INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Chromebook has been a marked hit for Google — well, for Google hardware partners, at least
Low cost devices have flooded the market, with a stranglehold on the educational category in particular
Google own first party offerings, on the other hand, have been a bit more curious
Devices like the Pixelbook and Pixel Slate have pushed the $1,000 price point in an attempt to demonstrate Chrome OS viability in a more
With the Pixelbook Go, on the other however, Google playing much more to the cloud-based operating system strengths, with a far more
accessible price point.
Google launches the $649 Pixelbook Go Chromebook
Starting at $649 (albeit configurable all the way up to ~$1,400),
the Go is an attempt to play to Chrome OS base: users looking for a more affordable entry point
After all, hasn''t that always kind of been the point of Chromebooks?
Of course, affordability comes with compromises
From a design perspective, that means losing some of the things that made the original Pixelbook so interesting
Top of the list are the convertible lid, which helps it double as a laptop and a tablet
Turns out 360-degree hinges are pretty cost prohibitive (though admittedly we&ve seen them on some fair cheap systems)
And since the the hinge is gone, Google also opted to drop pen input, while retaining the touchscreen
As with the original Pixelbook, there are still only two USB-C ports on-board (one one either side)
That limits flexibility quite a bit
Of course, the company opted not to add more due, ion part, to pricing constraints
The company also tells me that most core Chromebook users should find two sufficient
Perhaps that the case with a majority of users
Otherwise, the design is pretty nice, down to the colorful, ribbed bottom, which is designed to make the device easier to hold in one hand
Ditto for the lighter weight
It an easier laptop to port around or toss in a bag on the go.
The keyboard has been improved, as well
It quiet, as advertised (though admittedly I was using it in a fairly loud environment), and while the keys are on the soft side (especially
compared to the MacBook, which is a bit like typing on chiclets), it has a pretty good feel to it
I could certainly see using this as my primary computer on that front, at least
While Chrome OS has been vastly improved since its earliest days (thanks to, among other things, Android app compatibility), it still
limited for those looking to get more serious work done
The lower cost Go makes that gulf even more pronounced
On a personal note, I&ve run into issues try to do things like, say, audio editing on the product
The lower price point also means that device starts from a lower power processor, with the m3 and 8GB of RAM You can bump it to 16GB and a
Core i5 or i7, but that, naturally, will cost you
At a certain point you&re starting to get into original Pixelbook territory.
The original model is sticking around, by the way
No spec changes to speak of, however, in spite of the fact that it a two-year-old product
That one seems overdue for a bump, especially with another new model in the line
It seems safe to assume that Google going to move significantly more Gos than original Pixelbooks, based on price alone
It an interesting slice of the market, targeted primarily at consumers looking for a cheaper entry point
The company isn''t really targeting the education market here, in spite of the Chromebook success in the space
Google tells me that the product is simply priced too high for K-8 students.
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