Google introduces Chromebook Pixel premium ($1299) laptop with HD touchscreen display

Google is getting into the premium laptop space with the new Chromebook Pixel. It's the first Chrome OS laptop designed and sold by Google. It's the first model with premium features including a touchscreen display and a backlit keyboard. And it's the first Chromebook with a 12.85 inch, 2560 x 1700 (239 ppi) high definition display.

The Chromebook Pixel is also the first Chrome OS laptop designed to sell for over a thousand dollars. A WiFi-only model is available starting today for $1299, while a Verizon 4G LTE model is coming soon for $1449.

That's a pretty steep price for a laptop that runs an operating system based on a browser. But this is by far the most powerful Chromebook to date.

Not only does it have a crazy-high resolution display, but it's got a Core i5 processor, Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, and Google is throwing in 1TB of online storage at Google Drive for up to three years when you buy a Chromebook Pixel.

The notebook weighs 3.4 pounds and measures 0.6 inches thick. It has a Gorilla Glass display with a 178 degree viewing angle and 400 nit brightness, and features 2 USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, and a mini Display Port.

Google says the Chromebook Pixel should get up to 5 hours of battery life.

On the other hand, you don't get a lot of local storage — the WiFi-only model has just 32GB of solid state drive space, while the 4G model has 64GB.

Chromebooks don't generally need large amounts of local storage, because most of your data, documents, and media are supposed to be stored online. But most Chromebooks sell for under $450, which makes them cheap enough to think of as secondary computers. You can keep your movie collection on your main PC and use your cheap Chromebook on the go.

With the introduction of a $1299 Chromebook, it seems Google really wants people to start thinking of Chrome OS as a primary operating system for all their needs. Interestingly, this week the company just added support for file previews and for streaming videos uploaded to your Google Drive account.

In other words, that 1TB of online storage space you get with the purchase of a Chromebook Pixel might really be enough to justify giving up on having a computer at home where you keep all your media.

But the Chromebook Pixel will also be the first Chromebook to ship with QuickOffice software already built-in. Google bought the office suite makers recently, and the upshot is that you'll be able to open, create, and edit office documents without an active internet connection.

Even at $1299, this is still the cheapest notebook you can buy with a Retina-like display. Apple charges an even higher price for a 13 MacBook Pro with a Retina display… although arguably you can do a lot more on a MacBook than you can on a Chromebook.

The Chromebook Pixel is already available in the US from the Google Play Store. It should be available soon from Best Buy in the US and Currys PC World in the UK.

If that demo video looks familiar, that's because we saw parts of it in a promotional video that was apparently leaked by accident a few weeks ago.

Google introduces Chromebook Pixel premium ($1299) laptop with HD touchscreen display is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (2-19-2013)

Amazon's second-generation Kindle Fire isn't much different from the first. It has a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 8GB of storage, and no microSD card slot. But it has twice as much memory as the original and a faster dual-core processor.

Normally Amazon sells the Kindle Fire 2 for $159 and up, but you can save $10 by ordering from Johnny's General Electronics at eBay. Or you can pick up a refurbished version of last year's model (which is easier to root and install custom ROMs on for even less money).

Here are some of the day's best deals on mobile devices and accessories.

• Amazon Kindle Fire 2 tablet w/8GB for $149 – Johny641 (via eBay)
• Refurb Amazon Kindle Fire (1st gen) for $105 - NextWorth (via eBay)
• Refurb Pantech Element 8 inch Waterproof Android tablet for $180 – All4Cellular (via eBay)
• Asus VivoTab ME400C Windows 8 tablet w/64GB for $500 - Newegg
• Refurb Nokia Lumia 900 4.3″ Windows Phone for $200 – 1SaleADay
• OCZ 256GB SATA III 2.5″ solid state drive for $160 after rebate – Newegg

You can find more bargains in our daily deals section.

Deals of the Day (2-19-2013) is a post from: Liliputing

AMD Turbo Dock for hybrid tablets offers best of laptop, tablet performance

Hybrid tablets blur the line between a tablet and a notebook by allowing you to attach a keyboard dock and use a tablet like a laptop computer. But AMD thinks there's a bigger difference between a tablet and a notebook than a keyboard.

