I get the feeling that these Chromebook Pixels aren't made for the public. My theory is that they're the result of an internal Google compromise between ChromeOS managers who want their team to dog food Chromebooks and ChromeOS developers who replied "Get me a compromise free, top of the line chormebook, and I might consider it". The only real customers they care about are Google developers and they don't care about price.
The Pixel is probably a little bit like an overpowered Nexus line:<p>1) Set a high standard for build quality and all for all the other Chromebooks.<p>2) Create a consumer perception that Chromebooks can be high quality devices of substantial value<p>3) Create a powerful playground for testing with heavy Chrome apps & getting native Android apps to work on ChromeOS and other such features that will come to the cheaper Chromebooks a year later.<p>All leading to the $300 Chromebooks feeling like high-quality bargains with ever increasing functionality.<p>Beyond that, the device seems ridiculous unless you put a different OS on, you're either better off with a cheaper Chromebook, or an equally pricy Windows Laptop (e.g. Dell XPS 2015) or Macbook. So I really think the Pixel is more of a strategic asset (see above) than something meant to be a popular revenue generating consumer device in and of itself.
I wish Google had an official way of putting a Linux distribution on these machines. I know they want people working in Chrome OS but for me it just isn't enough.<p>If I could buy the Pixel and have an official way of putting Debian or something on it to make it a proper laptop I probably would buy one. I love the design, the specs are very decent and the display is beautiful.
My only question: can you physically have a 512Gb ssd inside that thing? Anything else is irrelevant to me. The previous Chromebook pixel had the mini PCIe port used by the WWAN modem wired with only the USB lines, meaning you couldn't do that: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_u8bjQFzg" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0_u8bjQFzg</a><p>I won't buy a chromebook pixel until I can at least get a decent storage. It doesn't have to be sold with this storage. The motherboard just needs the right tracks to the mini PCIe and mSATA support so that I can do it. Google might have saved 2 cents, but won't be getting a dollar from me and other people from this thread who say "this laptop would be absolutely perfect for me if it had more storage"
It's really irritating that:<p>* It's difficult to open/service so you can't flip the switch which allows flashing Coreboot that easily<p>* You can't upgrade it's minimal storage, and there's no LTE<p>* The keyboard is non-standard: no super key (great for WM) and no dedicated home/end
The battery life is great, but the thing that worries me about all non-Apple laptops with sealed batteries is the lack of an official battery service. If I buy an Apple laptop, I know that for $130-200, they'll swap out the battery pack once it's capacity goes down. That does wonders for resale value. What's the story with the original Pixel?
I just ordered the LS model because it's what I wanted the new MacBook to be. Good build quality, decent processor, 12", HiDPI display, more than one port, and 12 hours of battery life. I fully intend to install ubuntu the second I get it and boot off that for the life of the machine. My hope is that for everything but vector/raster editing it can replace my 15" MacBook Pro for daily Python dev work.
Does anyone know if they fixed the bug in the original Pixel where if the battery died (or just got too low!) it'd lose the dev mode setting?<p>That was my main complaint with the original Pixel - I was running Debian on it as my main machine, but after that happening for the 5th time at a conference and having to reinstall...
The Pixel is weird. It'd be a nice laptop if it had a decent amount of storage (I'd be fine with 128GB - My MBA has that much and it can hold every personal project I've ever had, plus my entire music collection - but some would prefer 256 of 512), and a proper keyboard layout (no Super? no Caps Lock?!).<p>But without those things, it's an overpriced netbook with a CPU far too powerful.
Google needs to develop and release their own IDE. I shouldn't need to mess around with the terminal on what is supposed to be a developer's notebook. Android, Java, Chrome/web apps, Go etc, if Google is serious about winning developer mindshare from Apple then creating the proper tools is necessary
I am in the market for a Linux developer's laptop. It looks like the System76 laptops have this beat.<p>Gazelle Professional:
15.6" matte display
2.8 Ghz quad core i7
16 GB RAM
250 GB SSD
Wireless AC
Price as configured above: $1477<p>The Pixel might have it beat in weight and battery life, but that's about it.
Really like the new Pixel and see great potential in it.<p>My only wish is that the display was slightly wider. Not necessarily 16:9. 3:2 is too much squarish for me :P I do understand vertical scrolling and all but it's just my personal preference, I guess. And also, 128 GB storage would perfect :)
The real review here seems to be by BittenRottenApple in the comments, rather than the actual anandtech article. In particular I think this part sums up the main issue I have with the Chromebook Pixel:<p><i>The entire conceit of Chrome OS is that it's sort of a diet computer. It does the basics, and just the basics. Chrome OS will give you internet, basic word processing through Google Docs, video via YouTube, and the rest of Google's web services including a free as in freedom lifetime direct hotlink to the NSA. You can stick in Chrome extensions for added "apps" if you'd like, possibly even a future NSA all inclusive backup app. But you're not going to get any full software here, because Chrome OS isn't compatible with anything outside of itself.
And that's been OK, because Chrome OS laptops have been very cheap: a few hundred bucks for the essentials is a good deal. Thirteen hundred dollars for those same essentials is a very, very, hugely, wow-bad deal.</i><p>I have an ASUS C200, and because lately I have a need for a word processor and browser on the go, I love it despite its limitations. It's cheap and light and has insanely good battery life with an operating system that stays out of the way. I emphatically don't feel a desire to go out and buy a >$1000 chromebook, though (if I bought the pixel I would probably go and replace the OS with linux, whereas on my C200 I haven't even bothered to install a linux chroot).