Chromebooks with AMD hardware may be coming in the near future

Why it matters to you

AMD-powered Chromebooks could provide a whole host of new options for those looking to pick up a budget laptop.

The rumor mill is gradually spooling up with the idea that AMD hardware could soon find its way inside a Chromebook. While we don’t have any solid proof, the evidence is mounting, which could lead to not only better choices for consumers in that budget laptop space but also increased competition for existing manufacturers.

Although it seems like only yesterday that AMD’s Chief Technical Officer Mark Papermaster said Chromebooks were not a good fit for its chips, several interesting mentions of AMD have been spotted in the Chromium repositories over the past five months. First, there was an AMD-Powered board codenamed “Jadeite” and in March another, called “Kahlee,” appeared, according to Liliputing.

While we have not heard much more about that former entry, the latter has made another appearance, this time in the Corebook code review (via Phoronix). That particular machine is said to come with two M.2 storage slots, but more crucially, an AMD Stoney Ridge processor.

More: Samsung’s new Chromebooks should make Microsoft and Intel nervous

Don’t get too excited Ryzen fans, this isn’t a new, top-of-the-line AMD processor but one of its APUs: A combo chip that packs both a CPU and decent graphics chip on the same die. It would be unrealistic to expect a Ryzen CPU to make an appearance in a Chromebook now, not only because of cost but because AMD has only released desktop variants of that design so far.

However, if indeed the door has been opened into the Chromebook space for AMD, we could well see other variants of it in the future. It could be interesting to see how the Chrome OS would perform on AMD hardware and how Intel and ARM may respond to the new competitor in their mobile midst.

While those other two firms have strong presences in the mobile computing game, AMD has a firm stake there too and has typically provided strong graphical support with onboard hardware. It could be that AMD’s entry into the Chromebook market brings greater graphical performance, or at least greater graphical competition in the low-cost, alternative OS laptop game.

Looking for a new tablet? Survey shows customers prefer Microsoft Surface

Why it matters to you

Sure, tablets are not the most popular devices on the market, but if you need one, better go with Microsoft.

Tablets aren’t the most popular of mobile devices on the market, but of the ones that are available, it looks like customers are most partial to those made by Microsoft. On April 7, J.D. Power announced that Microsoft won the award for U.S. Tablet Satisfaction, edging past Apple and its iPad. This marks the first time the Seattle-based company has won the award, which has previously been claimed by the iEmpire.

Microsoft’s aggregate score of 855 points out of 1,000 (Apple achieved 849) was due largely to its tablets’ high marks in terms of features and styling and design factors. “These [Microsoft] tablet devices are just as capable as many laptops, yet they can still function as standard tablets. This versatility is central to their appeal and success.” said Jeff Conklin, vice president of service industries at J.D. Power in a release.

More: How to root your Android phone or tablet in 2017 (and unroot it)

Customers were most impressed with Microsoft in three performance areas — pre-loaded applications, internet connectivity, and availability of manufacturer-supported accessories. As it turned out, Microsoft Surface owners also use their accessories the most (in particular the Type Cover and Surface Pen). Tablet enthusiasts were also impressed with Microsoft’s variety of input/output connectivity and the amount of internal storage.

And while Apple generally hangs its hat on design, it would appear that customers are quite taken with Microsoft’s aesthetics, too. Indeed, when it came to tablets, Microsoft won over users in terms of tablet size, quality of materials, and attractiveness of design. That said, both Apple and Samsung produce tablets that leave customers quite happy as well, but just not quite as happy as Microsoft, apparently.

On the other end of the spectrum were Acer and Asus, who this year were below average when it came to customer satisfaction. Amazon, surprisingly enough, scored in the middle of the road — apparently, book lovers are quite pleased with its e-reading options.

So if you’re looking for yet another device to add to your stash, you may want to look at Windows and its Surface tablet.