The company is introducing a new system called AMD Turbo Dock which automatically adjusts the performance of an AMD-powered tablet depending on whether it's connected to a keyboard dock or not.

In tablet mode, you'll still get support for 1080p HD video playback, 3D gaming, and other features. But you might not want to run CPU-intensive tasks that can drain your battery, so why does your CPU need to run at full speed?

According to AMD, its Turbo Dock technology can boost your CPU and GPU performance by up to 40 percent when you attach a keyboard dock.

That makes sense, because you're more likely to use a Windows 8 tablet to perform traditional desktop tasks such as playing PC games or editing photos, videos, or documents when you've got a keyboard and touchpad attached.

Many (but not all) hybrid tablets also include an extra battery in the keyboard dock, so you're less likely to run out of juice if you've got the keyboard connected.

AMD says its Turbo Dock technology should be available later this year when hybrid tablets based on the AMD Temash platform hit the streets. Temash is a low-power chip that supports 2-4 CPU cores and AMD Radeon HD graphics with support for DirectX 11 graphics.

via SlashGear

AMD Turbo Dock for hybrid tablets offers best of laptop, tablet performance is a post from: Liliputing

ZTE to ship first Tegra 4 phone in the first half of 2013

NVIDIA has announced that ZTE will be one of the first device makers to release a phone powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 4 chip. The Chinese company is expected to launch its upcoming phone in the first half of 2013.

The Tegra 4 processor features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and 72 graphics cores, along with an Icera i500 LTE modem, making it one of the first Tegra chips to feature built-in support for 4G LTE networks.

NVIDIA also recently unveiled the Tegra 4i chip, which is a less powerful (and cheaper) processor that also features LTE support.

While ZTE is best known in its home country of China, the company has been making a play for the US market in recent years and it's possible we could see this Tegra 4 phone in the States sometime after it launches in China. And while ZTE is the first company to announce plans for a Tegra 4 phone, it might not be the last.

But NVIDIA's Tegra 4 processor is hardly the only next-gen chip to choose from. When HTC chose a processor for the new HTC One smartphone, the company went with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 CPU. And it's likely that Samsung's Galaxy S IV phone will be powered by a next-generation Samsung Exynos processor.

ZTE to ship first Tegra 4 phone in the first half of 2013 is a post from: Liliputing

Deals of the Day (2-20-2013)

The Lenovo IdeaPad S205S is a portable notebook with an 11.6 inch display and an Intel Pentium U5600 processor. It has 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and Windows 7 software.

While Lenovo isn't pushing this model anymore, the company does have some refurbished units to get out the door — and you can pick one up for just $197 at the moment. That makes it one of the most powerful mini-laptops you can buy for the price.

Here are some of the day's best deals.

• Refurb Lenovo IdeaPad S205s 11.6″ notebook w/Pentium U5600 for $197 - Lenovo (coupon: DOORBUSTERS)
• Asus Tranformer Pad Infinity Android tablet w/HD display for $430 – Best Buy
• Kobo Vox 7″ Android 2.3 tablet for $60 – CowBoom
• Intel NUC mini-PC w/Intel Celeron 847 CPU, no RAM, HDD, or OS for $180 - Newegg
• MK802 Android 4.0 mini PC for $25 and up – Amazon Warehouse Deals
• Splashtop 2 Remote desktop app for Android for free - Amazon (or Google Play)
• Get 8 PC games for about $5 – Bundle Stars

You can find more bargains in our daily deals sections.

Deals of the Day (2-20-2013) is a post from: Liliputing

Jynxbox Android HD is an Android TV box designed to run XBMC

The Jynxbox Android HD is a hackable set-top-box with an ARM Cortex-A9 processor and Android 4.0 software. It's also one of the few devices of its type to ship with the XBMC media center application pre-loaded.

You can pick up a Jynxbox Android HD for $115, or opt for a cheaper Jynxbox Android HD mini TV stick for $85.

While there are cheaper options available, the Jynxbox devices look like pretty versatile machines for turning your TV into a smart TV. AdamOutler from xda-developers has put together a video showing what the Android HD box looks like when you rip it apart, and pointing out a few other surprises.

