Google’s developer conference is home to more than just developers, of course: press, analysts, students, and Google lovers from all angles are invited, but this year the company had a more focused approach in mind. While the conference retained its three-day allotment of breakout sessions and fireside chats with Google’s own for developers of all types, the company’s initial keynote was limited to one day instead of two.

This single keynote was also toned down – significantly – especially compared to last year’s explosion of content: new devices, a new version of Android, and a skydive drop live with what was then called Project Glass. Larry Page stepped on stage to make an address to the developers and the public, taking part in an extended question-and-answer session as well, showing some extreme boldness answering whatever random queries attendees might have.

Because of these elements in the keynote – the most public and direct bit of the convention from Google, to be sure, the entire set of events was given what we suggested to Hugo Barra had given it all a more “human” vibe to I/O. This, he said was “exactly what we were aiming for.”

Google’s top guns stepped into the fray as well, with Googlers like Barra and Sergey Brin appearing for drinks and a chat with the press late on Day 1. There it was abundantly clear that this event was not simply made for developer training, but for person-to-person connectivity: another pillar the event was originally built on.

Our own Chris Davies lent some insight on this subject, his column “Google I/O and the year of the Context Ecosystem” speaking volumes about Google’s aim here in 2013.

“All of Google’s services are gradually interweaving. Google I/O 2013 is an ecosystem play, and it’s one of the biggest – and arguably ambitious – we’ve ever seen. It’ll drag Google+ with it along the way, and it might even kickstart the “internet of things” when we start to see some legitimate advantages of having every device a web-connected node.

Google didn’t give us a new phone for our pocket or a new tablet for our coffee table; instead, it gave us so much more.” – Chris Davies

What did you think of Google I/O 2013 from a consumer perspective? If you don’t consider yourself a consumer in this case – how did you take it all from whatever position you’re in?

A lot of people were disappointed by the absence of hardware. Google’s largely a software and services company, of course, but we’re still trained to expect shiny new gadgets first and foremost. What I/O proved to be was a reminder that the industry has moved on, and that it’s high time we recognized that.

“Specs are dead” is an opinion growing in prevalence among those following the cutting-edge of phones and tablets. There’s a limit to the usable resolution of a smartphone display, for instance – once your eyes can’t make out individual pixels, do you really need to step up to Ultra HD? – and to the speed of a tablet processor. The areas that still need real advancement, like high-performance batteries, are evolving too slowly to make a difference with each new generation.

Hardware used to make a big difference to the usability of a device. Now, it’s just a question of badge-loyalty and aesthetics. What really makes the difference is the range of applications and services that are on offer; not solely the raw count of available apps that gets trotted out at every big press event, but whether the specific titles the user needs are on offer to them.

Software is at a tipping point, too, though. Android used to be clunky and ugly; now it looks great, and the gap between the instant usability of it, iOS, and Windows Phone is arguably nonexistent. The software race has moved on, away from silo’d applications and slick UIs to where our phones – and the companies that make them – are finally considering context alongside capability.

Context is a tricky thing to explain, certainly compared to the instant crowd-pleaser of a big OLED screen or a blisteringly-fast, multicore processor. Put simply, it’s a more intelligent way of your phone or tablet integrating itself into your life, whether that be more time-appropriate notifications, an awareness of the people around you, or of the other devices you might use. It’s about predicting rather than just reacting.

Google’s arguably doing the best at that of all the platform companies, and I/O was its opportunity to demonstrate that. Google Now is the most obvious expression of a system that offers up suggestions instead of waiting for you to go hunting for answers, but through the I/O keynote we saw signs of the disparate strands of Google’s products coming together in intelligent, time-saving ways.

Google Maps, for instance, won’t just autocomplete your recently-used addresses, but learn from your preferences in restaurants and other venues and make suggestions it thinks you’ll enjoy. Google Play Music All Access has a ridiculous name, but its ability to build dynamic playlists based on your favorite tracks will help cut down on one of the most common complaints about cloud-jukebox services: that they overwhelm with choice, and subscribers simply end up listing to the same playlists over and over again.

The new Highlights feature in Google+ is another example of the cloud being clever, not just capacious. As many have discovered, thousands of photos quickly become unwieldy when it comes to sifting through them for the best shots, no matter whether you’re storing them locally or from somewhere in the cloud.

Google’s ability to pick out the cream (and give them a little auto-enhancing along the way, just to make sure you’re looking tip-top) could mean you actually end up looking at them more, rather than feeling guilty because you’re not manually sorting them.

Google+ remains the big social network people love to slam, but it’s also the glue that looks set to hold all of these personalized services together. Just as Google hinted back in 2012, when it controversially changed its privacy policy to explicitly allow services to share information on the same registered user between themselves, the key here is the flow of data. That might not actually require people to actively embrace Google+ – indeed, they may well not even know they’re using it – but it will cement its relevance in a way that Facebook can’t compete with.

Make no mistake, context is the next big battleground in mobile. As our smartphones have become more capable, they’ve also become more voracious in their appetites for our time and attention. A prettier notifications drop-down is no longer a legitimate solution to information overload: pulling every possible alert into one place doesn’t make it any easier to cope with the scale of the data our phones and tablets can offer us.

The device which understands us better, and which handles our information in a way that’s bespoke, not one huge gush, will control the market. Google knows that; it also knows that hardware is basically just a way of getting a screen in front of users’ eyes, whether that be on a Chromebook like the Pixel, a phone or tablet from the Nexus series, or suspended in the corner of your eye like Glass.

In the same way, speech control – which also demonstrated marked improvements at I/O – is just another way to make sure people can engage with your products, on top of what touching, tapping, and clicking they’ve already been doing. More flexibility means more usage; more usage means more data to collate and customers that are further wedded to Google rather than any other company.

All of Google’s services are gradually interweaving. Google I/O 2013 is an ecosystem play, and it’s one of the biggest – and arguably ambitious – we’ve ever seen. It’ll drag Google+ with it along the way, and it might even kickstart the “internet of things” when we start to see some legitimate advantages of having every device a web-connected node. Google didn’t give us a new phone for our pocket or a new tablet for our coffee table; instead, it gave us so much more.

With this new version of Google Maps on the web, users will be able to tap on lit-up locations across the map. This system allows you to search for a restaurant in your area, find that place, and where the experience would end with that in the past, you’ll just have started. Users have cards to the left, similar to Google Now with cards that bring information on the location’s address, hours, webpage, phone number, and reviews through Zagat.

This system also gives the one-button click ability to access directions from the location you’re sitting in (or wherever you’d like to start from) as well as save the location as a favorite. This system also works with five-star ratings for locations be they a place of business, a public park, or anything in-between.

Below the map you’ll find a collection of images that come from users who have contributed photos and photo spheres from their cameras or android smartphones and tablets. These results appear courtesy of Google+ where users have recently also been given the ability to post photo spheres and embed them in webpages across the web.

Multiple modes of transport will be available to users as they’d be available in Navigation, public transport, flights, automobiles, and biking included. This system also learns with the user the same way Google Now does, changing and adjusting based on past searches and your Google Now preferences.

We’ll be working with this new Google Maps system through the immediate future and answering any and all questions you, the reader, have between now and the final roll-out for the public. This system is one you can access with an invite request starting today, and users will be seeing upgrades with invites in the near future.

NOTE: We’ll be continuing our journey with Google Earth integration soon. It’s here that Google will be pushing the boundaries between the 3D and the 2D visions they’ve had separate until now: Google Maps and Google Earth will soon become one!

Android OS Updates

As it was last year, so it was expected to be again here in 2013. Google didn’t make an update to Android itself in any grand way, instead issuing updates to services like Google Play for developers on its back end, and updates to Apps for Android, Chrome, and even iOS. While Android 4.3 may still be on the horizon, (coming up quick, you can bet), it’s not been mentioned here on the first day of I/O.

This speaks volumes about Google’s approach with the conference, letting the world know that they’re not about to be pigeon-holed as a company that relies on updates to its operating systems and devices as major announcement fodder while they’ve got perfectly good app releases and service updates to shout about. As Apple’s new operating system update is rumored to be right around the corner, it’s possible that Android is simply fulfilling the suggestions made by Larry Page at the end this one-off keynote:

“Every story I read about Google is about us vs some other company, or something else, and I really don’t find that interesting. We should be building great things that don’t exist. Being negative is not how we make progress.” – Larry Page

Smartphones and Tablets for Developers

In 2012, Google gave away a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone, a Google Nexus 7 tablet, and a Chromebox. The year before, they gave away a mobile hotspot from Verizon as well as a Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet – and a voucher for one of the first model Chromebooks too. This year developers are being given a Chromebook Pixel, the highest-end device on the market running this operating system. Google was expected to give away an LG-made Nexus 4, a Nexus 10 tablet, and other goodies, but they’ve sent one, single, crystal clear message instead.

