Pixel Slate #2: Why No Review Yet?

I've been trying to wait until I receive this complete Pixel Slate Chromebook system before even thinking about posting my thoughts on it and that hasn't happened yet.  I've received the Slate itself and the Google Pen but not the keyboard.  It's Monday, June 1st as I write and post this and a Best Buy help desk employee claims I will receive the keyboard tomorrow on Tuesday.  Tracking info online for this item has been non-existent.  Like, literally, UPS tracking info claims they haven't even picked up the item yet while Best Buy says it shipped last week.  That employee swears I have nothing to worry about and that I should just give it another 24 hours.

In the meantime, my use of this tablet has been mostly wonderful.  Watching videos of the device before I received it, the tablet itself looked kind of chunky and thick to me.  Because it's almost 12.5 inches, it also looked a little unwieldy.  Was that because I've never held in my hands a tablet that large?

As it turns out, probably.  Using this tablet for the past week has been great and is often the case, the camera was adding 50 pounds to this device's girth.  In person, it's sleek, sexy and most important, light.  It's exactly 25.6 ounces or 1.5 pounds and actually feels lighter than that while holding it.

Another thing I worried about was the Intel processor inside.  We're talking about the M3 CPU, a chipset I knew nothing about.  Despite coming with 8 GB of RAM, would this processor be enough to power this large tablet with the breathtaking 3,000 x 2,000 resolution display?  From my early use, it seems yes.

While the model does offer i5 and i7 Intel variations, I chose the less powerful M3 for two reasons:

1)  This 2 in 1 portable Chromebook was not going to be my main computer system and in fact, be used mostly as a portable tablet.  All I wanted was for something that would demolish any mobile app I threw at it.  

2)  Best Buy was offering a deal on this specific model that was impossible to refuse: the tablet alone at almost half price with the $300 keyboard and Google Pen accessories thrown in for free.  An $1,100 computer system for less than the cost of a mid-range iPad Air.  Yeah, it was an offer I couldn't refuse and after actually holding the tablet in my hands, looking at it's high resolution display with my own eyes and watching it run lots of different programs and apps from the Play store, I've not regretted taking that deal.  Like Fredo in the boat, something can still sneak up on me and surprise me violently but... I don't think so.  The thing runs almost like a dream.

Other off-the-cuff thoughts:

The tablet holds a charge for a long time.  Like, a long, long time.  After charging it to 100% when I first received it, it's at 50% after a week of performing every kind of task: browsing, downloading and installing and running fairly demanding games and apps.

It shuts down and restarts up to front desktop like nothing I've seen.  Seriously, doing either feels almost instant, faster than my beloved Amazon Kindles, even.  But as the core of an $1,100 system, I guess it should, right?

Mini FAQ's

Why did you get a Chromebook?

Price; see above.  Also, I wanted a new tablet and this was the smartest choice in my price range.

What could you possibly do with a Chromebook?

How many people do you know that never leave their browser window when using a computer?

Personally, when I get a new piece of electronics, the first thing I do is try to push it to its maximum performance.  How easy is it to find something to run that causes this device slowdown?  I ran Asphalt 8 and the most recent XCOM.  Having received the Google Pen in the package deal, I ran lots of note-taking apps and tried to take down the goddamned thing with scribbling.  Nothing I threw at it caused the slightest dip in framerate.

So I installed Linux on it.  Because what the fuck all else am I going to do with the country still closed and my hair looking like this, huh?

Pixel Slate, post 1

The Pixel Slate, arrived and charging.

It's unfortunate that I didn't get this complete system at once so I could review the system as a whole but as I've already mentioned, my order has been broken down into three different shipments, due to arrive on three different days.  Best Buy gets an A on price and a D on logistics.  Honestly, the only way their shipping could have been worse is if something arrives broken or not at all.

As of tonight, the Google Pen is due to arrive next Monday.  And although Best Buy swears that the keyboard has shipped, the only progress so far listed on its UPS tracking page is "label created."

Get your shit together, Best Buy.

Tablets, Old and New

     It's been a while since I bought a new tablet.  That's kind of unusual for me because I usually love tablets but seeing as we're currently living through a world-spanning crises, one can probably be forgiven for not keeping up with the latest tech. There was also that uncomfortable period last winter where I was out of work and couldn't afford fucking food but aside from those hiccups, it has been a while since I held a new piece of tech in hand.

     The last tablet I bought was a Chuwi brand Windows/ Android combo back at the end of 2018.  It actually wasn't a bad product but I didn't do as much research as I should have before buying it and the processor proved a little too under-powered for my needs.  I didn't give the thing it's fair shake and it spent most of its time in a closet before I sold it off in one of my very few Ebay transactions.  Adieu, my sweet Chuwi, I hardly knew ya.

     I haven't been using my beloved 10-inch Kindle for the past six months because I haven't been able to find the damn thing.  I have a strong suspicion I know exactly where it is but because that location is in enemy territory at an unfriendly's, I think I'll just have to write it off.  A shame because I've loved the entire Kindle line, that model especially.

     In fact, it's my 8-inch Kindle from about three generations ago that I've been using to read during this quarantine and for my simple needs, it's been a champ during this crises.  Despite missing that faster, better 10-inch, I believe an 8-inch is that perfect sweet spot for all of our most basic tasks - reading, browsing, shopping on Amazon.  Despite being over 3 years old, it runs anything from the Google Play store just fine.  And that's the entire Kindle line in a nutshell, isn't it: they just work.  So pick yourself up one or three while you're thinking of it; you can never have too many.

Google Pixel Slate, currently $499 at Best Buy.

     Anyways, my point of this article was that this boy's life needs some upgraded tech and barring any delivery disasters, I should have some new stuff arriving over the next few days.  A new "slate," what Google's calling it's tablets nowadays and a bunch of other stuff should enliven these premises a little throughout this week.  Because Best Buy seemingly couldn't get rid of their Google Pixel Slate inventory fast enough, they knocked off $300 from the tablet itself and threw in the $199 keyboard and $99 Google Pen at no charge whatsoever.


.  Keyboard, case, stylus.  Yep, without thinking I ever, ever needed one in my life, I got a Chromebook system coming and actually can't wait to dig in and explore that ecosystem for the first time in my life.  Chrome OS shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right?  It's basically just the Chrome browser.

The Slate w/ $99 pen.

      After that Google excursion into the void, there should be something else on the way, too, something even more exciting.  But in these uncertain times, let me not over promise too much today.  It's bad enough I got three Google items coming in on three different deliveries with three different carriers on three different days.  Never mind that these three things are from the same store and the same goddamned transaction, even.  Despite being told that the slate shipped yesterday, checking in on its status two days later reveals exactly one line of progress:

"label created"

     I'll be delighted to see that batch of stuff arrive unscathed before June.  If my first batch of goods survive that, I promise something even more exciting for next week.

This is Rich, last survivor of the starship Nostromo, signing off...

The Slate w/ $199 keyboard.

Items discussed in this article:

Google Pixel Slate 12.3" Tablet,  Midnight Blue  Best Buy sale link
Google - Pixelbook Pen - Midnight Blue  Best Buy
Google - Keyboard for Pixel Slate - Midnight Blue  Best Buy

Delivery expected: before end of June 1, 2020.