Moto E4 and E4 Plus: News and rumors

Why it matters to you

Moto’s E devices have been darlings of the budget-conscious smartphone crowd and the E4 should give customers even more bang for their buck.

Motorola’s E line has proved over the last several years that you can spend double digits on a new smartphone and still get a quality experience. Last year’s Moto E3 launched in the United Kingdom for just 99 pounds ($122), with features like a quad-core processor, LTE, a Micro SD slot, a generously sized battery, and 5-inch 720p display — alongside a slightly more premium variant known as the E3 Power. Now, rumors indicate that Moto is looking to further drive the value proposition forward with two new devices: The Moto E4 and E4 Plus.

Although it is still early, we have some details on what to expect from Moto’s upcoming bargain smartphones.

More: Here’s everything we know about Lenovo’s second-generation Moto Z

Specs

Almost everything we think we know about the hardware powering the Moto E4 comes to us by way of the Federal Communications Commission, which certified two Motorola devices with model numbers XT1762 and XT1773 in March. These are believed to represent the E4 and E4 Plus, respectively, and were discovered by Roland Quandt.

Motorola E4 (I think) at FCC as Moto XT1762 (EMEA DS model) w/ 16GB, LTE, 2,4GHz WiFi, 2800mAh, BT4.2, Android 7.0: https://t.co/KqUHdYwfOI

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) April 4, 2017

The FCC report mentions a 2,800mAh battery for the XT1762 and a massive 5,000mAh battery for the XT1773. Quandt followed the release of these documents with a short list of alleged specs for the standard E4. According to his tweets, we will see 16GB of storage — an appreciable improvement over the E3’s 8GB — as well as LTE, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 low energy, Android 7.0 Nougat, and most notably, another MediaTek chipset.

Last year’s Moto E3 devices launched in September, so there is likely a very long way to go until we see the E4 debut — and a lot of time for more leaks. Look for updates to increase as we approach the fall.

Users are already remapping the Bixby button on the not-yet-launched Galaxy S8

Why it matters to you

Planning on buying a Galaxy S8, but you’d prefer to use Google Assistant instead of Bixby? For now, it seems you can do just that.

Well, that was fast. People are already remapping the Samsung Galaxy S8’s Bixby button to whatever they like — and evidently, all it takes is a simple app install.

The answer to the question everyone has been asking comes to us by way of Homeguy123 on Reddit, who appears to have sidestepped Samsung’s new virtual assistant despite being under the watchful eye of a Best Buy representative. In the short video, the user presses the Bixby button to launch Google Search — though it could theoretically call up any app or command, including Google Assistant.

More: Bixby sees unofficial port to Galaxy S7 and other Samsung Nougat devices

The app that makes all of this possible is known as All in One Gestures, and based on the promotional images featuring what looks to be an original HTC One, it’s actually been kicking around the Google Play Store for quite a while. After enabling all the necessary permissions, including the app’s accessibility service, you can add the button as a custom key and free it from Bixby’s chains. XDA Developers goes into greater detail on its blog if you’d like to try it yourself, but it really is a shockingly simple process that many assumed would take time and ingenuity on the part of developers, rather than a years-old app.

It should also be somewhat unnerving news for Samsung, considering everything the company has staked on its new virtual assistant. Back in March, Injong Rhee, Samsung Mobile’s head of research and development, told us at the company’s Suwon, South Korea, headquarters that he believes all devices that support Bixby should feature a dedicated key, and that phones are merely its first destination.

Samsung envisions a network of smart devices unified through Bixby. But that confidence is largely dependent on users adopting and becoming familiar with its assistant, the same way they have with Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. Being able to avoid it this easily hinders the realization of that goal, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung found a way to patch this loophole down the road.

The original Huawei Watch doesn’t have NFC and isn’t getting Android Pay

Bad news for those looking forward to mobile payments on the original Huawei Watch.

