Spin it or flip it? HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop

When you’re in the market for a new thin and light notebook, one of your most basic decisions will be whether you want a traditional clamshell machine or one of the myriad 2-in-1 devices that can also morph into a tablet. We took a look at the HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop to see which modern incarnation of these two form factors is better worth your hard earned dollars. Along the way, you might just learn a few things to help decide if a clamshell or a 2-in-1 is right for you.

Specifications compared

Surface Laptop

HP Spectre x360 13

Dimensions
 12.13 × 8.79 × 0.57 (in)
12.07 × 8.58 × 0.55 (in)
Weight
 2.76 pounds Core m3, i5; 2.83 pounds Core i7
2.89 pounds
Processor
7th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7
7th-geneation Intel Core i5 or i7
RAM
 4, 8, or 16GB RAM
4, 8 or 16GB RAM
Display
 13.5-inch IPS PixelSense display
13.3-inch IPS display
Resolution
 2,256 × 1,504
Full HD (1,920 x 1,080)
QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800)
Storage
 128GB, 256GB, 512GB SSD, 1TB (coming)
256GB, 512GB, 1TB SSD
Touch
10-point touch display
10-point touch display optional
Ports
 USB Type-A 3.0, mini-DisplayPort, SurfaceConnect, 3.5mm headset
1x USB 3.0 Type-A, 2x USB 3.1 Type C with Thunderbolt 3, 3.5mm headset
Webcam
 720p HD with infrared camera for Windows Hello support
720p HD
Operating System
Windows 10 S (upgradable to Windows 10 Pro)
Windows 10 Home or Pro
Battery
 47 watt-hours
57.8 watt-hours
Price
$1000+ 
$1,200+
Review
3 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5 stars

Design

The HP Spectre x360 has long been one of our favorite 2-in-1s thanks to its no-compromise design, which minimizes display bezels to fit into a smaller chassis, while making smart choices like keeping the webcam above the display where it belongs. The Spectre X360 13 is 0.55 inches thin and weighs 2.89 pounds, and it sports an all-metal design with a hinge that works fluidly throughout its 360-degree range, but still manages to remain firmly in place notebook mode. HP has two color schemes available, Natural Silver and Ash Silver with copper accents, that can accommodate both conservative and more flamboyant tastes.

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop is also a well-built notebook that exudes a premium feel, with an all-metal chassis that’s thin at .57 inches, light at 2.83 pounds, and quite sturdy throughout. But it’s not boring — Microsoft incorporated its favorite Alcantara fabric on the keyboard deck to add both a splash of color and a pleasant, rather soothing surface for the wrists to rest on while typing. You can choose from four colors, Platinum, Graphite Gold, Burgundy, and Cobalt Blue.

The HP’s ability to swing the display around and choose from notebook, tent, multimedia, and tablet modes adds some real flexibility, and ironically Microsoft — which created the modern 2-in-1 phase — loses points here with its clamshell notebook. You can’t go wrong with either machine, but the Spectre X360 wins out because you can do more with it.

Winner: HP Spectre x360

Performance

Both HP and Microsoft offer seventh-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB solid-state drives (SSDs).

There are some differences, however, that are worth noting. First, Microsoft’s processor options top out at the Core i7-7660U with Intel Iris Plus 640 graphics, whereas the Spectre x360 goes up to the Core i7-7500U, meaning that the Surface Laptop will provide just a little extra oomph in both high-end productivity tasks and casual gaming.

Second, the Spectre x360 utilizes fast PCIe SSDs, whereas Microsoft opted for slightly slower PCIe drives, and so the HP will do better with more demanding tasks related to accessing and saving files.

In the end, we think that a faster CPU and GPU matter more than slightly slower — but still fast compared to a spinning hard disk drive — storage.

Winner: Microsoft Surface Laptop

Keyboard, mouse, and pen

As a 360-degree convertible, the HP Spectre x360 is naturally jam-packed with input options. There’s the obligatory touch display, which we found responsive, and an active pen that provides solid Windows 10 Ink support.

