I think the extent to which the Chromebook Pixel is currently compelling as something to run a regular linux distro on is the extent to which the Chromebook Pixel is currently unmatched among other laptops (greater DPI and cheaper than the 13" Pro Retina. Worse otherwise, but if your priority is the screen...).

Hopefully you won't have to wait for the next Chromebook Pixel, but will be able to buy a more 'regular' laptop with a similar screen in the near future. I think high-dpi screens are posed to make a big impact on the market.

@drivebyacct2 "(For those that may wonder, I have to rmmod/modprobe a chromeos_laptop module after boot"

I had that problem earlier, but it resolved itself with a new kernel (3.10.11 iirc) and config. If you want I can pastebin my config when I get home, but I think the only relevant change I made is I stopped building chromeos_laptop (and dependencies) as a module. I think the root cause was something about the order or timing of the touchpad and I2C stuff being brought online.

As long as it comes with increased battery life (as it should). I won't buy a new laptop until I can get one with real all-day battery life - and right now the main two options for that are the new Macbook Airs and the Sony Vaio Pro 13 (with the sheet battery). If the Pixel can pull that off, I'll add it to my list of contenders.

Lenovo already sell one of them :)

So what you really like about the Pixel is the display and touchscreen? Or more than that (design? OS?)