Fig’s new fund helps indie games get to Steam

Crowdfunding and investment site Fig is offering successful indie developers a little extra cash to finish games and get them on Steam. With the $500,000 Fig Finishing Fund, developers that hit their funding goals and attract at least 1,000 backers will get at least $20,000 from the investor-based fund. They’ll be able to use that cash to finish their games, add more languages and get them up on Valve’s brand new Steam Direct program coming this spring.

Steam Direct allows any developer to get a game up on the site, with the caveat that they pay a fee ranging from $100 to $5,000. The new program will soon replace Steam Greenlight, in which games are voted onto the platform by users. The fund will thus guarantee distribution for games, and what’s left over can be used for marketing to give them some exposure, too. That way, “developers are free to dedicate more fan-raised money to making their games,” writes Fig co-founder Justin Bailey.

Fig is following the lead of publisher Raw Fury, which offered to pay the Steam Direct fee and only demand repayment if the title is a success. However, since Fig is also a crowd-funding site, so it will have a built-in base of players who have backed the project.

The company is also aligned with developers and investors (via “Fig Shares”), so that users can also bankroll titles to a maximum of $10,000 and get a possible return. That system “increases the chances that titles … come to market successfully and reach their intended audiences,” Fig claims. Though there’s a lot of inherent risk in such an investment, 11 of 14 games have hit their goals so far, raising nearly $10.9 million. That includes Psychonauts 2 (above) which raised over $3.8 million and is due next year.

Source: Fig

Pokemon Go evolutions: Special items and how to evolve Polytoed, Slowking, Bellossom, Steelix and more

There are 80 new Pokemon out on the streets waiting to be caught in Pokemon Go, but with the new gen-II update there’s a slightly more complicated and important change to evolutions.

There are a number of new evolutions that you can get to through gen-I Pokemon, so you need to make sure you’re catching the right Pokemon to ensure you have enough candy – rather than just ignoring them.

Then you have special items, which will be available from Poke Stops. These items are:

• King’s Rock
• Sun Stone
• Dragon Scale
• Metal Coat

These names come from Pokemon lore, in Pokemon Go they’re so far being called “special items”.

Pocket-lint

However, you need to dive into your Pokemon list to see what special items are needed for evolutions, as they are pictured in the evolution options for the relevant characters.

In addition to these special items you’ll also need candy, so you’ll have to keep catching particular gen-I Pokemon to ensure you have the candy you need. 

These are the Pokemon Go family characters that you need to catch to ensure you’ll be able to make these new evolutions:

• Eevee
• Zubat
• Porygon
• Poliwag
• Slowpoke
• Oddish
• Horsea
• Onix
• Scyther 

We’ve listed the lowest level Pokemon in each case as they’re more common. For example, you could catch Grobat rather than Zubat, but you won’t see as many. The same applies to Gloom or Seadra, as all contribute to the candy for that Pokemon family. 

We’ve already talked about how you get to Umbreon and Espeon, which you’ll need Eevee candy for, using the name changing technique.

• How to evolve Eevee into Espeon and Umbreon in Pokemon Go

The existing Pokemon that have new evolutions are:

• Golbat > Crobat
• Porygon > Porygon 2

These can be evolved immediately if you have enough candy. You might have noticed increased numbers of Porygon appearing toward the end of 2016, and this is probably why – to unlock the path the Porygon 2.

These are the Pokemon you need to pair up with new special items to get your new evolution:

King’s Rock

• Poliwhirl > Politoed
• Slowpoke > Slowking 

Sun Stone

• Gloom > Bellossom
• Sunkern > Sunflora 

Dragon scale

• Seadra > Kingdra

Metal Coat

• Onix > Steelix
• Scyther > Scizor

Of course, there are loads of new Pokemon with new evolutions too, as well as new starter Pokemon that will evolve into something you’ve already got, like Pichu, Smoochum and Elekid.

Most of these details you can find in your Pokemon list already – the only one that’s entirely new and we’ve included here is Sunkern. We’re yet to encounter Sunkern, but we suspect its going to follow the path of the others. 

