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Chromebook Pixel

So I bought a Chromebook Pixel - as a Chromebook user I just could not resist this device especially as it comes with a terabyte GDrive.

There are lots of reviews online already - so this is my personal views on the device rather than another analysis of the specs. To consider buying this device you need to be sold on the idea of cloud based working and in particular Google Docs/Apps. I use it with my school Google Apps account and my private Google Account.

I own a Samsung Series 3 ARM based Chromebook - after unboxing it I just logged on and got going. From turning it on to working with all my apps was probably less than a minute (most of that was typing in my WiFi key!). This is what I like about Chromebooks and Google Apps - log on and get going. If I had bought a new Windows machine, I'd still be installing software a couple of hours later. I've got to the point where I like an easy life!


The Hardware

Very solid construction - perhaps a tiny bit heavy.
Keyboard - excellent and variable backlight.
Trackpad - best I've ever used by a long shot.
Touchscreen - very responsive and surprisingly easy to use  with ChromeOS. Some websites make use of the pinch zoom better than others. Maps for example is great - but most don't support any multi-touch yet. Mail does have a touch enabled view which works well.
Screen - beautiful and crisp - probably the best laptop screen I've seen.
Audio - very good for a laptop.
Battery life - around the 5 hours mark - but still testing.

The OS

Came with ChromeOS 23 that upgraded to 25 straight away on the stable channel.
Not much difference to my Samsung - a nice HiDef movie thing to show off the screen - thats the only difference I can see. No sign of Quickoffice yet.
To manage Windows systems I use ChromeRDP which is a great native rdp client that works very well on the Pixel.

For me it is the ultimate laptop at the moment - but I live in the Google eco-system. If you are not then it might not be for you. You might be better off trying a cheaper Chromebook to get the idea. In my experience, the more you use a Chromebook - the less you want to use a PC (and I have a 4.6Ghz Core i7). It simply allows you to do the things you need to do without any of the hassle. The Pixel allows you to do it in style. 

Just an update - the wifi is very good. The ping from Speedtest.net is as good as my PC connected via ethernet. The range of the wifi is also very impressive - especially on a 5Ghz connection. 




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