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Boox Leaf2 review: Checking almost all the right boxes
Speakers, and page-turn buttons, and running Android, oh my!
With so many e-readers on the market, choosing the right one for your needs can be challenging. You'll often find a device that checks a few boxes but not all. The Boox Leaf2 from Onyx, on the other hand, will tick plenty of those boxes thanks to its pleasant reading experience, range of features, and excellent software. It boasts a high-quality E Ink Carta 1200 display that mimics the look of real paper, making it ideal for long reading sessions without causing eye strain or discomfort.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G review: A whole lot of phone for $200
An upgraded 90Hz display, two-day battery life, and a price tag you can afford
Smartphones can be expensive, particularly if you're after a high-end flagship device. While you might have to shell out the big bucks for the best flagship phones, Samsung offers capable devices across the board, including some of the best cheap Android phones you can buy today. That continues with the Galaxy A14 5G, the latest A-series device that delivers functional specs with some advanced features for just $200 out of the box.
Amazon Fire HD 8 (2022) review: Only slightly better
After two years, the latest version of Amazon's affordable tablet has finally arrived, but the improvements are minimal
Amazon's smaller Fire tablets are known for being extremely portable and easy to navigate, but cheaper and slower than competing tablets. Just type "why are Fire tablets" into Google, and you'll see that the auto-complete options aren't pretty. This isn't to say that these tablets aren't good. They're great for certain uses, which is why the Amazon Fire HD 10 is one of the best Android tablets. However, the Fire tablet line doesn't live up to its full potential.
Amazon Kindle Scribe review: Great for reading manga, not drawing it
We finally get a Kindle DX successor, but taking notes and drawing feels tacked on
In 2012, Amazon finally discontinued the Kindle DX, the first and last large-screen Kindle. Ten years later, a handful of competitively large e-reading devices exist and are excellent at taking notes, and are clearly eating Amazon's lunch.
When was the last time you were excited about a Chromebook? I know I can't remember. Sure, we've seen a couple of interesting devices through the years, like the Pixelbook and the Dragonfly, but have I literally jumped at the opportunity to review a Chromebook? Not until Framework announced the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition.
ASUS Chromebook Flip CX3 (CX3400) review: The minivan of Chromebooks
A utilitarian device that might not be sexy, but it sure can get work done
The Asus Chromebook Flip CX3400 may not be a newfangled gaming Chromebook, but thanks to quality internals, like the option to snag an 11th gen i7 with 16GB of RAM, the device performs quite well for a fanless low-power design. While the $980 price tag might take some people aback, developers and those who demand the best specs possible should be fairly pleased with what they get.
Robot vacuums are supposed to help you save time and effort by automatically cleaning your floors. Sadly, even some of the best ones require extensive maintenance and care, which defeats the purpose of automation. Also, robot vacuums must feature precise navigation, as some struggle to navigate around shoes, cables, and other objects. These particular reasons made me give up on robot vacuums last year.
Fitbit Sense 2 review: Just buy a smartwatch
This fitness tracker has no business costing $300 in 2022
Fitbit’s more feature-rich fitness trackers are in a weird spot right now. With Google’s Pixel Watch sporting Fitbit integration, the prospect of a high-end Fitbit wearable with more limited software is starting to feel a little dubious.
Amazon Kindle (2022) review: Edging out the Paperwhite as a must-buy
The new Kindle for 2022 brings some big upgrades, including USB-C
Amazon is back again with the latest base Kindle, and it's called the All-new Kindle (taking a page out of Nintendo's misguided book.) This 11th-generation model is finally bringing plenty of long-requested features at a $99 price point. The most significant addition is the new 300ppi high-res screen, alleviating the blurry text the base Kindle was known for.
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Motorola has gained a massive foothold in the smartphone space over the past year, and that’s in no small part due to a compelling selection of budget and midrange devices, including the Moto G 5G. Armed with the decently powerful MediaTek Dimensity 700 and 6GB of RAM, you’d be hard-pressed to find a smoother running device at the same price point. However, Motorola's update guarantee is a bit anemic, and the display is pitiful compared to other budget-friendly devices.