Google’s message is that the most important services they’ve got to offer are on Android devices so abundant in the market that they’re inevitably already in developers’ hands OR are on Chrome OS. With the finest delivery vehicle for this operating system in the world thus far, Google is encouraging developers – pushing them, basically – to get Chrome on their radar, and to keep it there.

Google Glass Development

There’ve been no shortages of appearances by Google Glass this week at the Moscone Center, each of these happening with devices made available to developers at Google I/O 2012, shipped in the weeks coming up to this 2013 edition of the event user by user. Though there is a massive showing for Glass on one of two levels of developer-aimed presentations here at I/O 2013, there was no mention of development for Glass in the keynote.

Glass was mentioned by Larry Page in his question and answer session at the end of the keynote, but it certainly wasn’t in any way that was planned beforehand. Glass is not, it seems, at a place where it makes sense for Google to make a big deal of it to developers the same way new services announcements are being pushed. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to continue to update the public on Glass at this moment either since final market-ready units are still a far way off.

Results

The re-adjustment of the aim of this developer conference is clear. It’s here that Google re-humanizes the way they approach public relations, at least through the developers that make this ecosystem so healthy. While in years past it may have seemed that Google was aiming over the heads of developers, exciting the public with massive consumer-based keynotes to encourage these creators of software and services by default, Google is returning to a more solid spot here in 2013.

What do you think? Did you expect to see anything that didn’t end up appearing in the first and only keynote session of the week? It’s without a doubt a turning point – however subtle – for the company, and it’s exciting – among other things – to see the company’s ability to keep their aims diverse.

Google Search expands with several different elements this week, including Knowledge Graph working with statistics, anticipation of comparisons to other elements available in the system, and more. Knowledge Graph works with interesting events and locations in cities, is able to find photos from specific locations, and is able to tie these items together both in mobile mode and on a desktop through a Chrome web browser.

If a user has Google open and asks for information about a location, they’ll get that information along with related bits and pieces – photos, restaurants, etcetera. With Google’s newest update, the user is also able to say something as simple as “how far is it?” Google understands what you’ve been talking about and gives you a map.

This is all part of a system that follows three mainstays:

• Answer
• Converse
• Anticipate

As Google Search hears you, it understands and responds in kind, and also anticipates what you might want to know next. This system also works with Google Now on Android to give you information on your flights, your favorite sports teams, weather information, and the like. This system is bringing many Google Glass commands to Google Now as well.

A user will be able to make the following commands: “Ok Google, send an email to my friend George, I’ll be late today and we’ll have to meet up at 4 PM.” This message is understood by Google and a card appears which the user will then be able to tap to send – or – “OK send” will work as well.

This system will be available to Google Search beta experience users today and will be rolling out to users across the spectrum in users in the near future – stay tuned to our Google I/O tag portal all week long as the announcements and information continue to flow.

The initial Google I/O 2013 keynote was split essentially down the middle for Chrome and Android news, with an announcement of a Samsung GALAXY S 4 coming with a Nexus-style build of Android coming aside this Chromebook’s re-introduction. The Pixel has not had a hardware update since its inception – this system will be the same as it was when it was first introduced.

This system was introduced alongside a program called Google Play for Education. This system allows classrooms to gain access to a series of apps that are curated by Google for use by an education-centric group. This system is child friendly and works for both Android and inside web browsers, and will be rolling out soon.

It was made clear that the Chromebook Pixel will be a major part of Google’s initiatives with Chrome, especially here now with the web browser and the operating system crossing-over more than ever. Google made it clear that the web browser would be getting the same abilities regardless of its mobile or desktop iteration, and the Chromebook Pixel will bring that to developers this week at Google I/O 2013.

The company demoed a web app running on a Chromebook Pixel, which is an interactive app for the upcoming movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The app shows an overhead view of the world, which is pinchable, so you can zoom in and out to explore the various areas on the map. Google eventually showed off the same web app on a Nexus 10 running the Chrome mobile browser.

The web app shows an all-3D environment, but unfortunately, it ran a little poorly during the on-stage demo, with really low framerates and a lot of stutters. We’re not sure if the Chromebook Pixel can’t keep up or if the internet isn’t doing its job. The web app is based on webGL, and since it’s a web app, you can access it through mobile and have the same experience on both desktop and mobile devices.

It’s certainly an interesting concept, and it seems Google is adamant about decreasing the separation between the desktop experience and the mobile experience, making both as equal as possible. Browsing the web on a tablet isn’t the same as browsing the web on a desktop or laptop, but Google is looking to change that with Chrome, and they’re planning to come out with some relevant features for Chrome later this year.

Furthermore, Google announced some improvements to the Chrome mobile web browser that will bring it up to par with the desktop version, including a new Checkout button that makes shopping easier on mobile devices. It’s essentially a one-click process that saves you time from having to enter in multiple fields by typing on the small keyboard. It’s essentially Google’s first step to creating a simpler web browser. Stay tuned for more Google I/O news coming up!

The Moscone Center once again plays host to Google I/O with an experience on the first of three floors that’s quite similar to 2012. This year attendees are given their official badges and T-shirts in a center console where Google employees are charged with scanning QR-codes and making sure everyone is who they say they are.

A massive Google I/O sign rests against the main wall of the center with a color-changing I and O, cycling through blues and pinks in a comforting haze. We’re wondering where these massive 3D letters go once the week is over – perhaps a special giveaway on a letter-by-letter basis?

The ground level also holds a pop-up Google Store where attendees can purchase various Google-branded oddities. Bags, clothing, cases, and toys are in effect. This store encourages – as it did in 2012 – users to utilize their Google Wallet to purchase the goods.

On the second floor (or first floor, if you’re German), you’ll find a massive Google+ presence where users are encouraged to sign-in with the social network. A deck with Office Hours is set up for developers to learn how they might integrate Google+ into their own software. This area has a series of live hang-out portals which we’re sure will be popping up this week.

This level is dedicated to several Google services and Google partners, each of them set up to present to any developer – or press member, or anyone else in attendance – that wishes to learn more.

BONUS FIND: here you’ll see an unopened box of special-edition Android collectable figures from Dead Zebra. We promise we didn’t peek!

Google Glass has its own section on level 2, users able to have a peek at the current iteration of the device as well as participate in talks on the future of the device. We’re expecting more information on the future of the headset in the main keynote address in the morning as well as in more than one chat later in the week.

You’ll find Glass being set aside in a massive section all its own on this level, mind you, while items like Google Maps are part of a series of towers up the center of the room. The amount of space Glass gets here says a lot about how important the device is to the company.

Up on the top level of the center, Google has made a massive show of both Android and Chrome. To one side, attendees are greeted by flying Androids and their floor-bound kin in a display not unlike what we saw at Mobile World Congress 2012 and 2011. It seems that this location has become the heart of the Android press event presentation – and perhaps rightfully so.

Turn around 360 degrees and you’ll find a fabulous display – not yet turned on, as it were – of Chrome. One setup shows the highest-end Chrome OS hardware to date in an array that’ll certainly be a sight to behold once it’s turned on.

Three large semi-transparent displays show Chrome in an impressive display that’ll certainly play host to some shows of power for both the web browser and the operating system.

Androids large and small – but mostly large – litter the top level in both complete and nearly complete states. A massive pair of black-framed glasses remain wet with paint less than a day before the main event is set to begin. An eye-bursting array of pink and blue squares blasts in a checkerboard grid above the fray. It’s here that the fun will begin soon – and very soon.

Have a peek at SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal for more information on this array of Google action taking place Wednesday the 15th of May, 2013, till Friday. If you’re pumped up about any specific session or event, send us a note – we’d be glad to have a peek at it and report back to you, our valued readers!

Pay close attention starting tomorrow morning at 8AM PST in-particular – the big keynote event will be covered piece-by-piece right here on SlashGear!

BONUS: We’re on-site with and through Glass as well. Have a peek at a couple videos filmed by Vincent Nguyen with Google’s headset here and let us know what you think of the method and the quality.

Above you’ll find a general layout look at the first level of Google I/O 2013 and below you’ll hear a bit of information from the BBC’s own Rory Cellan-Jones. He’ll let you know exactly what he thinks about the gadget world and how important Glass is to it – stay tuned – #throughglass!

Although chatter of Android and Chrome being brought closer together has been circulating for some time now, rumors of a merge were accelerated when Rubin made his surprise announcement that he was seeking other challenges within Google. Given Pichai’s existing role as the head of the Chrome browser and the Chrome OS platform, it seemingly telegraphed Google’s intentions loud and clear when he was named Rubin’s replacement.

Google had already been clear that Android and Chrome will stay separate for the meantime, with chairman Eric Schmidt insisting that no current plans had been drawn up for a merge. That’s a point of view Pichai shares, saying that even as the new head of Android, he doesn’t feel the urge to instantly enmesh his fiefdoms.