Bop It! Maker edition will get your creative juices flowing

Bop It! 2016’s got nothing on this year’s iteration of the ’90s musical toy. Hasbro has just launched a Bop It! Maker edition, and if that name isn’t obvious enough, it promises the most personalized game you’ve ever played. The latest version allows you create your own moves by naming them, performing them and recording a sound for them. You can store up to 10 custom moves your friends can try to imitate later, so go crazy and make up some awkward and complex commands for maximum laughs. Bop It! Maker will cost you $20, just like last year’s version [seen above]. It will be available at retailers and on the HasbroToyShop website in the fall, but the company will showcase it at Toy Fair 2017 in New York.

Dawn probe spots organic materials on dwarf planet Ceres

Ceres is now officially included the list of celestial bodies where we’ve found organic molecules. NASA’s Dawn scientists have spotted the presence of organic compounds on the dwarf planet using the spacecraft’s visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR). They found the organics covering an area measuring around 400 square miles in and around Ceres’ northern-hemisphere crater called Ernutet. They also found smaller patches of land with organics several miles east and west of Ernutet, as well as in another crater. That’s pretty abundant, considering Christopher Russell (Dawn’s principal investigator) said they weren’t “expecting to see something like this on the surface of Ceres” at all.

NASA still isn’t sure what the organics are exactly, but they gave off the same fingerprints as carbon-hydrogen bonds under near-infrared light and could include components like methyl and methylene. The scientists also believe that they’re native to Ceres, made on the dwarf planet itself and not transplanted there by meteorites or small asteroids. Carbonates and clays previously identified on Ceres apparently exhibit chemical activity in the presence of water and heat. That means the organics could have formed in a water-rich environment — and Dawn already proved that the giant asteroid is oozing with water.

Russell also said that the molecules are “pre-biological” and what scientists would expect “if Ceres was working its way along the complexity path.” They certainly make Ceres a life-friendly environment, so NASA is now considering the possibility that it’s hosting microbial life. In addition, this new discovery can help shed light on the “origins of water and organics on Earth,” pre-life chemistry that’s prevalent outside our planet.

Source: NASA

UK hospital uses VR to reassure children before MRI scans

Entering a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine can be a nerve-wracking experience. You’re trapped in a tight space and have to lie perfectly still as loud noises — produced by the current in the scanner coils — pepper your eardrums. To help patients, and in particular children, the Kings College Hospital in London has turned to VR. MRI physicist Jonathan Ashmore and technologist Jerome Di Pietro have produced an app that contains a 360-degree video. Slip on a Google Cardboard and you’ll see what happens on the day, from arrival to stepping inside the scanner.

“I was given a 360-degree camera as a present,” Ashmore explains, “and I wanted to use it to help anxious children I see come into the hospital.” Offering a sneak peek of the day can put young patients at ease. Matthew Down, a 10-year-old who has to have annual MRI scans, recalls how he was “really worried” before his first scan. “I didn’t know what to expect. Even though my dad explained, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like.” Trialling the app, he said it could be “really helpful” for first-timers.

The app is free to download, and will soon be available on iOS too. The videos are simple, but they could have a huge impact on the UK health system. If children are more comfortable, they’re less likely to require a general anaesthetic. The whole process should be quicker too, making the NHS a more efficient operation — both in terms of money and time. For now “My MRI” is just a trial, with a link to the app included in select appointment letters. Ashmore hopes it will be expanded in the future, however, so that VR headsets are readily available in waiting rooms.

Source: King’s College Hospital, Wired

Apple Store in Sydney, Australia Reopens After Temporary Closure Due to Alleged Bomb Threat

The Apple retail store located on George Street in Sydney, Australia was closed for a brief period of time today due to “a police operation,” although the exact reasoning behind the closure remains unclear. Some customers evacuated from the store tweeted claims of hearing employees discussing a “bomb threat,” while workers in nearby buildings are referencing some kind of workplace accident responsible for the closure (via Gizmodo Australia).

Police have blocked off the George St Apple Store, both sides. pic.twitter.com/Q2B2O1gaFN

— brad esposito (@braddybb) February 17, 2017

The only information confirmed by the local police force referenced “a police operation” that was ongoing on the corner of King and George streets between 1:36 PM and 1:50 PM local time today. A police dog was also seen entering the Apple Store, but once it left and the police appeared finished at the scene at around 2:24 PM, a line was allowed to queue back on the street for re-entry into the store.

