Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector review – CNET
The Good The Honeywell Lyric Leak and Freeze Detector has one of the most feature-rich builds of any flood sensor on the market.
The Bad The high price seems inappropriate for a device that isn’t waterproof and integrates with hardly any other gadget.
The Bottom Line Honeywell’s gadget is an impressive piece of smart-home tech, but its price feels a little too high for most consumers. And the fact it isn’t waterproof is a major problem.
When you think of luxury products, you probably don’t picture flood sensors. But Honeywell’s Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector is just that. It can do more than its competitors, and it’s easier to use, since it doesn’t need a smart hub to function.
What could be a great premium device, however, doesn’t quite live up to the hype. A few odd design choices make its $80 price tag feel too steep.
Here are the specs for the Honeywell Lyric Wi-Fi Leak and Freeze Detector:
- Connects with Wi-Fi (meaning no smart hub is needed)
- Measures temperature and humidity
- Includes a cable to extend its sensing range
- Can send alerts in case of flood, or specific temperature/humidity levels
- Battery-powered with an estimated life of 1-3 years (depending on your settings)
Just in terms of skills, this flood sensor beats out pretty much all the competition. Its cable range extender makes it a much more flexible device for the needs of different users. And its battery power is impressive, considering Wi-Fi-based gadgets typically require more power than Z-Wave or Zigbee devices.
D-Link Wi-Fi Water Sensor review – CNET
The Good D-Link’s Water Sensor is smartly designed and features all the important perks to make it an effective flood detector.
The Bad D-Link’s only real weakness is that it relies on being plugged in, which means power outages are its Achilles’ heel.
The Bottom Line The D-Link Water Sensor is one of the best flood sensors on the market. If you’re considering buying such a device, this should be the first option on your list — especially if you don’t already use a smart-home hub.
The design behind leak sensors is actually pretty cool: essentially, most sensors have two or three metal probes that, when they come in contact with water, detect increased conductivity and set off an alarm. It’s an elegant solution to the age-old problem of flooding.
But D-Link takes an even more creative approach. Rather than using probes, D-Link’s Wi-Fi Water Sensor uses a cable with long, twisting leads embedded in it. You can run the cable along the edge of your basement floor, say, and if water touches it anywhere, the twisted leads detect increased conductivity and set off an alarm. It’s a little like what we did when we created our own flood detector last winter.
D-Link is unique for more reasons than the cable, though. The base unit also plugs directly into a wall, negating the need for batteries, and connects via Wi-Fi to your phone — cutting out the smart home hub middleman that limits so many other flood sensors.
The result is a solid product with a slightly higher price of $60 (compared with its $40 competitors that work with SmartThings or Wink).
Apple Watch Series 1 review – CNET
The Good Same storage space, speed, and basic functions of Apple Watch Series 2, but for less money. WatchOS 3 is much-improved software over last year.
The Bad Lacks swim-ready water resistance and onboard GPS found in Series 2 models. Only comes in aluminum models.
The Bottom Line Apple’s step-down Apple Watch has everything most people would need at a more affordable price.
You don’t need a smartwatch. And if you think you do, paying more than a couple of hundred dollars feels pretty hard to swallow.
The Apple Watch, in its second year, has focused on refinement. Really, the best part is the operating system, which has become easier to use, faster, and even offers better battery life. If you had an original Apple Watch, just update to WatchOS 3 and you’re fine.
But if you’re considering one, and you’re not an athlete, Apple Watch Series 1 is the way to go. It costs less than Apple Watch Series 2, and you’re only giving up a few features: GPS, swim-proofing, and a few other minor things.
I wore Series 1 for weeks after having worn Series 2, and here are the main differences — and similarities — between the two watches.
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Can you tell which one is Series 1? (It’s on the right.)
Sarah Tew/CNET
No GPS, but fine for workouts and step-counting
The built-in GPS in Apple Watch Series 2 tracks run data when running without a phone, and maps the route afterwards when you’re back at your phone. You can’t do that on Series 1, but you can still track runs with it and use it for workouts without your phone. The loss of GPS isn’t a big deal for most people, and no, it doesn’t enable away-from-phone directions or mapping.
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Series 1 (bottom) is a tiny bit thinner than Series 2 (top).
Sarah Tew/CNET
Not swim-proof, but reasonably splash-proof
I can’t swim with Series 1, but I don’t swim anyway. Just like the original Apple Watch, it’s still water resistant enough for dunks and hand-washing and yes, accidental showers with it on. You can keep the Series 1 immersed for up to 30 minutes in water, and I often get it wet with no problem.
Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet 7″ Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The Nook Tablet 7 will be in stores on November 25.
Barnes & Noble
Back in June, Amazon announced that its budget-priced Fire tablet ($50, £50) was the top selling tablet in the US and its top-selling tablet of all time.
Until now, Barnes & Noble has had only more expensive Samsung tablets to compete with it, but now it’s getting into the dirt-cheap tablet game with a $50 tablet of its own, the Nook Tablet 7.
