That's a very unusual aspect ratio. I wonder what drove that decision. Apple buying up all the 16:10 "Retina" panels, and some other channel had this oddball HiDPI 3:2 panel nobody wanted and Google bit?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Google Introduces the Chromebook Pixel to Compete With the MacBook Air
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
i just feel bad for those 5 people that will buy it only to realize that it only works with a internet connection (if im not mistaken) and is basically a browser with a "useless" screen and i5 that u cant even take advantage of and no way to save anything of value 
I feel sorry for the folks who buy this from Google Play Store, get a defective unit from Google, return the unit for a replacement, wait a month for the replacement, wait another month for Google to take the hold off of their CC.
Yeah, extremely unhappy Nexus 4 customer here. After the third lemon Nexus 4, I asked for a refund. Never have I dealt with a company that charges your CC immediately to replace a defective device and then refunds you weeks after they receive the defective device back from you. Google treats their customers like ****.
Yeah, extremely unhappy Nexus 4 customer here. After the third lemon Nexus 4, I asked for a refund. Never have I dealt with a company that charges your CC immediately to replace a defective device and then refunds you weeks after they receive the defective device back from you. Google treats their customers like ****.
I want one
I think I will make the only post in support of this product.
I hope this gets read and people hear me out, while respecting my opinion even if it is different than literally everyone elses, haha.
So here is my logic, absolutely everything I do on the computer is on the web except play games. For that, I have a fancy big desktop already. I also have an iPad and iPhone so I have the mobile covered.
But I love the idea of a laptop exactly like this, and when I first learned of Chrome OS I have been hoping it wouldn't only be for low end laptops. I am not sure what others do on the computer, but I have not used another program on my Windows machine for a long time.
I listen to music on Grooveshark or YouTube, I use Google Docs extensively and do not even have MS Office installed, I spend most of my time reading news all day because I work in the financial industry so I honestly cannot think of the last time I used an actually application on my machine that wasn't just a game.
So why won't the $250 Samsung Chromebook due then, right? Well, this screen sounds awesome for one. I hate widescreens, they make no sense to me on computers. They make sense in cinema and theatres because it's more cost effective to make a widescreen building and that kind of trickled down to consumer electronics. But I read a lot on the computer, and I have all this wasted space on the sides. Really the 5:4 ratio is the best ratio, but this screen is good.
I also love that it is touch, depending on circumstances I often just want to flick the screen to scroll as I read the news (I seriously read a lot of news), I know I wouldn't want to use the touchness all the time, but for that odd moment when I have the compulsion to reach out and touch the screen, I can.
Also, about the always on internet connection. To me this seems like a silly issue because if I don't have the internet I have no reason to be on any electronic device or I have bigger problems. I am always on the internet already and that will not change. I go to great lengths and expense already to ensure I always have an internet connection, unless I specifically don't want one, such as camping or relaxing with friends.
As for the price, here is my logic. I spend about 6 hours on most days on my computer reading news. My thoughts have always been that you should spend your money where you spend your time. I also put a lot of my money into a very nice bed for that same reason. So I would be willing to spend this much for this laptop, of course I'd like it to be cheaper, who wouldn't? But to me, I don't consider Chrome OS a lesser operating system.
I consider it something I would pay a premium for over any other operating system and that's why this laptop makes sense to me. Although, I completely understand why it seem totally irrational to 99% of people.
Thank you for reading.
I think I will make the only post in support of this product.
I hope this gets read and people hear me out, while respecting my opinion even if it is different than literally everyone elses, haha.
So here is my logic, absolutely everything I do on the computer is on the web except play games. For that, I have a fancy big desktop already. I also have an iPad and iPhone so I have the mobile covered.
But I love the idea of a laptop exactly like this, and when I first learned of Chrome OS I have been hoping it wouldn't only be for low end laptops. I am not sure what others do on the computer, but I have not used another program on my Windows machine for a long time.
I listen to music on Grooveshark or YouTube, I use Google Docs extensively and do not even have MS Office installed, I spend most of my time reading news all day because I work in the financial industry so I honestly cannot think of the last time I used an actually application on my machine that wasn't just a game.