Shoppers were evacuated from the store as around six police cars appeared at the building in the city’s CBD. Officers and a police dog were seen entering the store as a crowd gathered outside.

Ashley, one of those evacuated, tweeted that he “heard store employees talking about a bomb threat, not a drill” and police were “very firm in telling people to leave immediately.”

Since customers have now been allowed to re-enter the location, it appears that the officers didn’t find anything of potential harm in the store.

Tag: Apple Store
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Adobe Issues Critical Security Update for Flash Player on Mac

Adobe this week released Flash Player version 24.0.0.221 to “address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system,” including Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS.

Mac users with Flash Player version 24.0.0.194 or earlier installed should immediately update to the latest version using the built-in update mechanism. The update is also available from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center.

Flash Player users who had enabled the option to “allow Adobe to install updates” will receive the update automatically. Likewise, Google Chrome will automatically update Flash Player to version 24.0.0.221. Select “About Google Chrome” under the Tools menu to verify the browser is up-to-date.

Adobe said the critical security update resolves integer overflow, memory corruption, type confusion, heap buffer overflow, and use-after-free vulnerabilities that could lead to code execution. The vulnerabilities were reported by security teams from Google, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and Trend Micro.

Safari on macOS Sierra deactivates Flash by default, only turning on the plug-in when user requested. Chrome, Firefox, and most other modern web browsers also have web plug-in safeguards in place due to repeated security risks. Adobe has released fifteen Flash Player security updates over the past year.

In 2010, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs shared his “Thoughts on Flash,” in which he favored open web standards such as HTML5 over Adobe Flash. Jobs said Flash Player was “the number one reason Macs crash,” while criticizing its performance on mobile devices. “Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice,” he opined.

Tags: security, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe
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Everything you need to know about the Google Pixel and Pixel XL

Why it matters to you

Google has taken the fate of its Android flagship phones into its own hands, and the resulting devices — the Pixel and Pixel XL — are superb.

Google is taking firm ownership of the flagship Android phones it produces each year. Only now they’re no longer called Nexus phones, but Pixel phones. In October 2016, the search giant formally unveiled the Pixel and Pixel XL, two top-of-the-line smartphones made in partnership with Taipei, Taiwan-based electronics maker HTC.

The Pixel and Pixel XL may be produced by HTC, but they’re unquestionably “Google phones” — they’re the first handsets in history to carry the company’s new “made by Google brand,” in fact. And they’re an impressive first attempt.

More: Read our review of the Google Pixel, and the Google Pixel XL

Price and availability

Since release, the Pixel phones have proven popular, with stock often running low, so patience may be needed if you’re looking for one. The most likely place is from the online Google store. Both come in 32GB and 128GB storage capacity options, in either black, silver/white, or blue colors. Google cheekily calls these “quite black,” “very silver,” and “really blue.”

Here’s how the pricing breaks down:

• 32GB Pixel: $650 or $27 per month for 24 months
• 128GB Pixel: $750 or $31 per month for 24 months
• 32GB Pixel XL $770 or $32 month for 24 months
• 128GB Pixel XL: $870 or $36 per month for 24 months

Also, the phones are available on Google Fi and exclusively from Verizon, where tempting special offers often come up. Also, Best Buy officially sells the Pixel and Pixel XL through its stores.

More: We put the Google Pixel XL against the iPhone 7 Plus in the ultimate camera shootout

In the U.K., the Pixel and Pixel XL are sold through the Google Play online store. The 32GB Pixel is 600 British pounds, and the 32GB Pixel XL is 720 British Pounds. Opt for the 128GB model and you’ll pay 700 British pounds for the Pixel, and a massive 820 British pounds for the Pixel XL.

For a start, only the black and silver versions were sold in the country, but from February 24, the “really blue” limited edition model will arrive. However, it appears to only be available through Carphone Warehouse and the EE network. Shortly before the U.K. announcement of the blue Pixel, Canadian network Rogers exclusively secured the limited edition model.

Design

Both phones, differentiated more by size than hardware, bear the hallmarks of high-end smartphone design: they’re dominated by polished aluminum, Gorilla Glass 4, and an almost incidental amount of plastic to accommodate wireless radios. The Pixel and Pixel XL’s edges slope gracefully, as do its wedged sides — a design language that not-so-subtly evokes Apple’s iPhone. And they’re pleasingly minimalist. On the front, selfie cameras and earpieces; on the right side is a power button and volume rocker; and on the rear is a dedicated shooter, LED flash, and circular fingerprint sensor.