While Amazon’s tablets run the company’s Fire OS, a skinned version of Android, you can’t get access to the Google Play store unless you hack the tablet. In contrast, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet 7 give you access to the Google Play store out of the box, a selling point.
In many other respects the tablets are very similar — at least from a specs standpoint (for all we know both tablets could be made in the same factory in China). They’re both 7-inch tablets, their resolutions are the same at 1,024×600 with the same pixel density (171 ppi), they have basic front and rear cameras and both come with 8GB of built-in storage but have expansion slots to add more (microSD memory cards up to 128GB). Barnes & Noble’s tablet does weigh a couple of ounces lighter, however.
I haven’t gotten my hands on a review sample yet, but I’ll be able to give you a better performance comparison once I do. The Nook Tablet 7 is available for preorder now and is available in stores on November 25.
Here are its key specs, according to Barnes & Noble:
- 7-inch IPS display
- 1,024×600-pixel resolution with 171 ppi
- Dimensions: 7.40×4.20×0.39 (HWD)
- Weight: 8.8 ounces
- Full access to Android apps in the Google Play store
- Front camera (VGA), rear camera 2MP
- Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n), dual-band (2.4GHz/5GHz)
- Up to 7 hours of reading, watching videos and web browsing
- More than a million books priced under $4.99
- Discovery delivered daily with B&N Readouts
- Price: $49.99
- Available November 25
Google Home review – the future of the home?
Bottom Line
Google Home shows a lot of promise and while this first generation somewhat fails to deliver right now, it’ll only get better with future updates and third-party support. If you regularly use voice assistant services, Google Home is a no-brainer, but if you’re not, it’ll be nothing more than just another audio speaker to you.
Voice assistant services have infiltrated nearly every aspect of technology, but it has profoundly been more prevalent in smartphones. Its usefulness continues to grow thanks in part to iterative improvements that have made them “smarter” over time, however, it’s still going to be a while before it gets to the same level as Star Trek’s voice assisted system. Regardless of that, we’ve already begun to see voice assistant services moving into the home space – like Alexa, Amazon’s voice service powering its Echo speaker.
For a long time now, Google has been refining its own voice assistant service in its mobile devices, but just like Amazon, they see a promising future in the home. And that’s where Google Home comes to light, which just like the Amazon Echo, is aiming to go beyond being just a smart voice assistant services by commanding your audio, delivering relevant answers to queries, learn more about you, and integrate seamlessly with other smart connected devices in the home.
It’s the first step, but is it a good one?
Design
Unlike the Amazon Echo, Google Home opts for a more inviting design that allows it to blend into wherever it’s placed – without being too obstructive in the process, or clashing with other décor lying around. It’s a stark contrast to the hard-lines of the very distinctive speaker design of the Amazon Echo. That’s a good thing, especially more so if you prefer a more homely styling, as opposed to how our electronic gadgets can sometimes be pervasive and overrun our spaces.
It’s diminutive in size and features a peculiar looking shape, one that can be mistaken for one of those Glade air fresheners you might find throughout a home. Adding to its warm and inviting design, the bottom compartment of the Google Home that’s shielding its array of speakers feature a mesh-like fabric, which does a better job we feel in complementing your furniture. And if you want some customization, the base can be swapped out for other colors to match the ambiance of where it’s going to be placed.
The apparent emphasis of favoring a discrete design continues in how the Google Home has a clean look to it, such in the way you won’t find a ton of buttons on it. In fact, there’s only a single one used to mute the microphones. Looking at the top surface, it appears completely flush and free of any buttons, with the exception of two small holes used for its far-field microphones, but it’s been ingeniously designed with touch controls. When we place a finger on it, the embedded LEDs light up to indicate the volume level – or alternatively, it’ll light up in those familiar Google Assistant colors when you speak the activation phrase (okay Google).
All of this helps Google Home to come off as being innocuous with its design, favoring simplicity and discreteness above all. Those characteristics alone, propel it to integrate nicely with other furniture and décor. The only thing you’ll need to decide is where to place it, just because it requires a constant power source via its power chord. At first, we felt as though it was restrictive, but given its always-on premise, it makes perfect sense going with this implementation.
Software and Performance
You’re going to need to download the new Google Home app to initially connect it to your home network, and subsequently, it’s also the hub that allows us to link various services to it. The setup process is a breeze, so once it’s connected to your Wi-Fi network, all that’s left to do is tell Google Home what to do by speaking the activation phrase; “okay Google.” Unfortunately, this can’t be customized at all, so if you have other Google Assistant activated devices around, they’ll also be initiated by this verbal command. We will also say that Google Home can’t distinguish one voice over another, so if you happen to be watching a video when someone says “okay Google,” Google Home will initiate and listen for a command.