I loved the Huawei Watch. It was sleek, it was sexy, it had a battery that went for days… but it doesn’t have NFC. We can’t change that, much as we wanted to after we saw the headscratchers that were the Huawei Watch 2 and the Huawei Watch 2 Classic.

Although a Huawei representative confirmed to Ausdroid that the watch does have a latent NFC chip inside — it just needed to be turned on — we can confirm that, after reaching out to the company, the Huawei Watch doesn’t have NFC, and won’t be getting Android Pay when it receives Android Wear 2.0.

If you are looking for a nice-looking Android Wear watch with NFC and battery life for days, you can check out the LG Watch Sport, or wait for the inevitable influx of other smartwatches coming in the next few months with a similar look and feature set.

The best Android Wear watch

Android Wear

• Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
• LG Watch Sport review
• LG Watch Style review
• These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
• Discuss Android Wear in the forums!

Five things the Galaxy S8 does better than the LG G6

The Galaxy S8 is a good deal more expensive than the LG G6. Here are five things that (sorta) justify the cost…

Samsung and LG’s Android flagships, the G6 and Galaxy S8 are set to go head-to-head in the coming weeks, in what’ll be one of the biggest Android rivalries of the year. This year, both manufacturers are targeting slightly different price points for their high-end offerings, with the G6 selling for $100 (or more, depending on your carrier) less than the GS8.

So what does Samsung bring to the table to (potentially) justify that extra cash? Let’s take a look…

1. Wireless charging everywhere

While only the U.S. and Canadian LG G6 models have wireless charging, Samsung’s latest flagship lets you charge without cables wherever in the world you are. That’s not a big deal for American and Canadian customers, but if you’re buying anywhere else, wireless charging is only available in the GS8, not the G6.

Wireless charging has been a staple Galaxy feature going back to 2015’s GS6, and the company’s latest devices also offer extra-quick wireless recharges thanks to built-in fast wireless charging.

2. More biometric security options

It’s no secret that the Galaxy S8’s fingerprint sensor is in kind of an awkward place, but at least you’ve got other option for securing your device. The Galaxy S8 has iris scanning built in, and it’s significantly faster and less finicky than in last year’s Note 7 (RIP), using the unique patterns of your irises to secure your device.

Next is facial recognition — less secure, but more convenient — which has actually been part of Android for years, but which on the GS8 is significantly quicker and less fiddly. (It’s worth noting that you can’t use iris recognition and face recognition at the same time.)

More: The difference between face recognition and iris scanning on the GS8

But hey, at least the G6, with its single biometric security offering, puts that fingerprint scanner in a place you can actually reach.

3. More CPU horsepower and efficiency

This one’s pretty cut-and-dry. The LG G6 ships with the proven, but aging, Snapdragon 821, while the Galaxy S8 will be the first to ship with the newer Snapdragon 835 in the U.S. (Most other countries get Samsung’s own Exynos 8995 chip.) Both processors are based on a new 10nm manufacturing process, which is more power-efficient than the 14nm process that the 821’s built on. Which means that, all other things being equal, the GS8 should be able to do a little bit more with a little less power (and heat) than the G6.

Qualcomm also highlights performance improvements across the board, as you’d expect from a generational jump forwards in SoCs.

4. 64GB storage as standard

Another of the G6’s weird geographic differences sees Asian consumers getting a phone with roomy 64GB of storage, while Europe and America are left with an adequate (but only just) 32GB, without any larger storage option. For that reason, you’ll definitely want to invest in a good microSD card if you plan on picking up a G6 in the West.

More: Don’t buy an LG G6 without a good microSD card

5. VR and desktop dock

Samsung has built out a considerable selection of accessories around its Galaxy phones in recent years, and on the GS8 the two main attractions are the Gear VR headset (now with a controller) and the DeX desktop dock.

