Google's New Chromebook Is a Joke

Google unveiled its new touchscreen Chromebook yesterday, and it was not what anyone was expecting. Until now, Google's Chromebooks have been exceedingly cheap, but the Chromebook Pixel will cost a whopping $1,300—for a computer that can only run web apps. Here's what pundits are saying:

• "What is Google thinking?" asks Jean-Baptiste Su at Forbes. "The Chromebook Pixel is, simply put, a ripoff!" It costs more than the MacBook Air, and it's "not even a real computer. ... Nobody in their right mind should spend that kind of money on a laptop that does so little."

• Windows 8 got some pretty rough reviews, but this "makes that look like a design of genius," writes Preston Gralla at ComputerWorld. It "lacks serious storage," and it's useless if you're not online. But hey, it has three microphones. "Be still my beating heart—three microphones! That surely makes it worth every penny."
• "The hardware is amazing" and it "exudes fine engineering," writes confirmed Chromebook fan Mark Hachman at PC Magazine, but even he'd balk at the price. The touchscreen is wonderfully responsive, but "you have to wonder: Why do I need this again?"
• Sam Biddle's verdict at Gizmodo: "Any other computer at that price is better. Any." The screen's nutty 3:2 aspect ratio makes no sense, and most things won't be optimized for its high-res display. LTE data sounds great—but you only get 100MB a month for free. "The Pixel is a self-contradiction, an absurdity, a Kia with rims, a waste of your time. To say nothing of money."

(More Google stories.)