Author: Brad Linder

The lines between Google’s Chrome and Android operating systems is getting blurrier. Google has long positioned Chrome OS as its operating system for laptop and desktop computers, while Android is designed for smartphones, tablets, TV boxes, and wearables.

But about a year and a half ago the company started working with some developers to port Android apps so they could run on Chrome OS. In March, 2015, the company offered up tools to let any Android app developer turn their software into a Chrome app that could be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store.

Continue reading Google Play Store may be coming to Chrome OS, with a million Android apps in tow at Liliputing.

There’s no shortage of low-cost laptops on the market today, but most run Google’s Chrome OS or Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating systems. But last year some Chinese device makers started offering models with Jide’s Remix OS as an option, and it looks like more models may be on the way.

Charbax from ARMDevices got a chance to check out a few reference designs from chip maker Allwinner.

These laptops have entry-level specs, low price tags, and a custom version of Android that adds desktop-style features like a taskbar, desktop, and support for running most Android apps in resizeable windows.

Continue reading More Remix OS laptops on the way? at Liliputing.

If you have a laptop or smartphone with a non-removable battery, you’ll probably notice that battery life degrades over time. After a few years of constantly recharging the battery, it holds less capacity, which may be a key reason you decide to buy a new laptop or phone every few years.

But researches at the University of California Irvine, Irvine have come up with new technology that could lead to batteries that can be recharged over 100,000 times… which means that they could have lifespans measured in decades rather than years.

Continue reading Future batteries might be rechargeable for decades at Liliputing.

The Google Nexus 5 was released in 2013 and shipped with 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage. But one Ukranian Nexus 5 owner decided to upgrade his aging phone.

So he bought a 64GB eMMC 5.0 module for about $30 and replaced the storage on his phone. The end result is a Nexus 5 with twice as much storage capacity and read/write speeds that are up to twice as fast as they were with the original eMMC 4.5 storage.

Continue reading Nexus 5 hack gives the 2013 phone 64GB of speedy storage at Liliputing.

Motorola recently launched a promotion that lets you save $50 when you buy a Moto X Pure smartphone, which brings the starting price down to $350. That deal is still ongoing.

But now there’s an even better price on models with rear covers featuring designs from Jonathan Adler. You can save $175 on a Jonathan Adler model, bringing the starting price down to $300 for a phone with the same hardware. Don’t like Adler’s designs?

Continue reading Deals of the Day (4-22-2016) at Liliputing.

Microsoft recently announce plans to roll out a Windows 10 Anniversary Update this summer. But if you won’t want to wait until then, you can join the Windows Insider program, sign up for “fast ring” updates, and get the Windows 10 preview build 14328. It includes many of the features that will be coming to all users this summer.

This is a preview release, so there are some known issues and may be other bugs.

Continue reading Latest Windows 10 preview build includes many “Anniversary Update” changes coming this summer at Liliputing.

High-end virtual reality systems like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift need high-powered PCs to work, which makes them a bit less portable than a Google Cardboard-style system that just uses your phone’s screen and processor.

But Zotac figures there’s a way to use premium VR kits on the go: stuff one of the company’s small gaming PCs in a backpack.

The company has released a demo video showing what it calls Zotac Mobile VR.

Continue reading Zotac Mobile VR stuffs a gaming PC in a backpack for virtual reality on the go at Liliputing.

There aren’t a lot of companies offering smartphones running Windows software these days… and it looks like there aren’t a lot of people buying them either. In its latest SEC filing, Microsoft revealed that it sold only 2.3 million Lumia phones in the most recent quarter, down from 8.6 million during the same period a year earlier.

The good news for Microsoft’s hardware division is that revenue from sales of Surface tablets and notebooks was up by more than 50 percent during the same quarter.

Continue reading Microsoft Lumia phone sales plummet at Liliputing.

Looking for a credit card-sized computer with a quad-core, ARM-based processor and only have $35 to spend? You could opt for the Raspberry Pi 3. But another option is on the way.

The MiQi is the same size and price as a Raspberry Pi 3, but this little single-board computer/developer board features a Rockchip processor, up to 32GB of built-in storage, Gigabit Ethernet, and a few other features that help set it apart.

Continue reading MiQi is a $35 single-board computer with Rockchip RK3288 at Liliputing.

The Android N Developer Preview program lets developers, earl adopters, and anyone else willing to run a pre-release operating system on their phone try out an early version of Google’s upcoming mobile OS. But up until now, you’ve needed a Nexus phone, tablet, or TV box to do that, or maybe a phone that’s part of the Android One program.

But now Sony is making it possible for Xperia Z3 owners to install Android N Developer preview builds too.

Continue reading Sony Xperia Z3 users can now test Android N Developer Preview 2 at Liliputing.