptop screen. Google opted for a 3:2 resolution instead of conventional 16:10 because this laptop will be used for Web based activities and all content on Web is made to be shown horizontally.
Google has put in 0.55 mm touch enabled layer of Gorilla Glass and it is directly fused to this screen. Google says that the display gives smoother interactions and also preserves the picture clarity.
ChromeBook Pixel is a premium device and this is reflected in price. Google says that hinge of this laptop has feel of car door. The aluminium body has rounded corners for making this feel good while holding. A lot of components are redesigned for incorporating the hardware inside in a better way. For instance, there is third microphone added for cancelling any background noise; even the noise if keyboard typing. This laptop comes with 720p Web cam for use with Google Hangouts.
In spite of premium components and price, the underlying principle of this laptop is still the same. Hoewever, this ChromeBook is made for the power users or people who like to spend lot of money on laptops.
This laptop is optimized for touch interface which will soon become a common feature on all laptops. Google says that intention behind this laptop is to give the users the best experience of Web. According to Google, this screen is better than Apple’s MacBook because of its touchscreen and higher pixel density/resolution.
It will be interesting to see how people react to this laptop. ChromeBook Pixel is expensive and best ChromeBook to date. It has impressive hardware and specs inside. However, the price tag of $1,299 might scare some people.
Google ChromeBook specs
Back lit Chrome keyboard
Gorilla Glass multi touch screen
HD Web cam
Display
12.85 inches screen with 3:2 aspect ratio
400 nit screen
2,560×1,700 pixels resolution
Extra wide 178 degrees viewing angle
Ports
Mini display port
Two in one card reader with MMC, SD support
Two USB 2.0 ports
Innards
Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU
Intel Core i5 dual core 1.8 GHz processor
4GB DDR3 RAM
32 GB SSD for Wi-Fi, 64 GB SSD for LTE
Audio
Microphone array built in
Microphone/headphone jack
Speakers with good clarity
DSP integrated for noise cancellation
Battery
59 Wh battery
Five hours rated battery life
Connectivity
Bluetooth 3.0
Wi-Fi dual band 802.11 b/g/n 2×2
Srinivas Reddy
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