LG LFXS32726S review – CNET

The Good This LG French door model performed extremely well in our cooling tests. The thoughtfully designed interior takes full advantage of the fridge’s abundance of storage space.

The Bad An uninspired exterior design and lack of interesting features make it tough to get excited about spending thousands of dollars on this fridge. The adjustable temperature settings on the deli drawer barely made a difference, if at all.

The Bottom Line If you want a high-end French door fridge with powerful performance and plenty of storage space, then the LFXS32726S deserves strong consideration.

There’s a fresh crop of fridges coming our way this year, many of them hopping on with the latest trends in order to tempt you into a splurge. We’ll see plenty of models with a black stainless-steel finish, plenty of doors within doors, and even a couple of splashy new smart fridges. They’re all undeniably modern — but they won’t come cheap.

If that previous paragraph elicited a yawn (or maybe an eyeroll), then perhaps the LG LFXS32726S is for you. It’s a French door model from last year that missed the memos on black stainless steel, smart features and doors in all of the doors. Instead, it offers size — a whopping 32 cubic feet of storage space, to be exact. On top of that, it’s about as strong a performer as you can expect to find for your kitchen.

The suggested retail price is a hefty $3,600, but given that this fridge has been on the market for about a year, you should expect to pay a lot less than that (as of writing this, the LFXS32726S is down to $2,800 at retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot and AJ Madison). At enough of a discount, it’s an easy recommendation, especially if you put a premium on performance or capacity.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Flat-out big

The LFSX32726S is a fine-looking fridge, but it’s largely derivative of the past decade or so of refrigerator design. Like so many fridges before it, it’s a big, boxy, stainless-steel appliance that doesn’t do much to set itself apart visually. At a time when manufacturers are looking for new ways to get people to make a fridge upgrade, the LFXS32726S is inoffensive rather than innovative.

More than anything, this fridge puts the focus on capacity. With 31.7 cubic feet of total storage space (more than twenty of which are allocated to the fridge), the LG LFXS32726S is about as big as classic French door refrigerators come. If you want something bigger, you’ll almost certainly need to upgrade to a four-door “t-type” model, like the 34-cubic foot Samsung Chef Collection fridge.

But capacity is more than just a number — design matters, too. We’ve seen plenty of fridges outperform larger models in our storage tests thanks to smartly designed interiors that help you take full advantage of the space. Fortunately, LG did a nice job here, with a thoughtful interior design that maximizes what you’ll get out of those copious cubic feet.

Take the shelf at the bottom of the right door, for instance. It’s a smaller shelf that sits tucked underneath the larger shelf above it — a fairly common design that’s largely intended to house snacks for your kids at a kid-friendly height. The only problem with these kinds of kid shelves is that they’re often too skinny and too awkward to really be of use. That’s not the case with this LG fridge — I had an easy time getting pudding, Jell-O and juice boxes in and out of the shelf.

The “Glide N’ Serve” drawer was big enough to fit this party platter — a better result than we’ve seen with similar drawers in competing models.

Chris Monroe/CNET

The shelves in the left door — the ones that sit against the back of the in-door ice maker — are even more successful. In a lot of French door models, the ice maker bulges out, making it tough to fit much of anything into the shelves. With this LG fridge (and a lot of LG’s fridges), the ice maker is designed to lie flat, and as a result, the shelves are dramatically easier to use. The trade-off is that the ice maker is about 25 percent smaller, but I think that’s a fair deal, given how rarely people empty their ice makers.

Inside the fridge, you’ll find a few more features designed to help you save space and keep things organized. The top shelf slides in and out of the way to make room for tall items on the shelf below. Below that, you’ll find a trio of crisper drawers instead of the usual two, each one taking full advantage of the refrigerator’s depth to offer a surprising amount of storage space. At the very bottom sits a fourth drawer — the temperature-adjustable “Glide N’ Serve” drawer, which offered enough depth and vertical clearance to house an entire party platter during my storage tests.

