As the title says, Google is offering 25% off the Pixel C tablet. On the 64GB model, this is a AU$207 saving off RRP. No discount on the keyboard accessory though.
Now, let's not get into a discussion as to the merits of Android as a tablet OS. If you've bought into the Android ecosystem, this is a good price on what seems to be a premium tablet, especially following the March firmware update which fixed some of the initial software issues.
Targeted offer: Referee gets 75% off first 3 months of Google One. Referrer get $7.
So i can play clash of clans and clash royale at the same time? Ground breaking
I can see your posts & useful ones… at the same time?
How many trophies do you have in Clash Royale?
only managed to get around 1300. Gave up after realising how painfully long the grind is going to be. Pay to win isn't fun
Please no, not Clash Royale… There are people at school who play CoC on their laptop android emulator and CR on their phones… whY
Multi-tasking on a laptop? Are you sure, that's a pretty advanced feature to have. But if anyone can do it it would be those geniuses over at Google.
I wish I could + your comment again:)
Aha I must admit, that was a pretty great comment.
With Android N it might actually be kinda, sorta, possibly cool! In the end it's a super premium android tablet by google.
My pleasure. My Nexus 10 only managed 1:38 SOT while web browsing, so this offer came along at exactly the point it p1ssed me off enough to pull the trigger.
Wow, really? My N10 lasts for what seems like forever. It is feeling pretty sluggish these days though..
Too many recharge cycles after 3 years I'm afraid. & yes, sluggish as well
I'm guessing that does not include the keyboard?
I have owned this one for a while now. This is probably one of the best android tablet in the market with great OS, screen resolution, battery life and built quality.
Really? I haven't read one review that's taken that line but OK.
That's because all those reviews only look at the tablet from a getting-work-done perspective, rather than a regular Android tablet.
Maybe if they threw in the keyboard. $199 is daylight robbery.
It is, on it's own, but when you weigh up the combo of an awesome keyboard with magnetic hinge and wireless charging with this tablet for a total of $723, what 2-in-1 can you buy that comes close to these specs at that price?
Of course, you have to like Android, otherwise you may as well get a Surface 3.
Nice, they finally extended this to Australia (the promotion was on just for in US beforehand).
I have Nexus 6p and Dell XPS 13. I dont need this tablet but I want this tablet. Gosh
I've now chained my wallet shut after an ozbargain binge…Surface 3 LTE in Jan, Surface Pro 3 on clearance in Feb, Galaxy S7 and Sony Z2 from the CTECHIE ebay deal…
How many hands do you have to use all that at the same time?
I'm guessing this supports an SD card of sort for extra storage.
Nope.
That would mean you might disconnect from the internet and Google really does not want you doing that - since every time you do you cease sending precious data about yourself and have no value.
And they sell cloud storage which probably has nothing to do with it (no money in it for them).
looks impressive but is it better than other tablets at similar prices - high end Samsung for example, they have split screen dont they?
the gpu on this thing is a beast.. take a look at the specs
thanks, I will read a bit more.
Yep. One of the few devices that runs dolphin (Nintendo GameCube/Wii emulator) well
It has a better hardware (Exynos 5433 vs Tegra X1). Exynos 5433 is alright SoC but compared to Tegra X1, let me just say that Exynos 5433 was compared with Tegra K1 (Older gen model by Nvidia) more because of when it was released and because of its performance. And according to these guys, in certain benchmarks, X1 performed twice as good as K1.
More importantly, it's from Google so you do get more support on software both from XDA and Google itself. A lot of apps would probably start supporting split screen starting from Android N so in that regards, it's slightly behind compared to Samsung who've been implementing splitscreen features for awhile now.
But Samsung's split screen has largely been limited to some Google apps and some apps from Samsung.
You could always root it and make it available to many other, almost all if not all, apps. I do agree that it's not a perfect solution (a lot of apps don't work well with this method) nor a solution that everyone would want to use and I don't disagree that Samsung's feature is limited (in that it doesn't support all apps). That said, I think it's still better than something that's not even officially (Android N is in its developer preview stage) available in my opinion. It's only been few days since the developer preview have become available. Even as is, there are fair bit of apps that support Samsuing's splitscreen. Hence why I said "it's slightly behind compared to Samsung who've been implementing splitscreen features for awhile now"
One thing that the Tab S2 has on this is weight, at 395 grams for tab 2 vs 517 grams for pixel c - roughly the additional weight of a phone, for reference (I assume the difference in weight is due to the battery). The S2 is also thinner; if you are planning on carrying the tablet and using it on the go as opposed to having it rest on a table or surface that additional thickness and weight can be an issue.
