When Google released the first Chromebook Pixel in 2013, many tech journalists (myself included) saw the Chrome OS-based laptop as more of a fanciful intellectual proposition than a viable consumer product. It was a halo device that illustrated what a Chromebook could be--in a broad, sweeping romantic sense--if designed with complete disregard for consumer pricing sensitivity. Indeed, would anyone spend almost $1,500 on a computer that can't even run Windows applications? The world generally scoffed--and then scoffed again when Google updated the Pixel in 2015. But now we have the Google Pixelbook, which starts at $999 for a Core i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD config, and goes up to $1,649 for a Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD config.

The Pixelbook, announced Wednesday at Google's hardware event in San Francisco, is the third generation of Google's premium Chromebook Pixel. Up to now, the laptops lived apart from Google's other products, isolated in Chrome OS. The Pixelbook is the first Chromebook that's tied closely to major parts of Google's ecosystem, such as Google Assistant and the Google Play Store. It shows new potential for Chromebooks, and new freedom for Google products formerly stuck on small, limited smartphones and tablets. "The laptop experience hasn't changed that much, but how we use technology definitely has," said Google's Matt Voukun at the event.

With two weeks to go until Google's big end-of-year event on October 4, we already know everything that's going to be announced. After months of rumors and speculation, especially about the Pixel 2 flagship phone, Droid-Life dropped a bomb yesterday and published images and prices for everything Google is about to release. You might remember that the same thing happened right before the iPhone X event last week, reducing the presentation to a checklist rather than a show. Granted, Apple relies more on the wow factor than Google does, but yesterday's massive leak must have rankled CEO Sundar Pichai just a little. We already had a pretty good idea about what was coming, but now there's little reason to get excited.

After it launched Android Oreo on Monday, the tech giant is reportedly working on three new products, apart from the already confirmed Pixel 2 smartphones -- a Google Home Mini speaker, a new Chromebook, and most significantly, a new pair of smart headphones that will rival the Apple AirPods. Google may be working on new smart headphones capable of running Google Assistant, according to 9to5 Google. Since the source code refers to Google's proprietary software, it may be possible the tech giant may come up with its own line of headphones. While the Chromebook Pixel launch may help in rebranding the Chromebook brand, Google Home Mini is expected to compete with Amazon Echo Dot, both being miniature versions of existing smart speakers, Android Police reported Monday, citing sources aware of the company's plans.

It's been discovered that Google is developing new features for its Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks. The biggest feature that's said to be in-development is the integration of Google Assistant. The new new alleged features for Chrome OS was first discovered by the site Chrome Unboxed. It first began when the news outlet discovered back in October that Google may be working on a new Chromebook model codenamed "Eve." With Chrome Unbox's latest report, it claims to have discovered even more new features for this Eve Chromebook.

With HP announcing a line of slick-looking Chromebook laptops, Google may be closing the door on the Chromebook Pixel--at least for now. As VentureBeat reports, the 999 Chromebook Pixel has gone out of stock at the Google Store, which had been the only place to buy the laptop in the United States. Attempting to purchase this model--which comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 32GB of storage--brings up a message saying it is "no longer available for sale." Google hasn't said whether this model is getting discontinued, though it seems likely the company isn't producing any more of them. From the outset, Google kept expectations low with the Pixel, an aluminum-clad laptop with a gorgeous 12.85-inch, 2,560x1,700 resolution display.