Like Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) is in a period of transition. Both companies cut their teeth in software and grew to lead their respective industries, but then they came to a realization: unless a company controls all aspects of the user experience — software and hardware — a product will never take shape in the manner they intended. On Microsoft’s end, the company is changing that with its Surface lineup. Google, on the other hand, bought Motorola for $12.5 billion.
The Android landscape will soon undergo dramatic changes as Google prepares to take more control over Motorola devices, but it also has plans beyond Android.
Google on Thursday announced that it will launch an own-brand Chromebook with a 12.85-inch, 2560 x 1700-pixel touchscreen display next week. It will be the first Chrome OS-powered device to feature a touchscreen and it will fetch a premium price: the “Chromebook Pixel” will start at $1,299 equipped with Wi-Fi and 32GB of internal storage and it tops out at $1,499 with integrated Verizon (VZ) LTE and a 64GB SSD.
The Chromebook Pixel is powered by a 1.8GHz Core i5 processor and it is available for purchase through the Google Play store beginning immediately in the U.S. and U.K. A video of the Chromebook Pixel in action follows below.