“I don’t think my views have changed much,” Pichai argues, suggesting that each has its own strengths and its own success in the market. “Android and Chrome are both large, open platforms, growing very fast. I think that they will play a strong role, not merely exist.”

Nonetheless, just as Matias Duarte told us back at Mobile World Congress, there are undeniably areas of overlap between the platforms. Different screens may have different priorities and demand different compromises and form-factors, but there will be places where Google can streamline to the benefit of users, developers, and device manufacturers, Pichai suggests:

“At Google we ask how to bring together something seamless and beautiful and intuitive across all these screens. The picture may look different a year or two from from now, but in the short term, we have Android and we have Chrome, and we are not changing course … We want to do the right things at each stage, for users and developers. We are trying to find commonalities. On the browser layer, we share a lot of stuff. We will increasingly do more things like that. And maybe there’s a more synergistic answer down the line” Sundar Pichai, senior VP, Google

That evolved attitude toward a more holistic software ecosystem – blending where appropriate; keeping separate where not – will be showcased at Google I/O this week, Pichai hints. “It’s going to be different. It’s not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system” he explains. “Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things.”

Hardware or software or both, SlashGear will be bringing back all the news from Google I/O, which kicks off on Wednesday, May 15 and runs to the end of the week.

IMAGE: Reuters

Google lists a variety of situations in which it says the Chromebook in combination with the new feature will be beneficial, including for placing orders within a retail store, searching an inventory or catalog, updating inventory, updating business information within a company, and more. Like other kiosk setups, Chrome OS can be configured to display custom items, such as certain Web pages, as well as blocking other items, such as non-relevant websites and applications.

Device functionality with the Chromebook can also be controlled, and limits can be put on how much time a user can spend on the kiosk. Likewise, when the user is logged out or manually logs out, the information from the session is wiped, helping to keep things tidy and secure. All are fairly standard among kiosk software, and gives users another option on top of what has largely been relegated to iOS and Android-based setups.

Google says it has tested the new feature out in public settings to gather feedback and see how it holds up, with locations including Dillards, the Hyatt San Francisco, and the Multnomah County Library. Dillards used the system as a shared hub for employees to access its internal system, while the Multnomah library is using the setup to provide its patrons with time-limited access to the machines. The Hyatt used it the Chromebooks in its break rooms.

[via Google Enterprise]

Microsoft brings up the smartphone patent wars in its announcement, saying that such a reality could be sidestepped if companies recognized and fairly sought another’s creation. It boasts having patent licensing agreements with almost all major Android smartphone vendors, and says that 80-percent of handsets running the mobile OS are covered by such agreements.

For its part, Microsoft says it has shelled out in excess of $4 billion in the last ten years in acquiring intellectual property rights for its products, something it calls part of a balanced approach that has lead to its success with entering into license partnerships with many vendors. The company wraps up by mentioning that a few global businesses are still holding out from getting a license.

Says Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s VP and Deputy General Cousel of Legal and Corporate Affairs: “The ZTE and Foxconn agreements show once more that technology companies around the world, including some of the world’s largest and fastest growing manufacturers anchored in China, recognize licensing is an effective way to share technology and build on each other’s work…”

[via TechNet]

As pointed out by Chromium software engineer Adam Barth, Chromium utilizes a multi-process architecture that differs from that of other WebKit browsers, with the multi-architecture support leading to a slurry of ever-increasing complexity that serves as a sort of ball-and-chain on the ankle of innovation. Blink, which will be open source, aims to solve this issue and provide, by proxy, a boost in innovation.

Aside from that, optimistic attitudes tout the upcoming rendering engine as a possible boost to the “open web ecosystem” as a whole, although it is acknowledged that introducing a new rendering system has the potential to significantly impact the Internet, and developers could eventually have more work on the coding end of things.

According to Barth, the initial work will concentrate on getting rid of digital clutter, including the removal of about 7,000 files and 7 build systems, which will total in excess of 4.5 million lines of code. This will result in vast internal architectural improvements, but won’t bring much change to web developers. Guidelines have already been posted regarding interoperability, standards, and other such related items.

[via Chromium]

The LTE version costs $1,449, which is $150 more than the entry level variant at $1,299. Then again, it comes with twice the storage capacity, but that still only makes it a device with 64GB of storage. Then again, we could see some users upgrading to the 64GB model for the storage alone, with LTE being a nice perk that comes with the package.

Obviously, though, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee through Verizon if you want to use more than 100MB per month. According to GigaOM, $9.99 will get you an unlimited day pass. $20 per month will land you 1GB of data, $35 for 3GB, and $50 for 5GB. The free 100MB-per-month deal only lasts two years, so all LTE Pixel users will end up paying a monthly fee sooner or later.

Verizon customers can also add their new Chromebook Pixel to their existing Share Everything plan for only $10 per month. This allows Verizon customers to not have to pay more for data than what they’re already paying for. If you’re not familiar with the Pixel, it’s Google’s newest product and it sports a super high resolution 2560×1700 display, as well as an Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.8GHz processor and 4GB of RAM.

[via GigaOM]

We knew it was a long shot anyway, but with the sudden departure of Rubin and Chrome OS head Sundar Pichai stepping in, our curiosity jumped to staggering levels. However, Schmidt says that Android and Chrome OS will remain separate for a long time, and there are no current plans to converge the two platforms.

We first noticed hints of a possible Android/Chrome OS hybrid when Google unveiled a chrome-laden Android statue on its Mountain View campus back in January. This fired up speculation as to whether or not Google was working to blend the two platforms together, creating an all-new platform from the two.

However, even with Pichai now heading up Android and Chrome OS at once, the two operating systems will remain independent, which isn’t too surprising, as Google’s Matias Duarte even said that the two platforms both have a future ahead of them as independent projects, so while we may not see the two converge, we can look forward to even more evolution from Android and Chrome OS.

[via Reuters]

That rumor has been circulating for some time, and while Google has never said never, it’s also been cautious to level expectations as to when it could happen. Speaking to us at Mobile World Congress last month, Android design chief Matias Duarte warned that, though it could happen, we shouldn’t expect it soon.

What, exactly, Andy Rubin will do now is unclear. The exec joined Google in 2005 as senior vice president, bringing with him the work on the open-source Android operating system that he co-founded in 2003. Before that, Rubin co-founded Danger, the company responsible for the proto-smartphone Sidekick.

“Sundar has a talent for creating products that are technically excellent yet easy to use” Page writes, “and he loves a big bet.” The executive “will do a tremendous job doubling down on Android as we work to push the ecosystem forward” Page predicts.

With Google I/O 2013 fast approaching, the stage is being set for a significant shake-up in Android as well as Google’s product range as a whole. We’ll be there to bring you back all the news as it’s announced!

The C710-2055 comes with an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.1GHz with 4GB of RAM. There’s also a larger 320GB hard drive for storing various files, along with cloud storage that Chromebooks are known for. Acer claims that this new model will last six hours on a single charge, compared to four hours with the previous model.

Acer says that while the C7 is particularly aimed for educational uses, this new Chromebook is still a good choice for anyone needing a low-powered computer for everyday use. As for looks, the new model doesn’t seem to be all that much different from the C7 we reviewed late last year, but that’s not particularly surprising, since it’s mostly just a hardware bump anyway.

The new C710-2055 is priced at $279, which is a little steep compared to the $199 of the original C7, but you’ll also get better and faster internals if you need them, along with more storage space. The new model comes with a 11.6-inch display, and the whole unit weighs just over three pounds. The Chromebook is available now in the US at various retailers.

Google’s Chromebooks have all been budget devices that match perfectly with their web-focused streamlined user interface, but this is different. The Pixel is in a category all by its lonesome self, and shows Google knows how to make some serious hardware that could truly contend with the competition. Well, the hardware can at least.

Hardware & Design

The design and elegance of the Pixel truly is a winner. It won us over the minute we laid our eyes, and hands on it. The same way we felt when Apple went to the unibody design for the Macbook Pro is how this device makes us feel – and it should. If you’re going to go from offering $249 laptops to a full out $1,299 Chromebook it better WOW. This certainly did exactly that. We’ve long been using the MBP for a benchmark to compare laptops in terms of quality, and the Chromebook certainly lives up to that benchmark.

The Pixel just completely screams “premium” when you touch and use it. The pictures and video truly don’t do this machined aluminum and anodized unibody device justice. With a dark gunmetal finish (although a bit fingerprint happy) you’ll instantly notice the amount of precision and time that went into making the Pixel. The design isn’t radical and instead everything is squared off, tapered when needed, and just smooth and simple – but in a good way. There’s absolutely no flex or creaks to the body, the display is as durable as can be, and all the squared edges have a nice rounding off to keep it comfy. Oh and did we mention the keyboard is a joy to use. The keys are a bit stiff, but Google’s certainly got the keyboard right – even if we’d like some options for the backlight.