In addition, the keyboard is very good, with more than sufficient travel and a snappy response that makes for comfortable long-term typing sessions. We were even more impressed with the ultra-wide touchpad, which provided for sensitive multi-touch gestures. Finally, Windows Hello password-less login is provided by an infrared camera and facial recognition.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Although it’s a traditional notebook, the Surface Laptop is equally well-equipped when it comes to input options. There’s a touch screen that supports the excellent Surface Pen, although it’s hard to use with the Laptop. The keyboard has excellent travel and a precise feel, making it an equally good option for typing copious amounts of information, and the large touchpad is great with the always-reliable Microsoft Precision gesture support. Windows Hello is also provided by a reliable infrared facial scanner.

In short, both the Spectre x360 and Surface Laptop offer different ways to get information into your PC efficiently and comfortably. The Spectre x360 again gets the nod, though, for being a 360-degree convertible. Even if it’s not the thinnest or lightest tablet when the display is folded around, it’s still a far more pleasant experience than using a pen on a clamshell notebook display.

Winner: HP Spectre x360

Connectivity

HP made an effort to ensure that you can not only connect to your legacy peripherals, but also plug into tomorrow’s external devices, as well. The Spectre x360 sports two of the newer and increasingly ubiquitous USB Type-C connections, both of which support Thunderbolt 3 for things like connecting to external GPUs. There’s also a USB Type-A port, and a headset jack.

Unfortunately, HP left out an SD card reader, so that’s one dongle that’ll be needed if you want to easily transfer images and video from a camera, for example.

The Surface Laptop, on the other hand, suffers from Microsoft’s reluctance to embrace the USB Type-C movement. Like other mobile Surface machines, this one is equipped with a single USB Type-A port, a mini-DisplayPort, a headset jack, and a SurfaceConnect port, the latter of which is used to power the machine. The Surface Laptop also doesn’t come equipped with an SD card reader.

Clearly, more ports are better, and the Spectre x360 wins this round handily.

Winner: HP Spectre x360

Display quality

HP has provided a difficult choice for Spectre x360 buyers — go with a sharp 13.3-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display and save some money and battery life, or step up to an even sharper 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) display for the best possible Netflix experience. If you go with the latter, then you’ll enjoy a pin-sharp 331 PPI screen that makes for some excellent text and images. In our testing, the Spectre x360’s Full HD display was very good if not exceptional, and we expect the 4K option is at least as good.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop, like all Surface machines, has a simply superior display. It’s a little larger at 13.5 inches, with 2,256 x 1,504 (201 PPI) resolution, and it uses the 3:2 aspect ratio, which is taller. As a result, the Laptop shows more of your documents at once, but suffers letter-boxing when watching most video. Colors, contrast, and brightness are awesome, and in short, if you’re looking for the best notebook display, then it comes down to the Surface Laptop or a MacBook Pro.

Winner: Microsoft Surface Laptop

Portability and battery life

As we discussed earlier, the HP Spectre x360 is 0.55 inches thin and weighs 2.89 pounds, making it easy to toss into a backpack and carry around with you. The Microsoft Surface Laptop is equally thin and light at .57 inches and 2.83 pounds. Replace the Spectre x360 with the Surface Laptop, and you’re unlikely to tell the difference.

Battery life is a different story, where the Spectre x360 packs in a larger 57.8 watt-hour battery, compared to the Surface Laptop’s 47 watt-hour capacity. In our testing, the Spectre x360 with a Core i7-7500U and Full HD display managed just under five hours in our most aggressive Peacekeeper battery test, and it looped our test video for a strong ten hours and 43 minutes. The Surface Laptop running a Core i5-7200U lasted for six and a half hours in our Peacekeeper test, and played video for over twelve and a half hours.

The Spectre x360’s battery life is very good for a powerful 2-in-1 machine, that’s for sure. But in spite of having significantly more juice on hand, it couldn’t keep up with Microsoft’s almost magical Surface Laptop, which managed to squeeze some impressive battery life out of a relatively small battery, and in spite of its higher-resolution and slightly larger display.