S2 also supports micro SD and LTE capabilities.
The pixel C is a much more powerful device under the hood, but the question is whether that is necessary for your purposes. The Galaxy tab S2 ought to be powerful enough for anything android can throw at it i.e. I don't see any systematic issues with people complaining about the S2 being laggy at all.
No memory, it's just not enough for me to have 64gb max on a big tablet. I want to be able to store movies and other stuff on for when I'm on a plane or commuting. I've no idea why Google limit themselves like this.
That's storage, not memory.
Well I think you can figure by context what I meant lol
Yeah, agree with that. Above mentions no external memory slot. What a 10inch tablet doesn't have room?
Yeah, that's what I meant as well. I forgot to add 'external' so the Nexus Defence Force hop on and intervene lol.
Full disclosure - I realise this is a Pixel and not an actual Nexus, I don't care. Same shit. I own the current Nexus flagship phone.
Decisions decisions. This is awesome but I'd also love a Remix OS tablet. Hopefully a ROM is released.
Genuinely curious, but who is this actually for?
Not for kids (high end and expensive)
Not for work/study (Windows excels here)
So..media? Watching movies and stuff?
Please enlighten me
Not for work/study (Windows excels here)
You can use the Google equivalent Sheets, Docs, Slides
You just need to open your eye to see how the others using a premium tablet…and add that a top of the premium tablet ONLY for $622
Only $622? ..Yikes
In my mind, and why I bought it, is that it's for people who are already all-in on Android. All my media purchases are through the play store these days, and while I could watch those on an iPad, I'm once bitten twice shy on apple products. I've got surface devices at work, but find Windows a clunkier touch OS.
It's for Ozbargainers on Telstra pre-paid who purchase all their apps/media on pre-paid credit on the play store (then expense their phone bill at work).
BTW, you can get word & excel for Android these days. Microsoft has even released an Android on-screen keyboard to make using excel easier (it has the tab key and a numeric keypad). I find excel a tough ask on even a 24" screen for some of the spreadsheets I've got to work with (I miss being a dev some days).
Is this particular unit any different to a consumer model?
I am no developer so not sure if it makes a difference… ?
I would buy this if:
The keyboard was more reasonably priced ($199?!)
The bluetooth connection to the keyboard was more stable (A $199 keyboard with a flaky connection!?)
It had a SIM slot…no I don't want to hotspot my phone, I want it to last more than 2 hours…I want to use my data share SIM instead.
The keyboard's definitely expensive, but I understand the march firmware update has helped with the flakiness.
No usb cable included. Picked that info right up from a very deserted xda section. A dev toy with not much development going on doesn't sound too enticing for me
Just saw this.
I was tempted to have one to use with the 6P - always handy to have a few around the place.
My Nexus 10's battery is pretty shot nowadays (get to 50% and powers off for the last 6 months) this might be a good replacement?
Yes
Yes, this is exactly what happened to me yesterday, and is why I pulled the trigger. This seemed to me like the logical move from a nexus 10.
How do I take advantage of the deal? I entered my email in the link provided but then I did not get any email with discount codes?
The sentence just above the email box is your answer…
Just sign up below to receive updates from the Pixel team, and we’ll email you back within a few days with a unique discount code to be used on the Google Store.
I wonder if they actually care whether or not you're a developer.
Same. Just said entry recorded or something along those lines.
I'll wait for the Huawei Matebook from $1000 thanks:
Huawei MateBook specs:
640 grams
Full-fat Windows 10
Keyboard
Intel Core M processor: Core M3, up to Core m7
Storage: 128GB, up to 512GB
RAM: 4GB or 8GB
5-megapixel front-facing camera, no rear camera
12-inch, 2,160x1,440-pixel resolution display IPS, 84% screen to bezel ratio
400-nit brightness
33.4-watt hour battery, approximately 10 hours of battery life
Doesn't have 4G, however I fear the Tabpro S competitor won't have band 28 anyway.
For $120 I can go a Samsung or mophie battery case for my new S7 edge or rely on quick charge and just run it all day as a wifi hotspot instead.
Out of curiosity, what are you killer apps on Windows?
I spend all my time in office, email and the browser. The OS has become some what superfluous. Then again, my windows machine is actually a VM on a Kubuntu machine, so perhaps I'm just used to doing things the hard way.
I will be using it for sales presentations, so for that I need just Google Maps, but also Microsoft Onenote is much better in full blown Windows vs Android/iOS.
I am ready to retire my iPad Air, with 1GB of RAM and leave iOS completely for a while. I usually run dozens of tabs when working and this doesn't work well on Chrome for iOS.
