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| Chrome gets new chrome. |
Google lavished I/O attendees with Pixels. It's my upgrade from a Cr-48. In a word: wow!
Having spent the last two and a half years on the Cr-48, the Pixel is certainly a welcome upgrade. Of course, I have the luxury of not having to pay for it (directly; I
did have to go to I/O to get this one - which, in itself has some caveats compared to purchasing from the Play Store). However, I'm going to try and highlight some things about life with the Pixel that you may not have heard elsewhere.
What's New?
It's a new Chromebook - so what? How much better can you make a browser? Well, there's more here than just a browser. As the caption for the above image implies, Chrome the browser has chrome ("decorative or protective finish") in the form of the hardware on which it runs - and the Pixel is all about the hardware. Here, I will touch on the screen, the sound, and the speed.
The screen
Have you heard about the screen? I'm sure you have...but have you seen the screen? It really is very impressive. It's effective at spoiling all other screen for you. Having spent several days at I/O and after with the Pixel, then coming home and working on the Asus laptop and the HP at work... le sigh. It is actually somewhat depressing to look at any other laptop/desktop screen. Can you see the difference in resolution here? The aliasing on the tabs and text is very apparent.
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| Pixel |
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| Cr-48 |
The "Timescapes" video included with the device is a great demo for the screen and the sound, which I will describe later. The resolution is only have of the fun on this screen, though. I was just showing some co-workers the benefits of ChromeOS, because as I write this, my Windows PC is all but locked down, as it re-encrypts my hard drive. During my brief demo, I was showing extensions, apps, etc., and then said, "Oh yeah - and watch
this." At which point I started scrolling around on the screen, opening and closing things, dragging items around...
with my finger on the screen.
Yes, the Pixel has a touchscreen: it works, and it works
well. Let me show you:
It has been very amusing to see people's reactions when I start navigating around using only the screen. Most are surprised, some are shocked. Until I experienced it for myself, I didn't know whether to believe
+Jeff Jarvis or
+Leo Laporte as to its reliability. Count me on Team Jarvis.
The only apparent down side to this is a dirtier screen. But honestly, I barely ever noticed. It's great.
The Sound
There are two kinds of sound that come from a computer: sound you make on purpose, and sound made by the machine itself. The former is what people want to be of high quality - namely, music, soundtracks, effects, etc. The latter is usually fan noise and hard disk loading, with the occasional creaking of a plastic chassis in there somewhere.
The purposeful sound on the Pixel is really good for a laptop. It is relatively full, having a nice effect to the stereo, and has a low-distortion quality that is unexpected given its volume capabilities. The fact that you can't see the speakers adds to the mystery. From where does this awesome sound emanate? As best as I can tell, the speakers vent from under the top row of keys. It's great for listening to music, when viewing a movie, or gaming.
Fan noise is unfortunately not absent, even though there are no signs of a fan. Anything that gets the CPU cranking will stir the fans, which seem to vent from the piano hinge in the back (so at least it isn't direct). It's nothing like my HP at work, but it it similar to my wife's Asus notebook; noticeable, but usually easy to ignore. Also, since the Pixel has only Flash storage (SSD), you'll never hear a hard disk spin up.
Here is a graph showing the sound levels on the Pixel:
The 42-ish dB is the quiet fan, 48-ish loud fan, the peak is the first 15s of the Timescapes video at full volume, and the last part is me holding my phone in front of the Pixel and fumbling to take a screenshot. For those of you who don't have a reference point on sound level, a quiet conversation is in the 50s, and for every 10 dB in either direction, it seems twice as loud (or quiet). So mid-40s is very quiet, and 85 is loud enough to hear across the room easily.
The Speed
What lag? The Pixel has handled everything I've done with finesse. I've never noticed any major slowing, and the response of the keys, touchpad, and screen has been excellent. This machine works. It does what it is supposed to do. I have only had it lock up once, which was solved by holding down the power button (it happened during a demo with the Timescapes video).
I haven't tried much in the way of gaming. Not for lack of desire, but more for time. My wife and I just started fostering two kids the week before I/O, and we're still adjusting to the schedule. I still have a few more levels to raise and bosses to fight in Final Fantasy III on my Nexus 7, let alone all the others I've been wanting to finish. I hear Bastion is pretty good. If you have any recommendations for a quality browser-based game that doesn't have repeated IAPs then let me know!
There isn't much to say here, honestly. The Pixel is as fast as I need it to be, and I never notice it being slow, except when I first boot it and it's connecting to the network (but all that takes less than 30s, so that's not really worth complaining about in reality).
The Summary
The Pixel is the finest Chromebook you will experience right now - by far. It is my hope - as well as Google's intention, I expect - that other OEMs will produce high-caliber versions to suit the needs and expectations of consumers who want a more refined device that delivers more than just a speedy and secure browser experience.
If you're considering a Chromebook,
get one. If you're interested in a
really nice Chromebook, you should consider the Pixel. The price is steep, for sure.
$1299 for the base model, and
$1449 for one with double the storage and optional LTE - probably a difficult pill to swallow. But you won't find a portable computer with the same combination of a great touch screen, always up-to-date and secure operating system, that also has some fantastic sound and usability additions anywhere else...for now.
Thanks for reading!
UPDATE:
There are a few things I didn't originally address that I think are appropriate. Some of them are things that concerned me when I first heard about the device, like USB 2.0 ports.
- USB 2.0 ports: I've used them maybe two or three times. It's much less of a problem than I guessed it would be for me. The video attached above? Shot on my phone, uploaded to YouTube. Giant portable hard drive? The Pixel comes with 3 years of 1TB +Google Drive storage (just not for I/O attendees :-/) - that alone is worth $1500!!! I haven't connected a separate drive, and I haven't needed to at all.
- Headphone/mic jack: it's all in one!!! Plug in a pair of headphones with a microphone on it (like you do with a smartphone) and your headset is your mic. Great for Hangouts.
- Bluetooth: Awesome for audio. I have a Logitech Bluetooth headset I use for video conferences, and it works perfectly. The setup is relatively easy, too.
- Heat: The Pixel is meant to be on a flat surface. If it's on your lap, you'll notice after 20 minutes or so. It isn't hot, but it begins to get uncomfortably warm.
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| The feet are there for a reason. Use them if you don't want to warm your lap! |
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| Like a glove! |
Gallery
Here are a handful of screenshots I took while writing this post:
= Note: Here Is Link To Download the File Game =
To combine 9 parts files above into 1 file just use WINRAR, then extract the files into ZIP format.
If any problem with the file, maybe because the file have corrupted during the download process, you can try to re-download the file.
Title : Pixelated: A Cr-48 Upgrade Story
Description : Chrome gets new chrome. Google lavished I/O attendees with Pixels. It's my upgrade from a Cr-48. In a word: wow ! Having spent the last ...
