Googlebooks bring useful phone links but early software feels unfinished
Google’s first five Googlebooks went on sale on 4 October, and early hands-on impressions suggest the Android laptops have promising ideas but feel unfinished. Their phone integration makes it easy to use phone apps, files and notifications from a laptop, though some features are unreliable or rough around the edges.
Setup is straightforward: users pair an Android phone with a QR code, then can cast apps, move some tasks between devices and access phone files. App casting can look pixelated or sluggish, synced notifications may open the wrong version of an app, and Continue On appears to work mainly with Google Docs and Sheets. The Glowbar adds visual flair but has limited practical value.
- Googlebooks bring Android phone features to laptops.
- App and task sharing show promise but have limitations.
- Early impressions suggest the software needs more polish.
New here? Start with this
Google has launched Googlebooks, a new type of laptop that runs Android, Google's mobile operating system. Unlike traditional laptops that run Windows or macOS, Googlebooks are designed to work closely with Android phones.
Most people today own both a smartphone and a laptop. Googlebooks allow these devices to work together more seamlessly by running phone apps on the laptop, sharing files, and displaying phone notifications. Technology companies increasingly view this kind of device integration as important.
Google is not alone in this space. Apple offers similar features linking iPhones with Mac computers, and Microsoft provides comparable functionality between phones and Windows devices. Googlebooks represent Google's competitive answer in this growing area.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Verge as “Our first five impressions of Googlebooks — exciting but underbaked”.