Google expands into high end of laptop market with Chrome machine that responds to touch

Feb. 21, 2013: The Google Chromebook Pixel laptop computer is shown at an announcement in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Feb. 21, 2013: A man uses the Google Chromebook Pixel laptop computer after an announcement in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Feb. 21, 2013: Sundar Pichai, Google's senior vice president of Chrome and apps, discusses the Google Chromebook Pixel laptop computer at an announcement in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Google is adding a new touch to its line of Chrome laptops in an attempt to outshine personal computers running on software made by rivals Microsoft and Apple.

The new Chromebook Pixel includes a 13-inch display screen that responds to the touch or swipe of the finger. That's a key feature in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8, a dramatic makeover of the world's leading operating system for PCs.

The Pixel's high-resolution screen displays 239 pixels per inch, slightly more than Apple Inc.'s MacBooks with high-resolution Retina displays.

Google will begin selling the Pixel on Thursday in its Web store, Play. A laptop with Wi-Fi and 32 gigabytes of flash storage will sell for $1,299. A 64-gigabyte machine that can connect on a 4G LTE network will cost $1,499.