Google challenges Apple with high-end laptop
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google on Thursday unveiled a touch-screen notebook computer designed for high-end users, throwing down a gauntlet for Apple and its MacBooks.
Google said its Chromebook Pixel computers blending tablet and laptop technology, boasting heavyweight Intel chips and screens tailored for rich graphics, were released in the United States (US) and Britain, starting at US$1,299 (S$1,607).
"People will give up a MacBook Air for this," Google Chrome senior vice president Sundar Pichai said while showing off the premium end of what, to now, were low-priced notebook computers that serve as windows to Internet-based services.
A Pixel model featuring built-in connectivity to the Verizon mobile Internet service will hit the market in April at a price of US$1,449, according to Google.