Google’s new phones aren’t just pretty faces, though: they’re powerhouses. The Pixel XL packs a 5.5-inch, Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) AMOLED screen with an impressive density of 534 pixels-per-inch. The Pixel packs a smaller and lower-resolution AMOLED screen at 5 inches and Full HD (1080 x 1920 pixels), respectively, but squeezes it into a slightly more compact package.

Specs

Beneath those displays is one of the fastest mobile processors around. The Pixels have the distinction of packing Qualcomm’s brand-new, top-of-the-line quad-core Snapdragon 821 processor, a chip 10 percent more power efficient than the predeceasing Snapdragon 820. The variant in the Pixels is clocked at a 2.15GHz and paired with 4GB of RAM — more than enough to crunch webpages, benchmarks, docs, and games with ease, Google said.

Related: Everything you need to know about Android 7.1 Nougat and Pixel Launcher

Those aren’t the only highlights. The Pixels share a pair of cameras that promise impressive captures in both daytime and dim surroundings — Rick Osterloh, Google’s head of hardware, called them the “best smartphone camera anyone has ever made.” The rear-facing sensor’s a 12.3-megapixel model with f/2.0 aperture, 1.55um sensor size, and optical image stabilization, and the front-facing shooter’s an 8-megapixel specimen. And they work in tandem with proprietary algorithms that enhance those picture-taking capabilities. Smart Burst shot takes multiple snaps in milliseconds and automatically chooses the best. HDR Plus takes “clear, vivid pictures” in “challenging conditions.” But perhaps most impressive is video stabilization: thanks to a custom algorithm that samples gyroscope data 200 times a second and compensates for rolling shutter, videos turn out smooth as butter.

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Powering all those features are impressively large batteries. The Pixels sport Lithium-ion power packs of capacities that promise hours, if not days, on a charge: the Pixel XL packs a 3,450mAh battery, while the Pixel sports a 2,770mAh pack. Better yet, both support quick charging, which Google said can deliver up to 70 percent in after 15 minutes on a charger.

Familiar accouterments abound on both Pixels. Both feature USB Type-C connectors, Bluetooth, NFC, and 3.5mm headphone jacks. And they come with what Google calls a Quick Switch adapter: a plugin that automatically transfers your contacts, photos, videos, music, texts, calendar events, and messages from an iPhone to a Pixel.

Software

Hardware is only part of the Pixels’ appeal, of course. Android 7.1 Nougat is the other, and it’s a doozie of an upgrade from the version of Android — 6.0 Marshmallow — that shipped on Google’s Nexus 6P and 5X. Launcher Shortcuts provide quick access to activities and settings menus within apps. Pressing and holding a Google Maps icon, for instance, might surface a pop-up for turn-by-turn navigation to saved locations; a Google Calendar icon might include buttons for quickly creating a new event or reminder; and a Google Play Music icon might include shortcuts to a saved playlist or recently played songs.

Related: We noshed on Nougat, and Android 7.0 is Google’s sweetest update yet

Android Nougat may be destined for smartphones old and new, but the Pixels retain a few exclusive features. First is the Pixel Launcher, a proprietary Google-made home screen. Most notably, it features a “G” tab for quick access to the Google Assistant, Google’s AI-powered intelligent assistant. The Assistant is activated by pressing and holding Android’s home button or say “OK, Google,” and works much as it does in Google’s messaging app, Allo. You can ask it to show pictures you too last October, for instance, or surface event listings for a nearby concert venue. And it integrates with third-party apps and services: the Assistant can play music from YouTube and Google Play Music, text friends via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and more, and place reservations at a restaurant with OpenTable.

Beyond the Google Assistant, the Pixel Launcher sports a pull-up dock provides quick access to apps, plus a search bar for quickly parsing through software previously installed.

The Pixels also include a Google Photos benefit: free “unlimited” storage for full-resolution photos. And they pack an app that provides 24/7 live customer care. If you encounter an issue, you can reach a support agent via chat and even share your screen to let the agent see what you’re seeing. The Pixels also ship with Allo and Duo, Google’s latest text and video messaging apps, pre-installed.

