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Google has become the Microsoft of the mobile world. Hundreds of devices, a dozen variations of Android, viruses galore, and failed product after product.

The Google Home is a great product and a good competitor to Alexa. The Pixel is probably a really good phone too. However, you can't find it anywhere because Google and HTC can't meet the demand and scale accordingly.

Ultimately Google needs to focus on search, maps, and services.
 
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People missed the point of the Pixel. It was a halo device not meant for mass sales. Google themselves has said this time and time again. The idea was to push OEMs to realize what Chrome OS and hardware could be vs. selling cheapo $199 Chromebooks. That has obviously worked with the newer Samsung Pro/Plus units as well as HP and Dell's own higher model Chromebooks.

I just bought a Samsung Chromebook Plus and it is absolutely awesome. $450 for a metal body, QHD display, rock solid battery life and an ARM that hasn't blinked once at anything I've thrown at it during my normal usage. Android compatibility is MUCH better than tech blogs are leading on, especially the Verge. I owned a Pixel (the 2013 model) before and this Plus is very worthy successor at under 1/2 half the price.

And don't count out Google laptops so quickly...
http://phandroid.com/2017/03/02/rick-osterloh-google-chromebook-pixel/
 
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This is not shocking. Google may be a fun company to work for, but they have the attention span of a 5-year old when it comes to their devices. Instead of improving it year after year, they completely axe it and start on something new. Smh. The pixel was a solid device, it'd be nice to get a Pixel 2.
This is my biggest gripe with Google. They take great ideas and then get bored after a while. The MyTracks and Lattitude apps are perfect examples of their software division doing the same damn thing - killing off great and lightweight apps as they found something newer and shinier to play with.

I have just bought a Pixel XL and am so impressed with it, despite the ludicrous RRP. I too would like to see a v2 of that. We the consumer desperately need more not less competition in this marketplace.

Edit: Have literally just received an email from Google notifying me that they are closing down Map Maker. Case firmly rested.
 
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You don't compete with Apple in the $1000+ personal computer space. No one has for decades.
 
I guess I'm going to have to settle for really well equipped $300 - $500 Chromebooks. The horror!

The Chromebook has been stellar these last few years. More than ever, schools have been supplying Chromebooks in place of text books in classrooms for affordability and practicality. And, they have free antivirus updates and are updated regularly. They really serve their purpose, even if they are limited in certain area's.
 
The Chromebook has been stellar these last few years. More than ever, schools have been supplying Chromebooks in place of text books in classrooms for affordability and practicality. And, they have free antivirus updates and are updated regularly. They really serve their purpose, even if they are limited in certain area's.
Google also tracked students' habits and collected students' info when they explicitly said they wouldn't. Violating not only agreements that were in place but also the rights and privacy of the students and school districts.

That was pretty cool of them. :cool:
 
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Google also tracked students' habits and collected students' info when they explicitly said they wouldn't. That was pretty cool of them.

I believe the Chromebook has some settings where only the schools administrator can change the filter settings, which would prohibit searching explicit material. Smart move with the juvenile generation. Especially, if they are allowed to take the Chromebooks home with them.
 
Eh, those things were dumb anyway. Like, wow, I can buy something for the price of a Mac that has similar hardware but runs a really limited OS.
 
I am really glad I stopped using Google products. There was a time when I thought they were really innovative and that Android and Chromebooks were the future of computing, but seeing them drop support for products and services, almost on a whim, rather than trying to grow the product, really solidifies my decision to completely drop Google. Apple may take their sweet time, but you can count on their investment in their products and services.
 
Google also tracked students' habits and collected students' info when they explicitly said they wouldn't. Violating not only agreements that were in place but also the rights and privacy of the students and school districts.

That was pretty cool of them. :cool:

I See you edited your original post. I wasn't aware you were being facetious the first time and inadvertently misconstrued your original intent.

That said, I'm not devaluing your opinion or contesting your post, however, I'm not interested in the Politics side of what Google does with students Chromebooks.

I was strictly speaking on the basis of how the Chromebook has expanded into the school system, allowed diversity and ultimately replacing the iPad, which was prevalent between three and five years ago. Even colleges in my area have massive contracts with Google and the Chromebook, saving students hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year on textbooks that ultimately are not streamlined or efficient when all the material is on a Chromebook, with the option of buying the Chromebook if they so choose.

Reason being for already stated reasons, because of price point and more practicality for students in a mobile world. That was point.
 
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I See you edited your original post. I wasn't aware you were being facetious the first time and inadvertently misconstrued your original intent.
Yes, sorry. I didn't mean to edit that under you nose, but I noticed that my intended meaning hadn't been effectively communicated. A mistake on my part most likely.

That said, I'm not devaluing your opinion or contesting your post, however, I'm not interested in the Politics side of what Google does with students Chromebooks.
Understandable, but needs to be discussed by schools and parents. Far too many sacrificed privacy for discounts and not kept technology companies accountable. I know this because I both love technology and work and am an educator.

