After a long wait, yesterday I finally received my Chromebook Pixel. I purchased it through Mobicity and then had to wait for Google Play in the UK to supply the device. As the Pixel is brand new, there are bound to be some shipping hiccups in the first few weeks and hopefully those should now be resolved.
So, first thoughts :
The Pixel comes in a very attractive package, plain white box with a magnetized flap keeping it closed and Google emblazoned on the top.
The anodized aluminum body is great, the weight of the Pixel makes it feel very solid. The build quality is second to none, I’d put this up against a MacBook in terms of quality without a second thought and most Mac fans would be hard pressed to fault it. The hinge is smooth and opens and closes easily but closes completely and doesn’t sit slightly open.
I love the clean look of the whole thing, no stickers or advertising marring the beautiful body, except for some FCC device information and a couple of Chrome logos, one on the hinge and the other just above the keyboard, but that’s it. The light on the top is cool, Konami Code!
The screen is AMAZING. There is nothing else to compare to this, except a retina display Macbook. I have yet to see something that could compare to the screen quality. Touch response is brilliant and doesn’t require repeat touches.
The speed is fast, very fast, the i5 CPU and 4GB RAM make this thing very comfortable to use. I was about at the end of my tether with the CR48 but this is so smooth and quick that there is no lag or waiting for the Chromebook to respond while loading web pages or applications, the only limiting factor is the speed of my wireless.
Sound is brilliant, the speakers are loud and clear. Just plain good quality sound. Volume levels seem infinite, I haven’t been able to get it up to full volume as yet as the Boy is asleep but even at the highest levels I dared to maintain there was zero distortion, I’ll be trying out some FLAC on this at a later stage.
The touchpad is an eye opener, I’ve been using the CR48 which has what I must describe as sub-par touchpad for a while and struggling to the point where I generally used it exclusively on a flat surface with a mouse, but with the Chromebook Pixel I feel I can easily navigate my way around without a second thought.
Software wise, it did a software update before it even let me login but it’s definitely good to go once this is complete. Upon logging in it picked synced my Chrome browser data and all my bookmarks and passwords were available as normally expected with a ChromeOS device.
Now, all that said there is one thing I noticed straight off the bat, I would prefer a blank for the SD Card Slot but that’s a personal opinion. The screen is also a worry, It’s going to get dirty being a touch screen so I’ll be needing a screen cleaner very quickly, something in a lint free cloth.
I will be doing a complete review on the Chromebook Pixel, if you have any questions please feel free to ask and i`ll try to answer.
If only Chrome OS supported SSL VPN for my work, then I’d buy one for sure. Do the common Aussie 3G dongles work with Chrome?
I may have to get one to find out, but generally they require some sort of installation to work. I’ll get one to try it out but I just use the Telstra Elite Mobile Wi-Fi dongle currently.