There is no killer app really, but if you want to get work done, I prefer a real OS whether is is Windows or OSX. Android is fine for my phone and my watch, but I want a proper OS on a proper tablet. I also have to do photo editing and other multimedia stuff this year.
For doing lots of office work I'd stick to something with a decent keyboard & trackpad (especially if you're flying & can't use a mouse). For me that's probably more important than the OS. Photo editing you do want Windows, OSX or Linux though. I don't know of great apps for RAW editing on Android/iOS.
I haven't tried OneNote on android. We've tended to live in evernote in the office.
I am always amused by the "real OS" label though. Android is linux under the hood. It's "real apps" that you're really missing… that and a screen with real-estate.
Regardless, this deal clearly isn't for you. Glad you could drop in to let us know though :)
Hi people, first comment on Ozbargain -
Is it possible to have TRS from this purchase? Thanks!
It says sold in Australia so I assume it has an invoice with GST, then yes
No, google ships from Singapore, so there's no GST charged.
Also, it's billed overseas, so if your credit card has a foreign transaction surcharge, you'll get charged.
This is my daily driver - happy to answer questions. A few reasons why it's awesome:
If you have a phablet and an ultrabook, you may not need this, but for tapping out some emails then spinning it into landscape to read pdfs on the train, I reckon it's the best.
Without the base how long is the battery life? also is the comment above correct - it doesn't even ship with a USB C cable .. give how new that is as a standard people likely don't have a spare lying around and effectively Google themselves stated most USB C cables are not up to snuff you'd think one would come in the box for %600+
It comes with a usb c charger, so any concerns about charging cables being not up to snuff are moot. The cable is fixed at the charger end so people can't plug dodgy cables in.
Battery life is… good. Doze mode works a treat.
I specifically said USB Cable, which is the thingie u use to connect the tablet with your pc and the likes. Since the pixel c uses usb c, none of the last gen cables will work
@volturee: You specifically said most USB C cables are not up to snuff. That's only relevant if you're using it for charging. Since the charger comes with a fixed cable, that's irrelevant then.
If you're thinking of data transfer, I think Google would rather point you towards their online services that can technically "do it all"..
@eug:
"No usb cable included. Picked that info right up from a very deserted xda section. A dev toy with not much development going on doesn't sound too enticing for me". That's all I said, where's the 'up to snuff' part?
@volturee: Oh, I thought you were Elijha, since my reply was to his reply. You replied as if you were Elijha. You were never in this particular thread at all.
@eug: oh shite. Im too eager to be a keyboard ninja today. There are reports of poor quality 3rd party usb c cables frying the pixel though so Elijha's point is well founded
@volturee: I also think Google should have included a cable for data transfer, but I'm not sure how much it would help the dodgy-cable problem. I'm sure most of us here have more than one USB cable for our devices. Having a stock cable in the box won't stop us from buying a spare cable.
I don't think it's a big deal for more tech-oriented people though. We all know about the problem and also know how to choose a Benson-approved cable. It's probably just the OzB in us that makes us balk at paying more than $4 for a USB cable!
They actual fry the thing at the other end of the cable first, which might be your expensive laptop or PC.
Hi ELijha,
The base doesn't add to the tablet battry life (in fact the tablet charges the keyboard wirelessly). I've never measured battery life but it's 'all day'. Doze makes a big difference. Tablet has been sitting on my work desk for the last hour and a half off the charger and it's still on 99%.
You're right, it doesn't come with a usb-c cable - that sucks. I bought a Nexus 6P at the same time and I carry the one charger (with detachable cable) for both devices, so I forgot the Pixel C doesn't actually come with a detachable cable.
Which 2-in-1 form factor did you compare it against? Have you use the likes of surface pro 3 or ipad air + keyboard?
Yeah I was specifically thinking of the ipad air pro and the surface series - the reason why I love this form factor is that it doesn't use a kickstand - you magnetically attach the tablet to the keyboard and have a strong hinge that works at any angle so you can use it on your lap. It's so solid you can pick it up by the keyboard and hang the tablet upside-down without dropping.
The kickstand can be annoying.
Tempting. Seeing the deal is still until July, I might wait and see.
I'm not sure if there are only a certain amount of developer models and once they're gone, the deal is off, or if it's until July in which case it is unlikely to sell out if they're using retail stock and simply removing the charger from the box.
But these developer models are still technically retail stock with boxes and charger right?
Yep, comes with charger. This is exactly the same as the retail one.
You think the recent discounts of nexus and this one due to new release of models this year? I'm keen for a nexus 7 to upgrade my current nexus 7 (2013)
Yes!!! This please!
