-
ReviewsWearablesSmartwatchesThis Body Heat-Powered Smartwatch Gets One Thing Very Right
One of the most interesting gadgets I’ve tested in the past few years was the Matrix PowerWatch: a fitness-tracking timepiece powered only by the wearer’s body heat. The battery-free technology was neat, but the watch’s limited functionality wasn’t. Matrix Industries’ new PowerWatch X promises to be a more useful and capable wearable, but even with … Continued
-
ReviewsOther GadgetsI Can’t Believe I’m Gonna Tell You to Buy This $200 Toothbrush
A regular old manual toothbrush can easily cost less than a dollar. You might have one in your bathroom right now, ready to tackle the plaque, and the coffee stains, and the bad breath that make its existence integral for modern living. But in our 21st-century society, it’s easy to spend much more on an … Continued
-
ReviewsLaptopsGaming LaptopsThe New 15-inch Razer Blade Is a Gaming Workhorse in a Practical Package
The new redesigned Razer Blade laptop (now called the Razer Blade 15) is no longer a thin little outlier in the chunky landscape of portable gaming machines. When it was a 14-inch laptop, it was a powerhouse for its size—an incredible feat of engineering that managed to be an accomplished gaming machine and a laptop … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsToysAfter 60 Years, Brio Has Reinvented Its Toy Trains for the Future
Brio’s magnetic wooden trains are as iconic a toy as Lego bricks or Hot Wheels cars. Traditionally kid-powered, a few years ago electric motors were introduced to the line, but this year Brio trains are being upgraded with smart features that allow them to interact with tracks and playsets. Don’t hit the panic alarm just … Continued
-
ReviewsPhonesHTCI Really Hope HTC Doesn’t Go Out Like This
After years of declining sales, unloading $1 billion worth of patents and personnel to Google, and just recently slashing 25 percent of its global workforce, when it comes to HTC, I got one big question: So what’s left? Sure, HTC may have been able insulate its promising Vive VR business by spinning that department off … Continued
-
ReviewsSmart HomeAlexa, Is My House on Fire?
Many devices are now pulling double-duty these days. Game consoles are entertainment streaming devices. Smartwatches tell you the time while also telling you which of your coworkers is demanding your attention. Lightbulbs are burglar deterrents, at least when they’re not setting the mood. So Onelink’s Safe and Sound, a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm with … Continued
-
ReviewsVPNAT&T’s WatchTV Is the Very Cheapest Way to Stream Live TV, But Is It Worth It?
AT&T, despite owning DirecTV and thus the live TV streaming service DirecTV Now, just launched another: AT&T WatchTV. Like DirecTV Now, it streams live TV to nearly every kind of mobile device and set-top box. Like DirecTV Now, it has an easy-to-navigate interface. Unlike DirecTV Now, AT&T WatchTV is the cheapest way to stream live … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsTVsHisense’s Absurd 100-Inch Laser TV Turned Me Into a Big Screen Believer
When discussing a big-screen TV, size is bound to be the primary topic of conversation, but with Hisense’s 100-inch Ultra HD Laser TV, bigness approaches a thought-terminating cliche—one I have been happy to let take over my puny mind. “How’s the big TV?” more than one coworker asked after I agreed to review the $10,000 … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
ReviewsPhonesBlackberryThe BlackBerry Key2 Makes Me Wish Physical Keyboards Weren’t All But Dead
Chances are that if you’re reading this, there’s one smartphone feature you care more about than anything else. That’s because even with the Key2’s sleeker, more refined design, an interesting choice of components, and its questionable BlackBerry heritage, this handset has one thing you simply don’t get on phones anymore: a good ‘ole physical keyboard. … Continued
-
ReviewsHome EntertainmentSoundbarsSonos Beam Is a Great Smart Soundbar for Not Too Much Money
People who own Sonos speakers love their Sonos speakers. I’m one of them. In the three to four years that I’ve been living in the Sonos ecosystem, however, one big complaint was that I couldn’t use Sonos for my TV unless I barfed up $700 for the Sonos Playbase or Playbar. Now, with the $400 … Continued
-
ReviewsPhonesMotorola
Motorola’s Making the Cheap Smartphone Even Harder to Resist
Apple and Samsung would have you believe quality smartphones should cost the many hundreds of dollars you must sacrifice to obtain their rarefied devices. But in recent years, the march of time has made that notion obsolete. In 2012, a $200 device was nearly unusable. But now? Sharp screens are cheap, and fast processors are … Continued
-
ReviewsPhonesSonyThe Xperia XZ2 Is the Best Phone Sony Has Made in Years
The Sony that many people think of, the electronics giant that made the Walkman, the Discman, the Trinitron, all those Vaios, and even the first water-resistant phone back in 2013, it doesn’t really exist anymore. Sure, the Playstation 4 is doing great and Sony’s mirrorless cameras are some of the best on the market, but … Continued
-
ReviewsHome EntertainmentSet-top BoxesAlexa Is a Pretty Crappy TV Remote, for Now
Plenty of companies want to build the centerpiece for tomorrow’s smart home. Amazon has a head start, too. Tens of millions of Americans now own Echo devices, and Alexa now has tens of thousands of skills. Adding a voice assistant to any TV, I’ve always thought, could be a game changer. And now, Amazon’s Fire … Continued
-
ReviewsTVsTCL Made Its Terrifically Cheap 4K TV Even Better
It seemed unbelievable last year, when a handful of TV companies started selling 4K TVs with HDR and Dolby Vision for around $600. TCL’s Roku-powered P-Series was the best of them, and this year, the company is selling an even better version called the 6-Series. The best part? Same price, more features. At first, the … Continued
-
ReviewsHome EntertainmentSoundbarsDon’t Expect Miracles From a Cheap Soundbar
Cheap soundbars are a lot like cheap headphones. Many of them will do the job. Few of them will do it well. The new TV Mate by Samsung fits firmly in the first category. It will indeed make the audio on your TV louder and better. It will not, however, trick your friends into think … Continued
-
ReviewsHeadphonesSonySony Almost Made the Perfect Commuter Earbuds
There are two ways of listening to music: you can shut everything out and focus purely on the tunes, or you can use music to enhance other activities in your life. Headphones and earbuds, especially those of the noise-canceling variety are quite good at the first; you just put some on, turn up the volume, … Continued
-
ReviewsLaptopsThe Latest Breed of 2-in-1s Have Finally Realized the Hybrid Dream
Even though they don’t look much different than a lot of other hybrid laptops, the release of the Dell’s XPS 15 2-in-1 and HP’s Spectre x360 15 is an important moment for today’s convertible PCs. That’s because by putting powerful, but not exceedingly expensive GPUs inside already flexible machines, it feels like 2-in-1s are finally … Continued
-
ReviewsHeadphonesSonyI’d Love Sony’s New Truly Wireless Earbuds If the Battery Didn’t Suck
Despite many tries, no company has nailed truly wireless earbuds. Apple’s AirPods come close, but the lack of sports-friendly features has always been a problem. That’s why I was so excited to see Sony release a set of truly wireless earbuds that are not only tight-fitting and water resistant, they also come with noise-cancelling. After … Continued
-
ReviewsOther Gadgets
This Charging Case for Bluetooth Headphones Is Surprisingly Good and Useful
Nearly every pair of pocket-friendly Bluetooth headphones suffers from the same problem: your pockets. Those storage compartments aren’t exactly clean, and don’t do shit for you when it comes to keeping your alive. For those tired of dealing with dead headphones, extraneous earwax, and storing your keys in unsecured lockers while you’re at the gym, … Continued
