Madden NFL 17 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

EA

There are only two options for NFL fans each year who want to play along with the season: get the new Madden NFL 17, or stick with last year’s and download community roster updates.

Other options, like fantasy football or mobile games, aren’t for me. Good, old-fashioned NFL video gaming has been my therapy for decades.

(Full disclosure: as those who follow me on Twitter — @jetscott — know all too well, I’m a rabid, albeit frequently frustrated, New York Jet fan.)

The football season’s weird that way: a game, then a week to obsess over the next one. Plenty of time to read every article, study every stat, and run simulations. Madden may function as a competitive sport for some, but for me it’s basically a Jets pregame statistical engine, and a post-game way to vent out and win in an alternate universe.

You probably know the drill about EA’s Madden games. From year to year, it’s hard to notice what’s really changed. Madden 17 — which I’ve played for the past five days or so — feels similar in a lot of ways to Madden 16. But its most notable addition might help me analyze the present and future of my childhood-adopted team a lot more efficiently.

Madden’s new Franchise mode is one of the main additions to this year’s game. I played as — of course — the Jets. I remember playing as the Jets for 12 straight seasons years ago, every single game…which took me a long time. Franchise mode simulation now has a hybrid simulation/game mode that simulates most plays and then zaps you in to play the biggest moments, like NFL Red Zone. I played through four games this way, and lost every single one — mainly because the Jets simply aren’t rated very highly in my prerelease build, and their early opponents are all better. So, in simulated plays, I didn’t have a chance. But it was fun to fast-forward a bit and still feel like I had a hand in the outcome.

The rest of Madden’s main improvements come in actual gameplay. Madden promises a greater range of player-specific skills, and defenses with a smarter way of playing zones. The ball is also meant to have more realistic physics. So far, I’ve seen plays break in different ways than I’ve been used to in Madden 16.

What trying to block a kick looks like.

EA

EA is also trying to spice up the special teams game a bit with a new punt/kick control meter…which, to me, felt like older meters I’ve seen. But there’s also a way to try to block kicks now, which offers a tiny bit of hope that it’ll actually happen. I succeeded in practice, but never in any of the 12 or so games I played (again, as the New York Jets).

Fake punts and kicks, however, I had a lot more success with. There are more plays, and the execution of these moves feels more polished.

Madden has looked TV-perfect for several years now, with a presentation that from a distance can look like a real broadcast. This year’s tweaks also include a whole new broadcast booth. I still remember Phil Simms and Jim Nantz going back and forth with phrases I started to memorize. The new crew of Brandon Gaudin and Charles Davis reminds me more of top-notch radio commentary…not a surprise, since Gaudin is an announcer for Westwood One. It sounds like audio commentators doing Madden…I hate to say it feels pretty similar, too, but there you have it. I’m sure I’ll memorize everything they say in a hundred or so games, too.

I notice that Madden now seems to be a better educator of formations and NFL strategy. Called “concepts” in this year’s version, I was advised and encouraged to practice for certain play types between games in the Franchise season, and it made me more aware of what was going on. I liked the Skills training mode that I played last year, which worked as a smart type of education-meets-practice mode. Madden 17 seems like it’s better able to help advise. In-game, there are suggestions for running zones to hit, or play adjustments to make. I didn’t always do such a good job understanding what was suggested. After years of being an NFL fan, the game still confuses me.

The real test for any football video game is how well it can ride alongside the actual season with updated rosters and enough season-relevant stuff to feel like a companion. I can’t tell that part yet, but I hope Madden 17 ends up surprising. I prefer this version to last year’s. I’d still buy it even if I didn’t, though, because I consider it a yearly subscription to my NFL therapy.

I’ve tried replaying the Jets’ first few games this season, and I keep losing every time.

Robomow RS612 review – CNET

The Good The $1,600 Robomow RS612 is a robot lawnmower that can automatically cut your yard without much interference.

The Bad It’s expensive and still requires some work on your part. You can’t use a Robomow if your yard has deep inclines or is larger than three quarters of an acre.

The Bottom Line If lawn care is the bane of your existence and you just don’t want to hire a gardener, the Robomow is a fun, efficient way to cut back on your summer yard work.

Mowing the lawn is a necessary evil if you own a home with a yard. It takes a lot of time and energy to keep your yard from being an embarrassment to your neighborhood. And when temperatures reach the triple digits and the humidity is so thick it feels like you’re swimming through the air, cutting the grass is high on the list of worst yard chores.

A company called Robomow aims to alleviate some of the pain of lawn care with a line of battery-powered, robot lawnmowers that do most of the work for you. One of these mowers, the $1,600 Robomow RS612, delivers on much of its promise to take care of your yard without much interference on your part. (Robomow doesn’t offer the RS612 in Australia or the UK, but that price works out to AU$2,079 and £1,226.) The Robomow excels in automatic mode, in which it ventures out on its own and keeps your grass cut to a uniform length. And its Bluetooth-connected app provides an easy way to adjust the Robomow’s settings and remote control the mower if there are some additional spots on your property that could use a trim.