The LG LFXS32726S versus the French door competition

The LFXS32726S is an Energy Star-certified appliance that’ll consume 768 kWh each year, adding a little over 90 bucks to your power bill. That’s a relatively big number, but divide it by the refrigerator’s capacity and you’ll get the cost per year of cooling each cubic foot — and a glimpse at the fridge’s efficiency. By this metric, it does a better job than competitors like the Samsung RF28HMEDBSR, the Whirlpool WRV996FDEM and the GE Profile Series PFE28RSHSS. It gets beaten by the Electrolux EW28BS85KS, but that fridge didn’t have enough horsepower to pass our performance tests. And hey, speaking of performance tests…

Quantum Break Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

In Quantum Break, time is broken, and it’s up to you, as Jack Joyce, to fix it. Using his singular ability to stop time, and a generous application of ammunition, you’ll fight back the foot soldiers of Monarch Solutions, a corporation trying to track you down.

Stop time (and bullets) on a whim.

Remedy Entertainment

What exactly is Quantum Break? And when can I play it?

Quantum Break is a third-person shooter. Jack Joyce gains the power to manipulate time when a time travel experiment goes wrong, and he’ll use his newfound abilities to fight the soldiers that are hunting him.

The game will be released on April 5, 2016, and it’s exclusive to the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. If you preorder the digital version of the game for the Xbox One, you’ll get the Windows 10 version for free.

Wait, what about the PlayStation 4?

This is a pretty ambitious game, and the developers at Remedy Entertainment have received a lot of help from Microsoft to see their dream brought to life. That’s a polite way of saying there is likely no chance we’ll ever see this coming from platform that isn’t owned by Microsoft — on the PC, it isn’t even coming to Steam. You’ll need to head to the Windows app store or get an Xbox One if you want to play.

Some bad guys aren’t fazed by time.

Remedy Entertainment

So are we talking about bullet time? Like, from ‘The Matrix’?

Sort of? I mean, this is the studio that brought us Max Payne; freezing time to dodge bullets is a defining aspect of that series’ gameplay. But the action here revolves around being able to stop time for a few seconds at a time, ducking past enemies who are pursuing you, or running right up to them and punching them in the face. It seems kind of unfair.

I dunno, this seems kind of gimmicky to me.

I thought so, too. But then those stutters come into play; a stutter is basically time pausing, involuntarily. The world freezes around you but lets Jack and specific enemies move freely. Jack can also use his powers to pull people and objects out of stutters — a car that’s frozen in time just before exploding can suddenly become a weapon when an enemy walks past it.

When stutters freeze time, you’re free to explore.

Remedy Entertainment

And it’s not all gunplay: time will occasionally break down in the middle of precarious situations, so you might suddenly find yourself scooting on and around exploding debris that’s frozen in time, trying to get from one place to the next.

OK, I’m convinced. But isn’t there some kind of live-action bit, too?

Yup. The game is split into sections, and after every section an episode of a live-action miniseries will play. You’ll play as Jack Joyce, but you’ll watch the “bad guys” in the episodes of this miniseries, and you can make choices that’ll ultimately affect Jack when you play. This is kind of a wild step here, and I’m eager to see how it actually plays out.

Eero Wi-Fi System review – CNET

The Good The Eero Wi-Fi System can create a seamless Wi-Fi network that covers a large area with reliable Internet access. The hardware is well designed, easy to use and you can quickly scale up your home network by adding more units.

The Bad The system is expensive, not fast enough for bandwidth-heavy local tasks and requires you to connect to Eero’s servers to manage it. Features are minimal, there are only two network ports and the single USB port is useless at launch.

The Bottom Line While super convenient and reliable for Internet sharing, you’re better off going with a more powerful and less expensive single router.

The Eero Wi-Fi System is an easy way to blanket your home with wireless Internet access. Its three Wi-Fi units work in tandem to create a single, seamless network. And if the coverage still doesn’t go far enough, you can quickly increase the range by adding up to seven more Eero units.

But the system is expensive, costing $499 for a set of three, or $199 for a single unit. Australian and UK availability has yet to be announced, but those prices convert to around AU$690 or £350 and AU$140 or£70.

If extending your Internet access is all you’re looking to do, the Eero system is a simple way to do it, even if it’s not the most affordable. On the other hand, if you’re serious about customizing your network, or need to perform tasks that use a lot of bandwidth (like backing up your computers to a local server or sharing a large amount of data), the Eero system isn’t up to the job.

For this reason, power users should instead spend their money one of these top 802.11ac routers on the market. They’re all fast routers with long range, negating the necessity of a Wi-Fi extender like the Eero in most cases.