It just feels right. The Pixel is elegant and beautiful yet dead simple in design. Add in the fact that this gorgeous piece of technology is as durable as it is, yet only weighs 3.3 lbs. You’ll be happy to know it’s comfortable to carry around too. The only part that isn’t squared off is that round piano hinge on back, which also adds comfort while carrying the device in hand running around campus – or walking into that Starbucks nearby. It’s slightly thinner and lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but still loses to the Air. Now lets talk about the real hardware that’s important. That being the astonishing display and the goods under the hood.

The Pixel features a 12.85-inch ‘Pixel’ display with a 2560 x 1700 resolution at 239 PPI and 4.3 million pixels – and it absolutely looks amazing. Sporting a Gorilla Glass 2 protected multi-touch panel it offers excellent viewing angles. Under the hood you’ll be working with a 1.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 32GB SSD for storage. That isn’t all either. With your purchase users get 1TB of free Google Drive cloud storage. Basically Google wants us putting anything and everything on the cloud. Then you’ll get two USB 2.0 ports and sadly no 3.0, Displayport, and 3.5mm for headphones all on the left edge, then a full SD slot on the right side for when you need more than the integrated 32GB of storage. The right also houses the Verizon 4G LTE sim slot for those opting for the 64GB 4G LTE model priced at $1,449.

Then we have that awesome notification light on back which has all sorts of glowing colors. It’s blue during use, white while on standby, and will let the people behind you know the battery is low by glowing red. Sadly you won’t see it, but the OS will let you know so don’t worry. Then on open and close you’ll get a neat little rainbow of Google colors. It’s a neat little extra polish, and we like that Google’s keeping things fun. Sadly we don’t like the large and cumbersome charger that came included, however it also features a ring LED with green, yellow, and red for when you’re charging.

We’ll talk more about the display and the actual performance below, this was just a quickie rundown on the hardware. One last time we’d like to mention how gorgeous the Pixel display is. It’s sooo crisp, can’t all things be this way? Google’s certainly reached that higher level of hardware and design, that’s for sure. The question is whether or not the rest can complete the picture.

Display

If you’re going to call it the ‘Pixel’ and give it a multitouch touchscreen it better be amazing. Don’t worry though guys, the display is the best thing this laptop has going for it, and surely won’t disappoint. Again, front and center is a 12.85-inch 2560×1700 ‘Pixel’ HD IPS LCD display. The pixel density comes in at 239 ppi which is slightly higher than the MacBook Pro Retina 13-inch for being slightly smaller, and a few extra pixels. While comparing the two, the Pixel had a slight yellow hue compared to the MBP Retina, but that would be the only negative – if one at all – that we can hold against it. Everything else is just stellar. The screen obviously is amazingly crisp, colors are bright, vivid, and pop, and the brightness was excellent. You truly have to see it to enjoy it.

Before the touchscreen hands-on video below we did want to mention a few things about the display. Sadly the Chrome OS is pretty plain and that amazing HD resolution is wasted by lots of blank white space inside the OS. Being a simple web-based OS there’s really nothing to fill it up. Of course that’s why you go to SlashGear and enjoy a good read. The second thing being screen glare. Uhh, it’s awful. Apple did an excellent job with reducing glare almost making that a feature in itself on the Retina. Sadly Google didn’t do the same. It handles fingerprints amazingly well since you’ll be touching the screen, but the glare is something we couldn’t look past.

Screen glare aside, the display is still the star of the show here and will certainly stand out to anyone that uses this device. While we wish the Chrome OS had more use for a touchscreen display, here’s a quick look at what you’ll be working with on the Chromebook Pixel.

As you can see our smartphone and tablet-aimed minds will feel right at home with the Pixel. Flipping through webpages was fun, easy, and smooth. Then of course using pinch-to-zoom in Maps and such works as you’d expect. Sadly there wasn’t too many other moments where this is extremely needed – at least not on the Chrome OS – but all the apps and games surely will benefit from the option. For now the OS doesn’t fully need a touchscreen, or at least we don’t think so, but hopefully that will change in the future.

Overall we don’t want to keep beating the horse here, but the screen is truly top notch. We absolutely love it! Viewing angles are great being an IPS display but get too high or to the side and they quickly wash out with yellow and pink, but for day to day use we had absolutely zero issues. Compared to anything else available nothing compares expect the MacBook Retina’s – which have already been readily available for some time.

Keyboard & Trackpad

Google certainly put the Pixel in a class of its own here too, on multiple levels. The chiclet or island style keyboard is present, and even features backlit keys. Adjusting the lighting could be easier instead of a keyboard combo, and randomly my backlight was off for about 2 hours – that aside the backlit keys are excellent. Make no mistake about it, the keyboard closely matches that of Apple’s. They sit in a slightly recessed area but float up and are easy to hit, comfortable, and as we mentioned above just gives users a stellar typing experience. The keys have a perfect blend of spacing, and the same perfection is there for the pressure and resistance while typing. However, the top row of quick-keys were slightly more resistant than the rest, for whatever reason.

The only complaint about the keyboard would have to be the slightly tougher and not spaced top row of keys. On the other hand everything we enjoy about the keyboard and display is mirrored with the Trackpad. Made of etched glass the trackpad works as expected. It’s smooth, accurate, and comfortable although many HP’s still just feels better in my opinion. It has a nice black matte finish that slightly makes it not as smooth to the touch, but don’t worry you’ll be using that glass touchscreen more than you think.

The last thing worth mentioning regarding the keyboard has to do with sound, in two different ways. One being the Chromebook Pixel has a few noise cancellation microphones to cut down on the keyboard typing sound if you’re using a mic or enjoying a Google+ hangout, but this could be improved. Secondly, the built-in stereo speakers are calmly integrated under the keyboard. There’s no speaker grills to make the device unnecessarily long, and the sound isn’t hindered by that either. I was actually extremely impressed with the Pixels overall volume levels. Obviously you’ll still get that laptop tin-can airy sound, but the sound quality and volume levels are some of the best we’ve used.

Software & OS

Hmmm. Google Chrome OS. It certainly is a far more usable and enjoyable OS than it was a few years ago introduced with the CR48, but it’s still far from being perfect – or capable for that matter. As we said above the Chrome OS is something we have a love-hate relationship with, and beautiful hardware can’t change that. We’re not going to get into a huge Chrome OS review here, since we all already know what to expect there. Amazing fast boot up and shut down times, worry free browsing, and essentially everything in the cloud. Is this window into the cloud worth $1,299 though. That’s a tough sell.

Again we’re not going to get into the OS as a whole, but rather mention some things regarding it and the Pixel specifically. For one, the awesome touchscreen is great but not all that useful. You’d think Google would introduce more touch sensitive – or even supported – features and options to the OS to take advantage of this. They have not. Surely some are coming soon, but at the moment that feature will only be slightly useful for the web and a few web apps from the Chrome store. Secondly, the trackpad. Google offers a top-notch trackpad yet we have no gesture support in the Chrome OS. Two finger swipes to go back in the browser, quick minimize, pinch-to-zoom, or anything of this sort is all absent. You can’t even pinch-to-zoom in the image viewer in Chrome OS to use the awesome trackpad. Why Google, Why?

However, in Google Maps a two finger swipe will zoom in and out, but pinching does nothing. Pinch-to-zoom works on Maps with the touchscreen, but not the trackpad. An epic failure when it comes to the possibilities here. Again, they’re probably coming in the future but we need them now if we’re paying top dollar for the machine.

Above is a small gallery of a few screenshots from the OS. Google’s conveniently added a huge Chrome OS support page that’s even better than before. Details on how to get the most usage and productivity from their web-focused OS, as well as what will help you with tasks whether they are work, play, and everything else. So one more time we don’t want to review the OS as a whole here, but it’s seriously underpowered for this piece of luxury.

With a built-in apps and things like Google Music, a minimal media player, as well as a file browser Chrome OS has the essentials, but that’s it, the bare minimum essentials. Google Drive (with 1000GB of space included) certainly helps with these types of tasks and you can transfer from the Pixel to another device. Doing anything intensive for photo editing, video, or anything else for that matter the OS just doesn’t support it. This brings us to something we mentioned in the video above. Chrome’s webstore has tons of awesome games, most which don’t work on the Chrome OS. They don’t get filtered out and you’ll install something on the Chromebook only to later realize it only runs on Windows or OSX. Google needs to clear this out of the webstore for those primarily on a Chromebook.

Last but not least, the software can and will be improved. There’s absolutely zero doubt in our minds that Google has huge plans for the Chrome OS, tons of features coming soon, and will improve it with frequent updates. On another bright note, you can change out the Chrome OS for something like Linux. I don’t know about you guys, but this would be the best looking Fedora or Ubuntu device I’ve ever seen. What do you guys think?