So why won't the $250 Samsung Chromebook due then, right? Well, this screen sounds awesome for one. I hate widescreens, they make no sense to me on computers. They make sense in cinema and theatres because it's more cost effective to make a widescreen building and that kind of trickled down to consumer electronics. But I read a lot on the computer, and I have all this wasted space on the sides. Really the 5:4 ratio is the best ratio, but this screen is good.
I also love that it is touch, depending on circumstances I often just want to flick the screen to scroll as I read the news (I seriously read a lot of news), I know I wouldn't want to use the touchness all the time, but for that odd moment when I have the compulsion to reach out and touch the screen, I can.
Also, about the always on internet connection. To me this seems like a silly issue because if I don't have the internet I have no reason to be on any electronic device or I have bigger problems. I am always on the internet already and that will not change. I go to great lengths and expense already to ensure I always have an internet connection, unless I specifically don't want one, such as camping or relaxing with friends.
As for the price, here is my logic. I spend about 6 hours on most days on my computer reading news. My thoughts have always been that you should spend your money where you spend your time. I also put a lot of my money into a very nice bed for that same reason. So I would be willing to spend this much for this laptop, of course I'd like it to be cheaper, who wouldn't? But to me, I don't consider Chrome OS a lesser operating system.
I consider it something I would pay a premium for over any other operating system and that's why this laptop makes sense to me. Although, I completely understand why it seem totally irrational to 99% of people.
Thank you for reading.
I wish Google would go ahead and get in the laptop business with a real Android desktop OS. Don't get me wrong, I love my MBPr and iPhone combo. I hate Windows and the way it works under the hood as opposed to Linux/Unix based OS's. I would love to see Google round out the Android ecosystem with their own Nexus laptop line running a real Linux OS that has been made easy to use and accessible for the non-techy market like Apple has done with Unix. This would not only spur real market competition in the laptop market, but possibly spread the use of Linux as other OEM's pick up the full blown Android OS for their own laptop lines.
Apparently some people are starting to believe Apple invented the keynote presentation these days.
"I mean comeon! It was a guy onstage standing in front of an audience! Steve Jobs anyone? How much more of a ripoff can you be"?
I agree that the widescreen fad needs to die. I'm clinging onto my 5:4 DELL LCD at work for as long as I can (it's developing dark spots now after 8 years of use). Its the perfect size for everything I do. The only thing widescreen is good for is movies and games. Lots of folks *work* on their computers. So I agree with you. We need to have a selection of 5:4 screens to come back to the market and it is nice to see that some company is still using them.
Wow, Google trying to be Microsoft now (Surface overpriced)? Shooting for the stars in price for hardware yet the operating system is not nearly developed as well as the competition.
Like Microsoft, the operating system is totally under utilized compared to the competition..yet some how they think they can charge the same of not more than the competition for less product.
Needs to be a balance between price and power, especially when the operating system doesn't have much software support in the beginning.
I don't know how these companies get off charging equal or more than the competition (Apple) when they offer much less in the software department.
Like Microsoft, the operating system is totally under utilized compared to the competition..yet some how they think they can charge the same of not more than the competition for less product.
Needs to be a balance between price and power, especially when the operating system doesn't have much software support in the beginning.
I don't know how these companies get off charging equal or more than the competition (Apple) when they offer much less in the software department.
Explain to me in 3 sentences or less how the Surface Pro is overpriced.
----------
I don't agree with that necessarily, but I do think the industry should be shooting more towards 16:10 monitors rather than 16:9.
it's a great device. you guys should try it!
some complain about having to pay for the 1tb storage after three years. all i can say is, in three years 1tb is the free default size.
and widescreen is bad for web. watch the nexus screens follow suit.
some complain about having to pay for the 1tb storage after three years. all i can say is, in three years 1tb is the free default size.
and widescreen is bad for web. watch the nexus screens follow suit.
So mate, are you the chief designer of this? Even Chinese knock off ps are waaaay better. If you buy one, I wish u luck. Hope it serves the purpose well.
Really? The i5 is older than the A5. You all were gripping when the mini and the 13" rMBP came out. I believe it has the same dated i5.
