Lenovo ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny review
With the release of its first Chromebox, Lenovo is looking to offer the Chrome OS experience in a compact package, and is designed with educational and enterprise institutions in mind. Is its versatility and affordable price tag enough to make it a compelling option? We find out, in this in-depth look at the Lenovo ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny!
Design
The ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny obviously gets its name from its small form factor, with its dimensions of 7 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches, and weight of 1 kg, making this portable device ideal for use in environments like home entertainment systems. The device comes with several rubber feet on the bottom for horizontal use, but there is also a stand included in the box to prop up the PC in a vertical orientation.
This Chromebox can easily be used with any monitor or TV you may have available, as it supports both DisplayPort and HDMI out connections. You also have the ability to convert the Chromebox Tiny into a 23-inch all-in-one, by pairing the device with Lenovo’s Thinkvision monitor which comes with a slot on the back to house the Chromebox, allowing for what Lenovo calls a “space saving transformation.” While this feature may not be particularly necessary if you’re looking to pick up this device for personal use, the ability to easily and quickly remove the device from the monitor to facilitate upgrades and servicing makes a lot of sense when it comes to educational institutions and businesses.
Performance
The Lenovo ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny is available in two models, the 10H5 and the 10H3. The former is the less powerful of the two, with it packing a dual-core Intel Celeron 3205U processor under the hood, clocked at 1.5 GHz. The 10H3 is the more expensive option and features an Intel Core i3 5005U processor, clocked at 2 GHz. Also contributing to the price point is the fact that either model can be picked with 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM.
This particular review unit is the top-end 10H3 model with 4 GB of RAM, and performance has been excellent. Of course, Chrome OS is a relatively conservative operating system and doesn’t need to pack a lot of power, so the other iterations of the Chromebox Tiny should allow for a smooth performance as well. 4 GB of RAM is definitely recommended though, especially if you are someone who likes to have a lot of Chrome tabs open at once.
Hardware
The Chromebox Tiny comes with four USB 3.0 ports, an audio jack, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, an Ethernet port, and built-in Wi-Fi support. There is an antenna that is included in the box to boost the Wi-Fi signal, which made a significant difference to the signal strength, and proved to be a very welcome addition. If you do decide to go the AIO route, Lenovo has designed their Thinkvision monitors to accommodate the attached antenna as well. There is no speaker available, so you will either need a monitor with speakers or use the audio jack to connect your own set. You also get only 16 GB of on-board storage, but given the cloud-centric nature of Chrome OS, the 100 GB of free Google Drive cloud storage is the one that will be more useful.
The Chromebox Tiny does come with Bluetooth 4.0 support, but there were some issues when using a Logitech Ultrathin Touch mouse and an Apple Wireless Keyboard. The mouse cursor would occasionally flicker, but what was far more alarming was when the computer would start entering a keystroke repeatedly, which became very frustrating very quickly. Further, the devices would randomly disconnect and refuse to pair again, requiring a reboot to use any Bluetooth devices again.
Switching to the included wired keyboard and continuing to use just the mouse didn’t resolve the problem, and finally, the only solution was to turn off Bluetooth and depend on the included wired keyboard and mouse. Luckily, the included mouse and keyboard are pretty good, with the keys of the keyboard providing a good amount of tactile feedback, while also featuring Chrome OS exclusive shortcuts. I would have still preferred to use wireless accessories though, and hopefully Google and Lenovo will have a solution in a future software update.
Software
Running Chrome OS, the Chromebox Tiny provides a very basic software experience, ideal for those who are comfortable with exclusively using cloud services. Chrome OS is otherwise very easy to use, and offers only what is essential.
Turning on the Chromebox is when you immediately get its penchant for simplicity, with the device showing a Chrome OS logo for a few seconds, before directly taking you to the login screen. Logging in shows you the minimalistic Chrome OS interface, with basically just a search button in the left corner next to pinned applications, with status information seen in the right corner. There is no desktop where you can place shortcuts or files, and is actually just a wallpaper of your choice.
The search button will pull up Google, where you can search the web, launch specific apps, or use Google Now. The primary app that will used is the Google Chrome browser, which works exactly like it would on Windows or OS X. You can install apps and extensions from the Chrome Web Store, and also quickly switch between these installed apps by using the past view shortcut on the keyboard. Clicking on the time in the bottom right corner gives you access to a system menu with options to sign out or power off, connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, adjust the volume, or access the full settings app. There is also a help link in that menu which includes a lot of very useful resources to help answer any questions.
