Google Chromebook to add native support for Android apps

While Chromebooks make for affordable PC options, they are limited to running web apps on Chrome. This means you run most of everything within a browser and that is quite restrictive. But according to Google’s announcement at its I/O conference in California, later this year Chrome OS will be able to run all apps and games on your Android devices. And they will run these natively to take advantage of the device’s hardware.

These apps will be running in windows so you can easily switch and use as many of them as you want—or as many as your system permits. Developers will get their hands on this new version of Chrome OS but they will need to be using a Chromebook Pixel 2, ASUS Chromebook Flip, or Acer Chromebook R11. They will add support to more devices later so all Chrome OS users will get access to it and hopefully drive sales for these Chromebooks.

Source: Cult of Mac

Smart Lock via Activity Recognition tipped to land on Android

Smart Lock is a Google feature that will let Chromebook users unlock their devices with their smartphones without having to enter a password. It would seem this feature might be getting an update in the future. Android Police has discovered a possible new feature during an APK teardown of the newest Google Play services. It says Smart Lock can be triggered using Activity Recognition. It is described as an experimental feature so it might take a while before we see it. Activity Recognition could mean anything though. For example, maybe in the way you walk or shaking your phone in a particular pattern. But that might be a tough way to unlock a phone. Perhaps we’ll hear more about it at this year’s Google I/O. Any guesses on what the application could be like?

Source: Android Police | Via: Ubergizmo

Google gives away 1TB of Drive storage for Chromebook purchases

If you’ve been considering getting a Chromebook, now would be a good time to get one. Google is offering Chromebook buyers—whether it be in-store, through Google Play, or online—1TB of storage for the next two years. This will come in handy if you have tons of files stored in the cloud and it will help save you around US$240 for the next two years. But of course, you will have to pay $10 a month after that. The promo ends on January 1, 2015 so you have over a month to decide whether the Chromebook is for you.

Source: Ubergizmo

Google announces first batch of Android apps to come to Chromebook

Google previously announced that they would be bringing certain Android aps to Chromebook and now the day has come. Google is bringing the likes of Evernote, Vine, Sight Words, and Duolingo to the Chrome operating system. Using Google’s App Runtime for Chrome, these apps are meant to provide the full Android experience on the Chromebook, even when it isn’t connected online.

If there’s a certain app you’d love to see on your Chromebook, you can let Google know here.

Source: Google | Via: Droid Life