For instance, if you stick a pin in a reset slot while connecting a power source, the Jynxbox Android HD boots into recovery mode — and from there, you'll find an option to root your device. In fact, the only way to exit recovery is to root your device, which seems a little strange.

Once that's done you'll want to install SuperSU or SuperUser from the Play Store in order to make sure that apps can't gain root permission on your device without your knowledge.

The JynxboxAndroid HD features a 1.2 GHz Amlogic AM8726-M3 processor, Mali 400 graphics, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. It has 3 USB ports, a microSD card slot, Ethernet, WiFI, and HDMI ports, and an IR sensor for a remote control.

The Jynxbox Android HD Mini has similar specs, but it has just 2GB of storage, fewer ports, and looks like a chunky USB flash drive.

Both models ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich software and a version of the XBMC media center app from xbmcandroid.com.

Jynxbox Android HD is an Android TV box designed to run XBMC is a post from: Liliputing

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 200, 400 chips coming soon to budget smartphones

Qualcomm plans to launch at least 4 new mobile chips this year. The company has already provided some details about the upcoming Snapdragon 600 and 800 chips for high performance phones and tablets. Now Qualcomm is spilling the bans about the company's upcoming 200 and 400 series chips for entry and mid-tier phones.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 400

The Snapdragon 400 is the more powerful of the two new chips, with support for dual and quad-core configurations with Adreno 305 graphics.

Qualcomm will offer a model with a dual core Krait CPU running at up to 1.7 GHz or an ARM Cortex-A7 quad core processor at up to 1.4 GHz.

Both versions will support CDMA and HSPA+ mobile broadband, cameras with image sensors up to 13.5MP, and Miracast wireless display.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 200

Qualcomm's entry-level product is the Snapdragon S200, which features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A5 CPU and Adreno 203 graphics.

The chip supports cameras up to 8MP and features CDMA and UMTS model options, support for phones with multiple SIM cards, HD video playback, and GPS.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 200, 400 chips coming soon to budget smartphones is a post from: Liliputing

Apple releases iOS 6.1.2, Team evad3rs release evasi0n 1.4 jailbreak tool

Apples has released two minor updates to iOS since releasing iOS 6.1 a few weeks ago. And neither of them have fixed the security hole used by the evasi0n jailbreak utility.

So just hours after iOS 6.1.2 was released this week, the folks at team evad3rs released an updated tool for jailbreaking an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running Apple's latest mobile operating system.

You can download evasi0n 1.4 for Mac, Linux, or Windows at evasi0n.com. The software lets you run unsigned code on an iOS device, which means you can run apps that aren't downloaded from the App Store, including software that changes the look and feel of the iOS operating system.

The software should work on most recent devices running iOS 6.0 or later. It doesn't work with the Apple TV, but there's a different app for that (which uses the same exploit as evasi0n).

via FSM

Apple releases iOS 6.1.2, Team evad3rs release evasi0n 1.4 jailbreak tool is a post from: Liliputing

Google opens another round of Glass wearable computer pre-orders (apply to spend $1500)

Google Glass is a wearable computer which you wear like a pair of glasses. A small transparent display hangs out above your eye and shows you notifications, photos, video chats, and other items. Next to it is a camera which you can use to shoot photos or videos or share anything you're looking at.

Google introduced the project last year, and offered a limited number of prototypes to developers for $1500 a piece.

Now the company is taking pre-orders, but there are only plans to sell 8,000 units. So you'll have to apply for your chance to spend $1500 on a product that's still kind of an experiment.

To be fair, the application process is pretty simple: Just tell Google on Google+ or Twitter what you'd do with your Glass in 50 words or less (with up to 5 photos or a short video) and use the hashtag #ifihadglass.

You'll also need to be able to pick up your Glass in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

If you're selected, you don't have to spend $1500 on the wearable computer. You can always change your mind.

Google also released a new video and a series of photos showing what the user interface looks like when you're using Glass to shoot video, make video calls, share content, look up information on the internet, or even translate your spoken words into another language.

Google opens another round of Glass wearable computer pre-orders (apply to spend $1500) is a post from: Liliputing

Marvell unveils PXA1088 quad-core mobile chip

NVIDIA isn't the only company with a new mobile chip to sell. Marvell is introducing a new quad-core chip designed for use in smartphones and tablets around the globe.