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Chrome OS is a very spartan take on the traditional PC software experience, and will definitely take some getting used to. Fortunately, the learning curve isn’t as steep as one might expect at first glance. Just keep in mind there isn’t any powerful photo editing and video tools, developer tools, or if you’re looking for some form of local file management, so if that is what you require, Chrome OS is not going to be a good fit. If your primary usage is online however, you do have Google Drive and other features that you can take advantage of.
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Pricing and final thoughts
As mentioned, there are multiple variants of the Chromebox Tiny, with the base model starting at $205, all the way up to around $340 for the top end version with the Intel Core i3 processor and 4 GB of RAM.
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Lenovo ThinkCentre Chromebox Tiny! While Chrome OS may not be for everyone, this device offers good value for not only educational institutions and businesses, but also home users who are not dependent on Windows or OS X applications, and are looking for a simplified experience. There are some issues with Bluetooth connectivity though, that will hopefully be resolved soon. While this Chromebox will not replace the traditional PC experience you may be used to, it is small and portable, offers excellent performance, and features a smooth and simple software experience, which is more than enough for some people.
Deal: Jarv Nmotion Pro Bluetooth earbuds only $29.99
Looking for a good pair of Bluetooth headphones? There’s plenty of options out there, but you will be hard-pressed to find a discount as good as the one the AA Deals Store has for you today. The Jarc Nmotion Pro Bluetooth earbuds can now be yours for only $29.99. For those keeping score, that’s even cheaper than the Amazon asking price.
The Jarv Nmotion Pro headset is low-profile and very light at only 0.64 ounces. They may only sport a 100 mAh battery, but this small amount of juice is estimated to last for about 6 hours of talk/music time, which is outstanding. In addition, it can be easily charged through a regular microUSB port.
Sound quality should be equal to CD quality, as the accessory features APTX technology, which ensures “rich sound”. The Jarv Nmotion Pro headset also supports any Bluetooth capable handset and can connect to your device from up to 33 feet away.
This is a pretty good deal, so jump on it before it’s too late.
Apple Disables Dashboard by Default in Latest OS X El Capitan Beta
Apple has quietly disabled Dashboard by default in the seventh beta of OS X El Capitan, an unsurprising move given the ten-year-old widget feature on Mac has not been updated in over four years and looks increasingly poised for retirement. Dashboard was similarly disabled by default on OS X Yosemite.
Latest OS X El Capitan beta disables Dashboard by default. Not long now, old friend 😥 pic.twitter.com/Cp2ecE6Fa2
— Jeremy Burge ⌚️ (@jeremyburge) August 20, 2015
While a few websites claim that Apple has removed Dashboard from OS X El Capitan entirely, the feature can be re-enabled by opening System Preferences > Mission Control and choosing “As Space” from the Dashboard drop-down menu. Then, tap on the Dashboard key on your keyboard to bring up the window.
Dashboard was introduced on OS X Tiger in 2005 and acts as a secondary desktop for widgets such as a calculator, calendar, clock, weather, stocks, sticky notes, mini games, dictionary, flight tracker and more. Widgets can be added or removed from Dashboard by clicking on the plus or minus buttons in the bottom-left corner.
Turbo Rush provides endless hours of fun
If there’s anything that should be on the list for an ideal game, internet connectivity (or the lack thereof) should certainly be on there. You can’t always have connection to a data connection or be fortunate enough to have a decent amount of data to use. “Turbo Rush” is one such game that not only provides entertaining gameplay, but also allows you to play it in any situation. The game is based on the idea of a car, which you steer, speeding through the streets full of obstacles.
Setup
The app opens with a short tutorial telling you how to control. It’s very easy, with the only actions needed being swipes to the right or left, obviously depending on which way you want to steer. Once you’ve read that, you go straight into the game. It took me a few minutes to get fully used to the game. There also aren’t any settings to change controls, you can change only the volume and music on/off.
Gameplay
As previously stated, the game is based on the idea of a car, which you steer, speeding through the streets full of obstacles. The obstacles change depending on what environment you’re driving in, but I’ll get to that shortly. The game is somewhat reminiscant of Subway Surfers, but feels like something new and different. You can’t see obstacles until you’re close up as the road is very “curved”. This provides challenging gameplay while you collect up coins. These coins can be used to unlock a new level, it’s basically the same difficulty but with a different car and environment. Some obstacles include tyres, hay bales and rocks. It would’ve been great to see some more interactive obstacles, like a child running across the road or a car coming in the opposite direction. Perhaps we’ll see that in an update.
