> The Chromebook Pixel came out earlier this year, and while it certainly addressed the subpar hardware, it came with a price tag that was more than the cost of my MacBook Air despite having much less of just about everything but screen resolution.
First, the screen resolution is exceptionally better. More than that though the Pixel beats or matches a MacBook Air in all but two categories: battery life & local storage space. You'll note that Apple sells MBP's, which currently are actually sub-par to the Air in several ways, but are better in terms of display and CPU and they charge... way more than the Pixel. On top of that, the Pixel has a touch screen. Check out pricing on touchscreen laptops that even remotely match the Pixel...
Honestly, anyone I know who got a Pixel loves it, including Linus Torvalds.
On the larger matter of Chromebooks in general, it's all about the user experience (which is ironic given his criticism). I think obviously in his case, he doesn't get it, but having such a nice integrated set of web services is a huge win for a lot of people.
Chromebooks aren't as well suited for general purpose use as traditional laptops and they certainly aren't for everyone, but they actually are quite nice for a lot of people.