The Marvell PXA1088 is an ARM Cortex-A7 quad-core chip with support for global HSPA+ networks.

The PXA1088 is a single-chip solution with integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, and FM, and the chip is pin-to-pin compatible with earlier chips from Marvell, which should make it easy for device makers to switch to the new processor.

Among other things, the processor can handle 1080p HD video decoding and encoding and OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics.

Marvell plans to show off the new chip at Mobile World Congress in Spain this month, and predicts that phones and tablets using the new processor could hit the streets later this year.

via Engadget

Marvell unveils PXA1088 quad-core mobile chip is a post from: Liliputing

Canonical unveils Ubuntu for Tablets

Ubuntu is already one of the most popular Linux-based operating systems for notebook and desktop computers. Canonical is also working on a smartphone operating system called Ubuntu Phone OS. And now Ubuntu is coming to tablets.

Canonical added an Ubuntu on tablets section to its homepage today, plans to showcase the new touch-friendly version of the operating system at MWC later this month, and will offer download links for a pre-release version of Ubuntu for tablets on Thursday, February 21st.

Ubuntu for tablets offers a user interface optimized for touch input, as well as support for tablet-style apps. But under the hood it's the same operating system as Ubuntu for desktop and notebook computers.

In other words, if you plug in a keyboard, monitor, and mouse, you can use a tablet running Ubuntu as if it were a desktop PC.

That lets you run any full-fledged desktop apps that have been compiled to run on ARM-based chips, including desktop office apps, web browsers, image or video editing apps, video games, or development tools.

You can also run desktop apps in tablet mode — but much like Windows 8 (or Windows RT), Ubuntu on tablets offers a split-panel view that lets you run a tablet app in one window and a desktop app right next to it. For instance you can make a Skype video call while surfing the web or editing a document.

There's a mobile SDK for app developers that want to write native apps, but Canonical is also putting an emphasis on web apps written in HTML5. You can add shortcuts to web services such as Google Maps or Facebook as if you had installed a native app (something you can also do in the desktop version of Ubuntu).

Like Ubuntu Phone OS, Ubuntu on tablets supports touch-based gestures such as swiping from the left edge of the screen to view your favorite apps and switch between apps. You can swipe down from the top of the screen to view notifications, volume and wireless toggles, and other settings.

Canonical isn't releasing its own tablet anytime soon. But the developer preview which is coming Thursday will be available for installation on Google Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets.

Eventually we may see device makers build tablets specifically for Ubuntu. The software maker is already lining up hardware partners to ship phones with Ubuntu Phone OS later this year or in early 2014.

While the Google Nexus 7 with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 chip will be one of the devices capable of running the developer preview, it sounds like Canonical is setting the bar pretty high for hardware designed to run the OS: An entry level Ubuntu tablet should have a dual core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 7 inch or larger screen.

A high-end model should have a quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 or Intel x86 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 10 inch or larger display.

Canonical unveils Ubuntu for Tablets is a post from: Liliputing

HTC introduces its next superphone: the HTC One

HTC may be shifting its focus in the coming year to emphasize low-cost phones in China. But that doesn't mean the company is giving up on top-tier phones. HTC is going to give this high-end smartphone thing one more shot with the HTC One.

The HTC One is a 4.7 inch phone with a 1920 x 1080 pixel display, a 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. It's got a sleek design, one of the fastest smartphone processors available, and a 2300mAh battery which should offer decent (but not necessarily spectacular) battery life.

Will it be enough?

HTC is emphasizing the phone's new design elements including an aluminum case, dual stereo speakers, and an improved camera.

The company is also revamping its HTC Sense user interface which runs on top of Google Android. It's a move that makes sense — it's hard to make a phone that stands out if it's running exactly the same software as every other Android phone. But it's not clear that many people buy a phone because they prefer Sense, TouchWiz, or another skin to the vanilla Android experience — and it often takes longer for phones with those skins to get software updates.

But maybe that only matters to geeks.

Still, one of the company's new Sense features is something called BlinkFeed, which is a hub for content from 14000 partners including ESPN, MTV, and others. It looks decent — although aside from a home screen widget, I'm not sure what it brings to the table that you couldn't get from a news reader app from the Play Store.