Editor’s note: This review was updated on February 23 at 12:30 p.m. PT with additional context on Eero’s setup process, and how it interfaces with the company’s cloud-based optimization tools.

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The Eero system consists of three identical Eeros.

Dong Ngo/CNET

Design: It’s a (pricey) Wi-Fi system

The Eero Wi-Fi system consists of three identical Eero units, each measuring 4.75 by 4.75 by 1.34 inches (121 by 121 by 34 mm). Any of the units can automatically function as a router, a range extender or an access point, depending on how it’s connected.

As a router, the Eero eerily reminds me of the Google OnHub. It too has just two Gigabit network ports, Bluetooth (for the setup process) and a USB port that wasn’t functional at launch. Eero says it will add USB-related features later.

The Eero’s two network ports are LAN/WAN auto-sensing, meaning either of them can be used as a WAN/Internet port (to connect to the broadband modem) or a LAN port (to connect a wired device). This makes setting it up a bit more convenient than other routers, where you have to figure out what device plugs in to which port.

The Eero is actually a notch less powerful than the OnHub, featuring the dual-stream (2×2) setup of the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, where the OnHub supports the faster 3×3 setup. This means the Eero has, on paper, a top Wi-Fi speed of 887Mbps.

This is where the other two units come into play. You connect one Eero to an Internet source using a network cable. After that, you put the other two within Wi-Fi range of the first unit to extend the Wi-Fi network further out.

This setup is the biggest selling point of the Eero system. Ideally, you want to put the two extra units within about 40 feet (12 meters) of the first, or closer if there are any walls or obstacles in the way. If you have a sprawling property, however, you can put the second unit some 40 feet from the first then the third another 40 feet from the second to extend the signal farther in one direction.

Alternatively, you can also daisy-chain the Eeros together using long network cables. But running a long network cables from one Eero to another can be a hassle, canceling out the ease of use and making the system way too expensive. You can get three Asus RT-AC66U routers for less than $400, for example. Using one as a router and the other two as access points will give you a faster Wi-Fi network with a lot more features than one powered by an Eero Wi-Fi system.

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The Eero is compact and comes with two network ports. The USB port doesn’t serve any purpose at launch.

Dong Ngo/CNET

Easy setup process for smartphone users

The setup process is done entirely on the Eero mobile app (available on iOS and Android) so all you need is an Internet-connected mobile device. If you don’t have a smartphone or a tablet, you’re out of luck because there’s no alternative — you can’t set up the system using a browser or a computer.

Before you can do anything, you must register an account with Eero by submitting your email and a valid mobile phone number. While I understood the need for an email, the fact that I had to surrender my cell number made me feel a bit uneasy. Thankfully, that was the only thing that gave me pause during setup.

The app will walk you through a few steps to connect the first Eero to your cable modem (or your existing network). Your phone will then connect to the Eero using Bluetooth, and after just a few seconds the first Eero will be ready to go. It will then ask you to pick a name for the Eero, mostly to indicate its location (a long list of names such as Kitchen, Living room, Bedroom and so on is provided, or you can type in your own), another name for your Wi-Fi network and a password, and you’re done.

When you want to add another Eero to the network, just place that Eero near the first and tap the Add Eero button on the mobile app. After a few seconds, the second Eero will be added to the network and automatically extend your area of Wi-Fi coverage. You repeat this to add more Eeros to the network. In my trial, getting all three Eeros up and running took me about 10 minutes, and most of that time was spent figuring out where best to place them.

Scant feature set, Internet-dependent

As a router, the Eero doesn’t have much to offer. Other than the basic settings, it supports Guest networking and port forwarding and that’s it. There’s no parental control, access restriction or other router features you might look for. It’s so thin on features that I’d recommend using the Eero system with a full-featured router, using the Eero’s Bridge mode to extend your coverage.

2016 Toyota Tundra review – Roadshow

The Good A powerful engine and decisive transmission make driving the Tundra a pleasure. It can tow almost 10,000 pounds and the larger 38-gallon fuel tank keeps you on the road longer.

The Bad No V-6 or diesel engine options. Tech in the cabin is limited and there are too few USB ports.

The Bottom Line While the Tundra is a satisfying drive, those looking for modern technical luxuries have better options.

