Pixelbook returned: not compelling and 2-in-1 laptops are silly.

Silly is a euphemism. I tried the $1,000 Google Pixelbook in tablet mode while in a prone position. It's a big, heavy, clumsy "tablet". Who the heck thinks this is a good idea? When you bend the screen all the way back against the top of the laptop, it doesn't suddenly start running Android. It just eliminates the keyboard, which is then exposed on the bottom of the newly formed "tablet". What are you supposed to do when you want to put it down? Unflip it so that the keyboard is not damaged?

The Pixelbook has one of those elongated screens, more vertical than that which we've been using for years. Another, who the heck thinks this is a good idea? Of all things, the Google Chrome browser seemed to be somewhat dysfunctional when resizing: the vertical scroll bar disappeared and some of the top of the screen, too. Gmail just didn't seem to fit on that Pixelbook screen, something that would seem pretty basic. How come all of those reviews that I had checked never addressed that? Maybe because they were too immersed in the screen brightness and keyboard, both of which were nice but not compelling.

I was more comfortable with the Toshiba 13 inch Chromebook that I've been using for a few years. My first Chromebook was an 11 inch Samsung. Both seemed natural and quick enough. The Pixelbook keyboard was backlit but that only presents in the dark. It also felt cramped, I guess because the Pixelbook is about an inch narrower, something to consider when evaluating any elongated screen. I like my Toshiba keyboard better.

I had also ordered the special Google pen for the Pixelbook. I never took it out of the box. I was already disappointed. I tried a couple of built in apps in "tablet" mode. No big deal. I like the idea of a touch screen for my Chromebook but not because I'm desperate to use Android apps.

Finally, much has been made of Google Assistant being built in. Functionally, it's the same as what I've had on my Android phones for years, isn't it? Or on Google Home? And on my Android tablet? My most recent tablet, the Nexus 9, died, which is the main reason I searched for an overall upgrade to another type of touch screen. A 2-in-1 laptop is not the answer and the Google Pixelbook is way too expensive to pretend otherwise. So, after two days I decided to return before it became unreturnable.

To Google's credit I have already received a message stating that I would be reimbursed in full, which is way better than some other companies that charge a 15% restocking fee. I used the Google supplied shipping label and lugged it to the Post Office today.

Google has stopped selling tablets. If you search the Google store for a tablet you are redirected to the Pixelbook. The tech intelligentsia have already concluded that the tablet is dead, that why would anyone want a tablet when he/she can have a 2-in-1 laptop. I think that the death of the tablet is greatly exaggerated.