The discount seems like a normal sale drive to me. As someone pointed out, the pixel c doesn't stand out much to any demographic (not for kids, not enough to replace windows for work/school). It has a super powerful processor and gpu to play poorly-optimised android games (seriously??). As to the new nexus 7 edition, don't hold your breath. The trend is going for tablets to replace laptops (surface, iPad pro blah blah). I do hope a new nexus 7 is coming though
Would people recommend this tablet over a Samsung S2 8"?
Yep,
+Stock Android
+Regular Updates
+Cleaner nicer interface
+Keyboard
+USB Type C
-Expensive
-Expensive Keyboard
-USB Type C
I'd say it depends, since S2 8" would be far far lighter and portable compared to this one.
To put it simple, Tab S2 8" model is only 72 grams heavier than iPhone 6s+ (I guess I chose a phone that's fairly heavy to begin with but still). Or, two Tab S2 8" is around the same weight as Pixel C (530g for 2 Tab S2 8" vs 519g Pixel C).
It really depends on how and where you use it. I had both, I ended up returning the Pixel C as I found it a bit heavy at just over half a kilo.
The S2 8" has a really nice screen and is really light which makes it a lot easier for me to carry around, but I do miss the larger screen on the Pixel C sometimes.
At this price, maybe I'll get it again if the itch comes back!
thanks for the replies. It seems the pixel c has more grunt but more bulk, which at twice the weight is kind of a put off. comparing these and an ipad mini 4 is very annoying in a good way.
But keep in mind the 'heft' of the Pixel C is what allows it to sit so comfortably on your lap with it's awesome magnetic-hinge keyboard. And if you actually want to do a bunch of work, 10-inch is the minimum both for reading and for a keyboard worth typing on.
@Sindex: It, I think, really depends. I have 12 inch tablet (if you count Surface Pro 3 as a tablet), 10 inch tablet (An Android tablet that I've gotten) and had 8 inch tablet (not for long but, enough for me to play around; it was a present for my mother and I had access to it for a whole month). 12 inch tablet does cannibalise the usage of 10 inch tablet. I rarely use 10 inch one, unless it is for something that apps are better at. That said, 8 inch tablet was unique enough for me to carry it around. It's small enough for me to carry around in hand or in a small pouch.
Not to mention, 519g is fairly heavy. When I say fairly, I mean it's on the heavy side of the current gen tablets. Most current gen tablets fall under 500g. If I were to list few heavy ones that I could think of off top of my head (and google their weight), Tab A 9.7 is around 450g, Tab Pro 10.1 is 470g, so on and so forth. Don't forget, the keyboard adds weight as well. I personally find my Tab Pro 10.1 to feel awkward to carry around for a long time in hand, because of weight (I do admit that I do use a case and a glass protector which'd add bit more on top of that?) and size.
I think in the end, it really depends on what you see as more important. It's basically portability vs screen size/functionality in some sense. I wouldn't carry Pixel C around in hand doing readings or something similar to that. 8 inch tablets are so much easier to carry around.
@Oversimplified: definitely heavy compared to the likes of the Sony z4. Compared to my current Nexus 10 is about the same weight. With the cover I've used, the pixel c comes out a few grams ahead.
I could go lighter, but pure Android & monthly security updates for a few years wins over a few grams for me at least. The keyboard stand will be great when I fly too.
@dsgfh: as I said I think it's a trade off between portability vs screen size and functionality, specifically when you sit down.
I don't disagree with it having the best spec on android currently and I don't disagree with official google support being amazing. That said it's heavy. Nexus 10 was from 2012. It's as heavy as a device from 4 years ago. The keyboard case for Pixel C is 399g according to Androidcentral (I assume it's the heavy one, though).
I personally think if it is a portable device you want, Pixel C isn't one of the lighter ones nor smaller ones. There are better options out there in terms of portability. I'd personally find the size too cumbersome in hand if you want to carry it for a fair bit of time, weight too heavy to use while I go around places etc.
@Oversimplified:
You're right that the keyboard is heavy. After a day it's very clear to me that it's heavy because it's solid & stable. There's no comparison between this & the surface type cover. The surface keyboard is wider, with bigger keys, and I still find this easier to type on. I run an ISV who have a windows tablet app, so I've lived surface devices for some time now, and I'd pick up the Pixel C over the surface in an instant. You actually want a bit of weight for stability on the desk while holding the tablet.
Just remember that once you wrap a folio/case around any device, it'll end up contributing a large percentage of the total weight anyway.
With all the cables, external batteries, notepads, etc I usually carry around, a few grams here or there ends up making very little difference.
Android N will turn this tablet into something truly special with that awesome split-screen multitasking.