The Chromebook Pixel Giveaway
Time for a new laptop? Whether your PC is on the fritz or you’re just in the market for something lighter, faster and more sophisticated, don’t pull the trigger on a purchase just …
21
May
Viber’s calling and messaging app launches on Chromebooks
In order for Chrome OS to succeed, Google needs all the support it can get from developers. Hardware companies are certainly doing their part, namely by offering Chromebooks to people at affordable prices. That’s why it’s important when a popular service such as Viber launches on the platform, like today. Now users can start using the app to communicate with friends or family directly from their Chromebook, just as they would on iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Not only can you send text and picture messages, but also make phone and video calls to your contacts. It’s free too, which comes in handy if you’re trying talk to people across different countries.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Source: Chrome Web Store
18
May
Google unveils two new budget-friendly Chromebooks for India
Google has just introduced two new sub-$250 Chromebooks, which are now available for purchase online in India. Manufactured by Nexian and Xolo, these Chromebooks will offer consumers an inexpensive alternative to other low-cost laptops available in the country.
Both new devices feature essentially the same specifications, with an 11.6-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1366 x 768, a 1.8GHz quad-core Cortex-A17 processor, a Mali-T764 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, a 4200mAh battery and a 1MP 720p built-in webcam. Of course, both Chromebooks also have expandable memory and come with 100GB of Google Drive storage space for two years.
The Nexian Chromebook will normally retail for ₹13,499 ($212), though it’s currently available on Amazon for the sale price of ₹12,999. The Xolo Chromebook is now available through Snapdeal for just ₹12,999, as well.
Google also explained that more budget-friendly Chromebooks will be available in India sometime soon from manufacturers such as Asus, Samsung and a number of other Indian hardware makers.
6
May
Last chance to enter the Chromebook Pixel Giveaway
Time for a new laptop? Whether your PC is on the fritz or you’re just in the market for something lighter, faster and more sophisticated, don’t pull the trigger on a purchase just yet. Why? Well, one lucky AndroidGuys reader will walk away with a Chromebook Pixel for absolutely no cost… and it could be you! What’s better than free stuff?
There’s no purchase necessary to enter and sharing via social media can dramatically increase your odds at being the chosen one. Want to call this 12.85″ touchscreen beauty with 8GB of ram and a 12 hour battery your own? Simply enter now (ends tonight) and you’ll be in the running. Good luck!
See more at deals.androidguys.com
The post Last chance to enter the Chromebook Pixel Giveaway appeared first on AndroidGuys.
29
Apr
Lucid Sleep function allows your Chromebook to stay up-to-date even whilst sleeping
If you are the proud owner of a new Chromebook Pixel, you’ll be glad to hear of a new, experimental feature called Lucid Sleep. Whilst it sounds like some sort of hush-hush project at Lockheed’s SkunkWorks facility, Lucid Sleep is actually a way of ensuring that your new Pixel Chromebook keeps up to date with push notifications while it is sleeping, much like your smartphone does.
To access the Lucid Sleep function, just go to your Settings menu, click Privacy settings and then choose to ‘Keep WiFi on during sleep’. This results in limited WiFi connectivity even while your device is sleeping, allowing it to synchronize with your other devices and cloud data. The end result is that your machine is ready to go even quicker than it usually would be when woken from slumber. At present, the Lucid Sleep function is only available on the new Chromebook Pixel, but hopefully the rest of the Chromebook range will get it soon.
Source: GooglePlus
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24
Apr
Acer unveils a new 15-inch Chromebook, Iconia One 8 tablet and gaming-centric Predator tablet
At a press event held in New York earlier today, Acer announced a slew of new products that will all be available sometime this year. The company announced a very budget-friendly Chromebook and tablet, another tablet meant for the education market and has plans to bring a higher-end gaming-centric tablet to market as well. Let’s take a look at Acer’s new offerings:
Acer Chromebook 15 (CB3-531)
First up is the Intel Celeron-powered 15.6-inch Chromebook. Dubbed the CB3-531, this Chromebook has an N2830 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage and expandable memory up to 128GB. It has a 1366 x 768 resolution, boasts up to 11 hours of battery life on a single charge, and has all of the normal ports found on today’s standard Chromebooks – one USB 3.0 port, one audio jack and one HDMI port.