I loved this!
Has an incredible screen. 239 ppi, (mbp 13 is 227 and 15 is 220) Great!!!
- Can I work with pictures in it? Mmmmm no.
- Can I watch HD movies from iTunes or any other store? no.
- Can I play awesome HD games? No
Oh, it is the new trend, everything has to be touch and somewhat without purpose... Ah... got it... (thinking of windows 8)
By the way, if I wanted something to read text and browse my e-mail with "retina" display, there is a device for that, called iPad.
Has an incredible screen. 239 ppi, (mbp 13 is 227 and 15 is 220) Great!!!
- Can I work with pictures in it? Mmmmm no.
- Can I watch HD movies from iTunes or any other store? no.
- Can I play awesome HD games? No
Oh, it is the new trend, everything has to be touch and somewhat without purpose... Ah... got it... (thinking of windows 8)
By the way, if I wanted something to read text and browse my e-mail with "retina" display, there is a device for that, called iPad.
Wa ha ha ha... Nice name
After this copy , I think the other Eric should change his name to Eric Jobs or something
Wake up and the smell the coffee
The amount of sneer, ignorance, and sheer google () hatred on the first few pages of this thread is staggering. It's also highly embarrassing to the posters and upvoters, and highly ironic.
While google is doing what apple was ONCE famous for, releasing a device ahead of it's time, taking risks, going with something disruptive they get one moronic comment after the other from posters here.
Now let's do a little reality check on what apple has been up to the past year or so under shopkeeper Cook's infinitely wise guidance:
Released an overpriced macbook pro 15" with an underpowered gpu that can't drive the retina screen without lag, even after a few software updates, and that's a fact, and a screen for that matter with notorious image retention that to apple is normal.
Stuck a retina screen to the ipad (gen 3. sold with a can of vaseline, because after 3 months the buyers felt it really good what with apple upgrading the cpu/gpu to what should have already been in there to begin with) yet, they 've still not managed to do what google, ms, and tons of others have: fuse the screen to the glass, and the ipad is still a glare and reflection inferno.
Stuck yet another retina (thanks lg, samsung etc.) to the 13" mbp yet only managed 128gb ssd because they HAD to have their custom flash and not industry standard one.
Elongated the iphone, yet stuck a denting aluminum frame to it.
Came up with their worse os after lion, mountain lion, a sad excuse of an os update with twitter, facebook, reminders and notes.
Came up with ios 6.0, the crappiest update to ios ever, with the maps fiasco, no widgets, no ability to run two apps side by side, nothing of real value to the table.
Messed up the interface of the apple tv.
Released an imac oh, about half a year late (it's Tim's great mastery of the supply chain) that's well, it's slim, and that's about it in terms of innovation. And mac pro, which was the same mac pro but with 3 year old hardware and no usb 3 (let alone thunderbolt). But not to worry, it'll take another year on top of the 3 years the mac pro had not been updated for apple to come up with a tower workstation...
And lo and behold, their stock is down by 25%. Who would have thunk it that after such an innovative productive, disruptive, year that could have happened.
Everyone here trying to rip google apart, do you think you can take your heads out of your macs and realize what apple has actually been doing the past year or so?
And here comes google, managing to undercut apple in price for the macbook air, yet sticking in a gorgeous retina plus screen higher than even the one in the mbp, in an even more gorgeous disruptive 3:2 format, WITH a touch screen, WITH the glass fused on the screen (unlike say the air gap ipad), with 1 tb of cloud storage, with a forward looking os (that might not be there yet, but hell, someone's got to innovate right? if a notes app passes of as innovation these days in the apple camp, the guys at google go all in with the cloud), in what looks like it's a beautiful engineering machine...
...and people here are critical of google? Seriously? After the most backward, counter innovative year in apple's history post Jobs? Where they only managed to have one os, security, software, quality control fiasco after the other whilst sacking (and rehiring in some cases) one exec after the other?
