A few weeks ago we took a look at the release candidate for Linux Mint 17 “Qiana” and liked what we saw. Now the training wheels are off and Linux Mint 17 is available for anyone to download. Meanwhile, folks who are waiting for new gadgets from Toshiba, Vertu and LG can bide their time […]
Lilbits (5-30-2014): Linux Mint 17 and a flood of new devices at the FCC is a post from: Liliputing
As promised, Acer is unveiling its first wearable device. The Liquid Leap is a wearable fitness tracker and smartwatch. And as expected, Acer has no plans to sell it as a standalone device. Instead it’ll be offered along with the Acer Liquid Jade smartphone in select markets. The Liquid Leap has a 1 inch touchscreen […]
Acer’s Liquid Leap fitness tracker is a Liquid Jade smartphone companion is a post from: Liliputing
Amazon’s Kindle eReaders are designed to let you read eBooks for days on end thanks to a low-power processor and high-contrast E Ink display. But like many consumer electronics devices, the Kindle is basically a single-purpose computer… and with a little tweaking you can turn it into a multi-purpose machine. We’ve seen Kindles turned into […]
Hack turns Amazon Kindle into a thermometer is a post from: Liliputing
The Asus VivoBook X200 is an 11.6 inch notebook with a touchscreen display and Windows 8.1 software. There are a few different models, with lower-priced versions typically featuring Intel Celeron processors. But there’s also a model with a Core i3-4010U Haswell processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. Normally it sells for around $450 […]
Deals of the Day (5-30-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a smartphone with a 5.1 inch full HD display, a speedy processor, and a dust and water resistant case. But if that’s not good enough for you, Samsung also has a model with a more rugged case. It’s called the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active, and it’s now available from AT&T for […]
Samsung Galaxy S5 Active rugged phone now available from AT&T is a post from: Liliputing
Now that the developers of XBMC offer a version of their popular media center software for Android, you can run it on all sorts of devices. But one of the companies that first partnered with the XBMC team to port the application to Android have a habit of releasing set-top-boxes optimized for running XBMC. Their […]
Pivos XIOS XS is an XBMC-centric set-top-box is a post from: Liliputing
Microsoft may think there’s a market for people who want large tablets that can replace their laptops. But research firm IDC thinks that some people are using large phones in place of small tablets. IDC has revised its tablet shipment projections for 2014, suggesting that device makers will ship 254.4 million units this year. That’s down […]
Growth in the tablet space is slowing is a post from: Liliputing
As promised, Lenovo is now selling its new A Series Android tablets in the United States. The tablets feature 7 to 10 inch displays, quad-core processors, and prices starting as low as $129 — although in typical Lenovo fashion, that’s the price after “instant savings,” suggesting that the cheapest tablet actually has a retail value of […]
Lenovo’s new budget tablets now available for $129 and up is a post from: Liliputing
LG’s G Watch will be one of the first smartwatches to ship with Google’s Android Wear software. While Google has given us a pretty good idea of how the software will work with your phone to display notifications on your wrist, up until now we’ve only had glimpses of Android Wear in action on a […]
Lilbits (5-29-2014): Say hello to the LG G Watch (video) is a post from: Liliputing
Japan Display is introducing a new high resolution tablet display which uses “WhiteMagic” technology to offer better visibility outdoors and lower power consumption indoors. Sony’s Xperia P smartphone was the first device to feature a WhiteMagic display when the 4 inch phone was introduced in 2012. Now Japan Display is unveiling a larger, higher-resolution screen aimed […]
Japan Display introduces 7 inch WQXGA “WhiteMagic” display is a post from: Liliputing
LG’s new flagship smartphone has a 5.5 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display which packs 538 pixels per inch. The company also plans to use that screen in other phones for folks who just can’t get enough pixels. But LG isn’t stopping there. In a blog post, the Korean company says it’s already looking ahead […]
LG’s plans to blanket your phone in pixels (700ppi) is a post from: Liliputing
The reports of the Amazon Kindle DX 9.7 inch eReader’s demise appear to have been exaggerated. The aging eReader disappeared for a while, but now it’s back and the price is lower than ever for this 9.7 inch, 1280 x 824 pixel eReader with 4GB of storage, a physical keyboard, and free 3G wireless data. […]
Deals of the Day (5-29-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
Android Wear is Google’s new platform for wearable devices like the upcoming LG G Watch and Motorola Moto G smartwatch. Pair your watch or other wearable device with your phone, and you’ll be able to receive notifications on your wrist, search the web by talking to your watch, control music playback while your phone stays […]
