For the excitement of the audience we are setting up the battle arena, the contestants being the Chromebook Pixel vs. the HP Chromebook 14. Both devices are fresh releases and are well worth looking into to see what they have to offer. The Google Chrome OS platform established itself back in 2011, and it has been a hell of a journey with numerous feature improvements and occasional hiccups. As of now, we are immersing ourselves in the Chromebook universe, to see what two of these machines bring to the table, the Chromebook Pixel and the HP Chromebook 14.
Machines in the Chromebook category usually tend to measure roughly the same. In our case the HP Chromebook measures 239 X 345 X 20.6 mm (long, across, deep), making it the widest of its kind. In the other corner the Chromebook Pixel measures in at 225 X 298 X 16.2 mm, and it is our thinnest contender, a nice plus if you ask me. The machines weigh in at 1.85 kgs for the HP Chromebook 14, while the Chromebook Pixel is slightly lighter, at 1.52 kgs. As for the build, most of the Chromebooks, including the HP Chromebook 14 are encased in plastic. The shiny exception in this case is the Chromebook Pixel which offers a premium aluminum build, hence its heftier price.
The display size on the Chromebooks also shows little variation between different models. The Chromebook 14 offers the largest screen, a 14 inch one, while the Chromebook Pixel doesn’t lag far behind at 12.85 inches. The Chromebook Pixel makes use of a 3:2 aspect ratio, opposed to most other models which opt for 16:9. In terms of resolution the Chromebook Pixel is the godfather of its generation. It packs a whooping 2560 x 1700 resolution, with 239 ppi (pixels per inch), while the HP Chromebook 14 is much more modest in this aspect showing only a 1366 x 768 resolution with a 112 ppi count.
Performance wise, the machines operate at different levels. The CPUs’ power scale quite a lot. The Chromebook Pixel comes with an Intel Core i5, Ivy Bridge, Dual core, at 1.8 Ghz. On the other side of the room, the HP Chromebook 14 sits with a dual core Intel Celeron 2955 U, at 1.4 GHz. The difference in processing power is quite obvious. The GPUs, as expected, are integrated, considering that the platform wouldn’t be able to sustain anything more than just this. The HP Chromebook makes due with Intel HD Graphics, while the Chromebook Pixel stands out of the crowd with the Intel HD Graphics 4000. At the RAM memory chapter both devices score the same, with a 4GB RAM option. The storage capacity differs quite a lot between the two machines. While the Chromebook Pixel sits at the top of the pile, with two options of 32/64 GB and 1TB on Google Drive for 3 years, the HP Chromebook only gets 16 GB, with 100 GB storage on Google Drive for 2 years. That is quite the difference, a difference that is found in the pricing as well.
Regarding the battery autonomy for the devices, things look as they should. The HP Chromebook 14 can take a beating for approximately 9.5 hours. On the other hand, the Chromebook Pixel can only hold its own for about 5 hours, considering that the processor and the screen are quite the power-munchers. On the aspect of connectivity, the HP Chromebook ranks better. It packs 2 x USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0 port, HDMI and an SD card slot. The Chromebook Pixel however, only has 2 x USB 2.0 mini, a Display Port and a SD/MMC card reader. The Chromebook Pixel is the only one of its kind to also come equipped with a touchscreen, yet another energy-drainer. The pricing tends to speak for itself. The HP Chromebook 14 offers two variants 299/349 $, decently priced for what they’re worth. The wallet-buster Chromebook Pixel also has two price options, 1.229/1.449 $, but considering the amount of tech available on this machine for a Chromebook, who can say it’s not worth it.