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That Chromebook Pixel with LTE might work with other mobile networks after all

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:29:04 +0000

When deciding on which Chromebook Pixel model to buy, I opted for the higher priced version with integrated LTE. I got double the flash storage over the Wi-Fi only model as well, but I would have paid the $150 premium just for the LTE feature. Generally, I have an abundant supply of Wi-Fi so the LTE radio — and free 100 MB of monthly data — is mainly for backup connectivity and for travel.

But there’s a big downside to the Pixel with regards to the LTE radio. Unlike most LTE devices, the Pixel can’t fall back to a slower network when an LTE signal can’t be found.

Basically, if you’re not in an LTE coverage area — on Verizon’s network, specifically — you’d better find a hotspot, use your phone’s internet connection or be prepared to work offline. Even though the last option is improving with improved support for Packaged Apps that work offline, it’s a shame the Pixel is so dependent on one carrier’s singular network option. Or is it?

Fellow Chromebook Pixel owner John Freml, from the Pocketables enthusiast site, noted a Google+ post from Ian Ray with interesting information. It turns out the mobile broadband radio used in the Pixel isn’t using its full capabilities; likely by design for now. Freml notes that the wireless card is a Novetel Expdite E362, which works with other broadband networks in some cases:

Powered by Qualcomm® MDM9600 chipset, the Expedite E362 offers high performance to the user on LTE 700 MHz with global fallback to CDMA and HSPA+/UMTS … the small Expedite E362 module leverages the LTE, CDMA, and HSPA+/UMTS networks. Switching between networks enables your customers to work, play, and stay connected anytime, anywhere worldwide.

The Qualcomm baseband chip Freml points out is similar to one used in the iPad with LTE, and that certainly supports fall-back to other 3G networks, so there’s hope.

Of course, without seeing the internals of a Pixel, it’s difficult to confirm. And the right antenna and amplifier support would be needed. But if all of the puzzle pieces are there, it’s possible that a software update could enable fall-back features or even add support for your choice of carrier on a Chromebook Pixel with LTE.

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Need a Chromebook Pixel case or sleeve? Try the Apple Store

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:15:39 +0000

One of the more common complaints I hear from Chromebook owners is that Google doesn’t offer any accessories such as cases or sleeves. Honestly, when I spent $449 last year on the Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, which is solid but mostly plastic, I didn’t give that much thought to protecting the device. I feel a bit differently with the Chromebook Pixel with LTE, however, since it cost me $1,449. So what’s a Chromebook Pixel owner to do?

Turns out that the Apple Store is a great source for cases and sleeves to fit a Pixel. That’s ironic as my purchase decision came down to a Mac Book Pro with Retina Display or a Chromebook Pixel. I bought Google’s laptop, but I shopped in Apple’s store for a sleeve. Check before you buy, but most sleeves and cases made for the 13-inch MacBook Pro should work nicely with the Pixel, even though the latter machine has a 3:2 aspect ratio screen.

This works out well because the two devices are similar enough in size. Apple’s device is 12.35 inches x 8.62 inches x 0.75 inches, for example, while Google’s Chromebook Pixel measures in at 11.72 inches x 8.84 inches x 0.64 inches. I suppose you could order a custom case for the Pixel, but that’s likely going to be costly.

I ended up settling on the neoprense and faux fur Incase Sleeve for $39.99. My Chromebook Pixel fits it well and I like how the sleeve has three zippers: Two work together to close the sleeve up while a third opens up one corner of the sleeve to expose the laptop’s power port. This way, I can slip the Pixel in the case for protection and charge the device’s battery at the same time. I opted for a sleeve because I recently bought a new messenger bag that doesn’t have padding.

Got any more Chromebook case suggestions? Drop a comment, and we might just share them on our weekly GigaOM Chrome Show podcast.

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Running out of memory on a Chromebook? Here’s a 30-second solution

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:55:03 +0000

Several Google Chromebooks, particularly the lower-priced models, come with just 2 GB of memory and for some, that’s just not enough. What often happens is that as more browser tabs are opened, data on older tabs simply disappears. These tabs have to be refreshed and that’s not ideal, especially if those tabs are being used for any communications or media consumption.

The problem happens on Chromebooks with 4 GB of RAM as well, but much less often. Still, even on the Chromebook Pixel, I experience it from time to time. The good news is that regardless of your Chromebook model, one quick command line with a restart can definitely help. The solution uses zRam or compressed swap space and you can use it on a Chromebook because it’s part of Linux, which is the underlying core of a Chrome OS device.

Essentially, zRam creates a swap disk to virtually increase the amount of memory your system can use. This is a description from the zRAM / compressed cache project site:

“This project creates RAM based block device (named zram) which acts as swap disk. Pages swapped to this disk are compressed and stored in memory itself. Compressing pages and keeping them in RAM virtually increases its capacity. This allows more applications to fit in given amount of memory.”

