Google's new Pixel C tablet is a surprisingly great budget option ' with one big drawback

Google's new Pixel C tablet, available today, represents an important step for the company.In the past, Google has reserved the Pixel brandfor the highest-end Chromebook devices.But the Pixel C, selling for $499, is the first-ever Android tablet to bear the name and the first Android tablet designed by Google itself, not a manufacturer partner, from concept to finished product.This isagainst the backdrop of reportsthat Google is moving away from the Chrome operating system entirely to focus on Android.It means that the Pixel C is very likely our first glimpse at what Google sees as the future of computing.Plus, a major part of the Google Pixel C's sales pitch is that it's been designed around an optional-but-not-really $149 keyboard accessory. That's just like the Apple iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablets,both of with which the Pixel C now competes.That's a heavy burden for a little, 10.2-inch tablet.Fortunately, the Pixel C is up to the challenge, resulting in a very pleasant surprise.Here's how the Pixel C stacks up.SEE ALSO:Apple, Microsoft, and Google are trying to incite a quiet app revolutionThe Pixel C breaks from Pixel tradition by running a full-fledged version of Android, paired with an optional-but-not-really $149 keyboard that doubles as a case. But like other Pixel devices, it's a good-looking little machine with a fine attention to detail.Closed up, the Google Pixel C looks like a teeny-tiny laptop. But the truth is a little stranger than that.Also note the lightbar at the bottom edge here, which lights up to show the battery level when you tap it.Unlike the competing Apple iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface Pro 4, there's no hinge on the keyboard to make it close neatly. Instead, whenever you want to open it, you actually have to slide the keyboard off entirely...See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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