I know I’m being difficult, but it seems to me that for the price this thing should have cellular capability. In fact, I think it should have eSIM capability like the Pixel phones.
I really like the idea of Chromebooks running Android apps. But to do it right I think they need cellular and GPS capability. Until they do that I don’t see high end Chromebooks being a viable alternative to an iPad and I don’t seeing them giving additional capability beyond a Windows laptop to justify the price.
I guess what frustrates me is that I see high end Chromebooks as having a lot of potential as being viable alternatives to iPads and as a result they increasing the utility of Android/Google ecosystem. But they still have a long way to go to get there.
I've had my PB for 28 days (2 days left to return - don't believe I will!) and I agree with what you say but the deficits are not enough reason not to get this pure pleasure of a device provided it meets the majority of your needs, or at least of the needs for which you intend to use it. Why there is no GPS in this I have no earthly idea because it would not add significant cost nor take up valuable space. As for the eSIM, it likewise baffles me why this isn't a standard option on all notebooks and tablets costing over $750. But using phone as hotspot is a very workable alternative in absence of the LTE built in.
For me - and a sizable chunk of the market for iPads and ultrabooks - there just isn't a substitute device at its - admittedly lofty - price point that does all that the PB does and feels and looks so great doing it. It's fast, light, has an excellent keyboard, touchpad and screen and it meets my needs over 80% of the time and that number is growing as I discover Android apps and web-based solutions I never had a reason before to seek out. Some compromises, yes, but none that unseat this gem of design, craftsmanship and performance as the single device I grab for not only far more than my MBP but, increasingly, as a preferred alternative to my iPhone (yes, size matters, as does a keyboard, especially when it's a great one. It's true that a $550 Samsung Chromebook Pro will suffice for everything my PB is great at (plus, it's pen is better - Wacom EMR, for fellow enthusiasts) but the overall device quality, the vastly superior keyboard (the CBP's has some tiny keys and it's not backlit) and the extra RAM (8GB vs 4GB) and built in storage (128GB SATA SSD vs. 32 or 64 emmc for $50 more, plus the cost of a micro SD card to even out the amount of storage) all bring the value proposition to the Pixelbook - if it cost $700! How to justify the additional $300? The fact is, I can't. But two things still make it worth it for me; 1) my true cost for the PB is only around $700 - It was on sale at Amazon pre-Xmas for $800 and they were running two promotions - $62 off Neflix (even if you had a subscription running) and $40 worth of free Google Drive storage, which I was and still am getting, so that's money in the pocket); 2) even if I had to pay the full $999 it would still be "worth it" to me and I would likely still be planning on letting that 30 day mark come and go with the Pixelbook in by bag; why? Well a clue can be found in my screen name on this and many similar forums and more generally because it's a luxury I can afford and it is just such a joy to see, touch and use that it's a place I choose to allocate my [increasingly smaller] "splurge" budget. It's just such a fine piece of craftsmanship and a joy to use, kind of like my first MBA was.
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I often find the idea that it's useless without a connection to be from somebody who either used one when they came out and never again or somebody who is caught up on the name. Yes, the OS is named after a browser. Maybe it was true initially that it wasn't so useful offline, but even then it wasn't completely useless.
I wonder how much praise this hardware would be getting from the haters if it had some other OS on it, though. I'm guessing none.
That's a really good question. In fact, what amazes me is how strong a product offering this would be if it had full blown Windows and the relatively small amount of additional hardware to make it as a fully functional ultrabook. I think it would be counter-strategy for Google to make a dual booting - or dual bottable - piece of kit out of the PB but if it cost, say, $200 more I think this would be a pretty awesome and very competitive premium ultrabook for $1,400 (assuming a bump to the 256GB SSD). The haters would still hate it if it was branded Google, but if it was made by any other Windows OEM or a new entrant the design and execution would, IMO, be compelling to a sizable portion of the audience for the premium ultrabook segment. My hunch: even with Chrome OS and even with Google branding, and even at this price point, I think this may turn out to be a bigger success as a product in its own right and not just as a "halo" device Google put out to inspire OEMs to make the effort to create a "premium Chromebook" market segment. I've read that Samsung is already at work making a more premium device than its Chromebook Pro - with different branding - and I think that this could well follow the path that the Surface did: a successful halo product that spawned a whole new product segment (have you checked out the Surface "clone" product offerings lately?) but also a surprisingly high volume sales for a very pricey halo that people are paying 25% - 35% more with fewer features (have you checked out the Surface Pro and Surface Book 2 port counts and types lately?!!)