Android Nougat packs other changes, too. Android’s familiar navigation icons are now white and distinctly geometric: the middle home button has an extra ring around it. Notifications now wrap to the edges of the screen and sport Direct Reply, a feature that allows you to respond to incoming messages from Facebook, Hangouts, Whatsapp, and more straight from the tray. And a new split-screen mode lets you use two apps at once.

If you want to know more about Android 7.0 Nougat, you can check out our roundup for a full list of what’s new.

Article originally published in October 2016. Updated on 02-17-2016 by Andy Boxall: Added in availability news, and the “really blue” version’s announcement for the United Kingdom.

Asus Zenbook UX330UA review

Research Center:
Asus Zenbook UX330UA-AH54

In September of 2016, from the show floor of IFA in Berlin, we called the laptop a “solved problem.” That’s not to say all laptops are good, of course, but the elements of a good laptop are now set in stone, and it doesn’t appear new technology will change them any time soon.

We reached that conclusion after testing laptops like the Asus Zenbook UX305UA, as well as competitors like the Acer Swift 5 and Lenovo ThinkPad 13. These simple, affordable laptops aren’t going to turn heads, but they’re a joy to use because they nail the fundamentals.

Now, Asus has introduced an updated follow-up to last year’s Editor’s Choice winning Asus Zenbook UX305UA, balled the UX330UA. The new model iterates on its predecessor, adding a 7th-generation Intel Core processor, a fingerprint sensor, and USB Type-C support, among other goodies.

More: Asus Zenbook 3 UX390UA review

But goodies aren’t what won awards for previous Zenbooks. They won because they brought excellent quality to a price everyone can afford – which, in this case, is $730. Is the UX330UA another affordable champion?

The laptop equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans

The Asus Zenbook UX330UA allegedly isn’t identical to the previous model. According to the specifications, the new version is a tenth of an inch thinner at just a half-inch thick. It’s also lighter, at 2.6 pounds. You’d never notice those differences without a specification sheet in front of you, and we doubt most people could tell the difference between the UX305UA and UX330UA even if the two were placed side-by-side.

That’s fine. On its own, the UX330UA holds up. The mostly-metal chassis features the distinctive “spun metal concentric circle” finish that’s common to all Zenbooks, and is meant to remind you of ripples in a pond. We’ve always liked the look, which is handsome, and adds unique flair that competitors from Acer, Dell, and Lenovo can’t claim.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Having said that, our review model’s silver finish wasn’t a head turner. In the past, Asus has sometimes offered subtle yet distinctive alternatives, like the dark blue-black of last year’s Zenbook UX305CA. There’s no such choice here. Silver is fine, but the lack of another option feels notable given last year’s models came in several eye-catching shades.

Though light, the UX330UA is a solid laptop. The chassis shows little sign of flex when handled roughly, and what can be found isn’t enough to be concerning. Our only complaint is one we’ve had with past Zenbooks — the display bezels are wide, and the laptop is large for a 13-inch system as a result. It’s not a major problem, but some competitors, like Dell’s XPS 13, fit the same screen size into a smaller, more portable footprint.

A little new, a little old

Asus takes a mixed approach to connectivity here, pairing two USB 3.0 Type-A ports with a single USB 3.1 Type-C. The Type-C doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3, and can’t be used to charge, so there’s still a proprietary charging connector. Micro-HDMI, a headphone jack, and a card reader round out the options.

Though light, the UX330UA is a solid laptop.

While it’d be nice to see Thunderbolt 3, it’s hard to complain about either the number or type of connections here. The UX330UA offers some future-proofing, but will also work with your current peripherals.

Wireless connectivity includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1. This is typical of a laptop in any price range.

Solid keyboard, mediocre touchpad

The thin profile luckily doesn’t compromise typing on the UX330UA, which offers a respectable 1.5 millimeters of key travel and a nearly full-sized keyboard layout. This is where the large footprint pays off. There’s plenty of space to rest your palms, and almost all the keys are properly sized. Only the arrow keys are tucked away – but how often are those used, really?