The HTC One will features stereo front-facing speakers in a setup HTC is calling "Boomsound," and a music player that grabs lyrics from the internet to display them as you listen.

HTC also equipped the phone with two microphones for improved audio recording capabilities. And to carry the multimedia capabilities one step further, there's even an IR blaster hidden in the smartphone's power button, which lets you point your phone at a TV or other device and use it as a remote control.

The phone has a new type of camera which emphasizes performance over pixels. HTC says the phone has an Ultrapixel image sensor which can capture up to three times as much light as a sensor on a typical 8MP smartphone camera. That means you should get better performance in low-light conditions — but it also means you can't snap photos larger than 4MP. The good news is that the pictures you do take should (theoretically) look better than larger images.

Here are the camera's specs at a glance:

• 4.7 inch, 1080p 468PPI display
• 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core CPU
• Android 4.1.2 with HTC Sense 5
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB to 64GB of storage
• 2300mAH battery
• GSM, WCDMA, LTE, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC
• DLNA compliant
• microUSB 2.0 with MHL and HDMI support (with an adapter)
• Dual front stereo speakers
• Unique camera with 28mm lens, optical stabilization, Ultrapixel image sensor, 1080p video recording
• 5.4″ x 2.7″ x 0.36″
• 5 ounces

There's no question that HTC knows how to make a good phone. The HTC-built Google Nexus One was one of the best phones I've ever used, and I'm the mostly happy owner of an HTC One XL at the moment. But it might take more than that to succeed in the Android phone space at the moment — and Samsung is kind of wiping the floor with HTC and other rivals these days thanks to a wide selection of devices and a very large advertising budget.

HTC plans to make the One available around the world starting in March, and has partnered with 185 carriers including AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the US. It'll likely be up to each carrier to announce pricing, but HTC will offer customers

Samsung introduces WiFi-only Galaxy Camera with Android

The Samsung Galaxy Camera is a point-and-shoot camera with a 16MP image sensor, a 21x zoom, and a 4.8 inch touchscreen display which you can use to view images… or to play games, surf the web, or run other Android apps. That's because the Galaxy Camera has the guts of an Android phone, including a quad-core processor.

Up until now the Galaxy Camera was also only available with a phone-like 4G LTE modem which you could use to upload your images from nearly anywhere. But if you don't need on-the-go internet access, Samsung will soon have a cheaper option: A WiFi-only Galaxy Camera.

The company just pulled the wraps off the new WiFi-only model, and aside from the omission of mobile broadband, it's nearly identical to the original.

The new camera has a 1650mAH battery, 8GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot, HDMI output, and even GPS support.

It has a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor and runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software.

Samsung hasn't announced the price for the new WiFi-only model yet, but the company does promise it will be "more affordable." AT&T currently sells the Galaxy Camera 4G for $500.

Samsung introduces WiFi-only Galaxy Camera with Android is a post from: Liliputing

NVIDIA introduces Tegra 4i smartphone chip (Tegra 4-lite)

NVIDIA is launching two new chips today. The first is the NVIDIA i500 LTE modem which is the company's first 4G LTE modem. But the second is a complete mobile processor with built-in support for 4G LTE mobile broadband.

That chip is called the NVIDIA Tegra 4i, and it's a smartphone processor that offers a little less performance than the upcoming Tegra 4 chip for tablets and "superphones."

The Tegra 4i features a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and a lower power fifth battery saver core. It also has 60 NVIDIA graphics cores, and support for GSM, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE, and other mobile networks.

In other words, the Tegra 4i isn't as powerful as the full-fledged Tegra 4 chip. That processor has 4 ARM Cortex-A15 cores and 72 graphics cores. But both chips do feature the same built-in support for HDR (high dynamic range) photography.

NVIDIA's Tegra 4i can run at clock speeds up to 2.3 GHz and supports up to 2GB of RAM and 1080p encoding and decoding. The company has put out a reference design for a Tegra smartphone calling for a 5 inch, 1080p display, an 8mm thick case, and LTE support, among other things. It's called the Phoenix Reference Phone Platform.

NVIDIA introduces Tegra 4i smartphone chip (Tegra 4-lite) is a post from: Liliputing