Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Google have revealed the next step in the evolution of the Chrome operating system: the Chromebook Pixel. This machine works with the highest definition display available on the market for a notebook computer, works with multi-finger touch, and is made for the “power user.” As such, this is not your everyday ultra-inexpensive Chromebook. This machine is going to cost you just a bit more than units revealed in the past.

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.

Chromebook Pixel detailed with world’s most HD laptop display is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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If there is a single takeaway message from this post, it would be this. Listen very carefully, Google’s Chrome “app launcher” for offline browser apps will finally be landing on the Windows platform, although Mac and Linux users are required to play the patience card for a little bit longer. So far, Google has rolled out an early stage “app launcher” for its Chrome browser, where it will come with a container for browser-based apps which were specially designed to function offline.

This particular feature remained for a long time, a domain of Google’s Chromebooks that are manufactured by the likes of Samsung, HP, Lenovo and Acer. Google has described it to be “a dedicated home for your apps which makes them easy to open outside the browser.” Having been released yesterday in the Chrome developer channel for Windows, this particular launcher is also said to be available “soon” if you are a Mac or Linux user. You know what they say, good things come to those who wait, so a little bit of patience would be ideal in such a situation.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Chrome Delivers Voice Recognition Capability To The Internet, Microsoft Considered ‘Cool’ Again By Young Adults,

Citing sources “familiar with the matter,” the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has developed the first Chromebooks with touchscreens. A firm launch date for the laptops is MIA, but the WSJ claims that they’ll hit shelves “later this year.” If the notebooks do indeed pan out, Chromebook fans will finally get in on the touch-enabled action that Windows 8 hardware has been enjoying since last year.

Filed under: Laptops, Google

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Source: Wall Street Journal

According to 9to5Google, Google has plans to open standalone retail stores to sell Google products like the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, Chromebooks, Google Glasses and more. The goal is to open its first flagship Google Store by the end of the year. More »

There was a time when cloud storage was more or less just that. A digital locker for those files you need on the go. As more and more apps and services fold this functionality into their general operation, the cloud part needs to be increasingly transparent. Something Google is tackling with the latest change to its Drive service. Starting today, you will be able to connect Drive-enabled apps to the main interface. So, next time you want to create something with Pixlr Editor, or Ujam, or want to open a file in such an app, you can do that right from the comfort of your Google account page. Not only does this mean that your favorite Chrome tools can be brought right into your workflow, Google clearly hopes it might inspire more developers to “elevate” their apps with the same functionality. Apps already sporting the integration, however, should be available to connect immediately.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Google Developers Blog