This is what Android Wear notifications look like is a post from: Liliputing
The folks at Square Enix never seemed to get the memo that mobile games are supposed to be cheap, because while the team’s Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger games for Android and iOS are certainly cheaper than console titles, at $16 and $10, respectively, they’re among the most expensive games you can find in the […]
Dragon Quest VIII brings epic RPG action to mobile (for $20) is a post from: Liliputing
Google has a habit of working on crazy sci-fi projects like delivering internet access to underserved parts of the globe with balloons and developing cars that drive themselves. Up until recently, those self-driving cars were basically commercially available vehicles that had been retrofitted to work without user input. Now Google’s going all out and building […]
Lilbits (5-28-2014): Google designs its own self driving cars is a post from: Liliputing
LG recently introduced 3 new tablets featuring 7, 8, and 10 inch displays. But aside from a few pictures and details about the software, LG didn’t have many details to share about the G Pad 7, G Pad 8.3 and G Pad 10 at the time. Now the company is starting to show off the […]
More details about LG’s new 7, 8, and 10 inch tablets is a post from: Liliputing
A growing number of smartphones and tablets ship with support for wireless charging. Instead of plugging in a cable to charge your battery, you can just place the device on or near a wireless charging pad or stand. But if you buy a new device there’s a chance it won’t work with your existing charger… because […]
Broadcom unveils wireless charging chip that supports competing standards is a post from: Liliputing
Samsung is launching a new platform for wearable devices designed to monitor your health in real-time. It’s called Simband, and the platform consists of wearable sensors and other hardware and software designed to do things that aren’t possible with current fitness trackers like a Samsung Gear Fit or a Fitbit. Demonstrating the platform at an […]
Simband is the beginning of Samsung’s new health platform is a post from: Liliputing
Amazon’s Fire TV normally sells for $99, and the Kindle Fire HDX 7 tablet has a starting price of $229. But for a limited time you can save $79 when you buy both devices at the same time. Amazon is offering its TV box and 7 inch tablet as part of a $249 bundle deal. […]
Deals of the Day (5-28-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
Microsoft is showing off a new technology that brings real-time translation to Skype. The company showed off a demo of Skype Translator at the Code Conference this week, with an English speaker talking face-to-face over Skype to a German speaker while software recognized the words spoken and translated them into written text and spoken words […]
Skype Translator to bring real-time translation to Windows in 2014 is a post from: Liliputing
The first two Chromebooks from Asus come with Intel Bay Trail processors, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. The only real difference is that the Asus C200 Chromebook has an 11.6 inch display while the Asus C300 Chromebook has a larger 13.3 inch screen (and a slightly bigger, heavier case). So Asus has decided to […]
Both 11.6 inch and 13.3 inch Asus Chromebooks to sell for $249 is a post from: Liliputing
It’s been almost a year since Google introduced the Google Nexus 7 (2013) tablet with a 7 inch, full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor, and 2GB of RAM. It’s still one of the best tablets in its price range for folks who can live without a microSD card slot. But if you don’t […]
Deals of the Day (5-27-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
Remember when people were wondering whether it made sense to put 1080p displays in smartphones? These days the debate has moved on to 1440p screens… and it’s not just an academic debate. A growing number of device makers are releasing smartphone with 2560 x 1440 pixel screens. Oppo‘s doing it, and so is LG. Chinese […]
Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro smartphone packs a 2560 x 1440 is a post from: Liliputing
Toshiba is the latest company to take a page out of Lenovo’s book by introducing a notebook that has a display which folds back 360 degrees until it’s back-to-back with the keyboard for use in tablet mode. What makes the Toshiba Satellite Radius unusual is its sheer size: This 360-degree “flip-and-fold” device has a 15.6 […]
Toshiba Satellite Radius laptop flips out (to become a tablet) is a post from: Liliputing
When Google first released the Chrome web browser one of the reasons it felt so fast was because of what it didn’t do: Unlike Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, Chrome didn’t supports extensions or add-ons… at least not back in 2008. Over the past few years that’s changed and there are now hundreds of useful extensions […]