Keyboard backlighting is standard, and serves up three levels of brightness. All three are dim enough to be usable in a dark environment without becoming a distraction. Not all keys are evenly backlit, which cheapens the look, and a fair amount of light leaks from the bottom of each key.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Below the keys is a normally sized touchpad, about three inches tall by four inches wide. It offers full support of Windows 10 Precision Touchpad gestures, which work well. Yet the touchpad never felt great to our hands, largely because of its super-slick surface. The lack of friction provided less tactile feedback than we’d like, making it easy to overshoot gestures.

More: Asus Zenbook UX305UA review

A fingerprint reader is integrated into the touchpad, which is impressive, given the price. The square it occupies unfortunately isn’t responsive to touch input, so it knocks a small but awkward chunk out of the usable surface. The fingerprint reader hooks seamlessly into Windows Hello and generally accepts input well, though on a few occasions it did fail, forcing us to type in a password anyway.

A display that’s always beautiful

Like past Zenbooks, and many of its competitors, the UX330UA ships with a 1080p non-touch display. This is the most common resolution among 13-inch laptops but, of course, panel quality can vary widely from one model of laptop to the next. Luckily, this screen is a good one.

A few numbers immediately jump out from the rest. The screen displayed 98 percent of sRGB and 74 percent of AdobeRGB, figures that don’t break records, but are better than expected from a laptop in this price range. The contrast ratio of 940:1 is also strong. While it’s behind the Apple MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar, it beats the Acer Swift 7 and almost ties the Dell XPS 13, which had a contrast ratio of 960:1 when equipped with a 1080p touchscreen. Maximum brightness comes in at 315 lux, which is not the best we’ve seen, but its more than adequate in a laptop with an anti-glare screen.

The i5-7200U is plenty fast, cramming through everyday tasks effortlessly.

We did find some flaws. The gamma curve came at 2.4, which indicates the screen renders content slightly darker than it should appear. Color error came in at 2.56. Because this is an error value, a lower score is better, and anything below one is generally unnoticeable to the human eye. The UX330UA’s score is not bad, but the Acer Swift 7, Dell XPS 13 with 1080p display, and HP Spectre x360 all score under two.

Testing aside, it’s hard to fault the UX330UA’s display in day-to-day use. The anti-glare coat keeps it usable in a variety of scenarios, including outdoors, where the reasonably bright backlight can compete with the power of the sun.

More: Two ultrabooks enter, only one leaves: Dell’s XPS 13 vs. Asus Zenbook UX305CA

Yet, somehow, the display also looks good playing a movie in a dark room. Its strong contrast ratio and reasonably accurate color combine to provide a clear, crisp image. It’s not going to knock your socks off, but it’s also hard to fault.

Strong speakers, facing the wrong way

A pair of forward-facing speakers tuned by Harmon Kardon are included along the bottom lip of this Zenbook. They provided robust sound, including a hint of bass that can be both heard and, if you’re typing while listening to music, felt. The location dampened quality, though, as it’s easy to obstruct the sound. External speakers or headphones are a good idea, but the built-in speakers are fine in a pinch.

7th-generation Intel Core continue to impress

Inside the Zenbook UX330UA you’ll find the Core i5-7200U which, like the i5-6200U and i5-5200U before it, is destined to become the most common chip of the new generation. It shows up in laptops from $600 to over $1,500. This Asus is on the low end of that price spectrum, so its inclusion looks like good value right away.

That initial assessment is backed up by our benchmark results. The chip performed almost identically to the Core i5-7200U found in more expensive laptops, like Dell’s XPS 13, or HP’s Spectre x360. Better still, the i5-7200U is a decent upgrade over the old i5-6200U.

That’s not to say you can’t find faster hardware. Our Handbrake test, which involves transcoding a 4K trailer of Elysium from h.264 to h.265, needed over a half-hour to complete. That’s a bit long for a system with the Core i5-7200U, and it may indicate the Zenbook UX330UA does not handle thermal limitations as well as some peers.

Still, this Asus isn’t a mobile workstation. The i5-7200U is meant for typical day-to-day use, and there it provides excellent results, launching applications and cramming through edits of typical, HD-resolution photos without breaking a sweat. This chip will still feel quick enough five years from today, which makes its inclusion in a sub-$800 laptop impressive.