Adverts make an occasional appearance but aren’t in-your-face and annoying. The developers took their time with graphics and coding as the game is smooth and lag free.
What we liked:
- Great graphics
- Entertaining gameplay
- Different places
What could be better:
- Obstacles
- Options for difficulty
Is it for me?
Almost everyone should enjoy it. It’s easy to use and entertaining. Suitable for anyone, everywhere.
Turbo Rush is a game that has pleasing graphics, good gameplay and entertainment to the max. I enjoyed it and it seems to stand out from other games.
The post Turbo Rush provides endless hours of fun appeared first on AndroidGuys.
(Deal) Get one year of service and a Moto E for only $150
If you can’t tell, everyone loves deals. Obviously some are better than others, but when you find one of those “can’t miss” deals, it’s leaves you with a good feeling. Today’s deal from AndroidGuys and StackCommerce is one of those good feeling deals. With the announcements of all these great budget phones nowadays, it’s hard to pick and choose what to get.
Hopefully, we can help with that. Today’s deal is courtesy of FreedomPop, and is for the Moto E with one year of unlimited talk and text. The Moto E is on the lower end of Motorola’s budget spectrum, but is still a great device even without having the best specs in the world. Motorola really drives the point home for Android users in regards to creating a great software/hardware experience.
- 1-year of unlimited text & talk, plus 500MB 4G/3G LTE data per month (normally $10.99/month)
- 1-year of premier service: premium voice, voicemail, data rollover, tethering, usage alerts, Internet security, VPN & more! (normally $9.99/month)
- Switch to the 100% Free Plan at any time to get 200 Minutes, 500 Texts & 500MB each month
- Android’s trusted technology
- No contracts or early termination fees
If you are in the market for a new budget phone, and don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for service, you can get the Moto E, one year of unlimited talk and text, and 500 MB of 3G/4G/LTE data per month for only $149.99. Normally, this would run you upwards of almost $700 but with StackCommerce and FreedomPop you will save almost 80%.
This is just another great deal for anyone, even if you want a device just to try out apps, or to give to one of the kids. You can find this, and many other great tech bargains through our Deals Page. Backed by StackCommerce, there are daily promos, giveaways, freebies, and much more!
The post (Deal) Get one year of service and a Moto E for only $150 appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Sony announces SmartBand 2 for September
Sony Mobile on Thursday announced the second generation of its multi-function wearable, tapping the SmartBand 2 with a September launch. Available in a variety of colors (White, Pink, Indigo, and Black), the silicone rubber-coated unit has an IP68 waterproof rating.
The SmartBand 2 is designed to work in tandem with Sony Xperia handsets however it can pair with any Android smartphone. Features include notifications for calls, texts, tweets, and emails; pulsing RGB LED indicators alert users. Additionally, the wearable provides music playback control via play, pause, and skipping buttons.
In terms of monitoring and tracking, the SmartBand 2 will keep an eye on activities such as walking, running, and other workouts. Moreover, it has a hear rate sensor and will also gauge general fitness and stress levels. The device also offers up sleep detection, alarm clock functionality, and can provide insight into your nightly downtime.
The SmartBand 2 will launch in 60 countries in September and will retail for around 119 EUR, or approximately $132.
The post Sony announces SmartBand 2 for September appeared first on AndroidGuys.
The worldwide smartphone market is slowing down
There’s a statistic floating around that says that nearly everyone on Earth has a smartphone, but just over half of them have access to proper sanitation. Between that stat and this report from Gartner, it looks as if a great many smartphone makers should think about starting their own toilet-making businesses. The research firm believes that while the smartphone market is still growing, that rate of growth has now dropped back to 2013 levels. That’s because China, long-regarded as a rich seam of un-tapped phone buyers has been exhausted, which is what’s prompted these firms to turn to India and Africa. If that all sounds a bit too business-y, here’s the simplified version: everyone who can buy a smartphone already has one, and those people who don’t probably can’t afford them.
Gartner has also tallied the winners and losers for the second three-month period of 2015, and Samsung falls victim to the law of large numbers. Despite shipping just four million fewer devices this year than last, it saw market share fall by 4.3 percent. Samsung’s lunch was mostly gobbled up by Huawei and Xiaomi, while Lenovo, fat and happy after its purchase of Motorola, still managed to watch its figures fall. The other big winner was Apple which, the firm claims, sold upwards of 12 million more iPhones than it did in the same period last year. Gartner also thinks that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus managed to steal away high-end customers from other brands as well as gain plenty more fans in China.