Google Chrome now blocks extension from outside the Web Store (for safety) is a post from: Liliputing
Firefox OS is an operating system for smartphones and tablets developed by the makers of the Firefox web browser. Up until recently, the only devices that actually shipped with the software have been low-end devices with low resolution displays and single core processors. But the folks at Mozilla have been working to add support for […]
Pre-order Firefox OS “Flame” reference phone for $170 is a post from: Liliputing
Intel has announced an agreement to work with Chinese chip maker Rockchip on next-gen Intel processors aimed at low-cost Android tablets. Rockchip is probably best known for producing its own ARM-based processors for tablets and TV boxes. But the company is also a fabless semiconductor company which means it has expertise in working with Chinese foundries […]
Intel and Rockchip to deliver next-gen Atom chips for Android tablets is a post from: Liliputing
LG’s new flagship phone features a high-resolution display, a fast processor, and a big battery. But thanks to a steady stream of leaks, you probably knew all of that already. Now that LG has officially unveiled the LG G3 though, it turns out there were still a few surprises. For example, the smartphone’s camera uses […]
LG G3 smartphone: Everything you expected, plus a laser focus camera is a post from: Liliputing
Zotac makes tiny desktop computers and the company also produces PC graphics cards. Now the company is bringing those two fields of expertese together with a new mini-PC aimed at gamers. The Zotac ZBOX EN760 is a desktop computer that’s not much bigger than a Nintendo Wii. But it packs an Intel Core i5 Haswell processor […]
Zotac ZBOX EN760 is a mini-desktop for gamers is a post from: Liliputing
Toshiba is updating its Encore line of Windows tablets with two new models… and the smaller tablet is one of the cheapest Windows tablets announced to date. The 8 inch Toshiba Encore 2 will have a starting price of just $199 when it launches in early July. Toshiba’s 10 inch Encore 2 tablet will also be […]
Toshiba’s new Windows tablets start at just $199 is a post from: Liliputing
As expected, Toshiba is launching a new line of Satellite Click 2-in-1 tablets. Like last year’s model, the new Toshiba Satellite Click 2 is a 13 inch tablet which becomes a notebook when you attach a keyboard dock. But instead of an AMD chip, the new model is powered by an Intel Pentium quad-core CPU. […]
Toshiba Satellite Click 2 coming in June for $587 and up is a post from: Liliputing
So you thought the HP 7 Plus Android tablet was a steal at $100? How about a model with similar specs, but a full HD display for the same price? Chinese tablet maker Teclast has launched a new 7 inch tablet with a 1920 x 1200 pixel display, a quad-core CPU, and a price tag […]
Teclast P78HD is a 7 inch, full HD tablet for $100 (or so) is a post from: Liliputing
What’s old is new again… and while notebooks with 10 inch screens were out of fashion for a few years, they seem to be making a comeback in 2014. Lenovo already offers a Flex 10 mini-laptop with a toucshcreen display that folds back 300 degrees. Now it looks like the company may be preparing to […]
Lenovo E10-30 is a 10 inch Bay Trail Windows notebook is a post from: Liliputing
Most major electronics companies seem to have a smartwatch available or coming soon. But according to a report from Strategy Analytics, Samsung is going to be the company to beat. The report suggests that Samsung shipped half a million smartwatches in the first quarter of 2014, which is enough to account for more than two thirds […]
Report: Samsung dominates the tiny smartwatch space is a post from: Liliputing
Intel’s Bay Trail chips are low-power processors based on Silvermont architecture. The first chips launched in late 2013, and for the first time Intel was using the same technology for some of its Atom, Celeron, and Pentium chips aimed at tablets and notebooks. Later this year Bay Trail will give way to Cherry Trail… but […]
4 more “Bay Trail” Celeron and Pentium chips incoming is a post from: Liliputing
Hardware hackers Bunnie Huang and Sean Cross wanted to design a laptop that didn’t rely on any proprietary hardware or software, so they created the Novena open laptop. At first they figured there was a market for exactly two of these systems in the world… but when they started talking about the project, plenty of other […]
Novena open laptop raises $700 thousand through crowdfunding is a post from: Liliputing
AllCast is an Android app designed to let you stream photos, videos, and audio from your Android phone or tablet to a wide range of devices including a Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, or Xbox 360. While most of those devices already support streaming online video from services like Netflix, AllCast lets […]
AllCast Receiver streams video from any Android to another (Android 4.1 and up) is a post from: Liliputing
