Lenovo Launches the First Smart Display with Google Assistant for $200 and Up

Lenovo Smart Display

Android Things based smart displays were announced at CES 2018 with companies like Lenovo, LG, JBL, and Sony promising products later this year.  In May, Google announced Google Assistant was now supporting smart displays, and released Android Things 1.0, the first production-ready version of the operating system. With all main software components released a few months ago, the first smart displays with Google Assistant support have now started selling for $199.99 and up courtesy of Lenovo. The smart display is available with either a 8″ or 10″ display. Lenovo Smart Display specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Home Hub Platform base​d on Snapdragon 624 octa-core Cortex A53 processor @  1.8 GHz System Memory – Up to 2GB RAM Storage – Up to 4GB eMMC flash Display (one or the other) 8″ IPS display with 1280 x 800 resolution, 86° Wide Angle 10″ IPS display with 1920×1200 resolution, 86° Wide Angle Audio 8″ […]

Lenovo IdeaPad 330 Gemini Lake Laptops Sell for $250 and Up

We’ve previously seen companies unveil Gemini Lake laptops but at price points ($400 to $600) that did not seem right, considering Gemini Lake (GLK) processors should cost about the same as the ones from the previous generation (Apollo Lake). Lenovo has now introduced IdeaPad 330 laptops based on Intel GLK processors with pricing more in line with expectation, as the device will sell for as low as $250 with an Intel Celeron N4000 dual core processor. I won’t list all detailed Lenovo IdeaPad 330 specifications, since it’s actual a family of laptop with a long list of different models with Intel Celeron N4000/Pentium N5000 Gemini Lake processors, but also more powerful Core i3/i5/i7 processors. The company still provided some key features for the laptop, as they will comes in three anti-glare screen display sizes at 14, 15 and 17″ respectively in HD, HD+ and full HD resolution options. Let’s pick […]

Lenovo Introduces Mirage Solo Daydream Standalone Virtual Reality Headset & Mirage Camera for VR180 Video Recording

Standalone / All-in-One Android virtual reality headsets have been around for a couple of years, mostly from Chinese vendors.  But the number and quality of VR apps available were rather low at the time, and those VR headsets were mostly useful to watch 360°  & VR videos. This may explain why larger companies had not launched any standalone headset so far, but this week everything changed, as Facebook started selling their Oculus Go virtual reality headset , and Google & Lenovo have just jointly announced the availability of Mirage Solo, the first standalone VR headset compatible with Google Daydream. Lenovo Mirage Solo specifications: SoC- Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 VR processor System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage –  64 GB UFS flash,  microSD Card slot up to 256 GB Display – 5.5″  QHD (2560 x 1440) LCD display @ 75 Hz Lenses – 2 x Fresnel-Aspheric 110° FOV Camera – Dual […]

Android Things is Finally Getting into Products: Smart Speakers, Smart Displays, and More

Android Things was first introduced as Brillo in October 2015, before being renamed to Android Things the following year when a developer preview was released with support for Raspberry Pi 3, as well as Intel and NXP development boards. But if you can’t remember the last time you’ve purchased a device running Android Things that’s normal, because so far, there was none. Google announced this is going to change as the first set of Android Things products have been announced at CES 2018. The first category of devices to run Android Things will be Google Assistant enabled smart speakers with the launch of products such as iHome iGV1 and LG ThinQ WK7.  ODM partners have also created full speaker reference designs based on certified Android Things and Cast System-on-Modules (SoMs) powered by Rockchip RK3229, Mediatek MT8516, or based on Qualcomm SD212 Home Hub Platform. NXP i.MX 8M solutions are also […]

Lenovo Miix 630 2-in-1 Detachable Runs Windows 10 S on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Lenovo Miix 630 is joining other Qualcomm 835 powered always-on always connected Windows 10 PCs such as HP Envy x2 2017, and ASUS Novago TP370. Like its peers, the 2-in-1 laptop supports both WiFi and LTE connectivity, and promises ultra-long battery life for example up to 20 hours of local video playback. The device also includes a digital pen with 1024 levels of sensitivity, and a backlit keyboard. Another similarity is a high price, as Miix 630 pricing with keyboard and  digital pen will start at $799.99 in Q2 2018. Lenovo Miix 630 preliminary specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor @ up to 2.6GHz with Adreno 540 GPU System memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 128GB UFS 2.0 storage Display – 12.3″ WUXGA (1920×1200) touchscreen display Audio – Speaker and microphone (support for Cortana) Backlit keyboard Connectivity – 4G LTE and WiFi Camera – Infrared camera compatible with Windows Hello […]

Ubuntu 17.10 May Corrupt the BIOS on Some Lenovo, Acer, Dell, and Other Laptops

Canonical has decided to temporarily remove the download link to Ubuntu 17.10 due leaving a notice reading: The download of Ubuntu 17.10 is currently discouraged due to an issue on certain Lenovo laptops. Once fixed this download will be enabled again. The issue that many user are reported being unable to save BIOS settings or boot with USB in several Lenovo Laptops with many topics about this issue on Lenovo Forums. The installed operating system still boots normally, so many affected people may not have even noticed. Based on the bug report it seems to be related to the enablement of intel-spi-* drivers (Intel Serial Flash drive) in the kernel (CONFIG_SPI_INTEL_SPI_PCI option), and this could also affect Ubuntu 16.04 with HWE kernels. The fix is to disable the driver in the kernel, and Canonical will soon release images. The downside of not using the driver are likely null or minimal, […]

Lenovo Yoga Book 2-in-1 Hybrid Laptop Features a Drawing Pad instead of a Keyboard, Ships with Windows, Android or DOS

Lenovo has launched yet another 2-in-1 hybrid laptop, but the Yoga Book has some interesting new feature as it does not come with an actual keyboard, but instead a large “Create Pad” (Wacom digitizer) that allows you to draw sketches, take notes, and yes, it can also be converted into a virtual keyboard too when needed. Lenovo has a $499 version with Android 6.0, and another one with Windows 10 for $549, but I initially found it on GearBest, selling the device for $642.91 shipped with DOS operating system instead to give the user the option to install his/her own choice of operating system. Lenovo Yoga Book specifications: SoC – Up to Intel Atom x5-Z8550 quad core Cherry Trail processor System Memory – Up to 4 GB LPDDR3 Storage – Up to 64 GB internal storage, and micro SD slot supporting up to 128 GB Display – 10.1″ IPS LED […]

Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Tango-Enabled Smartphone to Sell for $500 in Q3 2016

Project Tango uses computer vision to enable mobile devices to detect their position relative to the world using 3D maps of the world created in real-time using 3D depth cameras. Google and Lenovo had already announced a Tango phone would be launched later this year during CES 2016, and the companies have now officially introduced Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, the world’s first Tango-enabled smartphone, scheduled to start selling worldwide in September for $499 and up. Lenovo Phab Pro 2 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 Tango Edition processor with 4x ARM Cortex A72 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores, and Adreno 510 GPU System Memory – 4GB RAM Storage – 64GB flash Display – 6.4″ display with 2560×1440 (QHD) resolution Audio – Dolby Atmos / 5.1 audio capture via 3 microphones with 360 voice noise-cancelling (Note: How can you record 5.1 audio with only 3 […]