Winner: Microsoft Surface Laptop

Availability and price

The HP Spectre x360 13 is a premium machine both in design and  in pricing. It starts out at $1,200 with a Core i5-7200U, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a Full HD display. It currently tops out at $1,500 for a Core i7-7500U, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 4K UHD display (note that the 1TB version isn’t currently available). That’s neither the most more the least expensive machine in the premium 2-in-1 segment. Note that HP includes an active pen with the Spectre x360.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is a Surface machine through and through, and it’s priced just like its siblings. It starts out at moderate $1,000 for a Core i5-7200U, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD, and tops out at an astronomical $2,700 for a Core i7-7660U, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. If you want to add the Surface Pen, then tack on another $100.

Clearly, while you can spend close to the same money on the low end for either machine, you get more for your money with the Spectre x360. And for the same Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB configuration, you’re going to spend at $2,200 for the Surface Laptop — that’s $700 more than the Spectre x360.

Winner: HP Spectre x360

Conclusion

We didn’t end up making your choice between traditional notebook and 2-in-1 any easier, maybe, but at least now you know how closely matched these two premium notebooks really are. Whether you select an HP Spectre x360 or a Surface Laptop, you’re going to be happy with the design, build quality, performance, and battery life.

We’re partial to 2-in-1s ourselves, and we think it’s better to have that flexibility and not need it than need it and not have it. For that reason, along with significantly more affordability, we’re giving the overall victory to the HP Spectre x360.

Winner: HP Spectre x360

Amazon Great Indian Festival is back — find the best deals right here

Amazon is back with another sale extravaganza.

Amazon’s Great Indian Festival is back. The four-day sale extravaganza kicks off in earnest tomorrow, but Amazon is rolling out deals early for Prime members. Highlighted deals include a ₹2,000 discount on the Moto G5 Plus, bringing the cost of the phone down to just ₹12,999. The OnePlus 3T is also seeing an enticing ₹5,000 drop, with the device now on sale for just ₹24,999.

Xiaomi is introducing a variant of the Mi Max 2 with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage for ₹14,999, and the phone is now on sale for ₹12,999. Here’s a look at some of the deals currently live on the platform:

Mobiles

• OnePlus 3T – ₹24,999 – ₹5,000 off
• Xiaomi Mi Max 2 – ₹12,999 – ₹2,000 off
• Moto G5 Plus (4GB RAM, 32GB storage) – ₹12,999 – ₹2,000 off
• Lenovo K8 Note (4GB RAM, 64GB storage) – ₹12,999 – ₹1,000 off
• Samsung On7 Pro – ₹7,590 – ₹1,500 off
• Samsung On5 Pro – ₹6,490 – ₹1,000 off
• Micromax Canvas Infinity – ₹9,998 – ₹1 off
• Nubia Z11 (6GB RAM, 64GB storage) – ₹19,990 – ₹5,000 off
• Sony Xperia XA Dual – ₹12,990 – ₹280 off

Accessories

• Amazon Fire TV Stick – ₹3,499 – ₹500 off (additional ₹499 cashback)
• Ticwatch 2 Smartwatch – ₹17,999 – ₹4,000 off
• Xiaomi Mi 10000mAh Power Bank 2 – ₹899 – ₹300 off
• Xiaomi Mi 20000mAh Power Bank 2 – ₹1,799 – ₹400 off

That’s just a quick look at some of the deals available for Prime members. The sale will kick off for everyone tomorrow at 8 a.m., so stay tuned!

See at Amazon

Keep your lawn green without emptying your wallet with Rachio’s $146 smart sprinkler

Late last year I moved into a brand new home that came with an irrigation system, and in the first month, I managed to run up a $300 water bill from using the sprinklers. I knew nothing about how to set it up, or when to have it water the lawn, and I was pretty frustrated with it. I quickly reduced the frequency of the system, but the lawn still wasn’t looking great, and I was quickly getting annoyed. Then, I found Rachio.