If you’re looking for a Chromebook that doesn’t sacrifice performance in any way, you may want to pass on this one. However, it will be available in the U.S. in July starting at just $199.99, so maybe this isn’t a bad deal after all. Take a look at the images below for a closer look.
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Acer Iconia One 8 (B1-820) Tablet
Next up is the budget-friendly Iconia One 8 Tablet from Acer. Available for just $149 starting in July, this 8-inch tablet boasts a 1280 x 800 resolution, runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, and measures just 9.5mm thin. It runs on an Intel Atom quad-core processor, comes with 16 or 32GB of on-board storage, and is also slated to provide up to 8.5 hours of battery life on a single charge.
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Iconia Tab 10 (A3-A30) Tablet
The next tablet on the list is called the Iconia Tab 10, scheduled to arrive in schools around the U.S. this May. It features a 10.1-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, an Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and 16/32/64GB of on-board storage. It also runs Android 5.0 Lollipop and is part of the Google Education ecosystem. This tablet will be available in the United States and in parts of Europe for $299 and €299, respectively.
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Acer Predator Tablet
Last but certainly not least, we have the Acer Predator Tablet. To coincide with the company’s Predator PCs, this gaming-focused tablet features four front-facing speakers and an 8-inch display (resolution unknown). It isn’t set to launch until Q4 of this year, which is why details on the device are so scarce right now. We do, however, know that it will have some sort of haptic feedback feature that should make the tablet rumble when you’re taking hard corners in Asphalt 8, for instance. Acer still hasn’t revealed specs, pricing or release date information, but we’ll be sure to update you when that info surfaces.
23
Apr
Acer takes the wraps off new CB3-531 Chromebook
Earlier today, Acer took the wraps off the fourth variant of its 15.6-inch Chromebook, the CB3-531. This model packs similar internals to all the previous generation of the device, but now features a 11.5 hour battery, which the company claims is the longest any Chromebook currently on the market has to offer.
Aside from the upgraded battery, little else appears to differ. The CB3-531 continues to sport 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 16GB of SSD storage, two front-facing speakers, an Intel processor and an LED-backlit TFT LCD display which has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
The laptop has built-in Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, 4G connectivity, one USB 2.0 port, One USB 3.0 port, an SDcard slot and an HDMI out slot — so you’ll always have the facility to share files, connect to the internet, mirror your screen and transfer documents.
The full gallery of Acer CB3-531 Chromebook press images can be seen below:
The CB3-51 will be available in June for around $270.
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15
Apr
Deal: Refurbished Acer C7, CB5 and Touchscreen Chromebooks up to 46% off from Ebay
If you’ve been wanting to try out a Chromebook for yourself but haven’t been sold on the price quite yet, Ebay may have a deal that will change your mind. Right now, you can pick up a refurbished Acer C7, CB5 or Touchscreen Chromebook for up to 46% off.
Let’s start out with the cheapest of the bunch, Acer’s 11.6-inch C7 Chromebook (pictured above). Ebay is selling a refurbished model for just $149.99, which is 34% off the computer’s normal retail price. It’s powered by a dual-core Intel Celeron Processor with 2GB of RAM and includes all of the basics – a 1.3MP HD webcam, one HDMI port, one VGA port and a 2-in-1 memory card slot. Although the specifications aren’t the best, it’s hard denying that $150 is a great deal for this computer.
Next up is the Acer Chromebook 13. Ebay is selling this refurbished computer for $159.99 – 46% off the normal retail price. It has a 13.3-inch full HD display, Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, 16GB of on-board storage and a battery that can last up to 11 hours on a single charge. This is perhaps the best deal out of them all, so I’d suggest checking into this if you’re in the market for a new computer.
Last but not least, we have the Acer Touchscreen Chromebook. Ebay is selling the refurbished model for $189.99, which is 36% off. This Chromebook has an 11.6-inch touchscreen display and is powered by a 1.4GHz Intel Celeron processor and 2GB of RAM. While this computer doesn’t have the best specs either, 36% off is still a great deal.
