Gadgetory

Google is not known to much hardware besides it's slick Nexus phones and some fancy futuristic glasses but the sleek Chromebook pixel changes all that hi i'm seth rosenblatt foreseen it and in this first look we're taking a quick tour of Google's first laptop made without a manufacturing partner the result is not unlike Microsoft Surface a sharp sexy device with some unique features and a ridiculously high price point and boy do I mean hi let's just get the facts out of the way the pixel runs on a dual core 1.8 gigahertz intel core i5 processor with integrated intel HD 4000 graphics and 4 gigs of memory it's a huge step up for Chromebook power although not super high-end either speaking of graphics the screen on this thing is slightly bonkers it sports a three to two ratio for easier vertical scrolling the touchscreen clocks in at 239 pixels per inch edging past the 13 inch MacBook Pros to 27 ppi retina display google crammed two microphones an HD camera and a light detector above the screen the two mics are for better noise cancellation but google also tucked a third Mike below the keyboard to help cut out typing noises on the outside the pixel has two USB ports a mini DisplayPort for external monitors an SD card slot and a combination headphone mic Jack Google promises around five hours of battery life which isn't shabby but that mini displayport Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0 mean that the pixel is actually a version behind the latest standards that's a problem why build a high-end laptop that only meets average ports however it's been beautifully engineered and feels solid even if it is a sketch heavy at 3.3 pounds there are no visible screws holding the chassis together the trackpad feels grippy yet smooth not too greasy and the hinge has been designed so you can open it with one hand for better and for worse the pixel runs Chrome OS Google's browser based operating system regular updates every six weeks which means that your pixel will stay current for quite a while if you live in the cloud you simply must consider this if you're looking for a high-end laptop however it also means that you can't run high-powered programs like itunes photoshop or MS office currently chrome doesn't do well with a ton of tabs which is essentially what web apps are so multitasking can be a bit sluggish at times even with that four gigs of ram on the other hand google is giving everybody who buys a pixel one terabyte of cloud storage for three years and if you splurge on the verizon LTE version that's expected in early april you'll get practically always on connectivity and i do mean splurge the LTE version will run you a whopping it ready for this whopping 1499 dollars while the Wi-Fi only version still extracts a hefty 1299 dollar premium this is a gorgeous device something that clearly has had a lot of thought put into it but at those prices you can get a far more robust Windows 8 touchscreen laptop or a macbook still it's interesting to see Google take a chance on a product like this and shake things up just a little I don't think they've nailed it quite yet but they're getting close for cnet i'm seth rosenblatt