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This week Google introduced its new 7 inch tablet and a $35 media streaming device. Canonical introduced its first smartphone concept, and is doing its best to get you to help fund the project. And details about Wacom’s upcoming Android tablet may have leaked.
Looking back over the week’s news, three of the articles that generated the most interest on Liliputing dealt with the Google Chromecast. It’s Google’s new cross-platform device that you hook up to your TV in order to turn your smartphone, tablet or computer into a remote control for sending internet video to a bigger screen.
Rather than include all three articles in this week’s roundup of popular posts, I’ve included my hands-on overview, which features pretty much everything you need to know… except for how long it’ll take someone to hack the little guy to run Ubuntu or do something else really cool.
Here’s a look back at some of the popular stories from Liliputing from the week of July 20th through the 26th.
- Google Chromecast streams internet video to your TV (Video)
Google’s Chromecast is an affordable, simple tool that lets you watch internet video on your TV. It may not have all the bells and whistles of an Apple TV, Roku, or Google TV box. But in many ways, that’s what makes it appealing. - Ubuntu Edge: Canonical wants to build a crowd-funded Linux/Android phone
The makers of Ubuntu are working to bring their operating system to smartphones. We’ve known that since January. But now they’re also trying to raise money to build their own phone — and it’s a doozy. The Ubuntu Edge would feature 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and dual boot Android and Linux. Plug it into a dock and it’ll even run the desktop version of Ubuntu, letting you use it as a full-fledged PC. All that only happens if Canonical can raise $32 million in 31 days, but the team’s off to a pretty strong start. - Google introduces new Nexus 7 tablet: Faster, thinner, higher resolution
Google’s second generation Nexus 7 tops last year’s model in pretty much every way. It has a higher resolution display, a faster processor, more RAM, and an extra camera. It’s now available for a list price of $229 and up. - Wacom’s upcoming mobile tablet could sport an NVIDIA Tegra 4 chip
Wacom makes graphics tablets for artists, designers, and other creative types. Soon the company will also start offering general purpose tablets, and at least one model seems to be an Android 4.2 tablet with a high-resolution display and an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor. - Intel introduces lowest-power Haswell chip yet, aimed at tablets
Intel’s Haswell chips use less power, yet offer better performance than any Intel Core family chips to date. But the company’s not done with tweaking energy efficiency yet. A limited edition Intel Haswell chip with an SDP of just 4.5W is on the way. - Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) Student Edition: bundled with dock and keyboard
Samsung may be pushing its new Galaxy Tab 3 tablets, but it apparently still has some remaining inventory of last year’s models. The company is now offering a new $350 bundle which combines a dock and a keyboard with the 10.1 inch Galaxy Tab 2.