All three of these Chromebooks have gotten great ratings around the web, so if you’re okay with going the refurbished route, we’d suggest you check out these deals before it’s too late. If you’re interested, head to the links below to start shopping.
Buy the Acer C7 Chromebook
Buy the Acer Chromebook 13
Buy the Acer Touchscreen Chromebook
8
Apr
The Chromebook Pixel Giveaway
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Time for a new laptop? Whether your PC is on the fritz or you’re just in the market for something lighter, faster and more sophisticated, don’t pull the trigger on a purchase just yet. Why? Well, one lucky AndroidGuys reader will walk away with a Chromebook Pixel for absolutely no cost… and it could be you! What’s better than free stuff?
There’s no purchase necessary to enter and sharing via social media can dramatically increase your odds at being the chosen one. Want to call this 12.85″ touchscreen beauty with 8GB of ram and a 12 hour battery your own? Simply enter now and you’ll be in the running. Good luck!
See more at deals.androidguys.com
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3
Apr
Could Chrome OS ever become a dominant force in the PC industry?
This week we’ve seen a number of Chrome-related announcements including new Chromebooks, the Chromebit, a revamped Google Now-style UI, and a Google tool that makes it easier to test out Android apps on Chrome OS. It’s pretty obvious that Google has big ambitions for Chrome OS, and 2015 might be the biggest year for the platform yet. But exactly how big will things get for the cloud-centric OS?
For this week’s Friday Debate, we discuss Chromebook’s potential for mainstream success, and what Google needs to do to make it appeal to even more users. Could Chrome OS every become a dominant force in the PC industry? Should Google merge its Chrome OS and Android efforts under one roof?
We’ll first start by hearing from a few AA team members, and then we invite you to participate in the poll below, and sound off in the comments. Also remember that the Friday Debate Podcast should be coming later this evening, or sometime over the weekend.
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Gary Sims
I must admit that when I first heard about Chrome OS, back in 2009, I really didn’t think it was a good idea. However, that all changed when I got my first Chromebook a couple of years ago. Although I was skeptical at first, my Chromebook has become my main productivity device when I am away from home, especially when I am travelling and covering events for Android Authority. At home I still use my PC, but the point is that for everything except editing video or images, I basically use Chrome.
But Chrome OS isn’t yet perfect. Google is obviously experimenting with different aspects of the Chrome OS architecture. There is already some basic support for running Android apps on Chrome OS, and now Google has announced Chromebit. What does this all mean?
The biggest problem with Chrome OS is that all the apps need to be written in HTML5. Without getting into too much detail here, HTML5 has its drawbacks. In 2012, Facebook abandoned the HTML5 version of its mobile app and rebuilt it as a native app. The reason? Speed.
Organisationally Android and Chrome OS are part of the same group within Google. What Google needs to do is add full Android support to Chrome OS, while retaining the Chrome OS UI and approach.
The result will be a true alternative to Windows and OS X. In one sense it will be the vindication of Linux on the desktop. At the core of both Chrome OS and Android is Linux, but the problem with Linux is its diversity. There are too many desktop options, too many SDKs, too many UI libraries. Diversity is good, diversity allows dreamers to dreams and hackers to hack. But in the real world diversity isn’t called diversity, it is called fragmentation. And fragmentation is the death of any ecosystem.
If Google can produce a version of Chrome OS which allows traditional apps to be written via the Android SDK, while maintaining its core principles then Linux could become the dominant laptop OS over Windows and OS X. Why? Because it will be free. It will use a different business model, which doesn’t rely on licenses for revenue and it will be build around the way we work today, not the way we worked back in the 1990s.
So where does Chromebit come into all this. Simple, the more accessible Google can make Chrome OS, the more people will use it. The more people use it, the more the ecosystem will thrive. The more the ecosystem thrives, the more accessible it becomes. And so on.
