Pixel C is the first all-Google Android tablet. It has a 10.2-inch screen and is designed to be used with a companion keyboard that also doubles as a protective cover. The tablet isn’t quite a total replacement for your laptop but it could qualify as the sexiest Android tablet on the market.
Not to be confused with an earlier Pixel model, which is a fully decked out Chromebook laptop that costs twice as much, the Pixel C weighs 1.1 pounds (twice that with the keyboard attached) and comes in an all-aluminum case that is 7 mm thick.
It runs the 6.0 Marshmallow version of Android, at least until the next update. The 64-bit CPU is an eight-core Nvidia Tegra X1 with a 256 core Maxwell GPU built-in. This is the same graphics power that Nvidia supplies on its GeoForce desktop GPUs. Nvidia claims that this chip can display 4k video at 60 frames per second, which if you could find an Android game with these specs, could be very impressive. Pixel C comes with 3GB of RAM.
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Pixel C has a single USB C port (hence its name) for charging its battery along with a headphone jack. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, but not a broadband cellular connection. If you’ve never experienced a USB C connector, you’ll like that it can take a plug upside down, like the new Apple lightning plugs. There are a number of adapters for the C, like an RJ-45 Ethernet, and converters to fit older USB connectors.
It comes with two cameras: the front camera is 2 MP and the rear is 8 MP. And there are stereo speakers and four microphones. The sound quality is adequate for the average conference room to drive a presentation and comparable to what you would hear from the external speakers on an iPhone 5, for example.
Downsides. There are two basic frustrations with the Pixel C. First is that all apps are run full-screen, which is somewhat loosely defined. There are no split-screen apps yet available (such as with the newer iPads), although rumors about a future upgrade are rife. The reason we say loosely defined is that some apps, like Netflix, will only take advantage of 9.5 inches of the screen, which is somewhat annoying. The Kindle app does use the entire screen however.
You can have multiple apps running on the device, but you have to switch among them by tapping on the appropriate square icon on the bottom of the screen – similar to the display with Windows Control-Alt or the Mac’s hot corners.
Second is that it isn’t designed to replace your laptop, whether you are a fan of Windows or Mac OS. There isn’t the range and selection of productivity apps or external ports that are available for either of these platforms, and having to run everything in full screen isn’t optimal. But it can serve nicely as a companion device to monitor your email or message traffic, or as a note-taking device.
About the keyboard. The most unusual aspect of the Pixel C is its keyboard, available for an additional $150. It fits over the tablet and doubles as a cover. There are magnets that somewhat hold it in place on top of the tablet, and additional magnets that allow it to solidly connect to the top of the keyboard with a unique levered hinge. This means you can tilt the tablet to just the right angle for the optimum viewing angle. It takes a bit to get used to sliding it and tilting it, and it isn’t quite as natural a motion as you could find on the Dell Venue for example.
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The magnetic connection is also how the keyboard gets charged. There are no power controls on the keyboard, and no trackpad either: you’ll have to tap the screen for any navigation. The keyboard automatically is paired with the tablet, which is another nice feature. There are two types of keyboards, both for the same price: one includes a leather cover. They both use the magnetized tilt hinge.
Neither Apple nor Microsoft has as functional a keyboard as Google’s. The key feel was adequate, but there is no real space to rest your wrists. One other issue is that the Enter key is somewhat small and will take some getting used to.
Display. The screen can deliver 308 ppi at 500 nits, meaning that it is very bright and videos look terrific on it. The resolution is 2560 x 1800 pixels. This is somewhat better than the Apple iPad Air but less than what you can have on the iPad Pro or the Surface 4. The Pixel C’s screen reflects some light, which is somewhat inferior to the new iPad that come with an anti-reflective coating.
Battery. The specs say 10 hours. Actual use was less, at about nine hours of heavy use. Certainly, you could use a Pixel C for most of your workday and have enough battery left over to watch a movie at night.
Apps. The standard set of Google apps comes pre-loaded, and most of the Android apps can be quickly downloaded from the Google Play store. We tested several, including Microsoft Word, Dropbox, Netflix, Lastpass, Adobe Acrobat, and Amazon’s Kindle. They all worked fine, although both Gmail and Dropbox crashed and had to be reloaded.
Pricing: There are two versions available, depending on how much internal storage you will need. A 32GB unit sells for $500, and upgrading to 64 GB is $600. Any keyboard is extra.
Bottom line: You can certainly spend a lot less with a lower-end Chromebook or older Microsoft Surface, and the smaller iPads and other 10-inch Android tablets are about the same price. If you are an Android fan this is worth looking into if you tire of the smaller and less capable tablets and want an all-Google product.
Strom is the founding editor-in-chief of Network Computing magazine and has written thousands of magazine articles and two books on various IT and networking topics. His blog can be found at strominator.com and you can follow him on Twitter @dstrom. He lives in St. Louis.
