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Who is target user of this laptop? Question for people who own a chromebook already: Would you recommend your chromebook or chromebook-pixel to other developer

Who is target user of this laptop? Question for people who own a chromebook already: Would you recommend your chromebook or chromebook-pixel to other developers?

jrockway 14y ago
I have the $249 ARM Chromebook. I like it better than a regular laptop because I rarely use a laptop, and every time I need to go somewhere, my normal laptop is out of date and not sync'd with anything. The end result is that I mostly use my laptop for updating its software, not actually using it. Chrome OS handles all this automatically, so can just turn it on and it's ready. For $249, the ARM Chromebook is built pretty well. It's small, light, and the battery lasts a long time. The screen is fine. The keyboard is fine. Sometimes it feels a little slow, but so does my 8-core i7 desktop :)
- PankajGhosh 14y ago
  Exactly, a "$249 ARM Chromebook" hits bulls-eye what Chrome OS laptop should be. Developers(and other users though less likely) would not mind paying $249 for a laptop which obviously has constraints compared to its more powerful and more expensive counterparts. Chrome Pixel looks like a powerful laptop plagued by the limitations of Chrome OS. Chrome Pixel is not going to be (in my opinion and probably Google doesn't expect it to be either) a sellout product but it highlights Google's vision of how laptops would be in coming years.
RexM 14y ago
After getting an invite to action.io, I can do a lot of my side project development in the browser. I've been using it for about a week, so far, but I really like it. Not really being able to write code was really the only thing that turned me off from buying a chromebook. I would be willing to get a regular chromebook, but the $1299 price tag of the pixel doesn't seem worth it. I don't see the touch screen being too useful, so if I was going to spend that kind of money, I'd rather just get a macbook air.
acgourley 14y ago
The low end chrome book has been perfect for my mother. She can do email, facebook and run her etsy - all she needed. Wealthy mothers might be in the target demographic for the pixel, then. Devs? Not for a primary development machine, and it's too expensive for a secondary. Business traveler? They probably still need offline office or iWork or whatever other apps their company requires. Would be interested to see if anyone here plans on buying it.
heywire 14y ago
I have the $249 ARM Chromebook from Samsung. It is great if your workflow involves developing remotely over an SSH connection. I also have the Nexus 10, so I couldn't help but to notice the difference in screen quality when going between them. I don't know that I need a Core i5, in fact, I would probably prefer to keep the ARM processor for battery life/weight/etc, but a high resolution screen and backlit keyboard are the things I really feel like my current Chromebook is missing. That said, I don't think they're compelling enough for me to spend that kind of money.
jklein24 14y ago
I have been dogfooding the pixel for a few weeks and I have to say it's an amazing device. I have also had other chromebooks and the pixel really makes them feel like cheap toys. I use it for writing code only via ssh, but it works really well for that and the screen is just breathtaking. I haven't really experimented too much with any web IDEs out there, but hopefully that is an area where we'll see growth very soon. I definitely agree that the price tag is pretty tough for a chrome device, and I'm not sure whether I'd buy one myself, but using this thing is absolute pleasure and I find myself reaching for it much more often than my retina mac book pro.

Who is target user of this laptop? Question for people who own a chromebook already: Would you recommend your chromebook or chromebook-pixel to other developers?

jrockway 14y ago

I have the $249 ARM Chromebook. I like it better than a regular laptop because I rarely use a laptop, and every time I need to go somewhere, my normal laptop is out of date and not sync'd with anything. The end result is that I mostly use my laptop for updating its software, not actually using it. Chrome OS handles all this automatically, so can just turn it on and it's ready. For $249, the ARM Chromebook is built pretty well. It's small, light, and the battery lasts a long time. The screen is fine. The keyboard is fine. Sometimes it feels a little slow, but so does my 8-core i7 desktop :)

PankajGhosh 14y ago
Exactly, a "$249 ARM Chromebook" hits bulls-eye what Chrome OS laptop should be. Developers(and other users though less likely) would not mind paying $249 for a laptop which obviously has constraints compared to its more powerful and more expensive counterparts. Chrome Pixel looks like a powerful laptop plagued by the limitations of Chrome OS. Chrome Pixel is not going to be (in my opinion and probably Google doesn't expect it to be either) a sellout product but it highlights Google's vision of how laptops would be in coming years.

RexM 14y ago

After getting an invite to action.io, I can do a lot of my side project development in the browser. I've been using it for about a week, so far, but I really like it. Not really being able to write code was really the only thing that turned me off from buying a chromebook. I would be willing to get a regular chromebook, but the $1299 price tag of the pixel doesn't seem worth it. I don't see the touch screen being too useful, so if I was going to spend that kind of money, I'd rather just get a macbook air.

acgourley 14y ago

The low end chrome book has been perfect for my mother. She can do email, facebook and run her etsy - all she needed. Wealthy mothers might be in the target demographic for the pixel, then. Devs? Not for a primary development machine, and it's too expensive for a secondary. Business traveler? They probably still need offline office or iWork or whatever other apps their company requires. Would be interested to see if anyone here plans on buying it.

heywire 14y ago

I have the $249 ARM Chromebook from Samsung. It is great if your workflow involves developing remotely over an SSH connection. I also have the Nexus 10, so I couldn't help but to notice the difference in screen quality when going between them. I don't know that I need a Core i5, in fact, I would probably prefer to keep the ARM processor for battery life/weight/etc, but a high resolution screen and backlit keyboard are the things I really feel like my current Chromebook is missing. That said, I don't think they're compelling enough for me to spend that kind of money.

jklein24 14y ago

I have been dogfooding the pixel for a few weeks and I have to say it's an amazing device. I have also had other chromebooks and the pixel really makes them feel like cheap toys. I use it for writing code only via ssh, but it works really well for that and the screen is just breathtaking. I haven't really experimented too much with any web IDEs out there, but hopefully that is an area where we'll see growth very soon. I definitely agree that the price tag is pretty tough for a chrome device, and I'm not sure whether I'd buy one myself, but using this thing is absolute pleasure and I find myself reaching for it much more often than my retina mac book pro.