Eero 6+ review: The best entry point for a mesh network
Easy to set up and affordable, the Eero 6+ is a perfect replacement for your ISP's router
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Taking control of your Wi-Fi doesn't have to be a painful experience of endless phone calls with your provider now that mesh networks are very much a thing. Almost every manufacturer offers an expandable mesh network system, including Amazon, now that it owns Eero. So I've taken the Eero 6+ routers for a spin to see how they stack up to some of the best routers for your home, including Amazon's other Eero routers.
GameSir X3 hands-on: Big on cooling and big on price
The GameSir X3 offers active cooling suitable for just about any phone, but it comes at the cost of portability
Side-by-side controllers that you can slap your phone into have been all the rage ever since Gamevice made waves with its iOS controllers for iPhones and iPads back in the 2010s. Soon after that, Gamevice partnered with Razer to create and launch the Razer Kishi, which now offers a successful follow-up that looks a heck of a lot like the Backbone, another iOS-specific side-by-side controller (coming to Android this winter).
Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip review: The best lightstrip to mount on your TV
As with most smart lights, it doesn't get much better than Philips Hue for this lightstrip
You know those gadgets you show your friends when they come over? The ones that make guests ooh-aah at the marvels of modern-day technology? That’s the Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip to a tee. Unlike the standard Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip, this lightstrip mounts to the back of your TV, and the lights match the content on screen for a truly immersive experience. The good news is it does so with aplomb. It’s a simple setup process for both the hardware and software, it has a very customization-focused interface for specific types of viewing (or gaming), and the cool factor is through the roof.
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Onyx is something of an outlier in the E Ink game, making strides in the US with devices like the Nova Air C, thanks to its color screen. The latest Air replaces the Nova3 Color, offering a slimmer form factor for $420. It's expensive as far as e-readers are concerned, but the feature set is indeed unique since the device runs Android, bringing all the perks expected of the OS, making for a tablet-like experience, but with a color E Ink screen.
Amazon Fire TV Omni Series review: An acceptably affordable Alexa TV
This cheap 4K TV offers all of the smart features you'll ever need, especially if you can grab one on sale
The Amazon Fire TV Omni Series sits somewhere at the low end of smart TVs, but this doesn't mean Amazon's Omni TV sets aren't worthwhile. As a matter of fact, what you get for your money is going to be hard to beat, as these smart TVs are running Amazon's Fire OS, which means Alexa is built-in, offering a wide selection of voice commands to keep you hands-free as you watch your favorite shows and movies.
Razer Kishi V2 review: Micro switches make all the difference
Razer's managed to improve one of Android's best controllers
Razer hit the ground running back in 2020 with a slick mobile controller designed in partnership with Gamevice, known as the Razer Kishi. It's been two years since its release, and it was growing a little long in the tooth thanks to a size limitation inherent to the design where large phones and large camera bumps didn't fit.
Moto G Stylus (2022) review: Motorola's true flagship
Motorola's most important phone needs some work
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Motorola is no stranger to making budget-friendly phablets with a stylus—the new Moto G Stylus is the company’s third such phone in recent years, and this seems like another competent entry in that nearly nonexistent category. This model has some nice-to-have features that are usually skipped in flagships, like a microSD slot and a headphone jack, as well as increasingly common features in the budget segment, like a fingerprint reader and a 90Hz display.
Android tablets are always playing catch up to the iPad, which consistently outperforms on everything from productivity to entertainment. From Google scrapping the Pixel Slate, to Samsung’s various attempts at swaying us with amazing OLEDs, there simply hasn’t been a really solid tablet for those who want to dive a bit deeper into the Android experience.
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Nubia isn’t well-known in the US, but it’s been pushing out new gaming phones each year under its RedMagic brand, and the RedMagic 7 is the newest offering from the company. It packs the latest Snapdragon along with tons of RAM and the phone’s signature internal cooling fan, going toe-to-toe against giants at a fraction of the price.
Rode microphone roundup: The best upgrade to your smartphone videos is audio
Three different mics that work great for vlogging
Smartphones are incredibly common tools for creating videos to share on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other video platforms; so it makes sense that we’re constantly comparing their cameras. However, we hardly ever judge microphone quality with the same ferocity, even though poor audio can drive away viewers faster than mediocre video. While it’s basically impossible to replace the camera on your phone, I’m checking out three mics that can be hooked right to a phone to get better audio quality for mobile filmmaking, podcasting, vlogging, or anything else that needs to sound great.