Wake up and the smell the coffee, at the same time that apple has been asleep on the wheel, going from one hardware fiasco to a software fiasco, and under delivering in most everything, and while some less than insightful people here are dissing google, google are the ones doing what apple as supposed to be doing instead: Taking risks, innovating, pushing computing even further in the future (be it cloud, touch on notebooks, aspect ratios, even higher hidpi screens), and DISRUPTING. Hell, yeah, a cloud computer with a secure forward looking os, the best retina on the market, doubling as touch screen with fused glass, in gorgeous 3:2 ratio, and priced lower than the staler than stale bread non touch, non retina air.
The amount of sneer, ignorance, and sheer google () hatred on the first few pages of this thread is staggering. It's also highly embarrassing to the posters and upvoters, and highly ironic.
While google is doing what apple was ONCE famous for, releasing a device ahead of it's time, taking risks, going with something disruptive they get one moronic comment after the other from posters here.
Now let's do a little reality check on what apple has been up to the past year or so under shopkeeper Cook's infinitely wise guidance:
Released an overpriced macbook pro 15" with an underpowered gpu that can't drive the retina screen without lag, even after a few software updates, and that's a fact, and a screen for that matter with notorious image retention that to apple is normal.
Stuck a retina screen to the ipad (gen 3. sold with a can of vaseline, because after 3 months the buyers felt it really good what with apple upgrading the cpu/gpu to what should have already been in there to begin with) yet, they 've still not managed to do what google, ms, and tons of others have: fuse the screen to the glass, and the ipad is still a glare and reflection inferno.
Stuck yet another retina (thanks lg, samsung etc.) to the 13" mbp yet only managed 128gb ssd because they HAD to have their custom flash and not industry standard one.
Elongated the iphone, yet stuck a denting aluminum frame to it.
Came up with their worse os after lion, mountain lion, a sad excuse of an os update with twitter, facebook, reminders and notes.
Came up with ios 6.0, the crappiest update to ios ever, with the maps fiasco, no widgets, no ability to run two apps side by side, nothing of real value to the table.
Messed up the interface of the apple tv.
Released an imac oh, about half a year late (it's Tim's great mastery of the supply chain) that's well, it's slim, and that's about it in terms of innovation. And mac pro, which was the same mac pro but with 3 year old hardware and no usb 3 (let alone thunderbolt). But not to worry, it'll take another year on top of the 3 years the mac pro had not been updated for apple to come up with a tower workstation...
And lo and behold, their stock is down by 25%. Who would have thunk it that after such an innovative productive, disruptive, year that could have happened.
Everyone here trying to rip google apart, do you think you can take your heads out of your macs and realize what apple has actually been doing the past year or so?
And here comes google, managing to undercut apple in price for the macbook air, yet sticking in a gorgeous retina plus screen higher than even the one in the mbp, in an even more gorgeous disruptive 3:2 format, WITH a touch screen, WITH the glass fused on the screen (unlike say the air gap ipad), with 1 tb of cloud storage, with a forward looking os (that might not be there yet, but hell, someone's got to innovate right? if a notes app passes of as innovation these days in the apple camp, the guys at google go all in with the cloud), in what looks like it's a beautiful engineering machine...
...and people here are critical of google? Seriously? After the most backward, counter innovative year in apple's history post Jobs? Where they only managed to have one os, security, software, quality control fiasco after the other whilst sacking (and rehiring in some cases) one exec after the other?
Wake up and the smell the coffee, at the same time that apple has been asleep on the wheel, going from one hardware fiasco to a software fiasco, and under delivering in most everything, and while some less than insightful people here are dissing google, google are the ones doing what apple as supposed to be doing instead: Taking risks, innovating, pushing computing even further in the future (be it cloud, touch on notebooks, aspect ratios, even higher hidpi screens), and DISRUPTING. Hell, yeah, a cloud computer with a secure forward looking os, the best retina on the market, doubling as touch screen with fused glass, in gorgeous 3:2 ratio, and priced lower than the staler than stale bread non touch, non retina air.
Yeah? And it's a far more capable processor.
Most of the griping concering the 13" rMBP was over the GPU, and the pricing. Initially, it wasn't worth the money. It gave you only a little more power than the Air for a considerably larger amount of money, but wasn't as capable as the 15" rMPB, which only cost about $100 more. No one was griping about the i5 chip.
