Hasta La Gadget!

It’s teardown time again, and this time the poor gadget under iFixit’s menacing spudger is the Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook, one of Google’s follow-ups to the rather poorly-received Cr-48 Chromebook.

Before we get inside, it’s worth mentioning that Samsung has fixed the two big problems with the original. The trackpad now works properly (can it really have been so hard to get right? It’s not like trackpads are new tech) and the battery life is now a good long 8 hours. It is also a little faster thanks to its Atom N570 processor, and — according to iFixit CEO Kyle “The Can-Opener” Wiens — looks a lot better. I’m a sucker for clunky, utilitarian design, so I actually prefer the old one.

Then we dive inside the device. It’s possible to disassemble the whole thing with the spudger, a plastic opening tool, and a Phillips number 1 screwdriver.

The Series 5 is put together a lot like a vanilla netbook, with standard slot-in parts for things like Wi-Fi and 3G WWAN. The 16GB SanDisk SSD is also a standard plug-in module, so it should be possible to upgrade if you want to. In the pictures above, you can see the insides of both the new Chromebook and the original Cr48 for comparison.

Ifixit gives the Series 5 3G Chromebook a Repairability Score of 6 out of 10. Not bad. Be sure to check out the full teardown, complete with “huge” photographs of each step.

Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook Teardown [iFixit. thanks, Kyle!]

See Also:

• Google Debuts Chromebook, the Web-Only Laptop
• Hands-On With Google's New Chromebook
• Google's Cr-48 Netbook Looks Gorgeous, Ditches Caps-Lock
• Cr-48

Generally, shouting commands at the internet isn’t going to get you very far but, if you’re just yelling a few destinations and search terms, Chrome extension Chaufr can take you where you need to go. A previous add-on, Speechify, let you speak to fill input fields, but couldn’t help you actually navigate the web. Chaufr, on the other hand, lets you simply say the magic word — “Engadget” — and it drops you right at our online doorstep. You can also use it to perform searches by saying Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, or Yahoo followed by whatever it is you’re looking for. It worked well enough in our brief hands-on, but we do have one nit to pick — activating voice input requires you click on an icon in the tool bar then click on a microphone in the drop down menu. (Can’t a brother get a keyboard shortcut?) You can try it out for yourself by clicking on the source link.

Chaufr lets you shout searches, yell URLs at Chrome originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google recently rolled out the beta release of Chrome 12, and now Cr-48 owners are getting a matching version of Chrome OS. This latest version, 0.12.433.48, brings bug fixes, Flash 10.2.158.22, a file manager context menu, and some spiffy new icons and avatars to its browser-based UI. We grabbed the update on our own Google-fied laptops and got some pics of the beta’s new bits for your viewing pleasure. We’re still getting acquainted with all of the changes, so if you’ve also copped the new Chrome OS let us know how it’s treating you in the comments.

[Thanks, Alex]

Google releases OTA update for Chrome OS, Cr-48 owners can upgrade now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 20:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the world’s most (in)famous names has picked a side in the browser battles — last night saw the debut of a new Google Chrome commercial, starring Lady Gaga and her “little monsters.” Spanning a minute and a half of Gaga and her fans singing and gyrating their way through her latest single, the ad is intended to illustrate the power of the web and its creative new modes of interaction. To be fair, said interaction is mostly Lady Gaga saying “jump” and a crowd of YouTubers doing it without bothering to ask how high, but hey, the result is fun to watch. You just need to disable your sense of shame for all humanity and click past the break.

[Thanks, Daryl]

Continue reading Lady Gaga uses Chrome, and here’s the 91-second film to prove it

Lady Gaga uses Chrome, and here’s the 91-second film to prove it originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 May 2011 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

About a year after the debut of the first Android handset, Switched On discussed the threat that Chrome OS posed to Android. To reprise it briefly: Like chief rivals Apple and Microsoft, Google has two operating systems trying to bridge the rift between consumer electronics and traditional computing, but Chrome is different than Mac OS and Windows in an exceptionally important way.

Rather than trying to refine the traditional software experience (as Apple has done with the Mac App Store and other iOS-inspired developments in the queue) or move that experience forward to tablets (as Microsoft is doing with Windows), Chrome OS is not looking to carry forward any legacy beyond the browser.

Unlike with Mac OS vs. iOS or Windows vs. Windows Phone, the battle isn’t over which apps make sense, but rather the irreconcilable difference around whether apps to begin with. This makes Google’s suggestion that the two operating systems might merge at some point less credible, and sent a mixed message to developers about whether to focus their efforts on apps or the web. At Google I/O 2011, however, the company clarified its position.

Continue reading Switched On: Chrome alone

Switched On: Chrome alone originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 May 2011 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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