Here are the simple steps I found in the Chromebook Central Google Group to enable it:

Open up a terminal tab with the CTRL + ALT + T keys.
Type “swap enable” (without the quotes).
Restart your Chromebook.

That’s it! The change is persistent, meaning the swap file will stay active after each restart. If you want to disable it, just follow the same instructions but type “disable” instead of “enable.” And if you want to manage the actual size of the swap file, you can do that too: When enabling it, follow the command with a number representing the size of the swap file in megabytes.

I’ve used this function on several Chromebook models and have noticed that blank tabs are mostly a thing of the past, even after opening and closing dozens of tabs during a typical day.

The nice thing is that you have nothing to lose by enabling the swap function since it can easily be disabled. Even better: As of last month, Google is experimenting to see if enabling swap by default is a viable option.

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Chrome OS file manager could get integration with Dropbox, other cloud drives

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:54:30 +0000

Are you interested in seeing Dropbox, SugarSync, SkyDrive or other cloud storage services integrated in the Chrome OS file manager? As a heavy cloud user, I know I am. It appears someone on the Chromium project is too, because eagle-eyed Craig Tumblison, noticed a Chromium feature enhancement was filed to add this type of integration in Chrome OS.

Here’s the full request description, which is an API to allow for extensions to integrate directly in the Chrome OS file manager:

The basic idea is to allow an extension behave as a ‘drive’ in the file manager app in ChromeOS. Currently the file manager has “Downloads” and “Drive” in the left column, and additional USB flash drives and temporary zip archives will appear. The extension will appear here and provide the list of files through the new API.

I’m already using Dropbox and Amazon’s Cloud Drive on the Chromebook Pixel, but it’s not an integrated experience. The Dropbox extension for example, is simply a link to the Dropbox website where I can then download, upload or modify files through the browser page. Sending files to Dropbox isn’t done through the Chrome OS file manager, making for a clunky experience.

If the request is approved and developed, however, the native file manager in Chrome OS would look something like this image found on the OMG!Chrome! enthusiast site.

Will Google’s Chromium team open up the Chrome OS file manager to other competing cloud storage services? From a business standpoint, it could shy away from such a request, but if it wants Chrome OS to be a serious competitor to traditional operating systems, I think it has to allow for this. I’ll be keeping an eye on the request going forward in hopes of an approval.

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Call in podcast: Chromebook screenshot tips and the Facebook phone

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:24:46 +0000

Ready for another edition of the weekly call-in show where we answer your tech questions? We kick things off with expectations of Facebooks’s new phone and software and then get right into your questions. Several Chromebook topics come up as well as a tough choice between two new flagship phones.

To be a part of the show, just call in and leave a voicemail at 262-KCTOFEL. If you do, we’ll play back the question on the show and answer it. Or you can tweet me at @kevinctofel on Twitter. Each week, I’ll answer as many questions as I can while keeping the podcast to a manageable amount of time: 20 to 30 minutes at most.

Show notes:
Hosts: Chris Albrecht and Kevin C. Tofel

How much do all of the software customizations from Amazon, Samsung and others hurt Android share as a whole?
Is there a way to capture just part of the screen on a Chromebook?
Which would you buy: a Pixel or Google Glass?
Can you use Office 365 on a Chromebook?
Tough question: HTC One or Samsung Galaxy S 4?

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Why the digital age needs an effective content licensing strategy

T-Mo’s no plan, SummlYahoo and everyone’s a paparazzi

IoT: Why the Hue internet lightbulb is a bright idea

Podcast: Facebook’s feedin’; Lean In’s meanin’; and everyone’s Hadoop-in

IoT: When devices can talk, will they conspire against you?

Call-in show: Why the “I’m leaving iPhone” trend?

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Call in podcast: T-Mobile iPhone and the best Android keyboard

Kevin C. Tofel — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:46:16 +0000

It’s another edition of the weekly call-in show where we answer your tech questions. We start off the show with the big news that T-Mobile finally has its own iPhone and LTE network. Then we get right into your questions about another CDMA Nexus phone, Chromebook tips, and what’s the best keyboard for Android?

Show notes:
Hosts: Kevin Fitchard and Kevin C. Tofel

What are the chances of Verizon getting another Nexus phone?
Can any Chromebook or Chromebox run the crouton scripts for Linux?
Why would anyone wait for the phone to ‘arrive’ at T-mobile when there’s already an unlocked GSM model?
What’s the best keyboard for Android?

(download this episode)

Subscribe to RSS

iTunes

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SELECT PREVIOUS EPISODES:

Podcast: Facebook’s feedin’; Lean In’s meanin’; and everyone’s Hadoop-in

IoT: When devices can talk, will they conspire against you?

Call-in show: Why the “I’m leaving iPhone” trend?

