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Google Stops Selling the Pixel C Android Tablet (androidpolice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new dept.

Google is no longer selling the Pixel C, its flagship Android tablet released about two years ago. "Google's commitment to Android on tablets wasn't strong even then, and now the Pixel C is gone from the Google Store -- the listing page redirects you to the Pixelbook," reports Android Police. From the report: The Pixel C was an odd device. By all accounts, the hardware was originally intended to run Chrome OS, but Google couldn't get the platform ready for an all-touch device in time. So, the Pixel C became an Android slate. Google has been selling the device continuously since late 2015. It even offered some discounts on the tablet via the Google Store, which it almost never does for other devices. The 32GB Pixel C was pulled a while back, but Google kept the 64GB variant around. At a whopping $599, I doubt many people were buying it. Now, the Pixel C is completely gone from the Google Store, and there's no new tablet to replace it.

10 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Nexus 10 by markdavis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >"At a whopping $599, I doubt many people were buying it. Now, the Pixel C is completely gone from the Google Store, and there's no new tablet to replace it. "

    And here I sit, still waiting for something worthy to replace my Nexus 10. The Nexus 10 was expensive enough- but at least it was a nice, quality, dual-front speaker, 10", widescreen tablet running plain Android. Nothing like it has come since. Samsung's offerings all have "contaminated" Android that I just couldn't swallow, and everything else has been narrow aspect ratio, too small, too poor quality, or no front stereo (or combinations of those).

    The Nexus 10 has held up well for the 5 years, but its days are numbered. Waiting for Google now seems hopeless.

    1. Re:Nexus 10 by Streetlight · · Score: 2

      I'd like a new Nexus 7 (or 8) Wi-Fi only - latest Snap Dragon processor and Android version, high quality screen, headphone jack, and more. The size is right for me, better than a phone for sure. I use my Nexus 7 2012 to check on news, listen to music, and read books. Our library district has over 50,000 e books and seems to be adding them faster than paper books and, again, the size is just right for e book reading. But the 2012 N7 is pretty slow when moving around and reading Flipboard. Samsung has some nice tablets, but i'd like pure Android.

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    2. Re:Nexus 10 by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

      What I don't understand is why Android seems to treat tablets like the adopted kid nobody likes - they've been around forever and you still find apps that are just expanded phone versions that don't work in landscape mode, as well as other oddities that make no sense that only occur on Android tablets.

      I've had two iPads and two Android tablets now, and the iPad was a more complete and polished experience 4+ years ago than the latest version of Android on a tablet is today. The only reason I haven't gone back to an iPad is because Apple seems to have forgotten that the iPad Mini still is a thing, so they are selling it with a CPU that they introduced in 2014 at the same price. No thanks.

      It's really too bad, too - I love the performance of the tablet I've got, and I do enjoy some of the software features Android is sporting that still elude Apple. I just wish it was more consistent. And apparently that won't be happening because Google has decided to eject from yet another product leaving customers in the lurch.

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    3. Re:Nexus 10 by markdavis · · Score: 2

      I suspect you are right about abandoning true tablets. And I would be OK with that as long as the "tablet" part of the convertible:

      1) Isn't any more expensive
      2) Isn't any heavier or bulkier
      3) Has no less battery life
      4) Can really run ALL Android apps correctly
      5) Is really a tablet with no forced keyboard or hinge

      So far, I don't think any of those has been achieved except maybe #5, but it looks like it is getting better in all of those each year. Meanwhile, those of us who really only want a tablet seems to be stuck with under-powered, under-speced, narrow-screened choices, which sucks.

      5 years from the Nexus 10 and you would think one could buy a fast, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, widescreen tablet for no more than what the N10 cost. Note that is just doubling all the major specs over *5 years* which should be normal at this point.

      (The Samsung Chromebook Pro isn't a tablet because it has a hinged keyboard, making it unsuitable for my use case)

  2. Very fond of my Nexus 9 by steveha · · Score: 2

    I never bought a Pixel C because I was basically content with my old Nexus 9.