Modest hard drive performance

By now, you might be wondering what the UX330UA doesn’t do well. It has a decent keyboard, nice display, and fast processor. Surely something has to give, right? Well, that something is the hard drive –kind of.

A skeptic might see a lot to dislike here. The UX330UA’s 256GB solid state drive, which uses the SATA connection standard, can’t keep up with newer drives that connect over PCI Express. The HP Spectre x360 and Dell XPS 13 easily outperform it.

Even so, the Zenbook shouldn’t be dismissed. Its performance is near the top of what can be expected from SATA, and it’s unreasonable to demand a PCIe drive in an affordable laptop. In fact, Dell drops down to SATA in the XPS 13 if you choose the 128GB drive, which is the only one available in the $800 entry-level version.

Gamers, look elsewhere

Like most budget notebooks, the Asus Zenbook UX330UA makes no promise it’ll game well. Which is for the best – because it doesn.t

The scores produced by this laptop are mediocre even for its category, in some cases coming in a few hundred behind competitors. This significant defeat is only softened by the fact none of the UX330UA’s peers can play new 3D titles at 1080p resolution and anything approaching a respectable level of detail.

We also tried playing Civilization VI, the latest entry in Sid Meier’s long running and incredibly popular strategy franchise. It puttered along at less than 20 frames per second with resolution set to 1080p and all detail sliders set to minimum. That’s not a great experience.

Of course, you simply can’t buy a thin and light laptop that games well for less than $1,000. You’ll need to start looking at 15-inch systems if gaming matters to you.

Big battery means long life

Weighing in at 2.6 pounds, the Asus Zenbook UX330UA is quite light for its size, coming in below the Apple MacBook Pro 13 and Dell XPS 13. It’s also thin at a half-inch thick, though it feels thicker than it is. Blame the boxy body and big, chunky rubber feet. There are certainly thinner options, like the Asus Swift 7, but we doubt anyone’s going to complain the UX330UA is too thick.

Asus crams a large 57 watt-hour battery into this laptop, and that paid off in our battery tests. The Peacekeeper web benchmark test, a relatively heavy load, ate through a charge in six hours and 31 minutes. That beats the Dell XPS 13 with Core i5-7200U, which lasted six hours and 12 minutes. It also defeats the MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar, the Acer Swift 7, the Asus Zenbook 3, and the HP Spectre x360 13-inch.

We saw a similarly impressive result in our video loop test, which repeats a 1080p clip of The Avengers until the battery dies. The UX330UA lasted an incredible 13 hours and three minutes. That again beats all the competitors we’ve tested, most of which last between 10 and 12 hours.

This is certainly a case of less becoming more. The mid-range processor, paired with a simple 1080p display, maximizes every bit of fuel from the laptop’s sizable tank. The closest competitor to it is the Dell XPS 13, which did come within twenty minutes of the Zenbook UX330UA in both tests discussed above. Other laptops are handily outperformed, lasting one to two hours less in most scenarios.

Quiet, until it’s not

The Zenbook UX330UA is not fanless but, like Apple’s MacBook, it hides the exhaust vents within the display hinge – and the vents don’t even span the entire width of the laptop. It’s extremely difficult to notice the fan when the laptop is idle, or under light load.

Asus crams a large 57 watt-hour battery into this laptop

Heavier load can tease the fan out, and it becomes extremely noticeable once a heavy load, like our Handbrake benchmark, runs for more than a minute or two. The laptop also heats up significantly under these conditions. That said, its overall noise and thermal performance isn’t outside the norm for a 13-inch laptop.

Software

Bloatware is a common problem on laptops at any price, yet the Zenbook UX330UA almost entirely dodges the problem. There’s very little pre-installed here. Not even an anti-virus application is included; Windows Defender is activated by default instead. It’s good to see Asus provide a pure experience that doesn’t bog down the user experience.

