Google unveiled its Chromebook Pixel, a new touch-screen laptop based in the Chrome operating system, on Thursday, Feb. 21.
According to Google, the device has the highest resolution of any laptop available. It features a glossy, aluminum design that in many ways resembles a Mac more than a PC. The laptop also has a 12.85-inch display with twice the number of pixels as a standard HDTV: 2560 X 1700 resolution and Gorilla Glass.
The laptop includes an Intel core i5, a dual-core 1.8GHz processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, which means that it uses a flash-based storage system rather than a conventional hard drive. It has a battery strength of up to five hours.
"It's clear touch is here to stay and it's the future," said Senior Vice President of Chrome at Google Sundar Pichai.
To date, Google's share of the laptop market has been less than stellar. According to the Wall Street Journal, it has sold only around 100,000 Chromebooks. The company does, however, have a strong hand in the touch-screen field with popular smartphone and tablet products that run Android.
Part of Google's strategy in releasing the Pixel is to target consumers who primarily use Cloud-based services to store data. Toward this aim, the new device will include one terabyte of data storage in the Cloud for a period of three years.
"We think this is a real game-changer in terms of people living in the Cloud," Pichai said.
Pricing for the Pixel will start at $1,299 for the 32 GB Wi-Fi version and $1,499 for the 64GB version. The 32GB version comes out next week, while the 64GB version is scheduled to ship in early April. The product is available to order on Thursday at the Google Play store and on Friday at Best Buy stores.