Relax while the Robomow cuts your yard
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Despite its high level of autonomy, you still have to lend the Robomow a hand every once in awhile. You have to spend an afternoon setting up a perimeter wire that outlines the boundaries of your yard, similar to an electric dog fence, so the Robomow knows where it needs to go. You also have to occasionally clean out the undercarriage and wheels. And the Robomow isn’t great for every yard; it struggles with terrain that is overgrown or hilly.

Outsourcing lawn care

• A robot lawnmower or a gardener: Which is the better deal?

The Robomow does a good job keeping an average yard looking pretty pristine, and it slashes the amount of time you’ll need to spend on manual lawn care. At $1,600, this is going to cost you a lot more than hiring a professional to tend to your yard. But if you want to cut out the middle man and lounge a bit more during the summer, start saving your money.

Getting to know the Robomow

Technical editor Steve Conaway installs the perimeter wire around my front yard.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Robot lawnmowers are a relatively new and expensive category of smart lawn care that are the outdoor cousin of robot vacuums. Robomow, an Israel-based company founded in 1995, has five battery-powered robot lawnmowers starting at $1,000 that are designed to tackle different-sized lawns. The RS612 model is intended for yards that are a quarter of an acre or less. The most expensive model, the $2,100 RS630, handles the largest area — three-quarters of an acre.

Sound expensive? Robomow’s products are the more affordable options when you compare them to other robot lawnmowers. Models from Husqvarna’s Automower line cost $2,000 to $3,500 (about £1,533 AU$ 2,600 to £2,685/AU$4,550 ) depending on the size of the yards they are designed to cut. The LawnBott LB85EL, which covers half an acre of yard and is also app connected, costs $2,800 (£2,150/AU$3,640 ), and the LawnBott LB300EL from the same manufacturer covers one and a half acres and costs about $5,200 (£4,000/AU$6,750).

Setup is the most time-consuming part of having a Robomow. First, you have to give your yard one last cut with a traditional mower. You select a spot near the edge of your yard for the base station where the Robomow will charge between uses. It’s a little unsettling to leave such an expensive piece of equipment out on the edge of your lawn. To protect help protect against theft, the Robomow will begin to beep loudly if you try to remove it from the base station without entering a four-digit PIN. However, an annoying alarm that you can turn off by flipping the power switch under the Robomow’s hood doesn’t feel like the best protection against sticky, grass-covered fingers.

How we tested the Robomow

• Weather thwarts inaugural mow
• Robot lawnmower becomes conversation starter when it runs
• Taking a seat to see what the mower can do
• App turns lawn care into a video game

From the base station, you lay bright green wire around the perimeter of your yard and secure it to the ground with small plastic pegs that come with the Robomow. The company includes a helpful measuring stick to use for installation that shows the proper distance the Robomow should be from barriers like sidewalks and buildings. Grass eventually grows over the perimeter wire, and you won’t be able to see it after about a week.

Once you’ve finished installing the perimeter wire, you connect the base station to a power box that you plug in and mount onto a wall of your home. The power box includes indicators that show when the Robomow is mowing or docked at the base station.

The Robomow takes 24 hours to charge before it’s ready to mow. The default setting is automatic operation, which means it will leave the base station and begin cutting on its own. You can change how often you want the Robomow to cut your yard and select days and hours that you don’t want it to run on mower’s operation panel. You have to lift up the Robomow’s hood and use a manual dial to adjust the length to which you want the Robomow to cut your grass.

BlackBerry DTEK50 review – CNET

The Good The BlackBerry DTEK50 is a slim, lightweight phone that’s easy to use with a single hand. BlackBerry’s software tweaks mostly improve the Android experience.

The Bad The camera struggles in low light, performance is a bit lacking, and BlackBerry’s security claims are seriously overblown.

The Bottom Line In a crowded mid-range smartphone market, the DTEK50 doesn’t stand out. It’s a $300 phone that feels like a $200 one.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

The new BlackBerry DTEK50 is sold as a BlackBerry phone that will make your personal information incredibly secure.

There’s just a few problems. It isn’t made by BlackBerry, doesn’t run a BlackBerry operating system and doesn’t really make your phone secure. And another thing: It doesn’t come with BlackBerry’s trademark physical keyboard, so fans of button-punching don’t even walk away with that satisfaction.

Basically, it’s your standard Android phone with a few tricks up its sleeve, and a lot of BlackBerry software tweaks. Does that add up to a phone worth buying? Probably not for many.

The BlackBerry Idol

There’s nothing explicitly wrong with the BlackBerry DTEK50, because there’s nothing wrong with the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 4 — the phone which BlackBerry unapologetically cloned.

Left: Alcatel’s Idol 4. Right: BlackBerry’s DTEK50.

Juxtaposition by Sean Hollister/CNET

In fact, the new DTEK50 is better than recent BlackBerry phones in one important way — it’s an unlocked LTE smartphone that costs just $299 or £275 (roughly AU$390 converted). The BlackBerry Priv, its predecessor, originally sold for $750.