More: Everything you need to know about the new Gear VR controller

While the GS8 doesn’t work with Google’s Daydream VR, the company’s own VR platform is well established, with major content creators backing the Oculus-partnered service. And with the addition of a controller in the new Gear VR for the Galaxy S8, there are even more gaming possibilities.

And then theres DeX, Samsung’s desktop dock, which is as much a showcase of the power of the handset as anything. Plus your GS8 into the DeX dock (and a monitor, mouse and keyboard, naturally), and you’ve got a basic desktop computer. Samsung has partnered with Adobe and Microsoft to bring scaled apps to DeX, and windowed versions of your Android apps are available too.

Both of these features are exclusive to the GS8 right now, with nothing similar announced for the G6.

More: 5 things to know about DeX on the Galaxy S8

So, GS8 or G6? Hit the comments and let us know which you’d pick. And we’ll take a look at the things the G6 does better in a future article!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

LG G6

• LG G6 review!
• LG G6 specs
• LG G6 vs. Google Pixel: The two best cameras right now
• Everything you need to know about the G6’s cameras
• LG forums

Verizon
Sprint
T-Mobile
AT&T
B&H

Canada’s Freedom Mobile is finally getting the phones and coverage it needs to compete

Something good is happening at Freedom Mobile.

Back when Freedom Mobile was called Wind Mobile, it was seen by the Big Three Canadian carriers as a pest that wouldn’t go away. Now that Shaw Communications owns the company, and is growing its LTE network in major cities around the country, it’s becoming a much bigger force to be reckoned with.

Much of that comes from the growth of its LTE network, which is expanding in all directions from the respective cores of Toronto and Vancouver this week, as well as with firmer plans to launch the same high-speed service in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, later this summer.

Greater Vancouver coverage map (left) | Greater Toronto (right)

Along with better, faster service in more places, Freedom is now offering more than just one LTE plan — when it started in the waning months of 2016, its single LTE plan was promotional, and only for early adopters. Now all of its plans are “LTE ready,” according to the company, which makes it easier to justify spending money on one of those new phones.

The plans, ranging from $30 for 250MB of LTE-ready data all the way to $59 for 8GB of Canadian data and 1GB of “Away” or U.S. roaming, undercut the competition significantly. That most expensive plan, even broaching $60 per month, is still likely the best wireless plan you can buy in Ontario and British Columbia today given that it comes with a gigabyte of domestic and U.S. roaming. The only question is how often you’ll be eating into that allotment given Freedom’s relatively small “Home” footprint.

Freedom Mobile is relishing the opportunity to sell an LTE-ready Galaxy S8 alongside Rogers, Bell and Telus.

Then there’s the phones. That’s been the biggest impediment to growth since the company launched its network last year. Starting with just one high-end phone, the LG V20, and one budget option, the ZTE Grand X 4, the line is quickly growing as Freedom’s Band 66 becomes standard in all upcoming releases. By the end of 2017, every phone in North America should support Band 66 as it supports Band 4 today, since the subset of airwaves is just an expansion of the existing AWS standard.

As of today, you can buy the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), both great phones. But Freedom is relishing the opportunity to sell, for the first time, an LTE-ready Galaxy S8 alongside Rogers, Bell and Telus, since it has heretofore always been behind from a technology perspective. (A small note, too: Freedom has the lowest outright price for the LG G6 in the country).

I have been using Freedom’s network on the LG V20 for some time, and while its speeds aren’t always consistently as fast as that of Rogers, my main carrier, it delivers reliable LTE coverage in most parts of the Greater Toronto region, and I am seriously debating grabbing that $59 8GB plan that includes U.S. roaming, since I’m down there often enough to make it worth it.

Freedom Mobile’s LTE network: Should you switch?

Freedom Mobile only added 9,500 users last quarter after reaching its million-customer milestone back in the fourth quarter of 2016. It’s unclear, now that the company has had time to promote its nascent LTE network under the Freedom Mobile name, whether it added a significant number of new clients in the three months between December 1 and February 28. We’ll know on April 12, when Shaw releases its second quarter results.