Performance & Battery

As far as performance go we can’t really compare to anything from the Windows camp, and benchmarks aren’t something we can do either. However, thanks to the Core i5 dual-core processor at 1.8 GHz and 4GB of DDR3 RAM this device is speedy at all times. The specs might be light compared to well priced Mac’s and Windows 8 powerhouse laptops, but they are more than enough to run the Chrome OS. There’s nothing that will tax this hardware to the full extent in its current form, that’s for sure.

There’s really not anything to say here about performance. The browser-based OS is blazing fast. The dual-core also handles HD video with ease, and any games that manage to be supported from the Chrome Store play without a hitch too. Things do get a bit hot though, we must say. The keyboard acts as vents, and the Piano-style hinge for the display Google claims acts as a heatsink to keep the device cool, but sit it on your lap and enjoy some 1080p video and it will warm up quick. On a cooler note, I actually only heard the fans once on the device. So that’s a plus.

Battery life. Chrome OS sips on the battery, and the dual-core isn’t strong enough to drain it too fast either. However Google states the Pixel will get “up to 5 hours of continuous use.” As a comparison the Macbook Pro and most other laptops usually aim for at least 6. In real world usage the Chromebook Pixel with brightness at 65% viewing multiple videos, playing Angry Birds and a few other games I found, and browsing Reddit for a while it barely lasted 4 hours. Actually 3 hours and 57 minutes to be exact. I wouldn’t call that great, but it isn’t too bad either. Make sure to have that charger nearby if you’re doing anything too intensive.

Pricing & Competition

There’s only two options that will be available from good old Google, and that is the 32GB WiFi model priced at $1,299. Then the 64GB WiFi + Verizon 4G LTE for $1,449 so you’re options are pretty limited. The competition however, options are nearly endless on all fronts. We’d rather not compare the Pixel to the Macbook Pro – because honestly there’s no real comparison from the full view of things – but on a hardware level that’s the closest thing. Not to mention some of HP’s nice laptops like the Spectre XT.

The Pixel certainly isn’t cheap, not one bit. In fact, that’s actually pretty darn expensive for what’s merely a window for the web. That 1000GB of free Google Drive cloud storage for 3 years costs more than the Pixel in general, so you could look at it from that way. To be honest though comparing the Chromebook Pixel to others, especially a Macbook Pro just almost doesn’t seem fair given the limited OS. This certainly will not be replacing my MBP anytime soon, if ever, but on a hardware level it certainly comes close. I hate to be so blunt but there’s just no way in good conscience compare the two fairly given the extremely limited OS compared to the powerhouse that is OSX. There is really no comparison.

Wrap-Up

Unfortunately for Google the Chromebook Pixel is grounded by the OS, but make no mistake they’ve crafted one beautiful computer. We’ve always had a hard time recommending or giving a thumbs up overall to a Chromebook of any type, except for someone that absolutely needs a minimal computer experience. So while the Chrome OS works great for that, there’s multiple devices with ALL the same shortcomings for much less money. You could pay $199 for Acer’s C7 Chromebook and have the same experience and get all the same things done. You just won’t look as classy doing it, the screen won’t be as crisp, and the very limited touch features won’t be available to you. You’ll have a heck of a lot of cash leftover in your pocket though. Enough for months and months of Starbucks.

In the end what makes the Pixel a winner and absolutely amazing also makes it a loser – and that is the price. There’s no doubt that the Chromebook Pixel very well could be what the future of laptop computing holds for many, but at the same time it’s here too early, and will dent our pockets way more than anyone would like. The Pixel is an amazing piece of hardware but no matter how amazing it is, the $1,300 price is an extremely hard pill to swallow.

So just like we asked in our initial Pixel hands-on: Does Google tempt the daring? For us the answer is sadly a clear as day no, but others might feel different. It saddens me to say it but this is a Ferrari with a 4-cylinder engine. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for cloud computing, Google, and the Chrome OS, but this is too much too soon.

Pixel’s appeal on a purely hardware basis is undeniable: it’s a beautifully designed notebook, with an incredibly high resolution touchscreen and the same crisp lines that we liked from Google’s first Cr-48 Chromebook. However, its huge price puts Chrome OS up against full notebooks from Apple, Sony, and others, despite the relative limitations of the cloud-centric platform, a completely different market from earlier, highly affordable Chromebooks.

For Duarte, however, Pixel’s success won’t solely be measured by pure sales. “I think that Pixel is really exciting, because I think that Pixel shows the way that the boundaries between the different types of computing are blurring” he explained to us. “I think it’s great that the Chrome team is doing that, I think it’s great that the Chrome team is allowing Google to get into people’s lives with touchscreens on a desktop form-factor.”

That’s not a point of view shared by everybody in the industry, and in fact it puts Duarte and Google in the same camp as Microsoft and its hardware partners, rather than with Apple. Steve Jobs memorably decried the usability of touch notebooks, and Tim Cook has since made similar arguments, that reaching across a keyboard to tap at a display simply isn’t ergonomically satisfying.

Duarte disagrees, saying that despite what the MacBook makers think, users themselves are asking for a touchscreen approach. “I think that’s a real trend, that touch on laptops and on desktop form-factors is the way that people want to interact with computers” he says. “I think every screen should be a touchscreen in the future, regardless if it has a keyboard or not.”

Despite the overlap, then, between Android – which has touch at its heart – and Chrome OS – designed for more traditional form-factors – the two platforms still have a future as independent projects. According to Duarte, that will be the case for as long as it makes functional sense: the two OSes converging, perhaps, on a commonality of features as Google develops them.

“Google is excellent at diversifying, and experimenting” he told us. “And I think what Chrome OS does well – they’re getting better at, and it’s being reflected in what Android does well in succession – Chrome on Android is the best browser we’ve ever had, and we would not be at that level without the Chrome team doing the work that they do, without the Chrome OS team learning the things that they do, and learning to understand, for example, how to work on touchscreens.”

Meanwhile, what was originally a smartphone, and then a tablet, OS has been gaining more functionality to bring it in line with a desktop platform, though Duarte says that it’s still not quite there year. “Of course Android has also been evolving, and I think it’s terrific the way that we are gaining capabilities on a day-by-day basis” he said. “For example in Jelly Bean we announced multi-user support, and that opens up a range of use-cases, but ultimately, still, the two platforms meet different needs.”

That also means Android playing more readily with accessories and other devices, as it continues its trend toward being the one “OS for humanity” as Duarte himself described it. “One of the things that was great that we did in Honeycomb, was we included much better support for peripherals” the designer said. “So if you go hook up your Nexus 10 to a Bluetooth keyboard, or even a Bluetooth trackpad, you’ll find you have a much better experience with that.”

Despite the convergence that has already happened, Duarte points out however, neither Android nor Chrome OS are at the point where they satisfy the overall needs of all users. “Until we have one solution for Google that can really capture everything, it makes sense for us to continue to develop two platforms” he explained. Exactly how long that development will take is unclear, but it may take some time before Chrome OS – or a flavor of it – achieves the same market dominance as Android enjoys.

Google is once again attempting to release a product in the Chromebook Pixel that’s representative of their Nexus state of mind. With the Nexus line of Android products, Google works with a manufacturer to create a smartphone or tablet (or other devices, in some cases) that presents a Google-only iteration of their software. With the Chrome operating system, Google already offers this experience on every single Chromebook that’s been released – so the job is already done.

So why release the Chromebook Pixel?

Google has already been working on Chrome (the web browser) for a touchscreen-friendly universe – they’ve even gone so far as to suggest dominance on Windows 8. It’s in that touch environment that we’ve already seen Chrome working… generally ok.

The internet is not ready for touch. The web was built – and continues to be built – with work in mind. Work and play, but play through a work-friendly interface. Chrome is attempting to change the way the internet is used by creating a home screen with a collection of icons that are large enough to easily be tapped by a human finger. There are touch-friendly web apps out there, but there’s a step between easy and confusing that still exists between the user and a fully touch-friendly Chrome OS.

If you’ll look back to October 20th, 2010, also known as the reveal date for Apple’s OS X 10.7 Lion, you’ll find that “Mac Meets the iPad” was without a doubt a theme of the day. The photo you see here of a real-deal touchscreen MacBook was seen once – and never heard from again.

There’s a reason for that.

With the Chromebook Pixel, Google has stepped out ahead of itself. Chrome has not yet proven itself as an operating system that’s ready to take a foothold in the modern work-oriented world, yet a $1,299 container for it seemed reasonable somehow or another. Google must have a special order ready for these machines or they’ve got something to prove to someone about their manufacturing finesse, because this is a machine I’d definitely not mind using with Ubuntu.

I’d recommend checking the Chromebook Pixel out at Best Buy, giggling, and thinking twice.

