Google's new Chromebook - pretty as a Pixel

Google takes on the high-end of the laptop market with its new pumped up Pixel Chromebook. The new toy features an aluminum case, 12.85-inch 2560 X 1700 resolution display that compares with Apple's Retina Display, and a touchscreen.

What's inside? It's packed with an Intel i5 1.8GHz processor, 4GB of memory. 32GB of storage, Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n) dual-band, Bluetooth 3.0, a five-hour battery and it's 0.63-inches thick.

The Pixel will come with three years of 1 terabyte of storage on the Google Drive cloud storage along with 12 free sessions of GoGo Inflight Internet service.

The Pixel is available right now from the Google Play Store in the U.S. and U.K. It will be carried by Best Buy in the U.S. and Curry's PC World in the U.K.

For more, read:

• Google's big Chromebook gamble: Can it upend Windows at a high price?

The touchscreen works like any other, tap to click, pinch to zoom and swipe to move.

The hottest feature of the Pixel comes from it's screen with 2560 x 1700 pixel resolution and 239 pixels-per-inch. It's comparable to Apple's Retina Display.

Pixel’s display has a 0.55mm layer of Gorilla Glass that is fused directly to the display. It gives high picture clarity, rich colors, and a 178° viewing angle.

The Google Pixel has a backlight keyboard that dims when watching a video and reacts to a room's lighting. It also has a touchpad that's made of textured glass.

Google says Pixel's lightbar is there to be cool.

Here's a closed look from the front and back. It has a piano hinge that lets you open and close it with a finger. It's design is intended to increase its Wi-Fi range and act as a heatsink to cool the machine off.

The speakers are hidden beneath the keyboard.

As you can see, the starting price is $1,299.