I pulled onto the 10-mile dirt road that would take me to King of the Hammers, an off-road race that’s kind of a cross between Burning Man and Mad Max. Showing up to King of the Hammers in anything but a four-wheel drive vehicle is akin to wearing white at a funeral, so my ride for this adventure was a 2016 Toyota Tundra 4×4. And though the Platinum CrewMax trim line of my test model is built more for towing and hauling than it is for off-road hijinks, I found the Tundra to be an acceptable, though not outstanding, truck.

If you plan on doing some serious off-roading, there are plenty of after-market options for long travel suspension, engine modifications and control arm upgrades.

David Brumley

The reason I wanted a truck for this weekend trip was space for my camping gear, food and supplies for the weekend. But the Tundra’s CrewMax cab is so spacious I didn’t even need to put anything into its 5.5-foot bed. If I had needed more space, I could have flipped up the rear seats, making the rear of the cab even more practical.

The rear seat in the CrewMax flips up for extra storage space.

Toyota

The Tundra is a large truck. I am not a small woman, but I still had a tough time reaching the center stack without stretching forward and calling upon The Force to help me push the infotainment buttons, and I had to lean way out in order to close the door. Fortunately the driver’s seat is power-adjustable 12 ways, and the steering wheel both tilts and telescopes, so I was able to find a comfortable driving position very easily.

Toyota adds convenience to the cabin with storage space in the console large enough to hold a laptop, along with spaces just below the stack and on the passenger side of the console. In addition, the Tundra’s cabin includes 13 cup and bottle holders.

Too little tech

Coming from a small daily driver to the full-size Tundra is a bit of a jump. I was thankful for the blind-spot monitoring system, which eased my mind when I wondered, “Am I about to hit a motorcycle with this lane change?!?” The Tundra’s backup camera and rear cross-traffic warning are also a necessity, given its size.

Still, the Tundra lacks technical features that are available on many other trucks. Ford has technology that makes backing up a trailer a cinch, while Chevrolet has wireless charging, 4G/LTE connectivity and support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Further, both Ford and Ram offer adaptive cruise control.

The throaty 5.7-liter V-8 engine rumbles off the line and produces 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque. The six-speed automatic transmission easily puts the power to the pavement. It’s much better than the six-speed transmission in the Tacoma, which can’t seem to get out of its own way. Shifting in the Tundra is smooth and easy, and it holds the revs while going uphill or accelerating past slower traffic.

Bose SoundTouch 30 review – CNET

The Good The Bose SoundTouch 30 is a large, likable tabletop Wi-Fi speaker which offers convenience features like Bluetooth and shortcut buttons. The app is pleasant to use and most functions are straightforward. The sound is immediately impressive with deep bass and an articulate, exciting midrange. The ability to tailor the bass response to your taste is welcome.

The Bad Bass is overemphasized by default and can distort at higher volumes. The revealing nature of the speaker means some genres of music can sound quickly tiresome. There’s no mute button. The competing Sonos offers more services over Wi-Fi, more sound-tailoring features and a better app.

The Bottom Line The Bose SoundTouch 30 keeps a good pace for both price and feature count with mostly excellent sound quality, particularly at moderate volumes.

For many years Sonos had the DIY wireless multiroom audio market largely to itself, but it’s now facing serious competition from…well, pretty much every company you can think of. But perhaps the biggest challenge is Bose, which is also targeting mainstream consumers and has been steadily improving its software to make its systems easier to set up and use. For 2016, Sonos and Bose have new (late 2015) versions of their flagship tabletop wireless audio speakers — the Sonos Play:5 and third-generation Bose SoundTouch 30 — both of which cost $500, and are clearly direct competitors. (In Australia, both products retail for AU$749; in the UK, the Bose is £500, the Sonos £429.)

It’s also worth noting that each of these speakers are part of the the companies’ respective “ecosystems” for wireless audio. You can buy more speakers in each family, and expand each system into more rooms in your home. And in each case, prices start as low as $200 (AU$300, £170 ) for the Sonos Play:1 and Bose SoundTouch 10.

So why buy the Bose SoundTouch 30 instead of the Sonos Play:5? Well, the Bose speaker comes with a few features the Play:5 doesn’t have: Bluetooth connectivity (in addition to Wi-Fi), a remote, and a presets system that allows you to get your favorite playlists or Internet radio stations up and running instantly.

In terms of sound, the Sonos Play:5 is the better performer, particularly at high volumes. With its pronounced bass and generous headroom, the Play:5 is more of a party speaker.