The Chromebook Pixel works with 2,560 x 1,700 pixels – 239 pixels per inch across a 12.85-inch display. You’ve got a 3:2 aspect ratio “designed for the web” and it’s all covered with a 0.55mm layer of touch-friendly Gorilla Glass for full touchscreen action. This machine will be sold as a wifi-only edition if you like, but you’re also welcome to jump on board with 4G LTE with Verizon too – mobile speed!

You’ll be working with a glass touchpad, a backlit keyboard, and an integrated 720p HD camera as well – all the Google+ Hangout action you can handle. This Chromebook weighs in at 3.35 lbs / 1.52 kg and is 297.7 x 224.6 x 16.2 mm, made up of mostly anodized aluminum with “active cooling” and no immediately visible vents – we’ll see how that works out when we get our hands on a full review sooner than later.

Inside you’ve got 4GB of DDR3 RAM, an Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.8Ghz processor, and integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. You’ll find 2x USB 2.0 ports, a mini display port, and a combo SD/MMC card reader around the edges and a 32GB SSD on the inside. If you pick up the LTE model, you’ll be getting 64GB SSD instead – large!

With each purchase you get one free terabyte of Google Drive cloud storage for three years, 12 free sessions of GoGo Inflight Internet, and – if you’re working with the 4G LTE Verizon model – 100MB of data a month for 2 years of mobile broadband connectivity. Pricing starts at $1,299 U.S. and £1,049 U.K. for the wifi-only version and the LTE version will cost you $1,449 – with shipping in April. The wifi version begins shipping next week, while Best Buy and Currys PC World will begin showing the device off within a week from today.

This specific Chromebook looks to take on Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup, instead of just being an affordable option like past Chromebooks from HP, Acer, Dell, Samsung, etc. The Chromebook Pixel sports a 12.85-inch display with a staggering resolution of 2560×1700, making it a higher resolution than the Retina MacBook. Although, it has a 3:2 ratio, which is fairly odd in this day and age.

The Pixel comes with an Intel Core i5 dual-core 1.8GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and two SSD options: 32GB or 64GB. Of course, that’s not a lot of storage for all those media files you have, so Google is throwing in 1TB of Google Drive storage with a purchase of a Pixel, which will be free for three years.

You can pre-order the Pixel right this second on the Google Play store, and it’ll cost you a crazy $1,299, which is right on par for what you’ll pay for a MacBook Pro, but we’re certainly not used to seeing this kind of price for a Chromebook, since most of them have been price in the $200-$300 recently.

The video was originally uploaded to YouTube, but has since been taken down, and the company responsible for uploading the video, SlinkyMe, says that the video made its way to YouTube after its servers were compromised by hackers. Of course, we don’t know if that was actually the case, since it’s also possible that the video was just accidentally set to “public.”

The Google-designed Chromebook is supposedly called the Pixel, most likely named after the high-resolution display. It’s not said whether the device is both designed and manufactured by Google, or if they’re partnering with a manufacturer to put it together for them, similar to how the Nexus series of mobile devices operates.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a Google-designed Chromebook has been made. The company released the CR-48 Chromebook, which only made its way to a handful of people and actually never went on sale. Of course, just like with the CR-48, the Pixel looks to be simply designed and takes a few queues from the MacBook, including the aluminum shell and the chiclet keyboard. We’ll be on standby if more details emerge of the Google Pixel.

[via Liliputing]

Granted, the Pavilion 14 is a little bit more expensive than what you’ll pay for other new Chromebooks, and while it doesn’t come with any hardware that’s crazy impressive, the overall design of HP’s Chromebook might be a big seller for some people. The 14-inch display has a 1366×768 resolution, and on the inside there’s an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.1 GHz.

Other than that, there’s 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which certainly isn’t a lot by any means, but users will get 100GB of Google Drive storage for free for the first two years. As far as ports go, there’s HDMI, three USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, and Ethernet. The laptop also weighs in at around four pounds, making it a bit chunkier than other models.

This marks HP‘s first go at a Google Chromebook, joining the likes of Samsung and Acer, who have more competitively-priced options at $249 and $199, respectively. If battery is a huge concern for you, HP’s Pavilion 14 comes in at four hours and 15 minutes, which isn’t too great for a Chromebook considering that Samsung has them beat, but either way, you can buy it now for $330.

The search giant announced the news on their Enterprise Blog, and said that the impact of the Chromebook program was tremendous. It has allowed the schools to enable tech support internships, offer homebound students to collaborate remotely, and teach students to become “digital leaders.” With that said, it doesn’t seem like the program will hit a wall anytime soon.

Google also doesn’t mention what kind of Chromebooks they’re handing out to schools, as their are many different models from various manufacturers, but the company said that “there is a device for any school, any student, anywhere.” Either way, the computers will no doubt teach students more about technology and the internet, that way they can be prepared for the real world.

Out of the 2,000 schools that have joined in on the program, Google notes a few schools that were just recently added to the list. St.Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida (previously mentioned) is one, and Rocketship Education in San Francisco, California in another, with 1,100 Chromebooks at its disposal. Transylvania County Schools in rural North Carolina also recently joined the program, with 900 Chromebooks split between the county’s schools.

That has led to suggestions that it’s a hint for some new functionality Google is developing. According to Mobile Geeks‘ sources, the dressed-up ‘droid is intended to represent an Android runtime for Chrome that Google has had in testing for around six months, and which would free Android apps from mobile devices and put them on the desktop.

It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen companies pull Android software from its usual habitat and try to make it palatable for PC and notebook users. BlueStacks, for instance, has been pushing its Android app player system for some time now, allowing titles written for the mobile OS to be run as if native code on Windows and Mac machines.

Google’s approach would apparently be slightly different, so the rumors indicate, relying on a new component of the Chrome browser. That would also presumably have an impact on Chromebooks, the low-cost ultraportables based around the cloud and Chrome, and which would suddenly gain thousands of new apps courtesy of an Android hook-up.

Whether that’s actually the case, or if Google is simply getting more creative with its window furniture, remains to be seen. We’ll know more at Google IO, which begins May 15.

Acer saw a 28-percent drop in Q4 2012 shipments, year on year, and blames Microsoft’s new platform for its PC shortfall. “The whole market didn’t come back to growth after the Windows 8 launch,” Wong argues, “that’s a simple way to judge if it is successful or not.”

What particularly impressed the Acer chief was how well Chrome OS has done despite Google’s relatively low-key marketing of the platform. Unlike the Windows 8 gush in advance of Microsoft’s launch late last year, Google’s promotional work was “not as broad” Wong points out, describing it as “encouraging” how much consumer attention Chromebooks nonetheless garnered.

Likely to be helpful is the average price of a Chrome OS device, which – in part because Google gives away Chrome OS licenses free, rather than charging for them as Microsoft does for OEMs using Windows 8 – undercuts most regular notebook models. The C7, for instance – which we reviewed last year - is priced at just $199, though Wong says Acer spent some of the money it saved on licensing fees on marketing and promotions instead.

Acer now intends to launch Chrome OS devices more broadly, with particular hopes for the potential of the low-cost machines in developing markets. Unfortunately for Microsoft, that’s not the strategy Acer will be taking with Windows RT, the version of Windows intended for use on ARM-based tablets and notebooks. The company is still evaluating the platform, Wong says.

Meanwhile, Acer hopes to triple its smartphone sales in 2013, aiming for 1.5m sales globally and targeting individual carriers with specific devices, rather than blanketing the market. It’s likely that will involve Android, Google’s better-known OS.

The specifications for this Chromebook from HP show it to be a 14-inch display-toting HP-looking beast, that meaning it’ll at first appear very much to be a high powered Pavilion by all outward appearances. Once you’re inside you’ll find that its size and weight foretell its abilities – 3.96
lb (1.8 kg) and you’ll wonder how powerful it could possibly be. Inside you’ve got SSD storage and connectivity to Google Drive for cloud storage, and of course the software is mostly web-based so your processing power is mostly surrounding what you’ll be able to do in your Chrome web browser.

The power you do get is an Intel Celeron Processor 847 clocked at 1.1GHz. That’s not a misprint, this machine literally has what appears to be a processor with less power than your smartphone. That’s alright though, and you can chill, because with 2GB DDR3 SDRAM and support for up to 4GB, you’ll be rolling out hard with whatever you’ll need to do in the Chrome OS without a doubt. The display is an LED-backlit unit with BrightView technology and 1366 x 768 pixel resolution as well, so videos you’ll be watching via Google Play will be as high definition as they get.

NOTE: All of the info you see here comes from a Product PDF straight from HP’s shopping center. At the moment it appears that the “ad embargo date” is set for the 17th of February, 2013, so you can expect it to hit shelves soon!

