People have been laughing at the Chromebook since the CR-48 first came out. It is certainly in that "emerging technology" category. Not everybody is ready to move exclusively to Chrome OS, and not everyone is ready to move entirely to the Cloud.
Google went to the middle with the Samsung 550—which I bought and sold recently for a variety of reasons. Then it went to the bottom of the market tier at $249 and provided a laptop in the category of most tablets. (Mine is on its way.)
I have to admit I didn't understand why Google was allowing all the different version of the Chromebook to be made by different manufacturers and flood the market. Looking back, I think it was a smart—albeit messy—move. It was a great way to get the attention it needed to build momentum and finally achieve some level of market penetration.
Now was the perfect time for Google to hit the top end of the market. I love that Google finally flexed its muscles and produced something that many skeptics didn't think was possible—a laptop that looked and functioned as good as some of the best laptops on the market. (I'm going off the spec sheet here. Obviously I haven't seen one just yet.)
I'm still not sure if I'm ready to spend $1299 or $1499. I might wait until the second iteration. But this tells me that Google is committed to the Chromebook platform and is willing to invest big dollars in producing something that looks great and can stand up to its peers.
Way to go Google!
Will you buy the new Chromebook Pixel?
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