Apple Faces Real Competition, and It's Not Microsoft

Google introduced Chromebook Pixel on Thursday. In and of itself, that's not a big deal. This device will not change the game. It will not stop very many, if any, MacBook purchases from happening, though it, along with Google's less expensive line of laptops, will eventually gain traction against PCs, particularly ultrabooks.

Matt Baxter-Reynolds wrote an interesting article for ZDNet where he basically argues that Google released what he considers flawed products -- the $1,299 and $1,449 Pixels -- just to get people talking about Chromebooks. Reynolds claims Google has already seen success with this odd strategy because of what he perceives as an ubiquitous buzz generated by the Chromebook Pixel's release.

Clarification: Tech geeks and their sympathizers are talking about Chromebooks. As for the rest of the population, they either do not know or can faintly recall that they even exist. If Google wanted to pique the masses' interests, it could have used its firepower to do something less convoluted and more creative than purposely producing something that's not very good.

TheStreet contributor Anton Wahlman thinks the Pixel is another piece of the puzzle that will put Microsoft and Apple out of business. He makes the market share argument, predicting the same type of growth over a five-year period for Chromebooks as we saw with Android-based smartphones.

As usual, what will happen likely situates somewhere closer to the middle.