In its favor, the SoundTouch 30 has a more nuanced and revealing sound. It’s also a little more open and has a wider soundstage. The Bose simultaneously aims for both bass punch and enhanced vocal clarity but falls down a little at high volumes, where it can sound aggressive with overly bassy or trebly tracks, and distorts.

Of course, audio is a subjective experience, and if you want something that’s a little more exciting and a touch more hi-fi, you may prefer the Bose’s sound. But if you’re looking for a speaker that you can crank up at parties (and also sounds good at more moderate volumes), the nod definitely goes to the Sonos.

That would be the review in a nutshell, but there’s a whole lot more to chew on, particularly if you’re looking to build out a multiroom system for your home and are trying to decide between Bose’s and Sonos’ ecosystems.

Bose’s expanded offerings

In the two years since Bose’s SoundTouch line first appeared, it has gone through several changes. What began as two tabletop speakers and a portable has become an entire suite of wireless multiroom speakers. Many Bose products, from Wave radios to the company’s home theater systems, and even outdoor speakers, now include Wi-Fi and are designed to link up with other SoundTouch system in a multiroom setup.

The Bose SoundTouch range received a makeover in September 2015 with the addition of a new speaker, the entry-level SoundTouch 10, and a few extra tweaks, including the addition of Bluetooth to all the new speakers in the line going forward. While it may seem counterintuitive to add Bluetooth to a Wi-Fi speaker what it does is improve the system’s flexibility — especially when compared against the company’s main rival.

Design

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The Sonos Play:5 (left) versus the Bose SoundTouch 30

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Bose SoundTouch 30 is a large tabletop speaker at 17 inches wide, 10 inches high and 7 inches deep. Attractively designed, it comes in a choice of white and black finishes (with a matching gray or black speaker grille) and features a black-and-white OLED display in the center of the unit.

The speaker features a black and white OLED screen on front.

Sarah Tew/CNET

On the top live the rubberized controls that include six shortcuts as well as volume, an aux/Bluetooth switch and power — though, sadly, no mute or play button. The top of the unit is finished in a patterned, carbon fiberlike material. While it’s only about a third bigger than the the SoundTouch 20, it’s a lot heavier at 18.5 lb (versus 7 lb).

The included remote.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The speaker ships with a remote, which is a welcome addition for a device without a touchscreen and limited controls. The clicker features the same six shortcuts as the app and speaker and these offer the ability to play a preprogrammed radio station or album without too much effort. The remote has an attractive rubberized finish and is a significant step above most credit-card offerings you’ll find at the price. (You can also use an Android or iOS app, of course.)

Features

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Sarah Tew/CNET

Usability is one of the system’s strongest suits. By including six shortcut buttons on both the unit and an accompanying remote control, it’s a lot easier to get music playing on the Bose system if you don’t have your phone handy. The only thing that the system lacks is a mute or play/pause button which would be useful.

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Sarah Tew/CNET

The speaker includes two full-range drivers in a stereo configuration and a single bass woofer. Unlike the sealed Sonos, the Bose features a vertical bass port at the back.

Gionee S8 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

It’s a favorite Mobile World Congress pastime of mine to visit the stands of upstart Chinese phones manufacturers hoping to get noticed. That’s why I cruised by Gionee’s booth to see what the company had to offer. Though it lacks the international presence of Xiaomi or Huawei, Gionee has been doing pretty well in China and India. And here in Barcelona it took the sheets off its new Gionee S8 phone.

With a shiny but not unusual metal-clad body, there’s not much about the S8 that immediately catches your eye. Rather, the story here is something a lot of Chinese Android phones have in common — a strong resemblance, either in features or in design, to Apple’s iPhone. The S8 definitely has the “iLooks” down, but more interesting is that it has its own version of 3D Touch.

On the iPhone 6S, 3D Touch is a pressure-sensitive display that lets you press down onto the screen to interact with it, calling up quick menus or preview links. Fully push down on a link and it opens up into a new normal window. In theory, it sounds like a great feature, but of all the iPhone things for the S8 to borrow, I wish Gionee had picked something else.

The home button also doubles up as a fingerprint sensor.