Being a Google product and all, there’s no surprise at all that it integrates seamlessly with most of Google’s services. That means playing songs via Google Play Music, watching a YouTube video on your TV through Chromecast, and leveraging all the power of Google Assistant. Anyone that has used the Google Pixel will know Google Assistant’s effectiveness in delivering relevant actions and answers, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary here with Google Home. You ask questions, it’ll try and produce answers. Trivia, of course, seems to be the kind of thing Google Home was bred to handle, since it’s tied intimately to Google’s Knowledge Graph – a service that enhances searches using information procured through various sources.
For example, Wikipedia is heavily source when asking things like “who signed the declaration of independence?” Right now, its functionality is limited, seeing that it can’t yet do simple voice assistant functions such as asking it to read our last text message, or read the last email sent to us. Despite that, it’s always learning and evolving, such in the case when we ask it obscure questions, such as “what’s my favorite camera?” Google Home follows it up by asking what’s your favorite camera, which we then proceed to say, and then it ends by saying it’ll remember that.
Impressively enough, Google Home’s far-field microphones do an excellent job of recognizing our voice – even while it’s playing a song. It’s accurate in deciphering “okay Google” even while it’s playing tunes on high volume, and it then proceeds to lower the volume to listen to our voice command.
While all of this is fine and dandy, it’s just the tip of the iceberg, so even though its support for services is still rather light, you know that it’ll be only time before it reaches the same level as the Amazon Echo. Music services supported out of the gate include Google Play Music, YouTube, Spotify, and Pandora, but Amazon Prime Music is noticeably absent – no shocker there!
Another intriguing prospect about Google Home is how it’s able to integrate with connected devices in the home. So far, that support extends to only a few products consisting of Google Chromecast, Nest, Philips Hue, and SmartThings. That’s not a whole lot, which is a shame because right now, for us to be exact, Google Home is mainly a stationary speaker first and foremost with a very light voice assistant service. We have several other connected devices in the home, such as the Ring Doorbell, other network connected speakers, and a couple of Piper’s all-in-one security camera system.
Google Home can’t integrate with them yet, but Google promises to get more devices supported over time – so to that degree, there’s hope on the horizon for its support grow. Faster would be better, naturally.
Audio Quality
Don’t underestimate its diminutive size for a moment! Yes, its quaint design might lead you to believe otherwise about its punch, but we’re astounded by how much bite that comes along with that punch. Right from the get-go, there’s no hiding its preference for the audio in the low ranges – producing a thumping level of bass in the process. That noticeable hum is evident even at the lowest volume setting, so if you’re the kind of person that loves the beats, you won’t be disappointed by Google Home’s punchy quality.
Conversely, though, its quality is tested when it’s placed to its highest volume level. Even though the roar of the bass continues to be distinguishable, its speaker array seems to be inept in retaining a moderate, clean tone at the loudest setting. You get a sense that it’s straining, which makes for an unpleasant listenting experience, so we wouldn’t recommend adjusting it any higher that ¾ of its volume level.
The beauty of Google Home, though, is that multiple units can be arranged throughout a space to deliver a unison audio experience. Meaning, all Google Home speakers connected in the space will play the same song simultaneously, which is one way to delivering a better audio experience throughout a space – as opposed to cranking a single one to the max, which would be a lot more unpleasant.
Should you buy the Google Home?
There’s a promising future for Google Home, even with its price tag of $129.99. Indeed, that might be a hefty sum for a speaker by itself, but the lure of it being the ambassador for the home with its voice assistant service is enough to recommend it – just as long as it continues to add support for various services and home-connected products in a timely manner. In its current form, however, some will certainly say that it pales in comparison to what Alexa is able to provide with the Amazon Echo.
Buy at Google Store $129
From its warm and inviting design, to its astounding immersive audio quality, Google Home is a pleasant complement to the home. While it’s not entirely integrated with Google’s ecosystem yet, you know that it won’t be long before it can do additional functions – such as read your last text message, scour old emails for reference, and even behave more like a human with some of its responses. Obviously, if you’re the kind of person that religiously uses voice assistant services, Google Home is a no-brainer complement to how we live and interact with our devices in the home. However, if you’re not, then it’ll be nothing more than just another audio speaker to you.
Garmin Edge 520 review – CNET
The Good Accurately measures speed, distance, route and altitude of your rides with GPS. Water-resistant. Long battery life. Can display phone notifications. Automatically uploads workouts.
The Bad Doesn’t work with Bluetooth accessories. No Wi-Fi or turn-by-turn navigation. Screen can be difficult to see in direct sunlight. The interface is confusing to navigate.
The Bottom Line Accurate, full of features and supporting a ton of accessories, the Garmin Edge 520 is a great GPS bike computer for competitive riders.
Every GPS bike computer can track your route and measure the speed and distance of your ride. The Polar M450 and the Garmin Edge 25 are two of our favorites for beginners. You could even use your phone and an app like Strava or MapMyRide to achieve this.