My grass is now looking better than ever, and my wallet isn’t emptying every month, and yours can too! As part of its Gold Box deals of the day, Amazon is offering the 2nd-gen 8-zone Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller for $145.99. This is a savings of around $55 from its usual selling price of $200. We’ve seen a few deals in the past, but this is the best price so far.

• Works with Alexa. Control watering with the power of your voice. Use more than 100 different voice commands to run zones, set rain skips and more.
• Control from anywhere. Download the Rachio app to manage your sprinkler system on a smartphone, tablet or laptop.
• Adapts to local weather. Rachio will automatically skip a scheduled watering cycle when rain is predicted and adjust watering times as the seasons change, saving you water and money.
• Reduce your water bill. Save up to 50% on your outdoor watering bill with WaterSense certified technology. Check your local water provider for rebates (often up to 100% of retail value).
• Customize to your yard. Stop guessing – input zone details like soil type, plant type and sun exposure to let Rachio automatically set up the best watering schedules for your lawn. Tailored schedules give your yard exactly the water needed to thrive, and not a drop more.

This price is only good for one day, so don’t miss out. After using it for a few months, you’ll quickly realize how valuable it is and how much it is saving you. You may also be able to take advantage of a local rebate after purchasing the system, so be sure to look into that!

See at Amazon

More from Thrifter:

• Which Warehouse Shopping Club is Best for You?
• Priority Pass Select Memberships can save you big at airports

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Pattern your home screen this Wallpaper Wednesday

Patterns are everywhere else; why not have them on your home screen, too?

Patterns and geometry help us make sense and order out of the seemingly random nonsense of the world around us. They help us find peace, and their symmetry can be as pleasing to the eye as it is to the mind. A patterned wallpaper can also work wonders on your home screen, helping you find and keep things in order so that you can get in, get out, and get back to conquering the world. Or just conquering that cake over there, whatever works.

Spaceship Earth

I can’t look at a golf ball without thinking of Epcot. And while our phones may be bringing the promise of the future to our homes, our pockets, and the rest of our lives, if you need a little more vintage futuristic-ness on your device, this wallpaper is here for you.

FORE!!!

Spaceship Earth

Angular Infinity

This dark, angular wallpaper adds order to your screen while also offering a slight air of mystery as the pattern replicates into the shadows. It would also make an exceptionally good wallpaper for any Ingress fans out there… And Jan Robbe has got a sweet page full of wall-worthy images.

Angular Infinity by Jan Robbe

Mosaic Ceiling

Mosaics like these mesmerize and amaze, and if you’d like to bring their complex beauty to your desktop, we’ve got a wallpaper for your. This wallpaper is based on an actual mosaic on the ceiling of a tomb in Iran, edited to a more neutral palette that plays nice with more screens and more themes.

Mosaic Ceiling by hanciong

Honeycomb

“Honey… honey, honey, honey, honey…”

Ahem, sorry, my Winnie The Pooh filter kicked on. What were we talking about? Oh, right! This geometric beauty makes me want to find some honey and slather it on some warm baguettes. Om nom nom nom.

Honeycomb

Geometric Landscape

I feel like we’ll find a mural like this down in Atlantis when we finally find the city and convince Arthur Curry we’re not going to overthrow his kingdom. (Well, not violently overthrow it, anyways.) And this symmetrical wallpaper is equally at home on phones or tablets, giving a sophisticated look to your screen.

Geometric Landscape by TiltedSquare

Remember Spaceship Earth’s clean isometric geometry? Yeah, this isn’t like that. This is a patterned wallpaper, in a sense, but to most, that pattern would most assuredly scream CHAOS THEORY. There are rectangular grids here, angular grids here, and circles of greatly varying sizes, but everything comes together at their crossroads in a certain beauty. The colors here, are also a bit chaotic, but their overall palette is soothing, and if you paired this wallpaper with a bold, colorful icon pack, you could find a home screen that, like Android itself, finds order in chaos.

Geometric Wallpaper 91

Okay, this last one isn’t one wallpaper, but rather a nifty little website that lets you render a trangled wallpaper in whatever color you like, and whatever resolution you like. It’s easy to use, works on Chrome and means that no matter what color scheme you’re going for, you can make a wallpaper that fits. The best pattern, after all, is the one that fits your style.

