Google Unveils Pixel Slate, Its First Laptop-Tablet Hybrid in Three Years (engadget.com)

In addition to announcing new flagship phones today, Google took the wraps off a new premium tablet called the Pixel Slate. It's a Chrome OS-powered slate with a 12.3-inch display that's supposed to be the sharpest in its class. Google claims this isn't just a laptop pretending to be a tablet or a phone pretending to be a computer. From a report: It has a resolution of 3,000 x 2,000 -- i.e., a pixel density of 293 ppi, which Google says is the highest for a premium 12-inch tablet. For reference, the Surface Pro 6 and iPad Pro (12.9 inch) come in at 267 ppi and 264 ppi, respectively. Google was able to make the screen so sharp because of an energy-efficient LCD technology called Low Temperature PolySilicon (LTPS), which let the company pack in more pixels without sacrificing size or battery. In fact, the Pixel Slate is supposed to last up to 12 hours on a charge, which is impressive for its skinny 7mm profile. [...] What stands out about the Pixel Slate is the version of Chrome OS it runs. When docked to a mouse or a keyboard accessory with a trackpad, it runs the regular desktop interface most people are familiar with by now. Disconnect peripherals, though, and it switches automatically to tablet mode, which is optimized for touch. In this profile, the home screen features icons for installed apps, much like the app drawer on Android phones. You can split the screen between up to two apps or drag and drop browser tabs to place them side by side. The Pixel Slate will be available with an Intel Celeron or Core M3, i5 or i7 processor, and 4GB to 16GB of RAM at a starting price of $599. The keyboard will cost an additional $200, should you wish to buy one, and the pen accessory will similarly cost $99.

Comments

$200 for keyboard

[postmortem]

Typical accessory scam.

Re:Those accessories are prohibitively expensive

[Kjella]

If you make accessories too expensive, you end up putting yourself in the price range of real laptops running Windows while holding no real competitive advantages. No thanks.

Well $99 for a pen is pretty normal... but $200 for a keyboard is crazy. I mean it starts at $600, if you go for the base model that's 1/3rd of the cost. For that you get the screen, CPU, GPU, memory, storage, wireless etc. and then $200 just to have keys... Surface takes $129 for a type cover, Apple $169 so ~$150 would be in line with the competition. I know they make money back on accessories but when you make Apple look cheap you have a problem.

Re:Ad video in the article has terrible implicatio

[Luthair]

One could also make the argument that Google's video is realistic while Apple's is delusional.