Articles by Jerry Hildenbrand

The S21 is better in many ways, but there are times when a Pixel phone bests it.

In 2021, I decided to make a change and got a Samsung Galaxy S21 instead of a Pixel 5. I used the Pixel 4 for a year and still think it was one of the best Android phones ever except for one problem — the battery life. No matter how good a phone is, it stops being good when you have to charge it instead of using it, and the Pixel 4 was a dud in the battery department. If that weren’t the case, I’d probably still be using it.

The Galaxy S21 is without a doubt one of the best phones I’ve ever used.

The S21 is an amazing phone. No article about it, opinion or otherwise, can start without saying it right up front. It’s really a modern marvel of engineering, and there are so many things it does better than any other phone I’ve ever used, even my Pixel 4, which is dead in a drawer somewhere.

The display is the absolute best you’ll ever find, it’s fast as all get out, signal strength is awesome (I’ve …

Even high-end Chromebooks struggle because of a weak GPU. News from GTC points to a change.

NVIDIA is putting on its yearly GTC event, and an announcement snuck its way through that could mean big things when it comes to the graphic adapter on Chromebooks. In a press release and accompanying blog post about NVIDIA’s commitment to ARM chips, there’s mention of something really juicy for Chromebook lovers — the company is partnering with MediaTek to build a reference laptop with NVIDIA RTX GPU. And it’s not created just for Windows as the operating system.

The notebooks will use Arm cores and NVIDIA graphics to give consumers energy-efficient portables with no-compromise media capabilities based on a reference platform that supports Chromium, Linux, and NVIDIA SDKs.

Chromium, Linux, and the NVIDIA SDK. Notice that there is no mention of Microsoft Windows, which may seem a little odd. Chances are that NVIDIA and MediaTek would be working with Microsoft, too, to build a great AR…

Millions of people use Chromebooks, but despite their simple and “for everyone” nature, not every power feature is easy to access. All the best Chromebooks are powerful tools that are just waiting to be used to their full potential, and once you know a few tricks, you’ll feel like you’re getting even more value out of your inexpensive computer. We’ve rounded up over 20 tips and tricks for you to try on your Chromebook so that you can start making the most of your machine.

Chromebook Tips and Tricks:

Use third-party DNS
Type in Unicode
Use Chrome Overview
Keyboard Shortcuts
Refresh Google Drive
Chromebook Perks
Move the Shelf
Use an SD card for Extra Storage
Show Hidden Files and Folders
Share Your Chromebook Safely
Do a Barrel Roll
Take a Screenshot
Use App Shortcuts
See Your System Info
Use Powerwash to Clean Up
Open New Tabs Easily
Love the Launcher
Open Apps Quickly
Control Your Open Windows
Get Organized With Folders
TURN ON CAPS LOCK
Locking Things Down
Control Your Notific…

The shortage of Snapdragon chips has caused another problem, but this should light a fire under Google’s in-house smartphone chip goals.

The Pixel 5a is yet another victim of the global shortage of Qualcomm’s 765 chips. Whether it gets canceled, gets delayed, or has a very limited release to just a few countries, almost everyone who had their heart set on buying one will have to buy another one of the best budget phones like the Pixel 4a 5G instead.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for consumers. The Pixel 5a was supposedly being built on the same chipset as the Pixel 4a 5G, which has seen its share of sales and price reductions. If you really wanted a Pixel 5a, you can get essentially the same phone and save a few dollars. But yeah, I wanted to see a new Pixel, too. Oh well, things like this happen.

For Google, things are a little different. On the money side, Google shouldn’t be affected very much. It doesn’t sell a lot of phones in the first place, and as long as it can kee…

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided that there was no infringement by Google on Oracle’s IP in a landmark case.

The Supreme Court has put an end to the years-long fight between Google and Oracle over the use of Java in Android. We’ve seen both sides get the win with appellate courts taking it away, and Google’s last loss in court had the company take this to the highest court in the land; the entire saga surely cost the company more than the $5 billion fine would have when you factor in time with the money.

In the end, this was all about the Benjamins.