But if you’re serious about biking, you need to consider the Garmin Edge 520. It’s got a ton of features high-end riders would like, such as tracking functional threshold power (the maximum power you can sustain for an hour), estimating your VO2 Max and providing recommendations on how long it will take your body to recover from a ride. They definitely matter for me.
Other performance-oriented features include the ability to connect to Shimano Di2 electronic shifters and record gear changes, as well as integration with Strava to show on-device Segments in real time. There’s also support for ANT+ to pair with accessories (including Garmin’s Vector power pedals and rear-view radar system), as well as ANT+ FE-C, which allows the 520 to control smart bike trainers. In short, the Edge 520 allows a lot of flexibility with accessories, although it won’t work with Bluetooth heart-rate monitors.
The Edge 520 is comparable to the Wahoo Element, but Garmin managed to squeeze all of these features into a more compact design. And the 520 is available now for $299, £250 or AU$450, which is $30 less than the Element. This is why it’s my go-to pick for most riders.
Hands-on with the Garmin Edge 520
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What’s missing?
The Edge 520 has everything beginners and competitive riders would look for in a bike computer. There’s GPS, GLONASS (a GPS equivalent that adds more coverage) and a barometric altimeter to track your route and measure speed, distance and altitude, but that’s only scratching the surface. The 520 is so feature packed, it’s actually easier to start this review by highlighting what the device is missing.
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While there are some basic maps, the 520 doesn’t include full turn-by-turn navigation.
Sarah Tew/CNET
It doesn’t include Wi-Fi or a touchscreen display, which can be helpful for syncing and navigating the interface, but are otherwise two features I can live without. The big omission is the lack of turn-by-turn directions, which means you can’t use the 520 like you would with Google Maps on your phone or a GPS system in your car. You can, however, import a route to the device and receive some basic navigation to help you stay on course. For full navigation, you’ll have to upgrade to the Edge 820 or Edge 1000.
Microsoft Surface Studio review – CNET
The Good The Surface Studio has a fantastic 28-inch screen with excellent color, mounted on smooth hinges that fold down to an artist-friendly angle. The excellent Surface Pen stylus returns and the new Surface Dial shows promise. Every model has good-to-great dedicated graphics hardware.
The Bad Surface Studio is extremely expensive, and doesn’t include the flashy Dial accessory by default. It skips newer graphics chips that support VR hardware. Support for the Dial is limited right now, and even compatible programs don’t always use it in a practical way. A couple of front-mounted USB ports or a Thunderbolt connection would’ve been nice.
The Bottom Line Microsoft’s ambitious love letter to creative professionals is the touchscreen iMac of your dreams — albeit crazy expensive and running Windows.
Everyone likes an underdog, and in the case of computer hardware, tech giant Microsoft is the dog at the bottom of the pile. After years of letting hardware partners like Dell, HP and Lenovo build an army of Windows laptops and desktops, Microsoft is finally showing the world how to make cool PCs, first with the Surface Pro tablet (now in its fourth iteration), then with the Surface Book laptop, which debuted in 2015.
Now comes the Surface Studio, the company’s first desktop PC. Surface Studio is easily the most attention-grabbing new PC design of the season, even if most of its individual ideas — external control knobs, tabletop PCs — have been seen before in different contexts.
The Studio is a 28-inch all-in-one Windows PC, with a screen that folds all the way down to a low drafting table angle of 20 degrees. Its better-than-4K 4,500×3,000-pixel resolution touchscreen can display a very wide color range (Adobe sRGB or P3 color spaces). It works with the same Surface Pen that came with last year’s Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, but a new optional wireless knob input device — dubbed Surface Dial — is what really made the Surface Studio feel different.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
After a week of testing — and seeking the input of two creative professionals — we found the Surface Studio to be a promising artistic tool, albeit a pricey one that still needs a bit of polish on the software front. And at this price, we’d like to see a few hardware compromises eliminated, too. But if you ever wanted the Windows equivalent of an artist-friendly touchscreen iMac, the Studio deserves serious consideration.
The Studio debuted just a day before Apple unveiled its the new MacBook Pro and its Touch Bar — and the reactions seemed diametrically opposed. Many longtime Apple fans felt, at least from afar, that the new Macs were full of compromises for power users: just a tiny touchscreen strip above the laptop’s keyboard; Apple’s shock therapy conversion on ports — only Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C; and no updates to the long-neglected iMac and
Mac Pro
lines.
Microsoft’s totally new Studio and Surface Dial provided a stark, inventive contrast, especially for graphic designers, artists and video editors who scooped up new Macs without question in years past.
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Using the Surface Dial on the Studio screen.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Of course, both the new MacBook Pros and Surface Studio shared one common trait: sticker shock. The Surface Studio, which costs anywhere from $2,999 to $4,199 in the US, doesn’t even come with the $99 Surface Dial in the box. That reminds me of the keyboard cover for the Surface Pro line, which is an extra $129, no matter what configuration of Surface Pro it’s paired with. Note, however, that through December 1, anyone who preorders a Surface Studio from the Microsoft Store will get the Dial included with their system.