Do you use Freedom Mobile? If so, are you happy with the service and coverage? Let us know in the comments!

Everything you need to know about Freedom Mobile

How to customize your Chrome startup screen

How do I customize the Chrome startup screen?

Chrome is the Google browser that so many of us use to wander the internet. Setting up your startup page is a small bit of customization that could really save you time in the long run.

• How to set Chrome so a new tab opens
• How to set Chrome so it opens the last pages you had open
• How to set Chrome so it opens sites
• How to set your Chrome homepage

Set up Chrome to open a new tab

For some folks, every time you open Chrome you’re looking for something different. If you don’t routinely start your browsing with a specific webpage, then this is probably your best bet.

Open Chrome.
Click on the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Click to open the Settings menu.
Scroll down to the bottom and click on Advanced Settings.
Select Open new tab under On Setup.

Set up Chrome to pick up where you left off

We’ve all been there. You’re deep in the middle of working on something and you completely miss that low battery warning. If you’re the type that browses Chrome using multiple tabs, relaunching and getting back to where you were is a hassle. Alternatively, if you generally browse the same sites having Chrome open up to your last viewed tabs might simply be your preferred option.

Open Chrome.
Click the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Click to open the Settings menu.
Scroll down and click on Advanced Settings.
Select Continue where you left off under On Setup.

Set up Chrome to open up your favorite site(s)

Plenty of folks tend to check in on a preferred selection of up the same pages every time they start up Chrome. Whether it’s your Gmail, Google, or even Facebook, having your go-to web page load right up when you start a new Chrome session can be handy. This option will open up the web page (or pages) of your choice each time you start up a new session of Chrome.

Open Chrome.
Click the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Click to open the Settings menu.
Scroll down and click on Advanced Settings.
Select Open a specific page or set of pages under On Startup.
Select Set pages.
Type in the url of the Page you want to open at startup.

Set up Chrome’s homepage

With Chrome you have the option to setup a home page. If you’re the type of person who likes to check their email or Facebook every few minutes without constantly leaving a tab open, this is an easy way to do it. You can set the Homepage to be anywhere you want, and you’ll be able to navigate to it simply by clicking the home button on the taskbar. By default the home button will turn your page into a new Tab, but you can also decide where it will send you from the settings.

Open Chrome.
Click the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Click to open the Settings menu.
Scroll down and click on Advanced settings.
Select Show Home Button under Appearances
Select Change to switch between a specific webpage opening, and a New Tab opening.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Government gives up on unmasking anti-Trump Twitter account

Well, that was fast: just yesterday, we learned that the Trump administration was attempting to compel Twitter to reveal information about an account critical of the president’s policies. Today, according to Recode, the government has officially dropped that request, prompting Twitter to discontinue its own lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and US Customs and Border Protection.

When asked for comment on today’s developments, Twitter simply provided us with the filing withdrawing its lawsuit:

On April 6, 2017, Twitter filed a Complaint in the above-captioned matter. On April 7, 2017, counsel for Defendants from the Department of Justice contacted counsel for Twitter, to advise that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has withdrawn the summons and that the summons no longer has any force or effect. Because the summons has now been withdrawn, Twitter voluntarily dismisses without prejudice all claims against Defendants in the above captioned matter.

This legal back-and-forth began back in March when agent Adam Hoffman of US Customs and Border Protection issued a summons in which Twitter was asked to provide “all records regarding the Twitter account @ALT_USCIS,” belonging to a vocal Trump critic that monitors the current administration’s immigration-related failings. The fax gets more specific, too: when Hoffman said “all records,” he was specifically referring to “account logins, phone numbers, mailing addresses and IP addresses.”

Naturally, this is information that could very easily be used to unmask the owner of the @ALT_USCIS account for… well, for what we’re not really sure. The CBP summons made no reference why an agent wanted to access this personal data.

