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

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 consumer electronics and challenging Apple Inc's iPhone at the high end of the more than $400 billion global smartphone market. A string of announcements, including the $649 Pixel, a new Wi-Fi router and its voice-activated digital assistant for the living room called "Home," is the clearest sign yet that Google intends to compete