Microsoft introduced a new Surface tablet today… but while many folks had been expecting a small “Surface mini” tablet, what we got was the biggest model yet. The Surface Pro 3 has a 12 inch screen and while an entry-level model sells for $800, higher-priced models go for as much as $1949. So what happened […]
Lilbits (5-20-2014): Where’s the Surface mini? is a post from: Liliputing
We could see Google’s browser-based Chrome OS operating system running on devices with Rockchip’s RK3288 processor soon. The Chinese chip-maker started showing off a demo of Chromium OS running on a prototype board in April, and now Google’s François Beaufort reports that there’s a new ARM development board in the Chromium OS repository featuring that same […]
Rockchip RK3288-powered Chrome OS devices on the way? is a post from: Liliputing
LG’s first wearable activity trackers are now available for purchase in the United States. Best Buy is selling the Lifeband Touch Activity Tracker for $150. The LG Heart Rate Monitor earbuds are also available from Best Buy for $180. The LifeBand Touch is a bracelet that monitors your steps, distance, and speed and syncs with […]
LG LifeBand fitness tracker now available for $149 is a post from: Liliputing
Once upon a time a group of developers with the KDE team decided to release a tablet based on open source software. It was announced in 2012 as the Spark, renamed a few months later as the Vivaldi, got a major hardware overhaul a year later, and still hasn’t made it to market. Now it […]
Open source Vivaldi tablet and Improv board seem to be dead in the water is a post from: Liliputing
Windows tablets… they just keep getting cheaper. You can pick up an 8 inch Dell Venue 8 Pro for as little as $220 at Office Depot… and if you don’t mind picking up a refurbished model, you can do even better. Dell is selling refurbished units for $209 and up… which is $146 and up […]
Deals of the Day (5-20-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 3 is a bigger, faster, thinner Surface tablet, and Microsoft thinks its the first model that might have a real shot at replacing your notebook. The company introduced the tablet at an event in New York this morning, and it goes on sale May 21st, 2014 for $799 and up. Want […]
Meet the Microsoft Surface Pro (spec sheet) is a post from: Liliputing
The Rikomagic MK902 is a device you can plug into a TV to let you run Android apps on a big screen. It’s hardly unique on that front — there are dozens of Android TV boxes on the market. But the MK902 is a relatively powerful device with a fast processor, Android Jelly Bean software, […]
Rikomagic MK902 Android TV box giveaway is a post from: Liliputing
Motorola’s first smartwatch to feature Google’s new Android Wear software will likely cost about $249 when it goes on sale this summer. How do we know that? Because Motorola is holding a design contest with a Moto 360 smartwatch as the prize — and the contest rules say the grand prize has a value of $249. […]
Motorola Moto 360 smartwatch will probably cost about $249 is a post from: Liliputing
So you thought the HP 7 Plus Android tablet was cheap when HP started selling it for $100 earlier this week? Now it’s even cheaper: apply a promo code and you can pick one up for $15 off. Or if you’re in the market for a more powerful tablet, perhaps for gaming on the go, […]
Deals of the Day (5-23-2014) is a post from: Liliputing
Acer’s Aspire Switch 10 is a Windows 8 tablet with an Intel Atom Bay Trail processor. It’s also a 10 inch laptop thanks to the detachable keyboard dock which comes with the tablet. The company introduced the Aspire Switch 10 in April, and now it’s available for purchase in the United States. The Microsoft Store […]
Acer Aspire Switch 10 2-in-1 tablet now available for $349 is a post from: Liliputing
Once upon a time Windows-powered devices dominated the portable computer market. But these days many people use Android or iOS-powered phones or tablets to do many of the things that used to require a PC. So Microsoft’s been trying to keep its Windows software competitive, first by enhancing the touch capabilities of the operating system, then […]
Microsoft unveils “Windows 8.1 with Bing” for low-cost devices is a post from: Liliputing
Most smartwatches are wrist-worn devices that are meant to pair with your smartphone wirelessly so you can see messages on your wrist, maybe control media playback, or perform other actions without taking your phone out of your pocket. But Samsung is reportedly working on a smartwatch that doesn’t need a phone at all. You can […]
Lilbits (5-23-2014): A smartwatch that could replace your phone? is a post from: Liliputing
Smartphones and tablets tend to have battery life that’s measured in hours rather than days… so a cottage industry has popped up with companies providing external batteries you can use to recharge your devices on the go. There’s a much smaller cottage industry of 2-in-1 portable batteries that can also replace your wall charger. The […]
Tylt Energi 2K is a portable battery that’s also a USB wall charger (crowdfunding) is a post from: Liliputing
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