Trianglify Generator

Updated September 2017: Links have been updated for some wallpapers and new wallpapers have been added.

5 reasons to switch away from T-Mobile

T-Mobile doesn’t work out for everyone.

Having phone service that’s cheap and good is important.

Finding the right phone carrier is a pretty big deal. We’re using our phones more than ever, and doing more with them — they’re not just for making calls anymore. And sometimes, finding the right carrier doesn’t happen on the first try. What’s important is that you know it and are ready to move on.

A lot of folks are happy with T-Mobile, just like a lot of folks are happy with any of the other carriers here in the states. If you’re one of those happy people, that’s awesome. But if you’re not, and you’re thinking the grass might be greener with another company, here are five things to think about and see if it’s time to make a change.

Coverage

As of the end of 2016, T-Mobile claims to cover 313 million Americans or just 1 million shy of Verizon’s 314 million total. We’ve no reason to doubt it, and T-Mo has rolled out even more coverage since. But there are plenty of people who don’t have good T-Mobile coverage.

The reason is because of the population demographics here in the U.S. With about 90% of the population living in urban or suburban areas, it’s easy to show they are covered with a magenta map. But if you live outside of town, T-Mobile might not work for you. Even if you live where the map shows you’re covered, there are no promises of consistent and fast coverage. Never trust those maps, which is why we always suggest you ask the people you know and trust what carrier they use.

Price

Phone service can cost a lot of money. T-Mobile has long championed itself as being the cheaper alternative, but we’re seeing their costs rise more and more with each makeover of their plans and services. We’ll chalk some of that up to inflation, but we can’t ignore that it no longer has to beg for your business and is out to increase its bottom line a little more. Of course, that’s what all companies do so T-Mobile is not alone here.

To offset those price increases, its waiving taxes and fees for people using a current plan. That’s great if you live somewhere like California that has high taxes, but in other areas taxes are low and it’s not as much of a bargain. That’s why the idea works — for every customer T-Mobile is spending $50 or more each month to eat the taxes, another customer is only costing it $10. A price hike helps make the whole thing a wash for T-Mobile.

T-Mobile unlimited plans are still cheaper than plans from AT&T and Verizon, and in many cases by a large amount. But if you’re on the current $45/4GB plan or one of the previous monthly plans, you can do better.

Phone selection

T-Mobile is great in this area. Most unlocked GSM phones have the network bands needed for T-Mobile service, and it gets the big-name releases just like every other carrier does. But it took a while to get to this point, and we’re going to be going through it all over again, at least if you need good service indoors or as part of the coming rural network expansion.

Those are the things the new 600MHz network rollout is going to fix, and it won’t work for you unless you buy a new phone. We’ve seen the LG V30 announced as compatible, and others will be coming. But nothing will make your current phone work on this new network, nor will any of last-years awesome phones that are still sold as new at a big savings work, either. If you need to buy a new phone anyway, it’s worth looking to see what else is out there from the competition

Customer service

T-Mobile’s front-line postpaid customer service is heralded as being some of the best in the industry alongside AT&T. Yet the internet is still filled with horror stories, and everyone knows AT&T customer service is just as bad. So what gives?

These ratings are for postpaid only, and based on first-contact. When you get a ticket number and have to call back, you might not be as lucky.

The internet is filled with tales of billing errors that were never reconciled, lack of support for devices issues (especially if you’re not using an iPhone or Galaxy device), shipping problems and more. These are the tough issues, and while the employees in stores and over the phone are well trained on the basics so they can answer most questions and fix most issues, difficult problems seem to get lost in the cracks a bit more often than we like to hear. Even second-hand anecdotal evidence can be worrying where there is enough of it.

The fine print

All carrier plans come with fine print that you need to read so you know what the details really mean, and T-Mobile has mountains of it.

They’re not being outright deceitful — the details are there if you look for them, right where you expect them to be. They just don’t make it into the commercials or Uncarrier events.

We all know that unlimited really means “might be limited at our whim,” but other things might surprise you. Like ‘Netflix on us’ means low-quality Netflix streaming on your phone unless you pay $10 more per line, or ‘Including Mobile Hotspot’ means 3G-only hotspot unless you pay extra, or ‘DVD quality’ means 480p at best and still subject to optimization on both ends, and ‘International connectivity like never before’ means some features are domestic only. Technically all these things are still as-advertised and true. That doesn’t make you feel any better when you find out what a Binge On! video looks like at 480p on your laptop while tethered at 3G speed or how long you had to let it buffer before it started playing.

If you just don’t want to give extra money every month so that the service is closer to what you thought it would be, it might be time to look elsewhere.

Your take

We know plenty of people are more than happy with what T-Mobile has to offer, and we know that just as many people have their own horror story. Get in those comments and let everyone know what you have to say!

Alternative carriers (MVNOS)

• What is an alternative mobile carrier?
• What are the advantages of going with an alternative carrier?
• How to make sure your phone works on a prepaid alternative carrier
• 8 Important Considerations When Switching To An MVNO
• These are the cheapest data plans you can buy in the U.S.
• Mint SIM vs. Cricket Wireless: Which is better for you?

The latest Sony flagship without a fingerprint sensor is now available in the U.S.

Sony’s fall flagship is now available in the U.S.

Back late August, I got to take a look at Sony’s new Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact, and they’re great. They do all the things a smartphone should do in 2017, and they look pretty good. They even have this awesome 3D mapping feature that lets you recreate your face on your phone. It’s neat.

The larger of the two phones, the Xperia XZ1, is now available in the U.S. through Amazon. It’s unlocked and works with AT&T, T-Mobile and a bunch of smaller alternative carriers that rely on their networks, but it won’t work on Verizon or Sprint. It also doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor in the U.S. because of a continuing legal issue with an unnamed entity called Verizon.

That’s all well and good, but this phone costs $699.99 from Amazon, which may appear inexpensive compared to recent launches like the Galaxy Note 8, but it’s still a lot of money to pay for a phone that lacks a fundamentally important part of the smartphone experience. At least in my opinion.

Should you disagree, it’s shipping now and is available in four very nice colors, including my favorite, Moonlit Blue.

If you want something a bit more exciting — still without a fingerprint, but exciting nonetheless — you’ll want to wait until mid-October, when the Xperia XZ1 Compact comes out. It’s $100 cheaper, and really powerful for a small device.

See at Amazon

Best Wireless Headphones for Samsung Gear Sport, S3, or S2

Listen to your favorite tunes with your Samsung Gear with these great headphones!

Your Samsung Gear Sport, S3, or S2 are great for on-the-go productivity and pleasure. Whether you want to listen to your favorite tunes on your weekly jog, conduct phone calls using your smartwatch on the subway, or taking in a new audiobook while your significant other is sleeping next to you, a great pair of wireless headphones are essential to enjoying sound through your Samsung Gear.

Here are our favorite wireless headphones to use with your Samsung Gear Sport, S3, or S2.

• Jaybird X3
• Bose QuietComfort 35
• V-Moda Crossfade 2
• Bose SoundSport Wireless
• Jabra Move

Jaybird X3

Jaybird has been making quality headphones for quite some time and the Jaybird X3s are no exception.

You can get a full week of workouts on a single charge and a quick 15 minutes of charging will get you a full hour at least. If you rely on your tunes to get you through a workout, check out the Jaybird X3 wireless earbuds and enjoy.

PC Mag was more than satisfied with the overall quality of the headphones:

“Powerful audio performance with strong, rich bass and well-defined, bright highs. The gym-friendly Jaybird X3 wireless earphones deliver high-quality audio in a comfortable, secure-fitting design.”

These headphones come in Blackout or Sparta (white) colors, and they’re sweat- and rain-proof, so you can pour your heart and soul into every workout without worrying about frying them. Pricing starts around $100.

See at Amazon

Bose QuietComfort 35

The Bose brand has been the gold standard for active noise-canceling headphones for years, and it’s Bluetooth QuietComfort 35 (QC35) over-ear model that carries the torch.

Though other brands have come close to matching Bose’s quality, I still think Bose is the headphone manufacturer to beat, and I’m not the only one.

The Wirecutter has selected the Bose Q35 as its best wireless noise-canceling pair of headphones.

I know battery life is of extreme concern when it comes to anything that runs on Bluetooth, but the QC 35 has a 20-hour battery life. Plus, even if you do run out of power, you can use the included AUX cable to still listen to the audio. The noise-canceling feature, however, will not function if the battery is dead.

You can get a pair of the Bose QC35 in black or silver and they will cost you around $349.

See at Amazon

V-Moda Crossfade 2

If you’re looking for a unique design in a pair of headphones, the V-Moda Crossfade 2 definitely sticks out from the crowd.

Coming with a compact carrying case, the V-Moda Crossfade 2 can be used both wirelessly and with a wired connection, making it perfect for toting around.

CNET was pleasantly impressed with the improvements V-Moda made from the previous model.

“The sturdily built, well-designed V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless delivers better battery life and improved sound over its predecessor, with more sculpted bass and better detail. The new larger earpads provide a more comfortable fit.”

A pair of the V-Moda Crossfade 2 will set you back about $350 and comes in matte black, white, or rose gold trimmings.

See at Amazon

Bose SoundSport Wireless

If you’re hoping to get the signature Bose sound in a much smaller and workout-friendly package, look no further than the Bose SoundSport Wireless.

The SoundSport Wireless earbuds are sweat- and weather-resistant, and the gel tips are wholly designed with comfort and stability in mind. Though battery life isn’t the greatest in these (about 6 hours on a single charge), they still pack an aural wallop and the mic and music controls are handy.

Comes in Aqua, Black, and Citron for about $149. You can also pick up a pair of Bose SoundSport in Power Red, which has a heart monitor, for $199.

See at Amazon

Jabra Move

Although the Jabra Move is a couple of years old, it’s still a great option for people looking to dip their toes into the wireless world without spending a ton of money.

They don’t offer noise cancellation, but still, provide impressively good sound quality for their construction costs — and an 8-hour battery to get you through most any workday.

At only a fraction of the price of high-end headphones — about $99 — you’ll keep a lot more money in your wallet and still have a very capable pair of cans to enjoy your favorite sounds.

See at Amazon

Which headphones do you use with your Samsung smartwatch?

Let us know in the comments below!

Snapseed adds new photo filters and cleans up its interface

As smartphone cameras have beefed up, so have mobile photo editing apps. These days, both iOS and Android users are spoilt for choice. Those looking to make their Instagram posts pop, can choose from a range of free and premium software — including Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop Fix apps, VSCO, and Affinity Photo (for the iPad set). Sensing the increasing competition, Google has been adding more tools with each new update to Snapseed. To make more room for the upgrades (including “curves” and “face pose”) the app is now getting a fresh interface.

With the update installed, you should notice the changes immediately. Firstly, the app has switched to a light theme instead of dark. You’ll also be able to access its main options, including “looks” (filters), tools, and export from the bottom bar whilst editing. Generally, the screen just looks a lot less cluttered when browsing the app’s breadth of features. But, you can still expect to scroll through the exhaustive list of settings on offer. The same goes for the filters (which now include 11 new presets). Plus, iOS users will also receive the “perspective” correction tool as part of the latest update.

Source: Snapseed (Google+)

Starting in 2020, it’s going to be hella easy to buy an EV

For the first time ever, buying an electric or hybrid car from most of the big automakers is a viable option. But these electrified vehicles are still a small part of the entire automotive world. At the Frankfurt auto show in Germany, many car companies either finally pledged or reiterated earlier promises to increase the number of electrified cars to their lineups by 2030.

For decades, auto shows were filled with concept-car unveilings complete with loud music, extravagant light shows and company executives (or paid celebrities) extolling the virtues of cars that would never make it to production. Usually the cars had huge growling gas engines that drowned whatever guitar wail or pop song a committee deemed most appropriate for the vehicle. This year the thunder of cylinders was replaced with the quiet drivetrains of EVs and hybrids as the industry pulled back the curtain on the biggest change to cars since the introduction of the automatic transmission.

Judging by the pledges made by automakers ahead of, and during, the Frankfurt auto show, by the end of the 2020s, it’ll be tough to find a car that doesn’t have some serious batteries in it. Mercedes says it’ll have an electrified version of all its models by 2022. Its entire Smart subdivision will be entirely electric by 2020. Honda wants two thirds of its sales to be electrified in some way by the end of 2030, while Audi, Jaguar, Volvo and Volkswagen will all have a substantial proportion of their vehicles powered by electrons during the next decade. All of this is good news for drivers.

To help achieve their goals, automakers are already on the verge of unleashing new EVs. Honda’s Urban EV Concept is expected in Europe in 2019. The Jaguar i-Pace will be available in the United States in 2018 to challenge Tesla’s Model X as the dominant electric SUV.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has been pushing its electric modular battery, MEB platform via the upcoming releases of its ID vehicles. The Buzz microbus is slated to be available in 2022 for fans of buses and nostalgia. The ID hatchback and Crozz crossover are slated to land in 2020.

A car is an investment. It’s something that’ll be around for years, and eventually, the oil under our feet will dry up. It might not happen for decades but there’s no reason to expedite the process by continuing to power all our vehicles with gasoline. Plus, when it does happen, the last thing you’re going to want is a car that runs on something that’s incredibly scarce. Automakers are aware of this — plus it helps that regulation can be a big motivator.

Both the UK and France plan to ban the sale fossil-fueled cars by 2040. Meanwhile China — a huge market for automakers — is considering its own ban on the sale of gas-powered cars. Automakers need to stay ahead of these trends in order to compete.

As for drivers, even if you don’t care about the environment (and seriously, who doesn’t care about the environment? It’s where we live) the first time you feel the torque of an electric car, you’re going to be hooked. It’s also the opportunity to fundamentally change our relationship to the car and how we consume energy.

More and more automakers — like Tesla and Honda — are talking about the ability to sell electricity back to grid from their vehicles. For example: If you car’s battery is already full, but the grid is in need to more power than it’s currently generating, your car (along with others) can sell some back. If your car can earn you a bit of cash while in the garage, that’s a plus. Also, as solar and battery technologies advance, there’ll be opportunities to power not only your home but also your main source of transportation for less than you’re paying today.

This will all most likely start for most of us in the 2020s. As customers, we’ll have more car choices, which is always a good thing. Electric cars are going mainstream whether you like it or not, and if you’re looking forward to eventually having a car that’s silent, maybe saves you a few bucks and is actually fun to drive, start saving now because your next car might plug into your home instead of tapping into a gas pump.

Facebook will face Senate during Russian probe hearing

A recent report said Facebook still hasn’t discovered the exact number of fake news ads Russian-linked advertisers bought before and after the 2016 Presidential Elections. We might find out if that’s true in the near future, because according to Bloomberg, the Senate Intelligence Committee expects the social network’s representatives to testify at a public hearing. The committee plans to look into Russia’s use of social media to meddle in the elections, and Facebook will most likely have to answer questions about the ads it sold to fake news rings.

Earlier this month, Facebook admitted that it sold at least $100,000 worth of ads that led to fake news pages during the elections. Both the inauthentic accounts and the advertisers that paid for the ads operate out of Russia. The social network also admitted that it wasn’t equipped to filter out those kinds of advertisements — its contractors were only on the lookout for violent and sexually explicit materials. CNN says Facebook already handed evidence over to special counsel Robert Mueller and his team to help them uncover who’s behind the ads.

Committee Chairman Richard Burr, however, believes that “Facebook has been less than forthcoming on potentially how they were used.” The panel still has to decide the scope of the hearing and when it will take place, but based on Burr’s statement, Facebook’s reps may have to prepare for a grilling.

Source: Bloomberg