The glass touchpad gives the Pixel
"exceptional smoothness and accuracy", Google reckons. And it's not
wrong.
Does the Pixel really need a touchscreen?
Not that you'll be relying on the touchpad's exceptional accuracy too
much if you use the touchscreen - and, if you're used to using Windows
8, there's a good chance that you'll be reaching out to paw at the
screen more than you might have imagined.
However, while touchscreens make sense for Windows 8 hardware given
Microsoft has redesigned elements of the operating system to be geared
around touch input, the Pixel is a slightly different proposition, and that's one of my issues with it.
Whereas on Windows 8 different swiping actions perform different
tasks — say, opening the Start menu by swiping right to left or
switching back to the last-used app by swiping left to right. But in
Chrome OS, there are very few specific touch features - and therefore
reasons for the touch input in the first place. Sure, you can use it to
navigate between windows, resizing them along the way, and some might
even support other features such as pinch-to-zoom, but right now, very
few do. Until that changes, there's almost no need for the touchscreen
at all.
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As things stand today, the web is still largely designed for use with
a keyboard and mouse — it's all search boxes and small text links to
navigate, neither of which is suited to an all touch input. Perhaps by
the time the Chromebook Pixel 2 makes it onto shelves there may be
enough apps that support touch input to make a touchscreen worthwhile,
but for now, it simply adds expense and weight.
Hardware overkill
Almost without exception, there are very few concerns with the rest
of the hardware - although I would take a micro HDMI output rather than a
Display Port plus adaptor, which wasn't included in the box.
In fact, I (like many others) would say the hardware is almost
overkill for the rest of the laptop. The beauty of the average
Chromebook (and they haven't been a runaway success so far, by any
means) is the price. For around £200, you can have a fully functional
laptop that allows you to do everything you'd normally do in the
browser, with a reasonably long battery life and quick boot time.
The audio playback was surprising too with loud, if not crystal clear
sound, coming through the speakers. Sadly, it showed a trait seen in
many, many other laptops too - it got rather warm under the USB ports
when in use. Still, that didn't stop me using it as my everyday work
laptop for a little while when my underpowered everyday machine became
too slow to bear.
While the Pixel mostly matches up to what its rivals can offer
(although I would have expected a more generous battery life: with the
screen on around 70 percent brightness, it lasted for around two and
half hours or so of continuous playback), it can't compete in the most
crucial area: the price.
The verdict
It's hard to sell the idea of a Chromebook Pixel to a lot of people.
At first glance it has a lot in common with a laptop — you can do most
of the things you'd want to do on laptop on a Pixel — but, unlike a
laptop, you can't use Skype or download any of the other apps
traditionally found on such machines.
However, the biggest difference most people will notice between a
Pixel and an average laptop is simply the price. People will accept
cut-down functionality at a cut-down price, but combine cut-down
functionality with an asking price larger than a MacBook Pro's and it
all starts to make a lot less sense.
There's really very little to consider in making this decision. I'd
love a Chromebook Pixel: it's definitely stylish, it has a reassuring
quality feel to it and there's not any sign of the flex or paint rubbing
off that I quickly saw in the Samsung Chromebook (which retails for
around £230). I like the fact it boots quickly, and most of what I want
to do, I do in the browser.
And still, I couldn't even consider buying one now. Perhaps when
there are more touch-enabled apps it would be more enticing, but I could
never hand over that amount of money for what I'd perceive to be a bit less than a laptop.
Right now, it feels like a concept machine, a glimpse at what could —
and likely will — be, rather than a machine for today's needs. But give
it a year or so and I'd bet we'll see the premium Chromebook market
making a lot more sense.
Microsoft's biggest developer conference of
2013 may or may not be sold out already. The event is expected to
include details on Windows Blue, among other topics.
The latest monthly OS share numbers from
NetMarketShare show few surprises. XP continues to slide, Windows 8 is
very slowly gaining traction, and Microsoft still dominates usage in the
declining market for traditional PCs. But the numbers show a few
unexpected trends.
Since rumors about Windows Blue first
surfaced, there's been talk that the Windows 8 update would include more
than just UI tweaks. Clues about some of these deeper level changes are
emerging.
The early look at Blue have some Windows
experts thinking that Microsoft is getting ready to dump Windows 8's
desktop mode once and for all in favor of Metro. No!
Microsoft is starting to roll out major
updates to its Mail, Calendar and People apps for Windows 8 and Windows
RT. What other updates are coming and when?
We've heard about Windows Blue and Windows
Phone Blue. Now we're getting a few tidbits about Windows Server Blue,
the next release of Windows Server expected this summer.
As things stand today, the web is still largely designed for use with
a keyboard and mouse — it's all search boxes and small text links to
navigate, neither of which is suited to an all touch input. Perhaps by
the time the Chromebook Pixel 2 makes it onto shelves there may be
enough apps that support touch input to make a touchscreen worthwhile,
but for now, it simply adds expense and weight.