Internet of things Podcast – Almond+’s nutty idea: Making sensor connectivity a snap

Yahoo’s WFH Boo-Boo

PlayStation Snore?

Podcast: Why the internet of things is cool and how Mobiplug is helping make it happen

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Google expands Chromebook availability to six more countries while doubling down in U.S.

David Meyer — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:47:24 +0000

Google’s cloudy Chromebooks must be doing well. The company has just extended their availability to six new countries, namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, and doubled the number of Best Buy stores in the U.S. in which the Chrome OS laptops are sold.

According to a blog post early on Tuesday, Samsung’s Chromebook has been a best-seller on Amazon U.S. for 150 days, and over 10 percent of laptop sales in the UK electricals stores Currys and PC World have been Chromebooks.

Chromebooks go on sale from Tuesday in the aforementioned countries, where Google will also be pushing the devices on businesses and schools. Availability will differ somewhat from country to country, although generally the Acer and Samsung Chromebooks are on sale now, with HP’s effort on its way soon.

I get the feeling that Google has spotted a gap in the market here. At the size and price point we’re talking about (roughly between $250-$350), people will most likely be buying and using Chromebooks as they would have netbooks. With the manufacturers having more-or-less abandoned the netbook market, those who want a cheap, portable, notebook-format device may very well find themselves looking in Chrome OS’s direction.

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Acer’s new $279 C7 Chromebook runs for 6 hours, doubles down on memory

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:06:28 +0000

When I reviewed Acer’s $199 C7 Chromebook, I generally liked it for the price. The biggest issue I had was the 3.5 hours of battery life: that’s simply not enough for a laptop that will be used on the go. The good news is that Acer heard those complaints about the battery capacity and did something to improve it. On Tuesday, the company introduced a $279 Chromebook with 6 hours of run time on a single charge.

Acer is marketing the device to the education market but consumers interested in a low-cost Chromebook may want to take a look. I used the older C7 model for a few weeks as my daily computer and as long as I was able to find an outlet, it worked well. The new C7 device uses an Intel Celeron chip just like the prior edition (see performance marks here for the old model) and includes 4 GB of memory, which is double the memory of the $199 model.

Is the extra battery life and double the RAM worth an extra $80? I’d say yes. If you’re interested in the Acer C7, this is the model that I’d spring for. Another compelling option would be the $249 Samsung Chromebook, which just gained Netflix support yesterday, although that particular Chromebook is half-step slower. It uses an ARM-based chip, typically found in smartphones or tablets, instead of an Intel Celeron.

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Press Play: Netflix arrives on the $249 Samsung Chromebook

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:09:15 +0000

Owners of the $249 Samsung Chromebook have lived without Netflix since the device launched in October. That changes today as Google has announced support for Netflix on the device, with content delivered via HTML5. There’s no need to update the Chromebook; users can simply navigate to the Netflix website, login and start watching movies or television shows.

When I had first reviewed this Chromebook model, the lack of Netflix was a disappointment because all prior Chromebook models had Netflix support. One key difference in this particular netbook from Samsung was the chip architecture: It uses a Samsung Exynos chip, which is based on ARM. The other Chromebooks all use x86-based Intel chips.

It’s interesting that Netflix now just works. A Google spokesperson says the solution is the result of collaboration with Netflix and Microsoft. That’s surprising as the initial reason Google provided for the lack of Netflix on the Samsung dealt with a Chrome plug-in and Google’s Native Client efforts; neither of which Microsoft would likely have anything to do with.

Regardless of the solution’s implementation, it’s simply good news that there is a solution. So if you have a Samsung Chromebook, fire up Netflix and enjoy!

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Video: Chromebook Pixel running Chrome OS and Linux simultaneously

Kevin C. Tofel — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:24:02 +0000

My daily use of Google’s Chromebook Pixel is working out like a charm for what I do, nearly all of which is web-based. Yet, there are still times when a native app is better, or even required, to get the job done. My weekly podcast and videos are perfect examples, although I have found a number of web app options to test out for content creation.

As I noted last week, the Pixel has more flexibility than you might think because there are a number of ways to run Linux on the laptop. I opted to install and use crouton, a set of scripts that set up the Pixel to run Chrome OS and Linux at the same time. Here’s how it looks and works after the setup; you can get the crouton setup steps at this link so I don’t show those on camera:

Watch this video for free on GigaOM

The one-time setup was simple and now all I need to get Linux up and running is a quick set of commands in a terminal. Then it’s just a matter of switching between Chrome OS and Linux as needed. You can see in the video that the same app I use on a Mac for my weekly podcast, Audacity, runs just fine so I’ve got the podcast issue licked. And I’m going to test some video apps for occasional use as well.

Oh, and if you want to run Skype on the Pixel, you can do that to with this method: Check out how I stay on a video call while switching back to Chrome OS to check something on the web!

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