The Surface Studio is not available to even preorder yet in most other countries, but that works out to £2,400 or AU$3,950 on the low end, and £3,365 or AU$5,525 for the high-end, plus £79 or AU$130 for the Dial.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
We tested the $4,199 model, which includes a sixth-generation Intel Core i7 processor (the same generation as in the new MacBook Pro), plus 32GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive. The new MacBook Pro models have been criticised for offering a maximum of 16GB of RAM, while power users working on things like very large 4K video files prefer the flexibility of 32GB, which can make those files more responsive. The high-end Surface Studio also has an Nvidia 980M GPU, which is a generation behind the latest graphics hardware, but still great for video editing and even gaming. The entry level Studio has an Nvidia 965M GPU, which is still a very good mainstream graphics chip.
Microsoft Surface Studio
| $4,199 |
| 28-inch, 4,500×3,000-pixel touch display |
| 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-6820HQ |
| 32GB DDR4 SDRAM 2,133MHz |
| 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M |
| 2TB HDD / 128GB SSD |
| 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) |
Looking through a giant window
The Surface Studio is meant to be a big, bold statement product, both for the company behind it, and for anyone who buys and uses one. Microsoft’s first desktop PC is a huge slab of glass and metal, perched on two shiny chrome arms connected to a squat matte gray base. It has a certain amount of iMac DNA in its design, with similarities in color, the glossy black screen bezel and the minimalist one-cable (for power) design.
The big difference in design philosophy between them is that Apple builds its computer components into the back of the display itself, which is tapered at the edges, but expands into a shallow bowl in the center. Microsoft packs the computer hardware into its square base, allowing the display itself to be uniformly thin, at 12.5 mm, which is thinner than most laptops.
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An Apple iMac next to the Surface Studio.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Apple calls its better-than-4K iMac screen a 5K display, while Microsoft calls its very high-res screen PixelSense. It has 4,500×3,000 pixels, which makes it great for very high-resolution photography, big design projects or 4K video editing. The display is incredibly bright and bold, and includes support for three color profiles, sRGB, DCI-P3 and a “vivid” mode, which seems to overdrive the brightness and color slightly, but it makes for an eye-catching effect. The standard for most people will be sRGB, but 4K content, either streaming or from a 4K Blu-ray player, is usually in DCI-P3, so it’s an important option for video professionals to have.
A desktop that hugs your desk
Dial aside, the big feature that separates the Surface Studio from other all-in-one PCs is its zero-gravity hinge. This means it operates with very little force, and will stay in any position you move it into. The display sits on two chrome arms that Microsoft says operate like the spring-loaded arms of a desk lamp. Give it a gentle tug from the top or bottom, and it effortlessly glides into a new position.
The screen starts a bit past 90 degrees, which puts it perpendicular to the table, then goes all the way down to 20 degrees, where it looks like a drafting table, which is exactly the feel Microsoft is going for to appeal to stylus-loving digital artists.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
It doesn’t go all the way flat, which was a look we encountered several times in systems we referred to as “tabletop” PCs — essentially big-screen tablets with folding hinges that allowed them to lie flat on a surface, or be propped up like a big all-in-one PC. That category was briefly active a few years ago, but we haven’t seen any new models in some time.
When the Surface Studio is folded down to 20 degrees, you’re at a great angle to work on the screen with the optional Surface Dial and the included Surface Pen accessory. The Pen is the same smart stylus from last year’s Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, which has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity and an eraser/click button at the top end. Clicking that button brings up Microsoft’s Windows Inking apps, including sticky notes and a sketchpad, and in other stylus-enabled Windows systems, I’ve found those to be handy if simple tools.
More ports, not fewer
In some ways, Microsoft is taking the exact opposite approach as Apple. Where the new MacBook Pro is rigorously minimalist, with only USB-C Thunderbolt ports, Surface Studio has multiple USB-A ports, an SD card slot, a Mini DisplayPort and even an Ethernet jack. One complaint: all of those ports are on the rear of the Studio’s base — how about moving one USB and the SD slot to the front?
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
And while the new MacBook Pro offers AMD Radeon discrete graphics in its 15-inch version, Microsoft is aligned with rival Nvidia. The Surface Book has the Nvidia 965M as a GPU option, and the Surface Studio goes from the 965M all the way to the 980M, a mobile GPU usually seen in laptops that cost at least $2,000.
But, it’s also potentially a sign of just how long the Surface Studio has been in the works. Nvidia has moved on to a new generation of graphics chips, the new 10 series (the equivalent would be the Nvidia GeForce 1060 or 1080), which does away with the line between desktop graphics and mobile graphics, previously marked with the “M” designation. The new GeForce 1080 is more powerful than the old 980M, sure — but the real advantage the Surface Studio misses out on is the ability to officially support virtual reality headsets. For a device targeted at visual artists, a category which could include 3D modelers or game programmers, that seems like a real missed opportunity.