Twitter officially informed @ALT_USCIS a few days ago and responded to the summons with a lawsuit filed yesterday. In it, Twitter’s attorneys argued that “permitting CBP to pierce the pseudonym of the @ALT_USCIS account would have a grave chilling effect on the speech of that account in particular and on the many other ‘alternative agency’ accounts that have been created to voice dissent to government policies.”

It seems highly possible that the amount of public scrutiny this investigation has attracted is what led to its (temporary?) demise, especially when you consider the part of the initial summons that kindly asks Twitter not to disclose the summons’ existence for an “indefinite period of time.” Either way, this bodes well for everyone else running one of those alt agency accounts — especially any federal employees who secretly dabble in Trump-bashing on the side.

NYPD details its body camera policy ahead of spring pilot program

After four years of legal wrangling, input from 5,000 active duty officers and 25,000 members of the public, the long-awaited NYPD body camera pilot program is set to begin at the end of the month. On Friday, the department unveiled the rules by which its officers must abide when wearing the new devices and, unlike the 2013 Stop and Frisk case that led to their implementation, these new policy guidelines are surprisingly responsible.

Last June, the NYPD teamed with NYU School of Law’s Policing Project to solicit feedback from the public regarding its preliminary body camera guidelines. The response was overwhelming with more than 25,000 people and 50 organizations weighing in. At the same time, the Marron Institute of Urban Management at NYU sent out a similar questionnaire to the law enforcement community, receiving 5,000 replies.

“I am grateful to the skilled team at New York University that compiled feedback from tens of thousands of members of the public and our own police officers about body cameras and our proposed policy,” NYPD Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said. “The survey and thousands of responses was invaluable in our process.”

People attend a news conference against the Stop-and-Frisk program, November 2013 – Reuters

Indeed, the NYPD amended a number of its initial policies in response to the public’s input. For example, officers must notify members of the public when they activate their camera, whereas before it was simple encouraged. Officers will be required to activate their cameras in more instances, including protests and demonstrations, as well as during all inventory searches and “public interactions that escalate and become adversarial.”

What’s more, the revamped policy will make it (relatively) easier for the public to obtain footage through FOIA requests. On the other hand, the department declined to change a couple of its rules based on the public’s comments including whether an officer can review camera footage before filing a use of force report.

These rules are not set in stone, however, and could be modified in the future. “It may change down the road,” Deputy Commissioner Stephen Davis told the NY Daily News. “We review patrol guide procedures on a regular basis. Something may occur, either in the pilot, or upon getting a question or upon getting a comment from someone else. And you know what? We may say, ‘Good point — we are now tweaking it.’”

City Council members vote to establish an inspector general for the NYPD in 2013 – Getty

US District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin’s 2013 ruling found that the NYPD engaged in a “policy of indirect racial profiling” that violated the constitutional rights of minorities and demanded the use of body-worn cameras to increase transparency between the NYPD and the communities that it serves. Four years and a $6.4 million equipment contract later, the city is ready to roll out the cameras.

“We have hit the point where we really can’t learn anymore by reading and talking,” Assistant Commissioner Nancy Hoppock of the NYPD’s Risk Management Bureau, told the NY Daily News. “We have to do it. We have to flip the switch.”

At the end of April, the pilot will begin in earnest when 50 officers of the 34 Precinct working the 4 pm to midnight shift will don the cameras during their patrols. Barring any disastrous outcomes, the program will expand to more than 1,000 officers in 22 precincts later this fall. The department hopes to complete the second phase of the program, which involves equipping all 22,000 NYPD officers with cameras, by the end of 2019.

“We are glad that the public was able to provide input into such an important policing policy,” Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney Darius Charney told the Policing Project. “We hope that the report can serve as a tool for both advocates and policymakers going forward as we try to develop the best body camera policies that we can.”

Via: NY Daily News