back to article Google gives spit n' polish to world's most expensive Chromebook

Google has released a new version of the Chromebook Pixel, its upmarket Chrome OS web terminal, cutting the price of the device in the process. The revamped high-end Chromebook is the first product to be showcased in the Mountain View Chocolate Factory's new online store, billed as "the new home for the latest products made …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    2 USB slots and an SD card...

    This at least has me interested with those specs... unlike certain other manufacturers. ;)

    (Sorry, but I am a techy at heart, and spec is everything. The SD card slot in my phone saved me 5 hours of file transfer time over wifi, so yes, the specs and connectors are really worth the extra cost and change in product to me! :D )

    1. PleebSmash

      Re: 2 USB slots and an SD card...

      The SD card reader wasn't in the original either.

      This is an all around good upgrade given the $300 price cut.

    2. big_D Silver badge

      Re: 2 USB slots and an SD card...

      4 USB ports - 2 Type C 3.1 and 2 normal USB 3.0

  2. Robert E A Harvey

    Price

    i5 = £800

    i7 = £1000

    Nearly tempted

  3. MrT

    "Ludicrous Speed"...?

    It had better come with an option to finish it in plaid.

    Might look silly when Intel gives the CPUs a mid-life speed bump...

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    built....

    By creepy people, for gullible people...

    1. hplasm
      Trollface

      Re: built....

      Sorry, the Apple page is elsewhere...

    2. Mr.Mischief

      Re: built....

      Definition of iRONY : iTARDS calling people gullible.

  5. Cody

    use the sd card for the os...

    How easy is it to replace the SSD with something of a sensible size? If you replaced chrome with linux it would be a great machine if it had a sensible sized drive.

    1. Mystic Megabyte
      Meh

      Re: use the sd card for the os...

      Go and see the Arstechnica review for photos of the keyboard. It's useless, no page up/down, no Function keys. Meh!

      1. Big_Ted
        Facepalm

        Re: use the sd card for the os...

        Um they are not there because they are not used in the OS......

        1. dogged

          Re: use the sd card for the os...

          I think you mean they're not used in ChromeOS.

          At this point it is traditional for a billion fanboys of various stripes to leap in declaring that if you cannot change the OS - even due to keyboard choices - then it is a piece of shit and probably evil and almost certainly tied to the NSA, typical Microsoft.

          Oh wait.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Coffee/keyboard

            Re: use the sd card for the os...

            Function keys are not needed. I would give a digital cookie to anyone still seeing a use for "SysRq", however the extra functionality used for "Prt Scr" is welcome, let alone the extra macro that could be assigned to it.

            Other keys less used, but Page up and down are used often. In fact I try and avoid devices that don't even include a numberpad!

            1. Anonymous C0ward

              Re: use the sd card for the os...

              SysRq is used in Linux. Alt+SysRq+various letters can do an immediate reboot, power off, sync, remount read-only etc.

  6. Pen-y-gors

    Ah, but...

    does it come in gold?

    No? Not interested....

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    preordered

    A premium product that's not a macbook and doesn't run windows 8, what's not to love.

    1. dogged

      Re: preordered

      the useless OS and the pathetic storage?

      1. Planty Bronze badge

        Re: preordered

        Define useless os. Our current chromebook has done everything asked of it

  8. pyite

    If it has upgradeable memory, I'll buy one

    The only reason I didn't buy the last model was that 4GB wasn't nearly enough. Did they make the same mistake with this model? 64GB should be easy with modern chipsets.

    1. Archaon
      FAIL

      Re: If it has upgradeable memory, I'll buy one

      64GB should be easy with modern chipsets.

      64GB on your typical 2 DIMM laptop means using server-class 32GB LRDIMMs* which will not function on this kind of machine. They also cost around £500 each.

      If it's a single DIMM machine (highly likely) then you probably don't want to know how much a 64GB LRDIMM would cost.

      Good luck with that.

      * Because at that level that's the only type of memory available.

  9. Gordan

    Temperature?

    Does this one get less hot? Or can we still expect the very uncomfortable 47C+ on the aluminium surfaces as measured on the original under heavy load? It's the temperatures under load (e.g. L4D2) that made me give up the original one in favour of something with better engineered ergonomics.

    1. Sir Alien

      Re: Temperature?

      According to some review sites, the Pixel (2) does run a lot cooler and does not try to kill itself in a massive ball of flame. I sure hope the LS model will be available in the UK since I would like to have one. Like many the reason I did not get the original, although I would have liked to, is the not so great spec and gigantic price.

      With the new model you can run both ChromeOS and Ubuntu Linux and it would have plenty of resources left to do other things. It is about time the PC market (or ChromeOS market, same thing when you Linux it) gets a decent spec'd decent design and solidly build laptop of a size that is portable and not the size of a house.

      I will continue slobber over my F5 key to see when the LS model is available :-D

      - SA

  10. W. Anderson

    Finally, an excellent, indisputable challenger to MacBook Pro/Air and Surface Pro 3

    Google has mad it diffiult for mere peons like myself who cannot afford or justify purchase of this very good machine.

    What is most tempting however is fact that Linus Torvalds used an Original Chromebook Pixel modified to support Gentoo Linux, on which ChromeOS is based. With that type combination on new model, neither the top MacBook Pro/Air nor Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (still runs Swiss cheese security and broken Windows OS) even comes close.

  11. jnffarrell1

    Price is not an issue for field grade officers

    or staff supporting flag grade officers. Company commanders and platoon leaders get Chromebooks not Pixels, sergeants and corporals get phablets. If you don't like the price for doing grunt work then see if you can do better with a proprietary tablet.

  12. Stuart Halliday

    It's all about the Software...

    If the software is good, you shouldn't care what OS it is on.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      Where does one finish and the other begin?

      This one is the software... I mean the OS... Apps? What are the terms? I'm confused, it's all got a bit cloudy in here.

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