News - Pixel, a new "Retina" touch-screen Chromebook from Google

[pfb201]

IMO it's not realistic to expect games to run decently at resolutions as high as this on a mobile device, and I see no real problem with scaling them down. The very high DPI might be useful for some stuff, but I've never heard anyone complain about the pixel density of a 1920x1080 24" monitor while gaming. And if the games aren't specifically designed to scale well up to high resolutions, you might end up with a microscopic HUD.

Also, without meaning to complain again, why does it seem people already use 'Retina' as a generic trademark for something with a relatively high DPI? It's just an Apple brand name for what they consider to be a high DPI, somewhat analogous to calling AMD (or other) graphics cards GeForces.

Cloud gaming with a device like this would definitely be possible but it all depends about the subscription for the service. These companies are coming, it will just be a while while they integrate VGX hardware into a datacenter and couple it to a Software Stack capable of mass connections.

[bobharvey]

2560 x 1700 or similar is sufficiently 21st century to make it desirable. I can feel the credit card starting to hide already.

[Hardware_Elite]

I feel a lawsuit from apple coming on.

[Zetioun]

I want one

[Zetioun]

Linus Torvald complained on google+ that no manufacturer beside apple use high resolution screens(Ratina Display) on laptops. Since Google are very fond of Linus it seems like they took his advice.

Though this laptop doesn't necessarily have to be a gaming laptop. Old chromebooks came with ChromeOS which is meant for surfing the web only. So it could be possible that it will have just strong enough specs to run the ratina display.

[CampGareth]

Aw darnit, just bought an ultrabook But yeah the price tag is gonna have to be interesting to appeal when a really good ultrabook (1080p IPS 15", 2.2GHz quad, 240GB SSD) is 800 GBP or so. Maybe 400 would sell but that's an almost impossible target to hit.

[watercooled]

Cloud gaming with a device like this would definitely be possible but it all depends about the subscription for the service. These companies are coming, it will just be a while while they integrate VGX hardware into a datacenter and couple it to a Software Stack capable of mass connections.

But then you have the not-insignificant task of streaming several Mbps video over cellular networks, which tend to have latency in the area of 100ms or worse. A few people might be remotely feasible for slow-paced games, but the radio interface of cellular networks, even LTE, isn't really designed to handle tons of concurrent high-bandwidth data streams, all at low latency.

@Hardware_Elite: You can't sue someone for using a higher resolution display, they're not actually calling it 'Retina'.

[Wozza63]

would love at least a GT610M, that would be awesome for this!

[Brewster0101]

Yep. Even going on the train,you pass through areas which have no connection at all.

I actually used a mobile broadband connection as my main connection,for a month or so. Even with me limiting my usage,ie,not watching video or streaming music that much,it was shocking how much data I used,as upload and download are included in the allowance.

Even in the South East,you will find that mobile data coverage is not brilliant.

Its just absolutely pointless as a mobile OS. The only reason I would really get a laptop would be for word processing,excel,powerpoint,image editing,controlling equipment,etc - things that you don't need to have an internet connection for. Otherwise,I would just use a Android tablet.

Chrome OS is a hipsters OS.

Chrome OS does not require a connection to the net to work, nor do most of the apps as these can be downloaded to your device to use incase you don't have access or want to connect to the net.

I like many ideas about Chrome OS. Always upto date - hassle free, much more secure than Windows. Its very light and requires alot less power to get 80% of the same stuff done a normal laptop running windows. There are a couple of things it can't do as well - real gaming , or CPU heavy stuff such as video/audio encoding , but as a simple net/office device they are brilliant.

There's a place in my heart for simple and easy.

[Spud1]

I really don't see the point of this product. With most technology I can at least see a purpose..a gap in the market, something - even if I don't like the product. Android is a good example - I don't like it but i see why it exists and why people do.

A chromebook though - to me it's a crippled netbook..ChromeOS is rather pointless on its own, but then tying that to some rather expensive hardware thats not touch screen, doesn't have tablet style battery life AND needs an internet connection to get the best out of it..again, can't see the point.

Why would you buy one of these (even the £200 ones, which are very expensive for what they are) over an Android tablet?

What can a Chromebook do that a Nexus 10 with keyboard dock (or Asus Transformer) cannot?

[scaryjim]

What can a Chromebook do that a Nexus 10 with keyboard dock (or Asus Transformer) cannot?

Nothing, but as you've already pointed out the cheapest chromebook is a lot cheaper than a Nexus 10 or Transformer

it's down to usage patterns. ChromeOS actually works really well as a basic browsing and office desktop OS. And that's the key - it's not a mobile, touch-friendly OS. It's a lightweight, secure, plug-and-play desktop OS for working primarily with cloud services. It automatically makes all your google docs/drive/etc available offline, so you can work on them without a net connection then sync changes when you connect again. And it offers all the software of the Chrome Store.