This machine at the moment is spec’d to work with wifi only, but we’re expecting a mobile version in the future as well. This Chromebook has 3 USB 2.0 ports as well as 1HDMI out, 2 Rj-45 port (LAN), and a headphone/microphone combo port. The unit itself is just 0.83 inches thick at its thickest point, 13.66 inches wide, 9.37 inches deep, and will be coming in at 4 hours and 15 minutes battery time in this first iteration. Sound like the winner you’re looking for? We’ll be seeing official confirmation of this machine soon – and we’ll likely see it in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2013 as well!

Other specifications of the Chromebox are unclear, though we’d guess at something along the lines of Acer’s C7 Chromebook; that has VGA, HDMI, several USB 2.0 ports, and integrated WiFi, though we’d expect Acer to throw wired ethernet into the Chromebox too.

Acer isn’t the only company flirting with the desktop form-factor. Samsung also recently refreshed its Chromebox, slapping an Intel Core i5 processor inside along with 4GB of RAM; it only has 16GB of local storage, though uses flash memory rather than what’s presumably a traditional spinning-platter drive in the Acer version. Samsung’s Chromebox has USB 2.0, ethernet, DVI, DisplayPort, Bluetooth and WiFi, but not VGA or HDMI.

Pricing and availability for the Chromebox are unknown, though there’s speculation that Acer and Google will aim for a highly-competitive $99 price point. That seems possible, given the C7 is $199, and since the components Acer is believed to have used for the desktop should be relatively inexpensive. Where the x86 chip in the C7 meant battery life proved lacking in comparison to Samsung’s Series 3 Chromebook, power consumption is less of an issue for a desk-bound computer.

[via Chrome Story]

Specifics as to what’s under the hood are unavailable, but Lenovo confirms that the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook uses an Intel processor, rather than the ARM chip Samsung used in its Series 3 Chromebook. The laptop will have a 1366 x 768 antiglare display, as well as a webcam and three USB ports.

The 3.92-pound notebook won’t, seemingly, be targeted at individual users, however, but rather at schools themselves. Lenovo will offer multiple customizations of the Chromebook – exact details are unknown at this stage – from February 26.

Lenovo’s entrance of the Chromebook market follows Google’s own moves to push Chrome OS in education settings. The search giant announced a $99 Chromebook for Schools project late last year, and it appears that the two companies may well work together to offer the X131e Chromebook as part of that scheme.

“Lenovo has a great reputation in schools for making durable and reliable laptops,” Caesar Sengupta, director of Chrome OS product management, said of the new model, “so we’re excited to partner with them to introduce the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook.”

The new Lenovo Chromebook will be priced from $429 with volume pricing.

[via ZDNet]

UPDATE: Acer has updated the status of this machine saying that this boosted C7 Chromebook is not an official model at the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see if the higher-spec’d machines hit the market soon!

Storage takes a leap from 320GB to 500GB, though of course Google would still prefer you to use its cloud-based storage. 100GB is included for the first two years of ownership, according to Acer. As for the battery, that doubles in capacity. Acer claimed 3.5hrs of runtime from the 2,500 mAh li-ion pack in the $200 C7, whereas the 5,000 mAh pack in the $300 version is estimated at 6hrs runtime. Considering we managed around 4hrs from the basic C7, we’d expect Acer’s figures to hold up for the beefier version.

That means that the Chromebook to go for if battery life is your priority remains Samsung’s Series 3, which uses its frugal ARM-based processor to good effect and squeezes out several hours more than the Acer can manage.

We’re yet to see the C710-2605 version of Acer’s Chromebook go up for sale, though our guess would be that it’ll happen sooner rather than later.

[Thanks tipster!]

Teachers can go to the Donors Choose website and request a Series 5 Chromebook for their classroom. The request will be posted on the website where anyone can make a donation to support the request. When teachers reach their funding goal, they’ll receive their Chromebooks from Lakeshore Learning, DonorsChoose.org’s exclusive fulfillment partner for the program.

The deadline to submit a request is December 21, so if you’re a teacher and are wanting to get in on this, there’s no better time than now to send in your request. You can request up to 30 Chromebooks. 30 is about the average size of a public-school classroom, so that would essentially be one Chromebook per student.

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is quite a capable machine. It has a 12.1-inch 16:10 LED display with a 1280×800 resolution. On the inside, it’s running a a 1.66GHz dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor with integrated graphics and 2GB of RAM. There’s also 16GB of flash storage, which certainly isn’t a lot, but it emphasizes the laptop’s web-only strategy.

Two new Chrome OS laptops have debuted in recent weeks, with Acer chasing the budget end of the market with its $199 A7, while Samsung’s Series 3 is only a little more expensive at $249. Although both running Google’s operating system, the two models take different approaches to the underlying hardware: the A7 sticks to Intel’s Atom chip, whereas the Series 3 uses a more frugal ARM-based processor for longer runtimes.

It’s unclear which footsteps Google might follow in with its own machine, with no hardware specifics revealed. Given the company has experience already with ARM chips in the Nexus range, however, and the more impressive battery life such processors generally allow, that would perhaps seem the more likely choice.

Google has apparently ordered around 20m units of the new, unnamed Chromebook, which it’s suggested may be a more tentative move so as to gauge interest in the platform. Alternatively, it could be to seed units with developers, as Google did initially with the Atom-based Cr-48.

[via DigiTimes]

This machine also has a beastly 320GB hard drive, so you’ll have no worries when it comes to keeping all your media safe. The C7 Chromebook comes with an Intel Core processor for awesome power – here with an 18 second boot-up time, so says Google. This device also comes with all the lovely Google Chrome apps you love – the same as every Chromebook, as it were, since they’re all based in the Chrome web browser.

This device is 1 inch thin and weighs in at 3 pounds. It’s got dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and ethernet access for the web, and both a VGA port as well as a full-size HDMI port for video output. This machine is added to the burgeoning family of next-generation Chromebooks that also includes the Series 3 Chromebook from Samsung and the Samsung Chromebook 550. It’s also got additional bonuses such as 12 free sessions of Gogo Inflight internet – connect up high!

This device is sure to add to the madness that is next-to-free notebook devices, especially and particularly because of it’s $199 price point undercutting the already undeniable $249 of the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook. If you’re thinking about getting a device for web browsing only – this is certainly going to be one of your best bets. Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the Chromebook universe as it ramps up to the 2012 holiday season.

[via Google]

This device works with an extremely lightweight body and a display that’s by no means perfect, but certainly gets the job done for the average user. You’ve got this version which is wi-fi only for $249, another coming soon with 3G connectivity availability via its SIM-card slot in the back, and a whole massive barrel of Chromebooks out there on the market from the past two years. This is the newest though, and perhaps the most important.

It’s the price point first, then the high-quality build that makes this notebook – excuse me, this Chromebook – so important to the tech world. Though you wont be able to play any high-powered games, nor will you be working with processor-busting video rendering (for now), you will be getting a web-centric machine for $249 USD. That’s a price so low that it makes the masses consider it, even if they don’t need it.

This unit in its wi-fi-only iteration is available now from Google Play. If you want any other version, you’ll have to head elsewhere for now. Chromebooks are not yet heavily available in stores around the world (or around your neighborhood, for that matter), but they are a big enough deal at this point to be ready for delivery at larger electronics stores in all cities – have a peek!

Hardware

This piece of Samsung hardware is the most basic Chromebook you can buy right this minute, but it’s not the low-quality piece of hardware the price suggests. Instead you’ve got a machine that Samsung and Google very obviously went through a lot of work to perfect, and they’ve taken all the bits from the machines that have been successful in this arena and stuffed them into a quality package here without a doubt. This rings true especially in the keyboard and the trackpad.

The real test a person such as myself must go through to decide if a notebook is going to work long-term is if the keyboard is able to take my non-stop usage and real need to be able to type relatively quickly. With this keyboard I certainly can do both of those things. One of the main reasons for this is that the keyboard is so extremely close in shape, size, setup, and spring to the MacBook series from Apple. It’s absolutely uncanny, in fact, with the main differences being in the special buttons that Chrome uses to execute commands like Full Screen, Back, Forward, and Reload (all of which work directly with the Chrome web browser which is, of course, at the center of your Chome OS experience.)

The trackpad is also extremely nice – the only more perfected trackpad I’ve ever used has been on the MacBook (Pro and Air, the same in the end). You can do the soft-tap we’ve seen running rampant over every Windows-toting notebook here as well, but unlike many notebooks, it’s not something you’ll do on accident. You’ve also got keyboard and touchpad settings in the Chromebook just incase you do want to increase or decrease speeds and such – but you’ll likely be fine right out of the box.