Like the kids who got picked last for school sports, spare a thought for Windows Phone, which has just 2.5 percent market share. That’s still impressive when compared to BlackBerry, which is now marked down as having just 0.3 percent of the world’s smartphone business.
In terms of predicting the future, it looks as if there’s a growing divide between the dirt-cheap manufacturers and firms that are still producing higher-end Android phones. Huawei, ZTE, TCL and Micromax are all considered success stories having turned their attentions to India and other emerging markets. Sony, HTC and Samsung, to a lesser extent, are all marked down as losers that “struggled to achieve growth at the high end of the market.” Given how cheap it is to enter the Android phone business, there’s no shortage of companies who want to undercut the established players. If that continues, however, it’s not going to be long before we see more than just HTC being put on a watch list.
[Image Credit: Bloomberg / Getty]
Filed under:
Cellphones, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Google
Source:
Gartner
Tags: apple, Gartner, google, microsoft, samsung
App takes VHS-quality videos on iPhones and iPads
If you’re wondering why anybody would want to record in VHS quality, well, you clearly never woke up with a strange desire to recreate 80’s family home videos that show your dad’s mullet in its full glory. In case we’ve helped you see the light but can’t find your parents’ decades-old camcorder in the basement, here’s the next best thing: an iOS app that can mimic its effects. It’s aptly called VHS Camcorder, and TechCrunch says it doesn’t only take grainy videos, it also captures crappy audio — the app’s clearly aiming for accuracy.
You can even add date and time stamps, which you can manipulate to show whatever year you want, and then share the final product on Facebook, Instagram and other social media websites. Only problem is that the app isn’t free and costs quite a bit ($3.99). If you buy it, make sure to raid your family home for boomboxes, Cyndi Lauper clothes and other props, so you can get the most out of it.
Filed under:
Misc
Via:
TechCrunch
Source:
Rarevision, iTunes
Tags: app, ios, rarevision, vhs, vhscamcorder
Lara Croft GO is a go for August 27th, will cost you $4.99
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We’re really excited for Lara Croft GO – not only because it’s Lara Croft, but because Hitman GO, its spiritual predecessor, was really quite good. While its unique visual style gets a little while to get used to, the intricate puzzles are extremely challenging and are remarkably thematic – we’re hoping for more of the same in Lara Croft GO. Square Enix has just confirmed that the game is going to be available on Google Play on August 27th, which we technically already knew, but also says that the game is going to cost us $4.99 when it does drop. Being the good chaps that they are, Square Enix has also dropped a number of new screenshots for is to ogle at, so here they are – ogle away:
What do you think about Lara Croft GO? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Square Enix via Droid-life
The post Lara Croft GO is a go for August 27th, will cost you $4.99 appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Researchers can steer your emails away from hostile nations
You’re probably doubt aware that no packet of data you send on the internet is safe from prying eyes. And because of the way traffic is routed, those packets often take a ride through nations that are keen to observe or even censor that data — like China, North Korea or yes, the US. However, researchers from the University of Maryland have found a way to go around certain regions when sending data and then provide concrete proof of the feat. The system, called Alibi Routing, uses a technique often used for illegal activities — peer-to-peer routing.
It works by finding traffic-routing peers, called “alibis,” that are located a safe distance from forbidden areas. Knowing that signals can’t travel faster than light speed, each alibi can provide proof that a packet didn’t travel to a blacklisted country. You can select a desired level of confidence and trade off speed for safety, and once the packet arrives, you’ll get a confirmation that it successfully avoided the undesirable regions.
The more participants this type of peer-to-peer system has in different geographical locations, the more useful it will be.
To test it, the researchers created a simulated, 20,000-user network and picked regions from the 2012 “Enemies of the Internet” report to dodge — including China, Syria and Saudi Arabia. They also added the US and Japan for testing since those nations have the highest percentage of internet users. Even with a small network, the system dodged the selected regions 85 percent of the time, a figure that rose to 95 percent once the safety factor was raised. It can also measure ping times to determine when there’s a direct connection and an alibi isn’t needed.
The University of Maryland team plans to introduce its software to the public for testing by the end of 2015. We’re not sure how useful it would be to the general public — if you’re really paranoid about data, there are plenty of encryption apps out there for email and internet. For security-sensitive businesses and government, on the other hand, it’s a very cool idea, and doesn’t cost anything to try. “The more participants this type of peer-to-peer system has in different geographical locations, the more useful it will be,” said project lead Dave Levin.
Filed under:
Internet
Source:
University of Maryland
Tags: acmsigcomm, censorship, China, DNS, InternetRouting, NorthKorea, routing, umiacs
AIVAnet 