Author: Brad Linder

A year ago Google introduced a project to weave smart components into fabric to create clothing that you can use to interact with your gadgets. Now Levi’s has announced the first commercial product based on Google’s Project Jacquard technology.

It’s a denim jacket designed specifically with cyclists in mind, allowing you to touch the sleeve of the jacket itself to control music, phone calls, maps, or other applications.

The Levi’s Jacquard jacket will be available for purchase in spring of 2017.

Continue reading Levi’s unveils a smart jacket based on Google’s Project Jacquard at Liliputing.

The HP Stream Mini is a tiny desktop computer with an Intel Celeron 2957U processor and Windows 8.1 software. It’s not super-powerful, but it’s compact and cheap… especially if you pick up a refurbished model from Woot, because today the retailer is selling the Stream Mini for $100.

Update: It was nice while it lasted… which wasn’t long. The HP Stream Mini is now sold out. But you can still score some pretty good deals on other mini PCs, including refurbished Pavilion Mini models for $180 and up and a refurbished Alienware Alpha for $400.

Continue reading Deals of the Day (5-20-2016) at Liliputing.

Virtual Reality is one of the biggest tech stories of 2016. The Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Sony PlayStation VR are bringing VR into your home, and Google is doubling down on the concept of using your phone as a cheap but powerful VR headset.

But at least one company is betting that VR isn’t just for use in the home. IMAX is partnering with StarBreeze to bring VR to movie theaters and shopping malls later this year.

Continue reading IMAX thinks you’ll travel (and pay) for VR experiences at Liliputing.

The Asus Transformer Book family of computers are 2-in-1 devices that can function either as laptops or tablets. Some models have detachable keyboards, while others have 360 degree hinges that allow you to fold the screen until it’s back-to-back with the keyboard.

One of the most popular lines has been the Transformer Book T100 series, which feature 10 inch tablets, detachable keyboards, and relatively inexpensive price tags.

Now Asus is starting to show of its next-gen model.

Continue reading Asus unveils Transformer Book T101 2-in-1 tablet with Atom x5-Z8350 at Liliputing.

Over the past few years a number of companies have tried to turn Google Android into a desktop (or TV-focused) operating system by adding support for multi-window mode, among other things. Most recently, Chinese startups have launched Android-based operating systems like Remix OS and Phoenix OS which add a taskbar, desktop, and Windows-like multi-window functionality to Android.

But now that Google is bringing support for Android apps to Chrome OS, is there a future for those operating systems?

Continue reading With Android apps coming to Chrome OS, is there room for Remix OS or Phoenix OS? at Liliputing.

Purism is expanding its line of Linux-based computers with an emphasis on security, privacy, and open source software. The company’s new Librem 10 is a Linux-based tablet with a 10 inch display and a starting price of $599, while the Librem 11 is a higher-powered model with a bigger screen and a starting price of $999 for early backers of an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

Both tablets are expected to ship starting in September.

Continue reading Purism introduces privacy-focused, Linux tablets for $599 and up at Liliputing.

Lenovo is adding two new laptops to its line of education-oriented computers. Both the Lenovo N23 and N42 are designed for use in the classroom and feature spill-proof keyboards, anti-peel keys, strong hinges, an reinforced hinges.

But one is a Windows 10 notebook with a convertible design that lets you use it like a tablet, while the other is a Chromebook.

The Lenovo N42 Chromebook features a 14 inch display, up to 4GB of RAM, and up to 32GB of storage.

Continue reading Lenovo unveils N23 Windows convertible, N42 Chromebook for education at Liliputing.

Android apps are coming to Chrome OS soon. But you’ll need a relatively recent device to use them.

Google has unveiled a list of the first Chromebooks, Chromeboxes, and other Chrome OS computers that will support the Google Play Store and Android apps, and for the most part we’re looking at devices that launched in 2014 or later.

Older Chromebooks need not apply… and that even applies to Google’s own products, like the original Chromebook Pixel.

Continue reading Android apps will only run on new(ish) Chrome OS computers at Liliputing.

Some Android apps have been able to run on Chromebooks since 2014. But the list of available apps was relatively small, and they were mixed in with native Chrome apps in the Chrome Web Store.

Starting in June, it’s going to be a lot easier to install Android apps on a Chromebook, because Google is bringing the Play Store for Android apps to Chrome OS.

The company is also making things a lot easier for developers: many apps will run without any modifications at all.

Continue reading Google Play is coming to Chromebooks starting in June at Liliputing.

I recently reviewed the Asus ZenBook UX305UA laptop with a Core i5 Skylake processor and for the most part I found it to be a pretty good laptop for a pretty good price.

But it looks like Asus has a new model on the way which will have a few features the ZenBook UX305 series lacks.

The upcoming Asus Zenbook UX306UA has a backlit keyboard and a USB Type-C port.

Measuring 0.55 inches thick and weighing 2.6 pounds, the new model is also a little thinner and lighter than the model I reviewed.

Continue reading Asus ZenBook UX306 with USB-C coming soon at Liliputing.