For the comparatively small amount of money, the DTEK50 isn’t bad. It’s surprisingly thin (at 7.4mm) and light (at 4.76 ounces, or 135 grams). While it’s partially made of plastic, a black aluminum band with shiny silver beveled edges catch the light quite nicely and make it hard to drop. It’s easy to use with a single hand, unlike many modern smartphones.

The 5.2-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel IPS screen is perfectly competent, even if it’s not a stunning AMOLED display, while a pair of stereo speakers (they face front and back) make it a pretty decent phone for the occasional Netflix session.

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The BlackBerry DTEK50.

Josh Miller/CNET

There’s also a dedicated programmable button on the side of the phone to launch any app you want. While you can’t use it when the phone is locked, it’s decent as a quick flashlight or camera toggle.

Even the battery life is OK for a phone this small. It ran roughly 12 hours in our standard video streaming drain test. In my personal use, I usually make it home after a full day’s work before the battery dies — unless I play Pokemon Go.

For $300, the DTEK50 feels a good bit slower than I’d hoped. It always feels like there’s a slight delay before the phone opens the app, summons the keyboard or loads the link I want. Our benchmarks bear that out, too. Raw performance numbers show the DTEK50 performing at about the same level as the Moto G4, a phone that costs $100 less.

And it’s shame that BlackBerry’s camera is so weak in low-light settings: I get super noisy, smudgy photos most places that aren’t outdoors. I also found it much slower to focus or shoot HDR images than today’s high-end phones.

It took more than dozen shots to get a flower photo this sharp from the DTEK50 camera. My Samsung Galaxy S7 did it on the first try.

Software

Nate said it in our review of BlackBerry’s first Android phone, and I’ll say it again: BlackBerry has actually made some useful tweaks to the Android operating system.

Salton Harley Pasternak Power Blender review – CNET

The Good The Salton Harley Pasternak Blender does the job of high-powered machines that cost twice as much, and with style.

The Bad You’ll need extra patience to use this blender, as it takes longer to complete tougher tasks than similarly powered blenders from Vitamix, Blendtec or Ninja. It’s also loud, so you can’t just turn it on and ignore it while it works.

The Bottom Line If you have patience and earplugs, the Salton Harley Pasternak blender fulfills its promise to make powerful blending affordable.

The Salton Harley Pasternak Power Blender hopes to compete with the high-powered stalwarts of the blending world — such as Vitamix and Blendtec — for less. It draws its name not from trying to evoke a law firm, but from the celebrity trainer behind it — Harley Pasternak — and Canadian appliance manufacturer Salton.

After putting the Salton blender to the test, I’ll attest to its power. It turned almonds into almond butter, made pesto and pulverized a block of cheese. It just took awhile to complete each of those tasks, and it’s loud enough that you can’t reasonably ignore it while it works. It’s successful in that it does offer a viable alternative to Vitamix and Blendtec for less, but I’d recommend the better performing $260 Ninja Ultima over it. The only reason to pick this Salton blender over the Ultima is if you like the design — you can pick from several color options.

Salton Harley Pasternak Blender stirs up…
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Cumbersome and competent

Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by modern blenders such as the Ninja Auto-IQ which lets you remove the blades to easily reach the bottom of the jar, but I found the clover-shaped jar and fixed bottom of the Salton Harley Pasternak blender difficult to use. Cleaning is easy enough — fill the jar with hot water and a couple of drops of soap, and clean it with a quick blend.

Blend anything thick, though, and you’ll have trouble scraping food out from under the blades. In particular, after both the almond butter test and the block of cheese test, it took me upward of 10 minutes to try to get all of the food out of the jar, and I ended up quitting on it and washing edible clumps down the drain just so I could move on with my life.

The shape of the jar makes it tough to scrape out ingredients.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Given that the blender takes awhile to complete just about any task, spending extra time excavating the jar grated on my nerves, as did the sound of the machine while it ran. Especially at high speed, the Salton Harley Pasternak is the loudest blender I’ve tested.

The $40 Hamilton Beach Smoothie Smart or the $90 Nutri Ninja are the best options if you just want to blend a smoothie. The appeal of the Harley Pasternak becomes clearer as you turn to more difficult tasks.

It looks the part of a high-powered blender. It’s tall and a little bulky, but I like the red finish and simple controls. Plus, again, you can pick your color from several different options.

Use the tamper to help keep things moving.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Included in the box is a to-go cup and a tamper. You can’t blend right in the to-go cup as you can with the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go or the Ninja Ultima, so the Salton blender doesn’t have any exceptional features. About the only thoughtful extra it has it a cord wrapper on the bottom of the base.

You can buy the $250 Salton Harley Pasternak Power Blender from Best Buy, Amazon, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and Ace Hardware. It’s also available in Canada at a number of small appliance retailers. It’s not available overseas.

Slow and steady

With a 1,500-watt motor at its disposal, an all-metal drive and eight stainless blades, four of which have a sawtooth edge, the Salton Blender has the power to keep up with high-caliber competition. By comparison the $450 Blendtec Designer Series Wildside Blender has 1,560 watts, and the $529 Vitamix 7500 comes in with a 1,440-watt motor.