Why I chose Google's $999 Chromebook Pixel

Last summer, I spent one month on a Chromebook, using it almost every day. It was the white HP Chromebook 14. 

I didn't have WiFi in my house at the time, so one of the reasons I chose this model was because it also came with a lifetime supply of data from T-Mobile. Not a lot of data, but enough to get you started. You could add more as you needed. I had heard most of the negatives: you need to be connected to the Internet to use the Chromebook, Chromebooks are cheap, Chromebooks are for people who can't afford "real" computers, and a few others that you might have heard. 

But I hadn't had a desktop computer in my house for a number of years and I really hadn't needed one. Once in a while I would bring a laptop home from work, but more often than not, I would do pretty much everything on my Android tablets, which I used bluetooth keyboards with when I needed that experience. So, I reasoned, a Chromebook could meet my needs.

I really liked my Chromebook experience. I created a really cool website, worked on a blog, created a killer resume from a template I found on the Chromebook, and, more recently have been using Google Slides on the HP Chromebook to update a lengthy work PowerPoint document from home.

While I loved the Chromebook experience, the resolution on the HP Chromebook 14 wasn't all that great. So over the last few months, I started researching newer Chromebooks and new larger Android tablets with keyboards.

I was strongly cosidering buying a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2" with a keyboard for a total price of around $650. The first tablet I owned, however, was the original Samsung Galaxy Tab. I guess you could say I'm an early adapter. I loved that thing and it worked great - for nine months. But at nine months and one day, I started having serious battery drain issues. I sent the thing in to Samsung twice and it was returned with the same problem. Samsung would not replace my device. So when it came time to spend a little more money, all I could think of was if I buy the somewhat pricey Tab Pro and it for some reason stops working, Samsung will not have my back and I'll be out $550. So I just couldn't pull the trigger on the Tab Pro, though I am enamored with it.

Then, I found out that Google just launched the Chromebook Pixel 2. It had everything I had been looking for with its quality and looks. So I ordered it for $999 Friday, sight unseen and it arrived Tuesday.

My next blog will cover week one with the Pixel 2. I will give you a preview: I love everything about it - except one thing.