Update: Leung has resumed testing with a repaired test device, but for now can only weed out bad cables for now as he still doesn’t have a working Chromebook.
Google engineer Benson Leung was doing a great job at distinguishing the good, the bad and the ugly where USB Type-C cables are concerned, exposing ones that failed to meet the proper specs as well as others that were just plain dangerous.
Unfortunately his testing has now come to an abrupt end as one particularly bad cable resulted in significant damage to both his Chromebook Pixel and the USB PD sniffer devices he was using …
Amazon also has an HP Chromebook for $149.99 shipped. This one comes with a USB charging and a nice slim design and a screen that gets great reviews. Specs:
Samsung Exynos 5 Processor 1.7 GHz
2 GB DDR3L SDRAM 16 GB Solid-State Drive
11.6-Inch Screen, Chrome OS, 6.25-hour battery life
Need a Wear Watch? It will be hard to beat LG’s G Watch dropping down to $99 but all Google Play watches will get a $50 Google Play Credit when purchased from the Play Store today.
Toshiba upped its already solid Chromebook game today with the aptly-named Chromebook 2 laptop. With an optional 1920×1080 pixel display, Haswell processor, 4GB of RAM, HDMI AV out and AC/Bluetooth 4 wireless, it ticks most of the boxes on what you’d want on a high end laptop. It even claims 11.5 hour battery life and new forward facing speakers designed with help from Skullcandy.
It comes in starting at $249 for the 720P 16 Model and is set for release on Oct. 5
Some of us are old enough to remember when desktop computers were large towers that you stored under your desk; these days, you can hide the desktop PC behind your monitor.
Acer has today announced a new Chromebox based on its C7 series Chromebook, the Chromebox CXI. The compact format makes it suitable for mounting on a monitor stand … Expand Expanding Close
This is what the Moto 360 wireless charging dock looks like, according to Italian site Gadget.net– and it certainly looks persuasively real. Assuming you can choose to show the time as well as the charge state, the dock effectively turns the smartwatch into a bedside clock while it’s charging overnight.
The blue circle around the outside of the watch face shows the charge level. Looking at the rear of the dock, we can’t see any detail, but it’s likely that it’s some kind of USB connector … Expand Expanding Close
Amazon’s new Fire TV set-top box may seem like every other solution on the market, but there’s one big difference. Fire TV has built-in gaming features that will allow you to play compatible Android games that are available within Amazon’s app store. The bad news is, if you’ve previously purchased any of the compatible titles from the Google Play Store, you’ll need to repurchase them from Amazon. Check out the video overview above for an overview and demo of Fire TV gaming.
A faithful developer on the DroidForumshas ported Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Droid Bionic. The Ice Cream Sandwich port is based off Cyanogenmod 9 that was also used in the Ice Cream Sandwich port to the Kindle Fire and more. As of today all seems to be working well and dandy in this alpha, except 3G/4G data, camera, and stable USB mounting support. This might be worth checking out if you are daring, or in the mean time, you can wait for the official release by Motorola in early 2012. For those interested in installing, hit up the DroidForums for the full list of details.
PC Connection Express offers the Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player with Google TV, model no. NSZ-GT1, for $199.99. Coupon code “Deal10Blu” cuts it to $179.99. With free shipping, that’s $20 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $9, although most merchants charge $200 or more. It features support for the Android-based Google TV service, 1080p upscaling, 8GB of built-in storage, 802.11n wireless and Ethernet connectivity, four USB ports, HDMI output, and more. This device is currently being updated to the new GoogleTV 2.0 with Apps and more.
As far as AT&T is concerned, the Atrix is about the best Android Smartphone you’ll find (no disrespect to the monsters Infuse and Inspire). In my February Fortune Review I called it the new”King of the Androids” for its qHD display and dual core processor while still being smaller than a Galaxy S. A lot has happened since then
With activation of a new 2-year contract, Amazon Wireless offers the Motorola Atrix 4G Smartphone for AT&T Wireless for 1 cent with free shipping. That’s $50 under our April mention and the lowest total price we’ve seen for this phone. (It’s also a current price low by $100.) Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include a 4″ 960×540 color touchscreen, 1GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera, 720p video capture, microSD card slot, 16GB internal memory, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR, Adobe Flash 10, USB 2.0 connectivity, and Android 2.2 OS (FroYo). A $36 activation fee applies.
The original G1 Android phone just hit Heights via Ebay for $137.95 new in the box without a contract. While Google and T-Mobile have long left the G1 off their update lists, the folks in the mod community have it running Gingerbread with many of the fixings.
The T-Mobile G1 weighs 5.6-oz. and features a 480×320 touchscreen LCD, 3.2-megapixel digital camera, QWERTY-style keyboard, 3G support, Wi-Fi, One-Touch Google Search, Bluetooth 1.2, microSD slot, USB connectivity, and Android OS.
A new G1 in the box could also make a keepsake for the nostalgic Android fan.
Today only, until 4 pm ET, MacMall via eBay Daily Deal offers the Motorola Xoom 32GB WiFi Tablet with Google Android 3.0, model no. 00001NARGNLX, for $499.99 with free shipping. That’s $73 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we’ve ever seen for this tablet by $31. (It’s also a current price low by $73.) This 0.51″-thick tablet weighs 1.6 lbs. and features an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core processor, 10.1″ 1200×800 touchscreen LCD display, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, front and rear cameras, accelerometer, gyroscope, microSD card slot, up to 10 hours of battery life, micro USB and HDMI connectivity, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and more.