Aloysius Low/CNET

Putting aside the fact that I hardly ever use 3D Touch even on my iPhone, on the S8 it’s way too limited. There’s no peeking to do, as it only opens quick menus on the default apps. If you try it with other apps, such as Google’s or those downloaded from the Play Store, the feature just simply doesn’t work.

Honestly, the S8 would be better without it as the phone sports some redeeming features that would be far more useful. It comes with dual SIM support as well as support for dual WhatsApp accounts. The latter enables two instances to run on two different numbers at the same time, so messaging addicts will be able to message themselves. It’s easily done by using 3D Touch on the WhatsApp app and clicking on the clone option.

If you’re still interested, Gionee’s retailing the S8 for €449, which converts to about $495, £350 or AU$685. It will be sold in China and India soon, and will make its way to Europe as well.

What you should know

• Has a feature similar to Apple’s 3D Touch, but limited to just menus
• Slim metal body draws the eye
• Supports two WhatsApp accounts
• Fingerprint sensor on the home button

Hardware specs

• 1.9GHz MediaTek MT 6755 Helio P10 octa-core processor
• 5.5-inch AMOLED full-HD with 3D Touch
• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow software
• 6.07 by 2.95 by 0.28 inches (154.3 by 74.9 by 7 mm)
• 5.19 ounces (147 grams)
• 4GB RAM, 32GB onboard storage
• Dual SIM, 4G connectivity
• 16-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front

Sony Xperia X Performance Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Sony has taken the wraps off three models in its new Xperia X series of smartphones here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. They are the Xperia X, the XA and the X Performance, which we’re looking at here.

The Performance, as you might have guessed from the name, is the top-end model in the range — although it hasn’t yet been priced — thanks to the more burly specs shoved inside by Sony. It’s packing Qualcomm’s top-end Snapdragon 820 processor, an octa-core chip backed up by 3GB of RAM. That puts it neatly above its two X-range siblings, which pack lesser dual and hexa-core chips.

Sony’s waterproof Xperia X Performance comes…
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The other thing the Performance has over the other X models? Waterproofing. I was very disappointed that the X and XA don’t have waterproof designs — something I’ve come to expect of all of Sony’s Xperia line — so it’s a relief to see it on at least one out of the three. X Performance owners can rest easy around swimming pools, sinister children with water pistols or clumsy friends chugging beer.

The Performance’s specs are otherwise pretty much on par with the standard Xperia X — they both have 5-inch, full HD displays, both have 23-megapixel rear cameras, 13-megapixel front cameras and both run the latest Android Marshmallow software. There’s 16GB of storage and you can slot in a microSD card too.

There’s no word on pricing as yet, and Sony has been vague on exactly where it’s going on sale. Although it originally told me it was set to be an “Asia-only phone”, it’s since said it’ll be heading to the US. In Australia Sony says local availability will be revealed “at a later date”. We’ll keep you updated if we hear any more about where this phone might end up.

Nikon Coolpix B700 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Nikon’s newest 60x zoom camera, the Coolpix B700.

Nikon

As far as bridge cameras and compact megazooms go, Nikon hasn’t slowed down on making new models in the slightest. To prove it, the Tokyo-based camera manufacturer has started two new lines of them: the Coolpix B700 and B500 and the A900.

Though they do have updated features compared to current Coolpix P- and S-series superzooms, nothing is drastically different. Still, it’s certainly worth breaking down the highlights for each, so here it goes. (I’ve put an asterisk next to the key selling points compared to what’s already in the Coolpix lineup.)

Nikon Coolpix B700

• 60x f3.3-6.5 24-1,440mm lens*
• 20-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor
• o.5-cm (0.2-in) high-resolution electronic viewfinder
• 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen
• Raw capture (NRW format)*
• 4K UHD (3,840×2,160) at 30 frames per second movie capture*
• VGA slow-motion video at 120fps
• ISO 100-1600 (ISO 3200 available in P, S, A or M modes)
• Shutter speeds 1/4,000 – 1 sec. (15 sec. available when ISO is set to 100 in M mode)
• Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LTE for faster connection to mobile devices*
• Available in spring 2016 for $500 (converts to apporximately £350 or AU$700)

Nikon Coolpix B500

Coolpix B500

Nikon

• 40x f3.0-6.5 22.5-900mm lens*
• 16-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor
• 3-inch high-resolution tilting LCD
• Full HD (1,920×1,080) movie capture at 30fps
• VGA 120fps high-speed capture for slow-motion video*
• ISO 125-1600
• Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LTE for faster connection to mobile devices*
• AA-size batteries (4x alkaline, lithium or Ni-MH rechargeable)*
• Available in spring 2016 for $300 (approximately £200 or AU$400)

