Google is adding a new and more expensive touch to its line of Chrome
laptops in an attempt to outshine personal computers running on software
made by rivals Microsoft and Apple.
The Chromebook Pixel
unveiled Thursday includes a nearly 13-inch display screen that responds
to the touch or swipe of a finger. That duplicates a key feature in
Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8, a dramatic makeover of the world's leading
operating system for PCs.
The Pixel's high-resolution screen
displays 239 pixels per inch, slightly more than Apple Inc.'s MacBooks
with high-resolution Retina displays. A MacBook Pro with a screen that
measures 13.1 inches diagonally can handle 227 pixels per inch, while
the 15.4-inch model is at 220 pixels per inch.
"This is the
future: high-resolution screens and touch," said Sundar Pichai, a senior
vice president who oversees Google's Chrome Web browser and operating
system.
Google Inc. designed and built the Pixel for "power users"
- a fastidious and generally more affluent segment of the PC market
willing to pay more for machines equipped with compelling features and
components not found in cheaper laptops.
The strategy is a
departure for Google, which had positioned Chromebooks based on its
Chrome operating system as affordable options for homes and offices
looking for a quick and easy way to connect to the Web. Google has been
partnering with PC makers to make Chromebooks over the past two years.
Among them: Acer Inc. makes a bare-bones Chromebook for just $199, while
Samsung Electronics Co. sells one for $249.
The Pixel, which
Google is building without a partner, will cost $1,299 for a Wi-Fi only
model with 32 gigabytes of flash storage. A 64-gigabyte machine that can
connect on both Wi-Fi and a 4G LTE cellular network will cost $1,499.
That's the same price as the cheapest MacBook Pro with a comparable
screen, though the Apple laptop comes with 128 gigabytes of storage.
Apple
does have a cheaper, lighter laptop, the MacBook Air. A 13-inch model
with 128 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,199. It weighs less than 3
pounds and doesn't have a high-resolution screen. The Pixel has the
high-resolution screen and weighs 3.35 pounds. The 13-inch
high-resolution MacBook Pro weighs 3.57 pounds.
Google believes
Pixel is a better value than the Air, given its higher-resolution screen
with touch controls. Google is also throwing in 1 terabytes of free
online storage in its data centers for three years - a benefit that
Pichai estimated would cost $500 to $600.
The Pixel "will stand up
very, very well to the MacBook Air," Pichai said. "The goal here is to
push the boundaries to deliver the best laptop at the best possible
price."
Though its popular iPad has a touch screen, Apple has
shunned touch-screen laptops. Apple figures that because people use
laptops with the screen in front of them, rather than in their hands or
laps, it's not a pleasant experience to constantly have to reach out to
touch the screen.
Microsoft, on the other hand, considers touch
screens to be central to all computing environments. Windows 8 was
designed to make desktop and laptop computers work more like tablet
computers. Computers with touch-screen monitors can respond to touch
along with old-style mouse and keyboard commands.
Google's online
Play store will begin selling the Pixel in the U.S. and U.K Thursday,
with BestBuy.com expected to take orders on Friday. A hands-on
experience with the Pixels also will be available beginning Friday in 10
of Best Buy's retail stores in California, Minnesota, Washington state,
Virginia and New York.
Pichai declined to say how many of the
lower-priced Chromebooks have been sold, but said the models have ranked
as the most popular laptop sold by Amazon.com Inc. for the past four
months.
The free online storage is being included with the Pixel
to overcome the laptop's lack of a hard drive. Like other Chromebooks,
the Pixel functions like a terminal dependent on an Internet connection
to get to information and applications stored in large data centers run
by Google or other technology providers.
Spurred by the growing
popularity of smartphones and tablet computers, Google is betting more
people will prefer having data, photos and video stored in remote data
centers instead of individual hard drives so the content can be accessed
from any Internet-connected device.
Google's expansion into the
high-end of the laptop market immerses the Internet search and
advertising company more deeply into the business designing and making
gadgets.
The company is already a major player in the mobile
device market through its Android software. To help promote Android,
Google also has designed a line of smartphones and tablets under the
Nexus brand. The company also owns smartphone maker Motorola Mobility,
which it bought for $12.4 billion last year.
Google's deepening
involvement in hardware has ignited speculation that the company might
eventually open its own chain of stores to sell its products, just as
Apple and Microsoft already do. Pichai didn't address that in a response
to a question on that topic at Thursday's event.
Apple and
Microsoft already have been hurt by the increased competition from
Google. Most smartphones and tablets running on Google's free Android
software cost less than Apple's iPhone and iPad, helping to siphon sales
away from those devices. Sales of PCs running on Windows also have been
sagging during the past year, partly because consumers are relying more
on Android devices.
Google says it expects to make a small profit
on each Pixel sold, but the company figures to make more money from the
online traffic delivered from the machines. Like other Chromebooks, the
Pixel is set up to automatically use all of Google's services,
including its search engine, Gmail and YouTube video site.
Google Chromebook Pixel technical specifications
- 12.85" display with a 3:2 aspect ratio
- 2560x1700 at 239 PPI
- Intel Core i5 processor (Dual Core 1.8GHz)
- Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Integrated)
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- One terabyte Google Drive cloud storage for three years
- 32GB solid state drive (64GB on LTE model)
- Gorilla Glass multi-touch screen
- Backlit Chrome keyboard
- Clickable, etched-glass touchpad
- Integrated 720p HD camera
- Combo headphone/mic jack
- Built-in microphone array
- 2 x USB 2.0
- mini display port
- SD / MMC card reader
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n 2x2
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Built-in LTE modem (LTE model)
- Up to 5 hours of active use (59 Wh battery)