The Surface Studio model we tested is the high-end configuration with the Nvidia 980M graphics chip. While the specs don’t meet the official guidelines for the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, some VR experiences may run, but your mileage may vary.
Panasonic Lumix LX10 review – CNET
The Good Excellent photo quality for the money, a good lens and a broad feature set highlight the Panasonic Lumix LX10/LX15’s strengths.
The Bad Mediocre battery life, a slippery grip and hard-to-feel record button may annoy some people.
The Bottom Line While it doesn’t stand out in any particular aspect, the Panasonic Lumix LX10/LX15 is a fine camera to consider for everyday photography with advanced controls.
No matter how much I try to come up with a recommendation about the Lumix LX10, I keep circling back to this enthusiast compact as a process-of-elimination choice. The LX10 is the camera to consider: If you don’t want the pocketability of Sony’s RX100 series; don’t want to pay more for the better performance of the higher-end Sony RX100 models; don’t need the long zoom lens of the Lumix ZS100; don’t care about the better photo quality of the larger-sensor Lumix LX100; and don’t care about the better battery life and viewfinder that most of them have. That’s a lot of don’ts.
Panasonic Lumix LX10 full-resolution photo…
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Panasonic’s entry between the more consumer-targeted Lumix ZS100 (aka TZ100, TZ110) and the similarly priced Lumix LX100 just fails to stand out even among its Panasonic siblings. It combines the popular-size 20.1-megapixel 1-inch sensor of the ZS100 with a fast but short-zoom lens like the LX100; the latter has a larger but lower-resolution 12-megapixel Four Thirds-size sensor. But the LX100 still delivers the best photo quality in its price range and the ZS100 has the general-purpose-friendly (relatively) big zoom lens, making them easy choices. The LX10 does provide equal-or-better photo quality overall than competing 1-inch compacts from Sony and Canon. However, its not as fast at many operations as some other cameras, and though the battery life is terrible in a lot of enthusiast compacts, the LX10’s seems shorter than I typically experience.
The LX10 costs $700 and AU$1,000; in the UK it goes by LX15 and runs £600.
Pretty pictures, zippy focus
Overall, photos look excellent for a 1-inch sensor compact — they’re better than the ZS100’s and competitors, in part because of the LX10’s better lens.
Low-light JPEG photos look good through ISO 1600; at ISO 3200 there’s some color noise but still sharp detail in the areas of focus, and beyond that the photos get progressively noisier and muddier as you’d expect. Still, Even at its highest sensitivity level, the LX10’s photos are reasonably good at small sizes, with a surprising among of detail.
On its default color-profile settings (Standard Photo Style) the camera tends to boost contrast, which makes blacks too dense, but shooting raw lets you recover some of the detail, and between about ISO 1600 and ISO 6400 you can get more detail and less smeariness if you’re willing to accept some “grain.” One of the nice aspects of the camera is that it doesn’t look like it’s doing a lot of distortion or fringing correction solely for the JPEGs — it might be doing it before it writes the raw files, or there might not be much to correct — which makes editing the raws a lot easier.
My biggest nitpick here is with the white balance, which looks too blue to me in daylight, and the auto white balance had some trouble with the light color of our test LED panels, rendering with a purplish cast; that’s not unusual, but there are cameras which handle it properly.
The video is also very good. In very low light there’s some noise, it clips highlights and shadows in the default photo Style and blows out areas in bright light like most cameras with the 1-inch sensor. There’s a Natural option that’s lower contrast and you can customize, but the LX10 doesn’t have any of the advanced tonal options for video of the Sony RX100 IV and V.
Analysis samples
At low ISO sensitivities, JPEGs look very clean with sharp detail.
Lori Grunin/CNET
In good light, you’ll start to see a little softening by ISO 1600, and at ISO 3200 and higher JPEGs lose detail progressively.
Lori Grunin/CNET
At its highest ISO sensitivities, the LX10 still retains some distinguishable detail, but there’s significant color noise and smearing from noise reduction.
Lori Grunin.CNET
Under our test lights, the LX10’s automatic white balance produced a notably purple cast; in actual daylight it was a little blue. This isn’t unusual.
Lori Grunin/CNET
In daylight, the LX10 renders very pleasing colors, though the default Photo Style pushes the saturation a little too much for my taste.
Lori Grunin/CNET
The lens produces nice, round out-of-focus highlights and reasonably smooth defocused areas.
Lori Grunin/CNET
TCL S3750/FP110 series (Roku TV) review – CNET
The Good Roku TV delivers the best smart-TV experience on the market. A superb user interface makes its thousands of apps and streaming video easy to use from the TV’s own simple remote. It’s also less expensive and more frequently updated than just about any other smart TV.
The Bad Competing entry-level TVs, namely Vizio’s E series, deliver better image quality for a bit more money. No Ethernet port.