In the end, the lawsuit wasn’t about Google using Java without a license, though Google did try and procure a license from Sun before Java was sold to Oracle. This case was about trying to force Google to license all of Java because it used some of the APIs to make things easier for developers. That is a horrible idea, and thankfully the majority of the Supreme Court agrees. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, an…

Fixing the latest bugs and exploits in Android every month.

Google has detailed the latest Android Security Bulletin and released the fixes for Pixel devices.

These are exploits and other security concerns that affect Android as a whole. Issues with the operating system, kernel patches, and driver updates may not affect any particular device, but these need to be fixed in the Android base by the folks maintaining the operating system code. That means Google, and they’ve detailed the things they have improved for this month.

Updated factory images for Pixel devices that are supported are available, and over-the-air updates are rolling out to users. If you don’t want to wait, you can download and flash the factory image or OTA update file manually, and here are some handy instructions to get you started.

The company that made your phone uses these patches to send an update out to you.

These changes have been released to the people making the best Android phones for at least 30…

Google offers what it calls the Advanced Protection Program for folks who need very tight security and controlled access to their account. It uses security keys to validate who you are as a two-factor method. Advanced Protection is probably too much hassle for most of us, but a security key is an awesome little tool. It can help secure your Google account and is also a cover-your-butt backup in case you lose your phone — and the authenticator app you installed on it. They’re relatively cheap, easy to set up, and can get you back into your Google account from any computer or one of the best Chromebooks anywhere.

How to add a security key to your Google account

Visit your Google account settings page using a web browser. You may be able to use your phone, but this is best done using a Chromebook or PC.
In the menu to the right, choose the Security entry.

Find the section titled signing in to Google and choose the 2-Step Verification item from the list.
You’ll need to enable Goo…

Designing an in-house chip for smartphones would be a big deal for Google, but a lot of risks come along with it.

The news that Google could be putting its own chip inside the Pixel 6 is really cool, especially for consumers and fans of the Pixel phones. It’s a risky move — even for a company the size of Google — but one we’ve expected to happen eventually. Even if you’re not a Pixel phone fan and use any of the other best Android phones, it’s interesting as all get out.

It’s also going to be quite the balancing act between risk and reward, one that could affect the Android ecosystem as a whole. Building a microprocessor isn’t a new idea for Google; we’ve seen the company build its own chips like the Pixel Visual Core and the Neural Core with a lot of success. Both pieces of silicon did exactly what Google wanted and even spurred the competition to match their capabilities. Google no longer needs to use them thanks to Qualcomm’s improved image signal processing.

Google also …

It appears that Google has moved forward with its plans for a native Steam client for Chrome OS, but that’s not a magic bullet.

One of the biggest reasons I use my Windows desktop computer is because it’s my gaming machine. I still do a little audio production, and I have an extensive Lightroom catalog, but most everything I do every day works great on any of the best Chromebooks. Except for those gaming moments.

Google knows that the lack of “desktop” games for Chrome is a pain point for many people who would otherwise happily make the switch. The company is trying to do something about it by leveraging the Chrome OS Linux container and Steam, Valve’s popular online game store and platform for PCs.

We recently saw a hint of the upcoming Game Mode for Chrome that should be tied to the native Chrome OS version of Steam. Google will almost certainly address the fact that mobile games via Android’s Google Play Store just aren’t enough for everyone. By working with Valve to build an o…

Android 12 helps you know exactly what apps are tracking your location, using the camera, and using the microphone when it’s happening.

In Android 11, we saw the debut of a popular privacy feature: a one-time permission setting for getting your location in the background, using your microphone, or using the camera. That’s a great thing — we spent the money on the best Android phone, so we should be told whenever an app could “spy” on us and restrict it from getting access to sensitive data when we’re not actively using it.

Along with these finer privacy controls, Android 12 has also included a way to know when location services, the camera, or the microphone is in use even though you might have allowed it to happen. Two ways, actually.

Android 12 DP2 has a new privacy indicator UI, as seen in the mockups that leaked in early February. It’s much more polished than the hidden implementation in Android 11 and it matches the mockups surprisingly well. pic.twitter.com/hIaKFEpgsb— k…