The Chromebook Pixel • Hacker News Board

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#61

Post by MatthewPhillips » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:35 PM UTC

ConstantineXVI wrote: post #48

That is one beautiful laptop (note that it's not 16:9 either). I feel like we're missing something, there's no way Google would be blind enough to build such a powerful machine (vs existing Chromebooks) that's so limited by the OS. There's either something we aren't being told or Google's jumped entirely off the deep end. (Alternative: there's no way they could do a "Retina" Chromebook for reasonably cheap, but the N…

It's not really limiting though. Between NaCl and WebGL you can do everything from 3D gaming, to Remote Desktop clients (an RDP client already is in the Web Store). It's true that a lot of the software still needs to be created, but what is going to spur that to happen if not hardware that is tuned for it?

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#62

Post by rayiner » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:35 PM UTC

robertst wrote: post #42

jbail wrote: post #14

So, it is real! It looks awesome, but at $1,299, I don't think it's priced well. That's $100 more than a 13" MacBook. I just don't see that much value in a Chromebook at this point in time.

I honestly think the high price tag is the point. Google is trying to establish itself as a major brand that isn't just offering alternatives to Apple hardware for a lower price. Think of the plans to build retail stores, and how the Android brand is given less prominence these days: they are working hard to build a consumer "Google" brand that's as strong as Apple. So far most of the devices they sold were priced to…

One of the things Apple avoids is $1,300 products that are conceptual beta-tests. It's blatantly obvious that "life in the cloud" isn't feasible for most people yet, not when 10 GB of Verizon LTE costs $90 here in the US, then $10/GB. But with that tiny 32GB of flash, that's clearly what the Chromebook is designed for.

It's bold, but it's not going to sell. The reviews are going to rip this to shreds ("nice screen, but doesn't run anything.") In the end, it's going to be a "what the heck were they thinking?" product that will dilute the brand.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#63

Post by ConstantineXVI » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:36 PM UTC

recoiledsnake wrote: post #51

speeder wrote: post #31

I think it is purely amazing the specs for that price. But I am really bothered by the fact that it is... A Chromebook. I hate "cloud" stuff, I like to have stuff where I know where they are, and who can see them. Also I live in Brazil, where internet is patchy, at best. And it is sad it does not support Ethernet... I like Ethernet! It is faster and more stable! But impressive, very impressive, well done Google. If a…

>I think it is purely amazing the specs for that price. The display specs are amazing, but storage is a paltry 32GB so I guess it's compensated there.

All but one previous Chromebook has shipped with 16 (exception being the Acer, which uses an ordinary HDD), and the amount is almost entirely a non-issue for normal use. Which would add to my theory ChromeOS could be moving past the "just a browser" paradigm it's been going with all this time.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#64

Post by tlrobinson » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:36 PM UTC

I wish the screen folded 180 degrees around so you could use it as a tablet.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#65

Post by MatthewPhillips » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:36 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #62

robertst wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly think the high price tag is the point. Google is trying to establish itself as a major brand that isn't just offering alternatives to Apple hardware for a lower price. Think of the plans to build retail stores, and how the Android brand is given less prominence these days: they are working hard to build a consumer "Google" brand that's as strong as Apple. So far most of the devices they sold were priced to…

One of the things Apple avoids is $1,300 products that are conceptual beta-tests. It's blatantly obvious that "life in the cloud" isn't feasible for most people yet, not when 10 GB of Verizon LTE costs $90 here in the US, then $10/GB. But with that tiny 32GB of flash, that's clearly what the Chromebook is designed for. It's bold, but it's not going to sell. The reviews are going to rip this to shreds ("nice screen, b…

People get by with 16GB iPads just fine, think you're wrong here.

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#66

Post by nuclear_eclipse » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:37 PM UTC

jbail wrote: post #14

So, it is real! It looks awesome, but at $1,299, I don't think it's priced well. That's $100 more than a 13" MacBook. I just don't see that much value in a Chromebook at this point in time.

Considering that this is actually competing against the Retina MacBook Pro, it's actually $200 cheaper...

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#67

Post by rodolphoarruda » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:37 PM UTC

> The WiFi version ($1,299 U.S. and £1,049 U.K.) will start shipping next week(...)

Uh, will there be a non-wifi version?

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#68

Post by commandar » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:37 PM UTC

javajosh wrote: post #58

There are only three meaningful things you can do with a computer with specs like this: development, design, or gaming. And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things. Perhaps this is a vanity product for the wealthy. But wealthy people are going to just surf the web on an iPad. I really don't get this product.

>And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things.

Am I just imagining all the posts I've seen on HN from people talking about being extremely happy using Chromebooks as development platforms?

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#69

Post by bromagosa » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:38 PM UTC

javajosh wrote: post #58

There are only three meaningful things you can do with a computer with specs like this: development, design, or gaming. And yet ChromeOS can't do any of these things. Perhaps this is a vanity product for the wealthy. But wealthy people are going to just surf the web on an iPad. I really don't get this product.

Same thoughts here. It's Intel-based, I wonder whether one could just install a Debian into this beast...

Re: The Chromebook Pixel

#70

Post by RyanMcGreal » Thu, Feb 21, 2013, 7:38 PM UTC

sharkweek wrote: post #49

ok_craig wrote: post #26

I wonder if they are doing this, at least in part, because they really want a Chromebook that is high-end to display in their physical stores? Maybe having a really nice, really expensive Chromebook will make the brand not seem cheap to casual store browsers.

Interesting theory -- it especially makes the other Chromebooks seem like better deals

There's the famous framing story about the company that invented the bread maker. Everyone was interested in their product but hardly anyone bought it. They brought in a product specialist who told them to release a second, high-end version of the bread maker. Once they did this, the base model started flying off the shelves.