Road testing Google's ChromeBook Pixel
-Time to road test the innovative Chromebook Pixel.
We have some expert product testers here, and we're gonna find out if you guys can live in the cloud.
Bryan, Abby, and Herman, each of you will spend 2 or 3 days with the Pixel.
Are you familiar with this kind of Google laptop?
-I've seen some reviews and had a chance to look at it a little bit, but curious to see how it works in the real
world.
-And Abby, I know you're in production.
How do you feel about the idea of something as basically just a browser?
-I'm a little skeptical about it.
I'm not sure if they can do everything that I want it to do.
But I do use Google products, so--
-All right.
And then Herman, I'm thinking that you live on a cloud.
Do you live in the cloud?
-Oh, I am a cloud.
So I can't wait to test it out.
-He has his own weather.
All right, guys hop on with the Chromebook and then we'll back together in a week or so, and we'll report back.
-Hi.
My name's Abby Berntlavoy.
I'm a professional filmmaker and producer.
And I love to shoot video, and read comic books.
-I'm Bryan Fischer, Senior Correspondent for the Pac-12 Networks and I am always connected.
-Hey.
My name is Herman Chan, a real-estate broker extraordinaire.
I'm a Bay Area native, and I'm going to Cal.
Go bears.
-My first impression when I see this packaging is if it were not for this Google insignia here, I would have thought
this was a Mac product.
-The first thing that I do notice is that the screen resolution is beautiful.
But it is a glass screen and not a mat screens which I don't like, 'cause it has so much reflection on it.
So that kind of takes away from how beautiful the screen does look.
-You know, I like the design.
I like the look of it.
It's a little bit darker which is a good color and otherwise, you know, it's solidly built.
And definitely it feels like it's one piece of machine.
-The Chrome OS is fairly
user friendly.
-Now, I think it will be cool that I can do this touch screens, swiping, stuff like that, and I think that would be really useful if I were meeting a client, and a presentation, but me sitting in my car or at open house or at my desk, doing this all day would ergonomically just kill my shoulder.
-I mean that I think the only limited thing on this laptop and especially working outside is private battery life.
I think that's part only negative.
-I
just had shot some footage, and it's on this card here.
So, I wanted to see.
I'm pretty sure it's not gonna work, but I just kinda wanted to see if it would load on to this computer.
And the first issue I ran into is there's no Firewire 800, so if I can just even plug it in.
So I'm gonna try this one that has the USB, so let's see-- and there it is.
It looks like you can actually play it.
I really-- I seriously didn't think it would play.
-I would love to tell you more about the app experience.
However, I can't log on 'cause apparently I need a Wi-Fi hot spot to get on the internet.
So, I mean that's a big downer for me.
-It's a little bit too big to kinda take it with you to, say at press conference and what not-- and run up and down, and get interviews.
But if you're just kinda stand in one spot, you know, it's pretty-- pretty solid.
The aspect ratio's a little different, you know, it is 43, it's not the 16 x 9 you're really used to and you know, someone who likes to have Twitter up on this side, I'd rather have that with.
I like the idea of having Cloud apps, but you know, travelling and doing all that-- you know-- you kinda wanna make sure you can have that offline capability.
-So here we are back we're we started with the Chromebook Pixel.
I can't wait to get your guys' thoughts.
So, what do you think about the Chrome OS then and the usability of life in the cloud?
-Well, I like Chrome, I used it all the time.
But I also like options, so I was a little bummed I couldn't use Safari or anything else.
But it was insidious.
-Yeah, so what did you find that easy to use also?
-I would love to live in the cloud, but the thing is that it's predicated upon wireless, and if you don't have wireless then it's cranky [unk].
-Bryan, how about you in these [unk]?
-Yeah, I mean you can use Google Docs or spreadsheets and all that's great, but kinda do more than that especially for that price.
You know, I was looking for some more options, and just didn't see it.
-All right, overall for $1,299, Pixel,
would you buy it?
-Do not buy it.
-Do not buy.
What about you?
-Hell, no.
-Hell, no.
-Bryan?
-No buy.
-No chance on the Chromebook Pixel.
It's really, really pretty.
Nobody wants it.
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