However, for businesses the problem with a cloud-centric OS is really the word “cloud” means “someone else’s servers.” No organization should store its intellectual property on “someone else’s servers.” And that is where Google will need to work, to strike the balance between its vision to be the world’s largest provider of cloud services and the need of corporates to keep their data on their own servers.
Jimmy Westenberg
When Google announced the first Chromebook, I was instantly hooked. The opportunity to purchase a well-performing computer for around $250 was an idea I could get behind, so being a broke college student, I jumped onboard. I began using the first Samsung Chromebook as my daily computer. I used it for essays, web browsing and for writing tech news. I’ve lived in the Chrome OS world for a few years, and let me tell you, it’s easy. Sure there are a few sacrifices you might have to make, but it’s very possible.
Chrome OS still has a lot of progress to make and we’re just now seeing a turning point for the operating system. Oddly enough, Chrome OS and Android used to be entirely separate entities, and we’re finally seeing them come together. But Android apps running on Chromebooks is just the start of it all. There are people out there who just can’t sacrifice Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Adobe Photoshop, and that will always be a problem with the platform. If Google could somehow figure out a way to run the essential Windows and Mac applications in Chrome, we’d start seeing the Chrome OS adoption rate skyrocket.
The Chromebit is an interesting piece of tech, as well. For less than $100, people can run the OS on a television or an external computer monitor. That’s huge. If the success of the Chromecast is any indication as to how well the Chromebit will perform, college students who don’t have enough money to afford another computer will likely begin to adopt it in great numbers.
With all of that said, the problem with storing everything in the cloud is still a daunting idea for many consumers. Google is making big progress in the field, but like I said before, we’re still in the early stages of the platform.
So to answer the question, I don’t think Chrome OS will ever directly compete with Windows or Mac. But I do think there’s room for another OS that can fit into a niche market, whether that means strictly for education or just a budget-friendly alternative. I’m excited to see where Chrome OS is headed, and I have faith in Google that they can pull it off.
Bogdan Petrovan
I think Google is playing a very long game with Chrome OS, which seems to be moving at a snail’s pace and even stalling at times. But I think this deceptively slow pace hides Google’s ambition to make Chrome OS the operating system of tomorrow. And tomorrow will be all about the cloud, no matter how firmly we hold on to our microSD cards and local storage today.
I think Google is aiming to create a truly universal operating system. By turning the Chrome browser into a platform capable of running web apps that are very similar to native apps, Google is subverting conventional operating systems like Windows and OS X. Already, I can sign into Chrome with my Google account, and all my extensions, web apps, history, passwords, settings carry over. I can take my wife’s laptop and get my familiar setup from my own laptop in a matter of minutes. As someone who spends 75 percent of their workday in Chrome (and I could easily go up to 100 percent if I needed) this is a hugely valuable feature.
The convergence between the Chrome browser and Chrome OS is happening steadily; I can already switch from browser mode into Chrome OS mode with one click. And it’s only going to get easier and faster to do everything in Chrome, to the point that people will effectively forget what they need Windows for. When that happens, Chrome OS devices will be a tempting choice. Just today one top Microsoft engineer said that Windows could one day become open source. If this ever happens, I am pretty sure Google’s Chrome (and Android) will be a big part of the reason. While Google is working very slowly, the fact that it’s extending Chrome OS to all-in-one PCs and TVs (Chromebit) tells me that my hunch is correct.
And there’s the support for Android apps. Soon Google will be able to make a killer proposition to developers: apps that work on Android, Windows, OS X, or Linux, via Chrome, like magic. That should make the platform even more attractive.
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2
Apr
New Chromebook ad shows they are ‘for everyone, everywhere’
After the recent announcement of new Chrome OS-powered devices, consumers have options on the low-end and high-end to match their needs. There are devices ranging from $149 to more than $1,000. So it makes sense that the latest advertisement for Chromebooks focuses on the devices being ‘for everyone, everywhere.’ The ad shifts through various scenes in which people are using a Chromebook differently. The uses highlight education, photography, editing, entertainment, and more. Some of the brands spotted are not available in the United States which actually shows how easy it is for Chrome OS to go from market to market with ease.
Hit the break for the video.
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AIVAnet 