The Bottom Line For buyers happy with “good enough” picture quality the TCL Roku TV is our favorite entry-level model, thanks to an awesome smart-TV suite and rock-bottom pricing.
This Black Friday and holiday season you can buy any number of dirt-cheap TVs, and many of them might even cost a few bucks less than Roku TVs made by TCL. The 32-inch version sells for an almost unbelievably inexpensive $125 at Walmart, for example, but some Black Friday deals are even cheaper.
I’d still take the Roku TV, however. To stream Netflix and other stuff to one of those other TVs you’ll probably have to connect an external device like a Chromecast or Roku Express, and eat into the savings by at least $30. Even if you have a streamer already (like a game console), you’ll have to juggle a second remote. The whole arrangement can’t match the simplicity and range of apps offered by a Roku TV.
The fact that you don’t have to connect an external streaming device, combined with their dirt-cheap prices, makes TCL’s Roku TVs our go-to ultrabudget budget pick at modest screen sizes this year.
TCL S3750 and FP110 series (Roku TV)
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Their main competition, as I see it, comes from Vizio’s entry-level E series. It offers the equivalent of a Chromecast built in, comes in larger screen sizes and, most important, has a better overall picture in its local dimming models (40 inches and up). The downside? It’s more expensive in general, and built-in Roku beats built-in Chromecast hands-down.
If you want a better picture in a cheap TV, then by all means grab one of Vizio’s local dimming sets, or an even nicer TV, and maybe connect a Roku streamer to it. But if you just want a simple, no-frills smart TV with “good enough” image quality for as little cash as possible, TCL’s Roku TVs win.
Editors’ note: The video above was shot with another 2015 series of Roku TVs, but it applies to the models reviewed here in every important way beyond styling.
Series, pricing and alternate model information: I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 32-inch TCL 32S3750 and the 55-inch TCL 55FS3750, but this review also applies to the 28-inch, 40-inch and 48-inch, members of the FS3750 series, as well as the 43-inch TCL 43FP110 and the 49-inch 49FP110. All sizes have identical specs, aside from the 720p resolution and motion specification on the 28-inch and 32-inch sizes (see below for details). Technically the S3750 is a 2015 model (TCL says it remains current, however) and the FP110 is a 2016 model, but according to TCL all of these TVs should provide similar picture quality — their only difference is in design.
Here’s how they stack up. Prices are from Amazon and, in the case of the 32-inch and 55-inch models, Walmart. They’re current as of press time November 17, 2016, but don’t be surprised if they’re different when you check. For example, that $125 price on the 32-inch set will also be available from Amazon for Black Friday.
TCL S3750 and FS110 series Roku TVs
| Size | Price |
| 28-inch | $160 |
| 32-inch | $125 |
| 40-inch | $230 |
| 43-inch | $300 |
| 48-inch | $330 |
| 49-inch | $380 |
| 55-inch | $450 |
Last year I reviewed the FS3800 series along with Roku TVs from Insignia and Sharp, and all delivered very similar image quality to the FS3750. Earlier this year I reviewed 4K Roku TV models from TCL and Insignia, and again image quality was similar — and not much better than the non-4K versions. TCL’s 4K US5800 series, however, might be even cheaper at 55 inches than the 1080p sets reviewed here. If that’s the case, I recommend the 4K models.
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Smart TV meets simple TV
You’re not paying extra for fancy metal finish or glass accents here. TCL’s sets are bare-bones, with a thin, glossy black frame and prominent logos, including one for HDMI and another for Roku along the bottom.
All of the S3750 and FS110 sets have the two-legged stand design that supposedly helps prevent toppling. The two are “cosmetically differentiated” according to Roku, but they look almost identical. The main difference is in the stand legs, which are more rounded on the FS110 models.
I remain a huge fan of Roku’s simple remote for TVs. It’s tiny, with just a few buttons, and unless you dial in channel numbers from an antenna you probably won’t miss the absent ones. I especially like the side-mounted volume control/mute and the shortcut buttons.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
One issue with buying an S3750 from 2015? One of the remote shortcuts keys goes to Rdio, a music service that shut down last year. Roku’s messaging is (as usual) clear and helpful, however, directing you to other music services on the platform.
Simplicity reigns with Roku’s menu design. The main difference between its streaming devices and its TVs is the handful of icons along the top of the main home screen, like “Antenna TV,” “DVR,” “Blu-Ray player” and “HDMI 3.” You’ll choose a name for your connected gadget during the setup process, and you can easily change it later or hide unused inputs.
View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET
Roku TVs have access to all the thousands of apps found on Roku’s platform, which still offers better coverage than any competitor, smart TV or otherwise. Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Hulu, Plex, HBO Now, Showtime, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, Vudu, Google Play Movies and TV, Watch ESPN, Fox Sports Now, FX Now, Comedy Central, Starz, PBS Kids…if there’s a video app that isn’t iTunes, Roku almost certainly has it.
