Google unveils $1,300 touch-enabled Chromebook Pixel [video]

Like Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG) is in a period of transition. Both companies cut their teeth in software and grew to lead their respective industries, but then they came to a realization: unless a company controls all aspects of the user experience — software and hardware — a product will never take shape in the manner they intended. On Microsoft’s end, the company is changing that with its Surface lineup. Google, on the other hand, bought Motorola for $12.5 billion.

[More from BGR: Apple’s full-size iPad isn’t dead yet: Completely redesigned iPad due in Q3]

The Android landscape will soon undergo dramatic changes as Google prepares to take more control over Motorola devices, but it also has plans beyond Android.

[More from BGR: Sony unveils the PlayStation 4: ‘The evolution of gaming’]

Google on Thursday announced that it will launch an own-brand Chromebook with a 12.85-inch, 2560 x 1700-pixel touchscreen display next week. It will be the first Chrome OS-powered device to feature a touchscreen and it will fetch a premium price: the “Chromebook Pixel” will start at $1,299 equipped with Wi-Fi and 32GB of internal storage and it tops out at $1,499 with integrated Verizon (VZ) LTE and a 64GB SSD.

The Chromebook Pixel is powered by a 1.8GHz Core i5 processor and it is available for purchase through the Google Play store beginning immediately in the U.S. and U.K. A video of the Chromebook Pixel in action follows below.

This article was originally published on BGR.com