Asus Zenbook UX330UA-AH54 Compared To

Lenovo ThinkPad P50s 20FL000NUS

Microsoft Surface Book with…

Acer Swift 7 SF713-51-M90J

Asus Zenbook 3 UX390UA

Lenovo ThinkPad X260

Dell Precision 15 3510

Lenovo Ideapad 710S

HP Spectre

Acer Aspire S 13 S5-371-52JR

Dell XPS 13 (Skylake)

Dell Latitude 12

LG Gram 15 Z960

Samsung Notebook 9 Pro…

Asus Zenbook UX501VW-DS71T

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (Late 2015)

Warranty information

Asus ships the Zenbook UX330UA with a one year warranty. That’s the industry standard no matter a laptop’s price, so we wouldn’t expect to see it much

Our Take

Asus’ Zenbook UX330UA is a worthy successor to last year’s UX305UA. It upgrades the processor, modernizes the port layout, and increases battery capacity. And yet, despite the upgrades, Asus is charging just $730 on Amazon.com — $20 less than it did for the UX305UA when it released.

Is there a better alternative?

Competition in this price bracket is fierce. Acer’s Swift 5 is the greatest threat, as it offers similar hardware for about $750. It’s a 14-inch laptop, so it’s larger overall, and it also has a slightly smaller battery. Lenovo’s Ideapad 710S is another possibility, but it sells for $800, and has a smaller 128GB solid state drive.

The DT Accessory Pack

Setton Brothers MacBook laptop briefcase

$30

Anker Astro E7 26800mAh battery power bank

$60

Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Wireless mobile mouse

$58.84

Most other systems comparable to the Zenbook UX330UA in size and weight are several hundred dollars more expensive when similarly equipped.

How long will it last?

Though affordable, the Zenbook UX330UA is packed with current hardware, and its connectivity arrangement provides ways to hook up both old and new USB devices. This laptop should last as long, if not longer than, most laptops purchased today.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Asus Zenbook UX330UA is the ideal mid-range laptop.

There are some flaws. The touchpad is a bit of a miss, and the system’s design isn’t eye-catching. These are minor issues, however, and forgiven by excellent performance by every other metric. The fact that this laptop sells for just $730 only cements its excellence.

There’s no need to spend more than $1,000 on a great laptop. The Zenbook UX330UA is as fast and portable as any, yet priced within grasp.

LG V30: News and rumors

Why it matters to you

LG’s V-series phones are just as much of a flagship device as the G-series phones, and the rumored V30 promises to be the most powerful yet

LG’s V-series smartphones have evolved into the company’s flagships, more so than the G-series hardware, due to interesting unique features and often stronger processors. The last model, the V20, only arrived in late 2016 so isn’t due for replacement just yet; but rumors of a so-called V30 are already starting to spread.

Here’s what we think we know about the LG V30 already.

Processing power

It’s almost certain the LG G6 will use the Snapdragon 821 processor, due to supply problems with the newer Snapdragon 835; but the situation may change for the V30, which is likely to arrive much later in the year. A rumor published on the Chinese social media site Weibo says the V30 will have the Snapdragon 835 inside, along with 6GB of RAM.

More: Everything we think we know about the LG G6

A similar situation occurred with the G5 and the V20. The LG G5 used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 chip, while the V20 received the more powerful Snapdragon 820. It came with 4GB of RAM.

Audio performance

LG pushed the audio experience hard on the V20, which featured the world’s first Quad DAC in a smartphone, and special tuning from B&O on the international models. The V30 may also get some special treatment. The same Weibo source claiming the V30 will get the Snapdragon 835, also says an improved version of the DAC previously used in the V20 will feature in the new model.

This makes sense, as LG has announced an upgraded Quad DAC for the forthcoming LG G6 already, which may eventually also find its way into the V30. Whether it will be updated even further isn’t known at this early stage.

Secondary display

Since the V10, LG has used a second display above the main screen to provide additional information on the V-series phones. While it’s expected to remain a feature of the V30, its functions may be different. Twitter-based phone leaker @evleaks said he had seen an early render of the V30, and that the “ticker” screen would be different to the current versions. He didn’t elaborate on how, but did clarify that the secondary screen would remain, just in a potentially different capacity, rather than be removed.

Release date and availability

LG announced the V20 in September 2016, so a sequel is highly unlikely to arrive before the same time in 2017. At the moment, it’s only being rumored for the second half of 2017. LG made the decision to restrict sales of the V20 to South Korea, the U.S. and certain other international regions, but shunned the United Kingdom. It has a chance to rectify its oversight with the V30.

Nothing about the LG V30 is official yet, so treat all the information here as speculation and subject to change. We’ll continue to keep you updated with all the rumors.