I was strictly speaking on the basis of how the Chromebook has expanded into the school system, allowed diversity and ultimately replacing the iPad, which was prevalent between three and five years ago. Even colleges in my area have massive contracts with Google and the Chromebook, saving students hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year on textbooks that ultimately are not streamlined or efficient when all the material is on a Chromebook, with the option of buying the Chromebook if they so choose.
Choice is definitely good, and I don't think there's any one technological solution. Some recent studies have indicated that primary school age students learn much better with iPads, but they (iPads) can prove to be quite ineffectual with high school or even middle school aged students.

Reason being for already stated reasons, because of price point and more practicality for students in a mobile world. That was point.
I'm all for technology in education when it makes sense both practically, pedagogically, and fiscally. These days I've seen a lot of failure in 1 or all of these areas for various reasons, and I desperately hope it improves, but schools tend to under equip and under train educators and then throw the baby out with the bath water when technology initiatives go sour.
 
The only point of the Pixel laptop was to get tech writers like at the Verge to oogle it and write stories about how Apple isn't the only one who can do premium design. Nothing more than a vanity excercise.

I don't bother with Verge anymore since they went full retard political. I figured out who their master is. Nope.
 
I'm surprised these didn't get the support of Steve Troughton Smith on Twitter complaining about how they only needed to do Y and Z to replace his macOS operating system all together...
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And yet you get all the Google fans calling them iVerge. I guess they must be doing something right.

That was years ago. No-one could reasonably call it that today.
 
My folks recently bought a £300 aluminium ChromeBook to use alongside a 2009 13 inch Macbook. I'm not sure of the manufacturer. I have to say, the build of the machine is very good, and the OS seems rather nice. Quite "Apple-like". Amazed what a modest sum of money can buy.

By contrast, I just bought a 15" £900 Dell Inspiron for to run some Windows-only software, and it is bloody awful. I quite literally hate it.

Sounds like your money would've been better spent on virtualizing Windows on your Mac.
 
However, Osterlohthe was quick to clarify that he was not referring to the notebooks' operating system, ChromeOS.

https://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8&qpcustomd=0

Market share 0.0001%.....a bold statement :)
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I am really glad I stopped using Google products. There was a time when I thought they were really innovative and that Android and Chromebooks were the future of computing, but seeing them drop support for products and services, almost on a whim, rather than trying to grow the product, really solidifies my decision to completely drop Google. Apple may take their sweet time, but you can count on their investment in their products and services.

You should never have started......
 
The Chromebook has been stellar these last few years. More than ever, schools have been supplying Chromebooks in place of text books in classrooms for affordability and practicality. And, they have free antivirus updates and are updated regularly. They really serve their purpose, even if they are limited in certain area's.

I'm mocking the fact that no one would spend $1,000 plus on a Chromebook. There's really nice Chromebooks to be found for a few hundred dollars. I have guided two people in the last year to purchase Chromebooks and they couldn't be happier.

It was a dumb decision of Google to go after the luxury market, as that's owned by Apple. They should have gone for the mid-range market and created a well-rounded product in the $400 - $600 range. This would undercut the Macbook line and give their customers a capable product. Once you establish yourself in the notebook world as a player, THEN you can go after the $1,000 market. Unfortunately, Google is run by people that go outside and juggle in the middle of their workday consistently making poor decisions for their products.
 
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It was a dumb decision of Google to go after the luxury market, as that's owned by Apple. They should have gone for the mid-range market and created a well-rounded product in the $400 - $600 range. This would undercut the Macbook line and give their customers a capable product. Once you establish yourself in the notebook world as a player, THEN you can go after the $1,000 market. Unfortunately, Google is run by people that go outside and juggle in the middle of their workday consistently making poor decisions for their products.

Again, I say that this was not the purpose of the Pixel. It was not meant for the mass market nor has it ever been. It was a developer device and a halo device to show OEMs what Chrome OS was capable of. It obviously wasn't a dumb decision because Samsung, Dell and HP all have mid-high end Chromebooks now.

Also, if you do believe the rumors, Google IS coming out with some sort of computing device priced at ~$700. There's your mass market device.
 
Again, I say that this was not the purpose of the Pixel. It was not meant for the mass market nor has it ever been. It was a developer device and a halo device to show OEMs what Chrome OS was capable of. It obviously wasn't a dumb decision because Samsung, Dell and HP all have mid-high end Chromebooks now.

Also, if you do believe the rumors, Google IS coming out with some sort of computing device priced at ~$700. There's your mass market device.

Also, which no one wants. :D
 
Silly Google - Don't you know the way to do it is to release something with lots of hype and them sell it unchanged for 2,3 or even 4 years at the same price?

- your pal Apple
 
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