    IMHO the Nexus 9 is the perfect size for a tablet. Any bigger and it would be bulkier and heavier; and the screen is just big enough to read technical books (including pages with tables or charts). I used to carry a Nexus 7 and that screen wasn't big enough.

    So what I really want is a tablet the same size and weight as my Nexus 9, with USB C and a fingerprint reader. That's it.

    The Pixel C tablet is bigger than the Nexus 9 and 81 grams heavier. It does have USB C but does not have a fingerprint reader. So I never spent the money on it.

    My Nexus 9 is getting kind of flaky and Google is no longer offering security updates so it's probably time to find something new to replace it. The only thing I have found that looks good is the Samsug Galaxy Tab S3. Similar size (about a half-inch taller and wider, I can deal) and weight (only 2 grams more!) to my Nexus 9, has a slightly bigger screen (9.7 inch diagonal vs. 8.9 inch), has USB C, has a fingerprint reader.

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/03/galaxy-tab-s3-review-the-high-price-of-a-well-rounded-android-tablet/

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    1. Re:Very fond of my Nexus 9 by Zocalo · · Score: 2

      I picked up an S3 at almost 20% off in the post-Christmas sales (YMMV on discount availability, obviously) and it seems to fit your needs to a T. Personally, even with the discount, I think it's still slightly overpriced, but easily the nicest Android Nougat tablet on the market at the moment, although it will almost certainly be getting an update to Oreo at some point in 2018. There's surprising little bloatware pre-installed by Samsung - mostly MS Office and a few other popular tools - which can easily be disabled, although it's definitely not 100% stock due to Samsung's UI tweaks. Performance is great, the 9.7" AMOLED screen is amazingly clear and bright, and as you'll already be aware it's light (429g vs. 517g for the Pixel C), has USB-C, fingerprint reader, and the mSD slot that the Pixel didn't (mine has a 64GB card in it). I'm also finding the S-pen surprisingly useful, and combined with a BlueTooth keyboard [1] it's effectively a laptop replacement for general purpose computing. Highly recommended, despite the price.

      [1] Like the RRP of the tablet, Samsung's keyboard cover is also ridiculously overpriced and (AFAIK) still has the design flaw of not including a cut-out for the tablet's rear-facing camera, so be sure to check that if you're considering it. I got a third party cover that included a removable keyboard with a built in trackpad that essentially turns it into a laptop replacement as long as you don't need to do anything too complicated.

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  3. Re: Another android without updates by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

    How is it that the carriers get any decision at all in who gets a software update on their hardware or not?

    This is why Android is a clusterfuck - even if you are lucky enough that the guys who created the god damn hardware and sold it to you make a new software version, you have to get some shithead Telco's permission first before installing it. Google should have fixed that shit contractually a long way back, especially with Google branded hardware.

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  4. Re: Another android without updates by mikael · · Score: 2

    Even worse, if you do have an unlocked phone, every time you change telco with a new SIM card, they'll force you to update with some new crudware that may just brick your phone. Just crossing international borders is enough to do this the minute you turn off flight mode and the phone starts "ROAMing"

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  5. Insanity by jabberw0k · · Score: 4, Informative

    The real question is: Why would any person with even the slightest technical understanding, pay for, and then give brain-space, to a computer (even if euphemistically and misleadingly called a "telephone") they cannot control? And if you aren't controlling it, does no-one wonder: Who is, and what are their motives? ... Has the whole world become zombie sheep?

  6. Tablets with stock Android by hankwang · · Score: 2

    Lenovo announced in August that they would move to stock Android. I tried out a new Lenovo TAB 4 10 (low end device; they have a higher end "plus" as well) for a few hours and it looked pretty much stock to me, especially compared to Samsung. Can't say whether it will get major updates, though. Out of the box it did immediately get an OTA point update on Android 7.x.

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