Nikon Coolpix A900

Nikon Coolpix A900

Nikon

• 35x f3.4-6.9 24-840mm lens*
• 20-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor
• 3-inch high-resolution tilting LCD*
• 4K UHD (3,840×2,160) at 30fps movie capture*
• VGA 120fps high-speed capture for slow-motion video*
• ISO 80-1600 (ISO 3200 available in P, A, S, or M mode)
• Shutter speeds 1/2,000 – 1 sec. (8 sec. when ISO fixed at ISO 80, 100, or 200 in P, S, A or M mode)
• Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LTE for faster connection to mobile devices*
• Available in spring 2016 for $400 (approximately £280 or AU$550)

Razer Blade Stealth review – CNET

The Good The Razer Blade Stealth is slimmer and lighter than similar laptops from Dell and Apple. Even the base model includes a Core i7 processor and fun Chroma backlit keyboard, and future expansion via an external graphics box for gaming is promising.

The Bad Battery life takes a nosedive with the 4K screen. The promised add-on gaming module still has no price or release details.

The Bottom Line The Razer Blade Stealth is a rare mix of slick design, great performance and top-notch value in a laptop — but the great-looking 4K screen on the top-end model takes a major hit on battery life.

Buy direct from Razer.

After turning heads and garnering accolades at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, the Razer Blade Stealth is here. And having spent some quality hands-on time with the final product, it’s not hard to see why this slim Windows 10 laptop with a 12.5-inch screen caught so many eyes when it was unveiled in January. Razer, best known for its keyboards and other gaming peripherals, saw a hole in the 13-inch laptop market (which we interpret loosely to include 12.5-inch screens), and drove a very unique matte black truck through it.

This is not exactly a slim-at-all-costs high-fashion ultrabook. Nor is it a gaming laptop, despite Razer’s years of experience in the PC gaming biz. It’s an amalgam of many different ideas about what a high-end ultrabook-style laptop should be, including some wish-list items we’ve wanted for years — and a few we never thought to even ask for.

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The company’s previous laptops have been well-received gaming systems with 17-inch or 14-inch displays, all notable for being reasonably thin and light despite packing in mid- to high-end gaming components. The Razer Blade Stealth keeps much of the look and feel of the previous models, such as the matte-black shell, rigid construction, minimalist design and green snake-like logo. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that this is not actually a gaming laptop.

A Razer laptop without a dedicated graphics card sounds like an Apple product without an app store — unexpected, and potentially not playing to its maker’s strengths. But this is still Razer after all. So while the Blade Stealth is not a gaming laptop by itself, Razer plans for it to eventually become one component of a larger gaming ecosystem. Announced in January at CES 2016 — but not yet available to even preorder — is the Razer Core, an external box built to house a single desktop graphics card (for example, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980), and route its graphics rendering power to the laptop via Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C connection. (That single wire will also handle power duties, too.)

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The not-yet-available Razer Core add-on.

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Others have gone down this road before, attempting to create an external graphics solution for laptops, but no one has yet cracked the code of balancing price, performance, flexibility, and design. Asus has offered similar products off and on for years, including a new version coming later this year, while Dell attempted to add an external GPU box to its Alienware 13 in 2014, but that product was too expensive and too proprietary to catch on.

At some point later this year, we’ll hopefully hook up a Razer Core unit to a Razer Blade Stealth laptop and be able to judge it as a gaming machine. But for now, we’re looking at it strictly as a flare-filled ultrabook with an optional 4K screen. If anything, that restriction makes the Blade Stealth even more impressive. It offers a great design and high-end components, plus extras such as the highly programmable and fun to play with backlit Chroma keyboard, all starting at $999. There’s no separate UK or Australia pricing right now, but the US base price works out to around £705 or AU$1,380.

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The $999 base model includes a 2,560×1,440 (QHD) touchscreen display (not 4K, but still pretty good), a current-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Adding more storage and the optional 4K display jumps the price up, and the model reviewed here combines a 4K screen and 256GB of storage for $1,399.

