Google makes new hardware push, takes on Apple with Pixel phone

By Julia Love SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google on Tuesday announced a new "Pixel" smartphone and a virtual reality headset, making a concerted move into home electronics and challenging Apple Inc's iPhone at the high end of the more than $400 billion global smartphone market. The string of announcements, including the $649 Pixel, a new Wifi router and its voice activated digital assistant for the living room, "Home," is the clearest sign yet that Google intends to compete directly