Why Google bothered to make the Chromebook Pixel

As someone who already owns and loves a Chromebook, I've been trying to wrap my head around why Google dedicated R&D, manufacturing and marketing effort to the Chromebook Pixel. The Pixel is clearly not a cheap, simple portal to the Web in the mold of other Chromebooks. It has frilly features like a touch screen with a Retina display-matching 2560-by-1700 resolution, an anodized aluminum chassis, and a trio of noise-canceling microphones. The glamor doesn't stop there, though. The Pixel's outer ...