Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
Not everyone. I'm saying that I disagree with that.
Its capabilities include a large amount of what I and many people actually need to do. I won't come to a final conclusion for several months, but I'm pretty sure there's a target market out there who will find this covers all that they absolutely need.
If you can do 95% of what you want to do, and 100% of what you need to do, then the machine is as capable to you as a Windows machine or a Mac. We're then just comparing prices based on build quality. Given the 1 TB of cloud storage for 3 years, and the quality of the touch screen, the price compares favourably with ultrabooks and MacBook Airs.
Overpriced, possibly; dramatically overpriced, no.
Graham
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If you had bought the $1,300 model rather than the $340 model, then your disagreement would have more weight. The proof is in the pudding.
Besides that, I spy a cognitive dissonance in your justification of the Pixel's virtues. On the one hand, you advocate a philosophy of 'Good Enough.' If it can do 95% of what you want it to do, it's good enough. If you can't use Word but you can use Google Docs, it's good enough. If you can't handle certain types of files, but there are substitutes available, then it's good enough. Ad infinitum.
On the other hand, the hardware is top-notch. That excellence, which speaks to a rejection of compromise, commands a premium price. It is the best of all possible Chromebooks and superior to an entire swath of consumer laptops.
Given those two facts, it is implausible to believe that most customers who embark on a purchase with the 'Good Enough' mentality would be willing to pay a $1,000 premium for top-flight hardware. No individual willing to compromise on software and functionality is going to be a stickler for perfect hardware. He is, rather, going to buy the hardware that's 'good enough,' and save a bundle. Likewise, few customers unwilling to compromise on hardware are going to accept a crippled OS with half the functionality of an OS X or Windows system.
The smartest thing that has been written about the Pixel so far is this (c/o David Pierce at The Verge): "Everyone should want a Chromebook Pixel — I certainly do. But almost no one should buy one."