Razer Blade Stealth

The upgraded configuration is impressive, but the entry-level model represents an especially good overall value compared to other slim laptops. The Dell XPS 13, one of our current favorites, drops the specs to a 1,920×1,080 nontouch display and a Core i5 CPU for the same $999. The 13-inch MacBook Air also has a lower-res 1,440×900 nontouch screen, Core i5 CPU and only 4GB of RAM for $999. The Lenovo Yoga 900 adds a hybrid hinge, but doesn’t even show up to the party until you shell out at least $1,200. Also, the Blade Stealth, at 2.75 pounds and 13.2mm, is a little thinner and lighter than the XPS 13, MacBook Air or Yoga 900.

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The most notable upgrade in our more-expensive configuration is the 3,840x,2160 resolution UHD/4K screen. This 4K display is one of the brightest I’ve seen on a laptop in this class, and it presents 4K video content, games and apps with great detail. But this is no Dell XPS 13, with a razor-thin (pardon the pun) screen bezel. In one of the only concessions to the reality of price and performance vs. design, there’s a thick black border around the touchscreen display. It doesn’t kill the experience, but it’s one of the few things about the overall design that feels less than ideal. The 4K screen can show a full 100 percent of the Adobe RGB spectrum (as does the Dell XPS 15), while the QHD screen (which we have yet to test in-person) hits a still-respectable 70 percent.

A colorful keyboard

The Chroma-branded keyboard is another standout feature, and makes for a fun little show-off demo of the Stealth. It’s actually the complete opposite of stealthy, with bright colors, strobing lights and more programmable options than all but the most hardcore of standalone gaming keyboards.

Using the Chroma app, different sections of the keyboard can be programmed to show different colors — such as highlighting the all-important WASD keys in a different color than the rest of the keyboard. Rather than meticulously programming a unique keyboard light layout, I had a lot more fun just running through the different presets, many of which seem to take advantage of the entire spectrum of 16.8 million possible colors.

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Set the entire keyboard to “spectrum cycling,” and the keys fade new colors in and out in unison, just slowly enough to not be overly distracting. “Reactive” leaves a trail of lit keys in your wake as you type, like a fading echo. “Ripple” sends a burst of a single color expanding outward, away from each individual key press. Hitting keys slowly, one at a time, has a Matrix-like effect of lit up letters and numbers; using it while typing causes random explosions of color all across the keyboard. For a demo that will amuse friends and family, set the keyboard to “Wave,” and a rainbow of colors will move rapidly left to right (this movement is also adjustable) across the entire keyboard. It’s all a bit silly but offers a degree of personalization that other ultrabooks don’t come close to matching.

Haier Watch Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Although Haier is best known for its home appliances, the Chinese company also makes smartwatches from time to time. Its latest wearable is known as the Haier Watch, and it was demoed during Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona.

A year ago, the company made the Haier Smartwatch (it has a very creative naming department) with three different variants tailored for kids, seniors and pets. This time around, however, the Haier Watch is aimed at adults. It plans to launch in Europe for about 199 euros (around $220, £155 or AU$305, converted).

The watch offers a more elegant and mature aesthetic and has three design options: gold, silver and black. You can also swap out the bands for leather, steel or silicone. Its 1.4-inch display is encased in steel and it has a 400×400-pixel resolution. The device is also water resistant to a certain degree (IP56) so you won’t have to worry about it while you’re washing your hands.

Haier elevates its smartwatch design game…
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I have to admit that when I first saw the device, it looked chic and polished. But as I began to spend some time with it, however brief, I wasn’t very impressed. Though its design is nice, the watch wore heavy on my wrist. Though I chalked that up to my petite hands, the steel band was also difficult to snap on. There were a couple of times when I thought I clasped it securely together, only to have it snap loose on me again.

Second, the software was quite laggy. When I pressed the watch crown, it always took a few moments too long for the display to turn on. Swiping through the many different menu pages didn’t feel as smooth and instantaneous as other smartwatches I’ve tried.

As for its capabilities, the watch doesn’t run Android Wear, but we were told its OS is based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. A Haier representative also said that you can access Google Play on your phone and load apps in your watch from there. The watch is also an activity tracker, so it can measure your heart rate and keep track of the number of calories you’ve burned.

Other features:

• Apps like an MP3 player, weather and calendar
• Connects to phone via Bluetooth 4.0
• Microphone and speaker for calls
• 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage