For those of you who remember the launch of the Operating System Chrome by Eric Schmidt back in the year 2008 might be able to reckon with the fact that Chrome was launched with much fanfare amidst promises that Google will come up with devices which will be easy on the pocket of the consumers. Forward to the year 2013 and we have the first assembly line built Chromebook Pixel which for certain cannot be put down as an easy on the pocket device. This machine is priced at $1299 (without data and LTE connection). You can check the following video for a good view introducing the Chromebook.
Below we have tried to put up a review of what the Chromebook packs in its different portions.
The Display and Screen
The display of the Chromebook is being hailed as spectacular by a lot of tech Pundits around the world. The Chromebook Pixel comes packed with a multi touch screen and the pixel density gives tough competition to the Retina Display by Apple. The screen is protected by the Gorilla Glass and stands tall at 3:2 aspect ratio. The pixel display is at 2560 x 1700, with a quite high brightness of 400-nit. You can check more about it on.
Read more: The incredible, unscalable screen of the Chromebook Pixel
The aspect ratio provides the user with more vertical space and the pixel per inch density comes to 239 pixels making it better than what MacBook Pro provides us with (227 pixel per inch). Reading a text is a pleasurable experience on the Chromebook and the pinch-to-zoom bit could be done without any trouble of sorts.
The Hardware
This baby packs a 1.8 GHz, dual-core Intel i5 processor and has the HD 4000 graphics packed along with some 4GB of space. This change in processor makes the Chromebook stand shoulder to shoulder with the Mac and other PCs by Windows.
The two versions of Chromebook (one with 32 GB and another 64 GB space) come with a 1 TB cloud storage space along with Google drive for a period of three years. There are two USB ports provided on the outside of the Chromebook, along with an SD card slot and a small Display Port in case one wants to connect an external monitor. The battery life is assured to run for five hours while using it for general purpose. Here is a nice link to check about the battery.
Read more: The incredible, unscalable screen of the Chromebook Pixel
The book comes with two sets of microphones to help with cutting down of outside noises, with a third one placed right under the keyboard which helps in cutting down the typing sound. There is also an HD camera, along with a light detector which is being placed right on top of the screen. One flaw which you would note is that the video out options are limited in this device. At the same time, even the keyboard is missing the “Caps lock” tab and the “delete” button on the right side of the keyboard. This might pose issues with many as we are quite used to the normal basic keyboard design.
Performance of the Chromebook
The video playback on the Chromebook is quite smooth owing to the good hardware it packs. Whether it is editing a video or playing or even saving an edited video the whole process runs smooth without hiccups. Though there are some intermittent issues which you would find while using the Chrome Operating System but then Google generally comes out with an update for the OS every six weeks which more often than not fix the issue. Check the video embedded in the link Chromebook – speed for checking the speed.
One issue which comes to mind, when talking about the storage space, is that the 4 GB RAM is not exactly sufficient in today’s time when we need so much space for storing apps, and other software. Another issue is with the rate at which the screen refreshes while using the keyboard and the life of the battery is quite low.
Connectivity
The Chromebook comes with the dual-band MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n, and this one would ensure that no matter what kind of router you are using the speed at which your internet runs will be good. The $1499 priced version of the Chromebook comes with 4G LTE, thus you do not need to worry about the router any more. The latter comes with Qualcomm MDM9600 chipset. Though one glaring point is that the Chromebook does not have an Ethernet port, and it also does not have an adapter. Though, one can try one of those USB Ethernet Adapters which are readily available in the market.
Pricing and the Competition
At the outset, the Chromebook definitely does not come cheap no matter even if you go for the base Wi Fi model. The higher model is a tad more expensive at $1499 as it comes with the 4G LTE along with 64 GB of memory.
The only other laptop which competes with this one is the Mac Book Pro which comes with Retina display but then that would not be a good comparison as both these laptops differ in a lot of respects.
Conclusion
You will be definitely amazed with the screen quality, the pixel per density, the hardware and the constantly upgraded operating system but then there are flaws in the keyboard along with the high price which this device comes with. Check the link for a better view.
Read more: The Chromebook Pixel is like using a Formula One car for the school run
And yes, the price looks to be the driving factor which might make people stay away from this piece as users might not be looking at shelling out so much for a laptop yet which does not have a lot to flaunt when compared with other good laptops around. Though, this is certainly a nice toy to be seen around with. For a quick and clean guided tour one can check Chromebook – guided tour.
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