But tbh, I don't think we've yet seen the real reason for ChromeOS. I strongly suspect that we'll see a steady push towards enterprise features and tighter integration to google apps - that'd give them a good footing to push for Microsoft's traditional enterprise business, particularly in the SMB market...

[Brewster0101]

Why would you buy one of these (even the £200 ones, which are very expensive for what they are) over an Android tablet?

What can a Chromebook do that a Nexus 10 with keyboard dock (or Asus Transformer) cannot?

You cant buy either a nexus 10 or asus transformer with a keyboard for 200 pounds or even 300 pounds. So you argument is based on comparing a setup costing atleast 50% more..

Now lets look at some pros and cons of both platforms. Android does not support flash natively anymore which does cause issues online , chrome os does.
As web browsing is one key part of both platforms, chrome os works just like a desktop browsers. We all know browsing online on a tablet can be a pain sometimes.

Same argument for any work/office program. A chrome book works very well, trying to use office productivity tools on a tablet is not as easy or productive.

[Spud1]

You cant buy either a nexus 10 or asus transformer with a keyboard for 200 pounds or even 300 pounds. So you argument is based on comparing a setup costing atleast 50% more..

You can - but it won't be the latest model. TF101's do pop up for £199 with a keyboard every now and again, and you can get a Galaxy Tab 10.1 for £260 now which is not a whole lot more. Or Just buy a chinatab where you can get a 10" one for £100.

I take the point though that it's a lot cheaper than an equivalent quality tablet, so there is a sort of market there as a "premium" netbook. Still, seems like this will be a very short lived product considering how fast tablet pricing is falling!

[scaryjim]

The issue with comparing a cheap tablet to a chromebook is that it won't work as well with a keyboard and mouse, because it doesn't have the proper docking connection. Sure, you can use el-cheapo chinatab with a keyboard and mouse, but you'll have to get a proper keyboard case with stand etc, and you'll still end up hitting similar problems to the MS Surface - once you start trying to use tablets as laptops you struggle unless it's specifically designed for it.

OTOH, I think this ICS netbook is a really nice idea...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I really don't see the point of this product. With most technology I can at least see a purpose..a gap in the market, something - even if I don't like the product. Android is a good example - I don't like it but i see why it exists and why people do.

A chromebook though - to me it's a crippled netbook..ChromeOS is rather pointless on its own, but then tying that to some rather expensive hardware thats not touch screen, doesn't have tablet style battery life AND needs an internet connection to get the best out of it..again, can't see the point.

Why would you buy one of these (even the £200 ones, which are very expensive for what they are) over an Android tablet?

What can a Chromebook do that a Nexus 10 with keyboard dock (or Asus Transformer) cannot?

You can - but it won't be the latest model. TF101's do pop up for £199 with a keyboard every now and again, and you can get a Galaxy Tab 10.1 for £260 now which is not a whole lot more. Or Just buy a chinatab where you can get a 10" one for £100.

I take the point though that it's a lot cheaper than an equivalent quality tablet, so there is a sort of market there as a "premium" netbook. Still, seems like this will be a very short lived product considering how fast tablet pricing is falling!

I agree,and it seems a poor choice for the money. Its like with the original netbooks which were meant to be cheap but ended up being overpriced limited devices. The only reason Google is pushing this is as they will probably make much more money,out of someone using a Chrome OS device,than a Windows or Linux one. Thats the thing,with such an OS basically everything is passing through Google. So,they get 100% of your usage habit information including non-internet browsing activities.

On top of this with Office probably coming to Linux too,I can see this as only being a device for very casual usage at home.
However,for that demographic a tablet would be probably better.

The only time I would get a Chrome Book is to wipe the OS and put Linux on it.

Otherwise I would spend the extra £100 and get a DM1 netbook with a full Windows OS,or one of the convertible tablets.

Edit!!

No its less than that:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pavilion-DM1...0324364&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Chro...0324336&sr=1-1

That is a DM1 with Windows 8. So without the added Windows cost and a free OS,it would actually be quite close in price.

I think I would pay the extra £70 for the Windows 8 netbook with an AMD E2-1800.

[Spud1]

Thats the thing,with such an OS basically everything is passing through Google. So,they get 100% of your usage habit information including non-internet browsing activities.

Definitely - and this is sort of the point in many ways, as this is the big limiting factor. Google's marketing team don't quite seem to get just how awful Google Docs is when compared to just about any other word processing product on the market, or that not everyone wants to use Tags in lieu of folders in GMail, etc etc...I am constantly contacted by companies trying to get us to convert from MS Office to Google Apps- but its an insane proposition given the current state of play. If Google Apps actually worked reliably then these devices would have much more of a purpose

As a linux machine though I know they are a decent buy if you have the cash - the samsung ones are pretty well built by all accounts..but when you can get an Android Netbook but £109 as linked above..it's not an easy choice imo!