This Chromebook weighs in at 2.5 pounds and is 0.8 inches thin, working with what Google and Samsung say is 6.5 hours of battery life. It would appear very likely that Google has been modest in its estimation of how long this machine will stay active, even while movies are playing and oddities are rendering. Even with the 46% battery left I’m looking at right now, the machine has nearly 6 hours quoted as being left – and the machine has been out and on for at least 12 hours without need for a charge. This machine has some undeniable standby power abilities, that’s for certain.

The display is 11.6-inches large with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution across it, this making for a display that’s certainly OK, but not the best in the industry by a long shot. What you’ve got here is Samsung providing you with the amount of pixels you’ll need to watch relatively high definition videos without making a case for having a display that’s mind-blowing. The viewing angles on this device are also far from perfect, but certainly usable in most single-user situations. You won’t want to use this for a YouTube party, if you know what I mean.

You’ve got a VGA camera built-in for average video chat on the web (on Google+ Hangouts, of course) as well as a full-sized HDMI port for video output. You can connect to this device with 1 USB 3.0 port, 1 USB 2.0 port, and Bluetooth 3.0. Inside is a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core processor – this is the next generation of processors working for mobile devices Samsung introduced last year and made available here in 2012, only available on this Chromebook thus far. The next-newest after this is a Samsung Exynos 4 quad-core which you’ll find on the Galaxy Note II.

Software and Performance

The newest version of Chrome OS provides you with the ability to download and upload files to storage on your Chromebook – this is one of the biggest stumbling points for people who only know the operating system to be an “internet only” sort of situation. Now that I can download an image from one webpage and upload it to another, I can write articles in a blog – I now have a machine with the most basic set of requirements I need.

Its worth noting that it appears the quality of this machine is above that of every tablet we’ve had our hands on thus far – if only because the operating system is made to handle notebook operations. One should not expect that since this device uses a processor from the Exynos lineup with two CPU cores (two less that the Galaxy Note II) that it wont work as hard on everyday tasks as a smartphone or tablet would. On the contrary – this is a minimally powered notebook with all the non-web elements stripped away – that’s all.

You’ve got 2GB of RAM that will not let you down unless you absolutely push the limits of the device on purpose. If you’ve got 20 or more tabs open, each of them playing videos or keeping up with Twitter feeds, for example, you’re not going to see as fast a performance speed as if you’re being a reasonable person working with just a few tasks at a time. This machine is not made to be a workhorse – it’s made to take care of basic tasks, management of your daily duties, and web browsing.

Access to the entire range of Google services here means you’ll be working in the Chrome web browser – the only offline items here are changing your wallpaper, storing files in your local downloads folder, and working on a calculator. You can also use a Beta product on the machine if you want to go bigger: Chrome Remote Desktop. With this environment you’re able to access your larger machine virtually, seeing it through your browser window and controlling it as if you were there at that other machine in-person – though it’s significantly more laggy than real life, when it comes down to it.

What you’re seeing above is a connection between the Chromebook and a MacBook Pro, both of them connected to the same wireless network. It’s not a perfect system, by any means, and it’s a bit difficult working with a display that’s mean to be much larger inside a browser window that shrinks it, but it’s interesting to say the least. This system is not limited to your local network, mind you, you can do tasks remotely, just so long as both devices are connected to the web.

This is all topped off by the fact that current purchases of the Samsung Chromebook come with 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years. That would cost you $100 if you bought it outright.

Wrap-up

This Chromebook from Samsung is a value offer you might just need to think about, if only because the quality matches the price so very closely. Considering the alternatives start at several hundreds of dollars higher, you risk being called “silly” for not considering the Chromebook in your decision making process in purchasing a new notebook. Where this device leaves off at a price of $249, the MacBook Air picks up – starting at $999.

Google and Samsung have created a machine with a price point that’s impossible to ignore. We’ll be using this device for an extended period to see how “game changing” it really is. Meanwhile, please feel free to let us know if you’ve got any questions about this device and we’ll certainly do our best to answer to the best of our ability. Have a peek at the Chromebook tag portal as well to keep up with all things Chromebook through the future!

That extra hundred bucks gets you integrated Verizon 3G, together with 100MB of mobile data allowance per month for two years. After that – or if you want to use more than 100MB a month, which given Chrome OS’ cloud-centric focus wouldn’t be too unlikely – you’ll have to pay for it yourself. No sign of LTE as an option, unfortunately.

Otherwise, the specifications are the same as what was announced yesterday, so an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, Samsung’s own Exynos 5 1.7GHz dualcore ARM procrssor paired with 2GB of DDR3L memory, and 16GB of solid-state storage. WiFi a/b/g/n is still onboard, as is an HDMI output, one each of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, a memory card reader, and a VGA-resolution webcam.

All in all, it’s a far cheaper way to get on the 3G-enabled notebook ladder than usual, even if there are some cloud compromises to be made with the OS, and the 0.69-inch thick Chromebook itself is a slick little looker. Samsung’s 6.3 hour battery estimate is impressive for the price too.

No word on shipping dates in the US, though a UK listing – which has the 3G model at £299.99, though claims it’s running Windows 8 rather then Chrome OS in the description – suggests it will hit shelves Friday, October 26.

[via Engadget]

If you’re ready for a web-only experience, the Chromebook might be right up your alley, especially since it’ll only run you $249 USD. The notebook looks and feels rather similar to what you might already be used to with your MacBook or Acer Aspire notebook – if you’ve got one or the other – or any of the recent high-end Samsung notebooks that look rather similar to this model. With this device you will not have the same power as a full-fledged laptop, but physically you’ll feel like you always do.

This device works with one giant heap of Google Cloud services, including Google Drive. With Google Drive you’ve got file storage on the web in Google’s servers, and with a purchase of a Chromebook here, you’ve got 2 free years of 100GB of space on those servers. You’ll be working with Google’s services primarily – or that’s what’ll be easiest – including Gmail, Google Docs, and the like, but you can also work with a variety of Chrome apps as well.

Chrome is not just an operating system, it’s a web browser as well – the same one you use on the computer you’re on right this minute. Chrome has a variety of apps that do all manner of tasks that you’d otherwise do on your desktop, here optimized for the web browser. Have a peek at the Chrome Web Store now to see if you’ve got enough greatness there to do every single task you’d normally do in a day.

The hardware you’re working with on this new Samsung Chromebook announced this week is a dual-core A15-based Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250) SoC paired with 2GB of RAM, for starters. That’s not that far away from a high-end smartphone, mind you. That’s the kind of processing power you’re working with. You also get 16GB of built-in flash storage as well as Bluetooth and wi-fi capabilities. The display has a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, it’s got one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 socket, and a headphone/mic jack too. You can boost your storage with the full-sized SD card slot this device works with as well.

Sound find enough to you? You’ll be able to pick this beast up through several online sources and it’ll be out in stores extremely soon – you’ll be able to see it in person at Best Buy likely by the beginning of next week, for example. You’ll also be able to purchase this Chromebook from the Google Play store too. Think about it!

The new Chromebook features 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi, and an SD card slot to expand the storage past its built-in 16GB. The laptop weighs just 2.5 pounds and is only 0.8 inches thick. On the sides you’ll find two USB ports and an HDMI-out port. Google says that all of the internal hardware is designed to keep the price down while keeping the device fast. In fact, the company says it’s able to run 1080p video at 30fps without a problem.

The Exynos 5 Dual ARM processor means that there are no fans and no moving parts of any kind inside the laptop, and the chip’s low power consumption allows the machine to run on battery for approximately 6.5 hours. The 11.6-inch display has a resolution of 1366×768, so while it may be able to play 1080p, it won’t really be needed.

The overall Chrome OS user interface remains relatively the same, so you won’t see many changes on the software side. For anyone who purchases the new Chromebook, Google will give them 100GB of Google Drive storage. You can also buy Samsung‘s Series 3 Chromebook or the original Samsung Chromebook and will still be able to redeem the 100GB storage offer up to two years from now. Google’s new Samsung Chromebook will be available for purchases starting Monday, but you can pre-order it today.

Specs for the Chromebox include an Intel Celeron dual-core processor clocked at 1.9Ghz, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of local storage, plus a whole host of connectivity options including six USB ports, two DisplayPorts, DVI, Ethernet, and WiFi. Naturally, the box is designed to take advantage of Google’s various cloud services, hence the limited amount of storage.

Still, we doubt many will be complaining about receiving a $329 machine for nothing. If you’re at I/O then you’ll be able to pick up your free Chromebox at the Gear booth. If you’re not there, you’ll just have to buy one or convince someone who went to give it to you for free. Just remember to say “pretty please”.

This update has the Chromebook world moving to the retail universe in a very big way, though it is a bit strange that they’ve chosen Best Buy to do the deed as they’ve had so much retail trouble as of late. Chrome will likely come up several more times before the end of the day here in the second day’s keynote at Google I/O, so stay tuned.

This keynote is part of an extended set of events that you can check out in our I/O 2012 portal – stick there all week for all the action!