Short followup to previous commentary on the Pixel Slate. The Pixelbook (sans go) was Google’s previous effort at a unified form factor, a 2in1 with attached keyboard. In many ways, they are quite similar in capability, with similar specs as well.

Unlike the Slate, the Pixelbook isn’t on perpetual fire sale. Google will still attempt to charge you $999 for a new one, three years later. However, I was able to find a used one for less than half that price, at which point it becomes a much better value. It’s aged fairly well, as I don’t think there are any competing devices that truly outclass it.

Most of my previous comments are still relevant, with the qualifier that anything the Slate is great at, the Pixelbook is merely very good at. The screen in particular is slightly less outstanding, but still very pleasing. Balancing that, the attached keyboard is an enormous improvement, though that only brings it into the realm of passable.

As an entertainment travel device, it’s very heavy for a tablet, my longstanding complaint for 2in1 devices. It is much sturdier in tent mode, however, so it won’t fall over if a mosquito sneezes nearby. The speakers are kinda bad, especially since they fire through the keyboard, and therefore away from screen in most multimedia modes. Bring headphones.

As a work device, its ability to function as a real laptop with keyboard crushes the Slate. The tactile feel of the keys are weird. They’re soft rubber I think? Would not want to use it as my only device, but there’s nothing I couldn’t accomplish with it if necessary.

I’m building up quite a stable of Chromebooks, which seems rather excessive considering their limitations. However, the downside is tempered by a few things. They’re fast and easy to keep updated. There’s no effort to maintaining one, so there’s no extra effort to maintaining two. As simple appliances to lookup Charlize Theron movies, there’s a certain convenience in having one in every room, and if this means Google shows me more ads for such movies, that’s a devil bargain I’m willing to make.