I thought so as well at first with Surface Pro.
Even worse there: A tablet with a fan?
And actually that's the reason why I bought Dell Latitude 10. Atom processor = no fan needed.
But I really got used to it.
I'm using Surface Pro more and more often.
My MacBook Air does have a fan as well. And it even gets louder, ofter without any apparent reason.
I guess, it will be the same with Google Chromebook Pixel.
It's even more flat than MacBook Air. So cooling obviously is even more difficult.
So I can understand they need a fan, else probably lifetime would decline and heat might be a real issue.
I'm not a fan of fans.
But I can live with them.
I prefer performance over noiselessness.
But I openly admit, if you listen to it you hear it.
But same on MacBook Air, which is kind of a flagship model as well.
I wanted to mention it, as it did surprise me.
I'm used to having louder fans, but usually of course under load.
The fan on Chromebook Pixel starts rather early, maybe after 15 minutes of "trivial" web surfing.
But after 10 minutes I don't actively hear it anymore, it's kind of white noise in the background.
But if you focus on it, it's frequently present.
I still consider it a total flaghsip product, though.
And I will take it with me most of the time.
The display, boot time, responsiveness, streamlined OS, ... simply is to good to miss out.