Google has revealed its latest piece of hardware, the Chromebook Pixel, the next generation of its Chromebook family. The computer is geared at cloud workers and has a 12.8-inch screen capable of presenting 4.3m pixels.
It looks like Google went all out with this particular machine. The Pixel has an anodized aluminium body, vents and screws are invisible, speakers are tucked beneath the keyboard and its touchpad is made from etched glass.
Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and boasting a solid state Flash memory architecture, the Chromebook Pixel has been designed to have industry leading Wi-Fi performance thanks to carefully positioned antennas, as well as 4G LTE compatibility.
Because it is a machine for dedicated cloud users, up to 1 terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage is included with the machine for three years.
‘One of the most exciting times in the history of personal computing’
The Wi-Fi only version of the Pixel will be available to purchase from today on Google Play in the US and UK, and soon in BestBuy and in Currys stores in the UK. It costs US$1,299 in the US and stg£1,049 in the UK, and begins shipping from next week.
The Wi-Fi plus LTE version will start shipping in the US in April and will cost US$1,449.
Core Google web services like Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps and Google+ Hangouts are baked into the machine.
“It’s one of the most exciting times in the history of personal computing, thanks to a rapid pace of change, innovation and consumer adoption of devices,” explained Linus Upson, vice-president of engineering at Google.
“Our goal is to continue to push the experience forward for everyone, working with the entire ecosystem to build the next generation of Chrome OS devices. We hope you enjoy what’s next,” he said.
Watch a video about the making of the Chromebook Pixel here:
