Let this $5 outlet tester help you diagnose electrical problems in your house

Don’t guess with electricity.

Whether you are moving into a new place or looking to replace a few outlets in your current home, you’ll want to know that everything is good before you plug something into the outlets. This outlet tester is down to $4.93 and has a GFCI test button, a bright LED display that’s easy to read, and much more. All you have to do is plug this test device into your outlet, press the button, and look at the lights.

Each lighting configuration tells you something about what’s going on from “Correct” to “Open Hot” and even “Live Neutral Reverse.” Be sure to use the coupon code QBK2WKE9 to score one of these at a great discounted price.

See on Amazon

B&O Beoplay P6 promises 360-degree sound and 16 hours of battery life

All in one package that costs $399.

If you’re in the market for a new Bluetooth speaker and money isn’t an object, Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay lineup should be at the top of your radar. The company just announced its new Beoplay P6 speaker, and it’s being marketed as a “portable Bluetooth speaker” that looks darn nice.

As with all B&O products, the P6 is a sight for sore eyes. There’s a pearl blasted aluminum grill with splash and dust resistance, capacitive touch sensors on the top for controlling your playback, and a double-layered leather strap for easy transportation and some added pizazz.

In regards to features, the Beoplay P6 comes with a True360 system that promises to offer 360-degree audio using two stereo speakers that face opposite directions of each other. You’ll also find 16 hours of battery life, a three-hour charge time using USB-C, and a OneTouch button that can be used to talk to Google Assistant, Siri, or whatever virtual assistant you’re rocking on the phone the P6 is connected to.

The Beoplay P6 will go on sale April 23 for $399 and it’s available in Black and Natural (silver) colors.

See at Beoplay

How to transfer Android photos to PC or back them up in the cloud

A picture is worth a thousand words. If you lose that picture, those thousand words turn into one giant NOOOOOOOOOOO.

Our phones can do so many great things, but one of the most important is that our Android phones take pictures, capturing the life and the insanity around us as we traverse this kooky world of ours. But those photos don’t do much good just living on your phone; we need to get them off our phones and somewhere more accessible and somewhere more secure, because if your phone decides to take a dive in the swimming pool, they’ll all be irreplaceably gone!

It only takes a moment to backup your photos, and no matter how many or how few photos you take, it’s worth backing them up somewhere. Here’s how to get your photos off your phone and backed up somewhere safe.

• Google Photos
• Prime Photos from Amazon
• Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and other cloud storage services
• USB transfers

Google Photos

You are using an Android phone, meaning you have a Google account. And every Google account comes with Google Photos and free photo and video backups for an unlimited number of 16MB photos and 1080p video. If you want to backup your videos and photos at their original quality, then your photos and videos count against your Google Drive storage limit. If you own a Google Pixel phone, congrats! You’ve got free backups at original quality.

Google Photos is perhaps the best service Google offers today, simply because of how easy and intuitive it is to use. You can set your photo and video backups to run automatically under certain conditions, such as when connected to Wi-Fi. Best of all, because Google Photos is made for sharing, by backing up your photos and videos to Google Photos, they’re already ready to be shared over social media or email.

Google Photos isn’t automatically installed on all phones, so if it isn’t on your phone, go download it from Google Play and get started with the simplest backups you will ever use.

How to set up automatic backups in Google Photos

Open Google Photos.
Allow Photos to access your device’s media so that it can back up your photos.

By default, Back up & sync is toggled on, set to High quality is and over Wi-Fi. To change those settings, tap Change settings.

If you want to upload in original quality, tap Original.
If you want to back up over cellular, tap Use cellular to back up.
Tap the back arrow in the top left corner.

Tap Done.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Google Photos

Prime Photos from Amazon

If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, then did you know you’ve been paying for a photo backup service along with your two-day shipping and streaming video library? Prime Photos includes free photo and video backups for the Prime subscriber and up to 5 family members, who each get their own personal Prime Photos library and access to a shared ‘Family Vault’. This service isn’t quite as polished as Google Photos, but it’s well worth a look considering it’s included with your Prime subscription, and it does automatic backups just as easily as Google Photos.

Additionally, if you’re an Amazon Echo Show or Echo Spot, these devices can display photos of your family and travels from your Prime Photos, so you might want to use Prime Photos just to diversify the photos it displays. So download the Prime Photos app and let’s get started.

How to set up automatic backups in Prime Photos

Open Prime Photos.
Tap Get started.

If you’re already logged into the Amazon Shopping app, Prime Photos will pull your account information. Tap Continue. (If your information does not appear, log in to your account).

Tap OK to turn on Auto-Save.
Allow Prime Photos to access your device’s media so that it can back up your photos.

Tap More.

Tap Settings.

Tap Auto-Save.

If you wish to only upload while charging, tap Only when charging.
Tap Manage Folders.

Tap the folders you wish to back up and ensure there is a blue checkmark next to them.

Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and other cloud storage services

There are a nearly endless number of cloud storage services out there, from Google Drive to Dropbox to Microsoft OneDrive to Amazon Drive to Apple iCloud to Box and beyond. Each allows you to upload photos, videos band any kind of document you want, which makes them ideal for backing up your photos. Matter of fact, Google Photos uploads are added to Google Drive by default.

Each service has their own upload or backup mechanism, so instead, I’ll show you how you can upload your entire photo library to any cloud storage service using a cloud-enabled file explorer like Solid Explorer.

How to manually back up photos to a cloud storage service using a file manager

Open Solid Explorer.
Allow Solid Explorer to access your media so that it can transfer your photos.

Tap the + floating action button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Tap New cloud connection.
Tap your cloud service.

Tap Next.

Name the connection if you want. Tap Next.
Tap Login.

Allow Solid Explorer to manage files in Google Drive so that it can upload files.

Tap Login.
Ensure you are logged in and tap Next.

Review your information and tap Next.

Tap Connect.
Tap Finish.
Swipe in from the left side of the screen to open the menu.

Tap Internal Memory.

Long-press DCIM.
Tap Copy (the two document icon).
Swipe in from the left side of the screen to open the menu.
Tap your cloud service in the Storages menu.
Tap the Paste floating action button in the bottom right corner.

Repeat steps 16-21 with the SD card or any other photo directories you wish to back up.

USB transfers

You may not want your photos stored on a server somewhere. You might want to keep things on your own machine and in your own hands. That’s perfectly fine. We can still kick it old school by plugging our phones into our personal computers and backing up via USB. This is a manual process, meaning you’ll need to remind yourself to do this every now and again so you don’t lose recent pictures.

How to manually back up your photos to a computer using USB

Connect your phone to your computer using the USB cable that fits your phone.
Pull down your notification shade on your phone.
Tap the USB Charging, Tap for other USB options notification.

Tap Transfer images.

On your computer, open My Computer.
Tap your phone.

Double-click SD Card (or internal storage, if that’s where you store your photos).

Double-click DCIM.
Right-click Camera.

Click Copy.

In the Navigation Panel on the left side of Explorer, select the folder you want to store your backup in.
Right-click a blank space in the folder you chose.
Click Paste.

Repeat steps 7-13 with any other photo directories you wish to back up.

It doesn’t matter how you backup your photos, so long as you backup your photos somewhere

Whether you sing Google Photo’s praises, use Dropbox to safeguard your photos, or kick it old-school by plugging your phone in to transfer your pictures to your computer, the result should be the same: your photos are backed up somewhere safe should your phone malfunction or flat-out die. And while some methods are certainly easier than others, any amount of trouble is worth it to avoid losing pictures that are truly irreplaceable, like weddings, or the video of your daughter’s first steps, or those blackmail pictures that are keeping you gainfully employed.

So what’s your insurance policy? How do you keep your photos safe? Tell us in the comments.

Slip an unlocked Essential Phone into your pocket for $400

One of the best prices we’ve seen.

We’ve seen deals on the Essential Phone in the past, but since the launch of the new colors we haven’t seen it drop this low.. Right now you can get the phone in Black Moon and Pure White for just $399.99. That’s $50 better than the last deal we shared in March.

It comes with 128GB of internal storage, a dual camera system on the back, and it’s powered by the Snapdragon 835 processor. You can also add the Essential 360 camera for $68.

See on Amazon

TicPods Free aim to be a $129 AirPods alternative for Android

Answer calls, talk to Google Assistant, and more.

Ever since Apple released its AirPods in 2016, there’s been a constant hunt for a comparable alternative for Android phones. Many have tried and failed, and now Mobvoi’s taking a stab at this niche with the TicPods Free.

Mobvoi is the same company behind the TicHome Mini and TicWatch series, and at first glance, the TicPods Free look like a solid AirPods competitor. You’ll find two separate earbuds that aren’t connected by any wires, and they can be placed in the included carrying case for easy recharging when you’re not using them.

There aren’t any buttons on the TicPods Free, but you can perform a variety of gestures. Swiping up or down will adjust your volume, a double tap skips a song or accepts/ends a call depending on what you’re doing, and a long press will reject an incoming call and prompt your phone’s voice assistant (such as Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri, etc.)

Mobvoi is touting ambient noise cancelation and noise isolation to ensure you’ve got access to the best listening experience possible, and this is enhanced thanks to an in-ear detection system. Take one of the TicPods out of your ear while music is playing and it’ll automatically pause. Place it back in your ear and the tunes will start playing where you left off – just like AirPods.

Add all of this together with 18-hours of total battery life (4 hours on the earbuds and 14 extra hours with the case) and IPX5 water/dust resistance, and you end up with a pretty enticing package.

Retail pricing for the TicPods Free is currently set at $129, but you can get them at a discounted price thanks to various early-bird bundles being offered with their ongoing Indiegogo campaign. If you choose to be an early backer for the earbuds, shipments are expected to begin this July.

See at Indiegogo

Engadget giveaway: Win a Molekule air purifier!

Breathing is a pretty important aspect of life and when poor air quality or allergens get in the way, it can make for a miserable time. Molekule has a new tool in the battle against air pollutants with its PECO-based air purifier. The Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO) process breaks down particles using light and helps eliminate pollutants 1000x smaller than those captured by standard HEPA filter devices. The Molekule handles allergens, mold, bacteria, viruses and airborne chemicals, which all get eliminated rather than stored in a filter, providing you with a clean air environment in rooms up to 600 square feet. This week, Molekule has given us one if its silver pylons of purity for one lucky reader, so they can breathe easier even in the midst of allergy season. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this Molekule air purification system.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
• Contest is open to all residents of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec), 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) Molekule air purifier ($799 value).
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
• This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Engadget and AOL are not held liable to honor warranties, exchanges or customer service.
• The full list of rules, in all of its legalese glory, can be found here.
• Entries can be submitted until April 18th at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!

‘Yakuza 6’ makes its belated appearance on PS4 today

After a few bumps in the road, Yakuza 6, the latest entry in Sega’s long-running gangster series is finally available for purchase in the US. That means you can finally take a stroll down the game’s fictional recreation of Tokyo’s Kabukicho for yourself. The game was released in Japan last December, but given how story-heavy it is, it took awhile to localize all the voice and text for Western audiences. That’s fine though — early word is that the narrative is one of, if not, the best, in the franchise and a fitting send-off to protagonist Kazuma Kiryu.

Now the question for PlayStation 4 owners is whether they want to explore a life of crime this week or bond with their son while killing creatures ripped out of Norse mythology. A tough choice to be sure, but you can only sing karaoke, hang with a newborn baby, chill out at a cat café and shoot sharks with a speargun in one of them.

Amazon’s mobile app simplifies shopping for international customers

It’s easy to take Amazon for granted if you live in a country with an official portal, but what if you live in a country where imports are your only realistic option? If you have your phone close at hand, it should now be relatively easy. The company has launched an International Shopping feature in its Android and iOS apps to let you shop Amazon US goods that are eligible to ship to your corner of the world, complete with localized pricing and duty estimates. The app will use its location to automatically enable International Shopping if you’re a first-timer in a country where the feature is necessary, but you can always switch it on yourself and customize the currency or language.

At launch, the feature supports five languages (English, Brazilian Portugese, German, Simplified Chinese and Spanish) as well as 25 currencies. You can use it to deliver orders to over 100 countries, however, and there are promises of wider currency and language support in 2018.

This isn’t the same as having a truly local Amazon store in your country, and there are some products that simply won’t be an option no matter how much you’re willing to spend (particularly devices that require access to US-only services). However, the addition could make Amazon’s shopping app genuinely useful in regions where it was previously little more than a curiosity.

Update: We’d reached out to Amazon, and it noted that the announcement focused on 11 countries and regions: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Peru, Thailand and Uruguay.

Source: BusinessWire, App Store, Google Play

Snapchat’s Lens Studio now allows anyone to create a face filter

Snapchat’s Lens Studio allows anyone to create custom lenses for the popular social networking app. Now, the company has announced some new features. Most importantly, Snapchat has finally opened face filter creation to everyone; before this, the only lenses available for custom creation were world lenses.

The company has also launched an “Official Creator Program,” which will allow the Snapchat team to connect with people creating filters and give them direct support, as well as highlight their work. Snapchat is also introducing Community Lens Stories, which is a story containing Snaps from various members of the public with just one thing in common: They all use the same community lens. It’s an effort to highlight these lenses — just swipe up on these stories to use the lens for yourself.

There are all kinds of new template details and integrations — for example, Lens Studio now integrates with Giphy, allowing for GIF stickers in your custom lenses. You can also use face paint to create a filter tied to facial features, distorting faces, attaching 2-D and 3-D objects to faces and triggering events based off of facial movements. You can give them a try over at Snapchat Lens Studio.

Boosted’s 2018 line includes faster and shorter electric skateboards

Boosted has been running some pretty sweet discounts on its line of electric skateboards lately, but those are days coming to a close with today’s new product launch for 2018. There are four models this time around, and two versions are even smaller than your standard skateboard deck. That’s the Mini, which will arrive in both standard (S) and extended range (X), along with two updated versions of the popular longboard model. There’s now a Plus, which comes with extended range as a standard, and a premium Stealth version which comes with a speed boost and grey-toned color scheme. That grey will be the indicator for Boosted’s premium versions, which also includes the upcoming Mini X.

We’re looking forward to testing these out in the coming weeks and will fill you in on the details then. For now, let’s take a look at the specs and what’s new for Boosted and its business outlook for 2018.

The company has dropped “Boards” from its moniker, which is emblematic of its shift towards transportation as a whole. There are no firm statements about what to expect, but it’ll be products based on the concept of getting people from A to B in the age of electrically powered vehicles.

Boosted is also now its own OEM for wheels, decks, trucks and motors. All of the decks are taking their cues from snowboard construction methods, using a composite build with lightweight poplar at its core wrapped in fiberglass. This is meant to dampen noise and provide a smooth ride, while still being light and snappy. Plus, all the edges are sheathed with a polymer bumper to protect against impacts.

The iconic orange wheels still exist — unless you opt for a premium model — only now they’re sporting the Boosted brand. There are also re-designed trucks from Boosted, which are CNC precision machined instead of cast to increase overall strength. The remote control, however, hasn’t changed one bit and I’m not mad at it. This is one of the more comfortable controllers I’ve tried. You’re also going to get a slightly tweaked version of the same dual brushless electric motors on all these models.

First up, and arguably the most interesting form factor of the bunch is the Boosted Mini. There will be two versions of this model: the Mini S (standard range) and Mini X (extended range). They will be the same overall size and look, albeit with the X rocking those premium grey tones and a fatter battery. The Mini is just shy of your average skateboard deck length, measuring only 29.5 inches long. There’s a good amount of concave here, as well as a kicktail (with screw-on skid plate) which will all help you maneuver this board in ways that you can’t with a longboard.

	Boosted Mini S – $749	Boosted Mini X – $999
Range	Up to 7 miles	Up to 14 miles
Top speed	Up to 18MPH	Up to 20MPH
Hill climbing	Up to 20% grade	Up to 20% grade
Modes	3 ride modes	3 ride modes
Wheels	Boosted Lunar 80mm	Boosted Lunar 80mm
Weight	15 LBS	16.8 LBS

Now on to the more familiar form factor that Boosted has been known for: the Plus and Stealth longboard models. All the various previous models that boosted offered have been rolled into a single Plus version. This comes with extended range as standard and four ride modes. It’s still the same 38-inch deck length, but with slightly straightened edge lines and the new poplar and fiberglass construction with ABS edge bumper.

Although the flexible bamboo deck has been transformed, you should still expect that bouncy yet smooth ride that Boosted’s known for. While the Plus model comes standard with what were once all the bells and whistles, the Stealth takes things up a notch higher. The top speed has been bumped up to 24 MPH and there are additional ride modes as well. You’ll be paying top dollar for the Stealth model, but considering it’s still the same price as the previous Dual+ version, it’s not too shabby.

	Boosted Plus – $1,399	Boosted Stealth – $1,599
Range	Up to 14 miles	Up to 14 miles
Top speed	Up to 22MPH	Up to 24MPH
Hill climbing	Up to 25% grade	Up to 25% grade
Modes	4 ride modes	3 ride modes
Wheels	Boosted Stratus 85mm	Boosted Stratus 85mm
Weight	17 LBS	17 LBS

The Boosted Mini S will begin shipping in May 2018 with the Mini X not far behind with an estimated ship date of June. The Boosted Plus and Stealth models are both slated to begin shipping in late May / early June 2018. All four of Boosted’s new boards are available for pre-order starting today at the company’s website and we’ll have our own look at the Boosted Mini S in the coming weeks.