Author: Brad Linder

Google has released the 5th and final developer preview of Android 7.0 Nougat. The next release will be the official one and it should be available later this summer.

The update is available for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, and General Mobile 4G Android One smartphone as well as the Nexus 9 and Pixel C tablets and the Nexus Player TV box.

The latest preview includes near-final system images for supported devices, the final Android N APIs and a few known issues affecting features including stability, multi-window mode, and 240fps slow-motion video recording and playback.

Continue reading Final Android 7.0 Nougat developer preview now available at Liliputing.

A group of Chinese companies that had put in a $1.2 billion bid to acquire Opera Software has scrapped that plan… and come up with a new one.

Instead of buying the entire company, now the Kunqi consortium plans to acquire Opera’s desktop and web browser businesses along with certain other assets for $600 million. But the group wouldn’t be buying the whole company and wouldn’t acquire Opera’s advertising, gaming, or other businesses.

Continue reading Chinese consortium’s $1.2 billion bid for Opera falls through, but there’s a new plan to acquire certain assets at Liliputing.

Chinese device maker Xiaomi is holding an event on July 27th, and the company is expected to launch several new products. One may be a laptop… although I’d take that with a grain of salt, since we’ve been hearing rumors of a Xiaomi Laptop for years, and they haven’t panned out so far.

The other is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 smartphone… and a leaked image of the packaging for the device is making the rounds, which gives me a little more confidence that this is a real product that’s just about ready to go.

Continue reading Xiaomi Laptop & Redmi Note 4 smartphone details leak ahead of July 27th launch at Liliputing.

As expected, HP’s Elite x3 smartphone will be available in the US soon. But it has a somewhat lower starting price than had been anticipated.

The HP Elite x3 is a Windows 10 Mobile smartphone with top-tier specs and support for Microsoft’s Continuum for phone software, allowing you to use the phone like a desktop computer when a keyboard, mouse, and display are connected.

The phone will start shipping in the US on August 29th for $699.

Continue reading HP Elite x3 smartphone coming August 29th for $699 and up at Liliputing.

Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank is buying UK-based chip designer ARM, which would give SoftBank control over the company that designs the technology used in the processors that power almost every major smartphone, many tablets and a range of other devices including servers, set-top-boxes, and even some Chromebooks.

ARM-based chips are also expected to play a key role in emerging automotive technology, smart home devices, and other Internet-of-Things products.

The two companies have reached an agreement which would involve SoftBank paying $32 billion for ARM.

Continue reading SoftBank to acquire ARM for $32 billion at Liliputing.

It was big news when Microsoft announced it was working on a version of Windows that would run on tablets with ARM-based processors… but by the time Windows RT actually launched it was a lot less exciting. Devices like the Microsoft Surface and Surface 2 couldn’t run desktop Windows apps and weren’t significantly cheaper than Intel Atom-powered tablets running the full version of Windows, and they didn’t even get better battery life.

So it’s not particularly surprising that Microsoft has largely abandoned Windows RT.

Continue reading Microsoft’s Windows RT security patch also stops you from loading Linux at Liliputing.

Acer’s Liquid Jade Primo is a Windows 10 smartphone with support for Continuum software, allowing you to connect it to an external display and run some apps in desktop mode.

The smartphone made its debut at CES in January, but the phone didn’t start shipping until April… and that was a European launch.

Now the Liquid Jade Primo is available in the United States. The Microsoft Store is selling a carrier unlocked model for $649 — and that price includes a desktop dock, keyboard, and mouse.

Continue reading Acer Liquid Jade Primo Windows 10 phone now available for S649 (including dock, keyboard, and mouse) at Liliputing.

The HP Elite x3 is the Windows smartphone I think some people were hoping the Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL would be. It has top-tier specs, support for Microsoft Continuum software so you can connect a keyboard, mouse, and external display to run Universal Windows apps in desktop mode… and it uses virtualization to let enterprise users interact with legacy Windows apps as well.

But those features don’t come cheap.

Continue reading HP Elite x3 price at $799 (Windows phone for enterprise) at Liliputing.

A group called Portable Solutions is running a Kickstarter campaign for a handheld gaming PC called the PGS that looks amazing on paper… and which doesn’t actually exist in real life.

That’s not a huge surprise: the point of crowdfunding campaigns is often to raise the money needed to transform an idea into a real product. But Portable Solutions makes some pretty lofty claims and provides little evidence to back them up.

That hasn’t stopped the campaign from raising over $300,000 in pledges… although over the past few days the figure has actually shrunk a bit as some backers have withdrawn their pledges.

Continue reading Dubious PGS handheld gaming PC concept raises over $300 thousand on Kickstarter at Liliputing.

Want to save $50 on the new Motorola Moto G4? Sure, you could buy an Amazon Prime Exclusive model with ads on the lock screen and in the notification tray (and maybe jump through some hoops to remove the ads).

Or you could just buy the phone from Best Buy.

The retailer is offering $50 gift cards with the purchase of a Moto G4 or Moto G4 Plus. Sure, that’s not quite the same as just paying $150 up front for a phone… but if you’ve got $200 to spare then you’ll get a $50 credit that you can use toward the purchase of other goods from Best Buy in the future.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (7-15-2016) at Liliputing.