Category: Asus

If you are rolling with the Asus ZenFone 2, there is a new update out for your phone.  Now before you get all excited, no, this is not the Android Marshmallow update that is slated to come to it (along with several other Asus devices) but rather a stability update to Android Lollipop.

The update is version 2.20.40.164_20160107_6983(MR9.13) and it was released yesterday into the wild.  The update is really focused on bringing fixes and improvements to the device although there is a new feature that adds the ability to change the screenshot sound settings.  The update is less than 100MB so it can easily be downloaded via Wi-Fi or cellular data.  In all there are 14 updates in the release which I’ve outlined after the break.

Today Asus and Google announced that the all new Asus Chromebit is now available for purchase from a wide range or retailers around the globe.  It is the fulfillment of a product that the companies announced back in March.  You can now pick one up for $85.  But what is it exactly?

The Chromebit is a Chrome OS computer that is roughly the size of your favorite granola bar that plugs into an HDMI port on any monitor or television.  Plug it in and bada-bing, you have a Chrome OS computer.  It is powered by the Rockchip ARM processor, has 2GB or RAM and 16GB of storage built in plus it has a USB 2.0 port, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.  No it is not going to set any land speed records when it comes to processing power but given that it is running a full version of Chrome OS, you can do just about anything on the Chromebit that you can do on a Chromebook.

For $85.  Not bad.

When I received the Acer C670 to review, I commented to my wife that the world has come full circle. When I started my career first in networking then in telecommunications, I had a green screen CRT that tied me back into mainframe.  Now, I have a Chromebook that ties me back into the Cloud. The only difference is that power and performance in a Chromebook is far superior to a dumb terminal.

The Acer C670 Chromebook is by all accounts a middle-of-the-road spec’d device. But don’t let that fool you or pass it over.  At only $149, it is an exceptional value for what it does and it has plenty of horsepower to meet your needs as a lightweight, almost always connected device. Truthfully the keyboard on the C670 is one of the better chicklet-style keyboards I’ve tested and it is large enough to feel like you are typing on a full sized keyboard.  While the display on the C670 could stand to be a bit better, overall this Chromebook is one to consider if you need something lightweight, small and always ready-to-go for your Google Doc and other online editing needs.

Acer C670 Chromebook – $149.99 – Amazon