All of the Roku TVs I’ve tested respond quickly and serve up videos with minimal delays. Search is the best in the business overall, and in general the interface is as friendly and simple as it gets. For more info, check out my review of my favorite Roku device, the $50 Streaming Stick.
The Passport foldable drone makes for a fun travel companion
My first drone flight experience was with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision, and as much as I appreciated its advanced capabilities at the time, I longed for something more compact — a device so small that I wouldn’t need to carry a separate bag or case for it, preferably without sacrificing performance. Eventually, a Chinese startup called Zero Zero Robotics released the $599 Hover Camera Passport, which comes in the unique form of a foldable cage while packing cool features like body tracking, face tracking and orbiting. I got to spend some time with the Passport over the past few weeks, and eventually it got to the point where I rarely leave home without it, lest I find time to take it for a quick spin.
Compared to higher-end foldable drones like DJI’s Mavic Pro and GoPro’s Karma (assuming GoPro issues a fix for random power losses), the Passport’s major advantages are its size, weight and caged propellers. At just 242 grams, or 0.53 pounds, the Passport is exempt from the FAA’s mandatory registration and is also unlikely to hurt anyone should something go wrong, as its propellers are shielded by a carbon fiber enclosure. When folded, it’s just 33mm (1.3 inches) thick, and even in its 45mm-thick protective case (which stores the drone and two batteries), it fits in my backpack with plenty of room to spare.
Speaking of, I’m impressed by the thoughtful set of accessories included in the box. In addition to that aforementioned protective case, there’s a shoulder strap for it, a soft bag (just make sure you won’t squash the drone), a second battery, a dual-battery charger, a USB 3.0 cable, four spare propellers, 12 extra screws and a pair of screwdrivers.
Zero Zero Robotics is currently only selling the full drone package, but you’ll soon be able to buy spare accessories as well, including batteries for $40 apiece. (In fact, the company will be throwing in a third battery plus free shipping as part of a Black Friday promotion.) From my experience, each battery offers a flight time of about 10 minutes, as promised, and it takes about 40 minutes to recharge each, so the more the merrier.
The Passport doesn’t come with a dedicated controller, as it’s geared mostly towards casual users. You’ll have to download the companion Hover Camera app onto your iOS or Android device and then connect it to the drone’s WiFi hotspot over 2.4GHz or 5GHz (you’ll want the latter for better streaming quality; both go up to 20 meters). This is all very straightforward as is navigating through the relatively simple interface. As someone familiar with the basic controls for the DJI Phantom series, I tend to pick the “Joystick” control mode (my preferred mode) instead of “Classic” (up and down buttons for height and a four-way pad for horizontal direction) or “Motion” (a height stick and a toggle button for tilt control).
Unlike most other drones, the Passport can only be launched from one’s hand: Hold up the powered-on unit with its wings open, tap the power button to rev up the propellers for about one second, and then release the unit to let it hover. Similarly, you can retrieve the hovering Passport with your hand without ever having to worry about the blades: Grab it and tap the power button to kill the propellers, or you can first tilt the unit downward to slow the propellers down before tapping the power button. When the battery level is critically low, the drone can slowly land itself using the sonar sensor under its belly; you can also use the One-Touch Landing button to toggle automatic landing at any time.
It’s safe to say that the Passport is one of the very few — if not the only — drones that can be launched and retrieved so safely. This is guaranteed to impress your family, friends and strangers alike — in my case, strangers include the security officers at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport who were so curious they didn’t mind me flying the drone inside the building.
The Passport’s camera features a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture video at 4K, 1080p and 720p, all with a normal frame rate of 30 fps. All captured images and videos are stored in the 32GB internal memory (my unit showed 22.6GB of usable space after formatting), and since the Passport is basically a Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight 801 device running on Android, you can transfer its content to your PC in the same way you do with Android phones. With the exception of 4K clips, you can also download the content directly from the app to your smartphone.
During my vacation in Okinawa, I captured all my Passport footage in 4K without realizing that only the lower resolutions support electronic stabilization — a necessary feature since the camera hinges on just a one-directional gimbal as opposed to the three-axis gimbal on more advanced drones. I’m glad that I did use the 4K setting by accident as, truth be told, even with the slightest breeze I was bound to see some shakiness, regardless of the video resolution. If it’s a moderately windy day, forget it — the lightweight Passport won’t stand a chance. That said, braver folks may want to challenge Mother Nature by toggling “Beast Mode” for the maximum flying speed of eight meters per second (about 17.9 miles per hour).
Back in Hong Kong, I found that it’s only a tad better with electronic stabilization at 1080p resolution, but it’s the loss in detail that’s more noticeable. In some cases, I could even see some annoying warping across the frame due to the electronic stabilization. To put things in perspective, the Passport’s 1080p clips have a maximum video bit rate of 16 Mbps (I get 17 Mbps from the Samsung S7 Edge and 20 Mbps from the Xiaomi Mi 5s) whereas its 4K clips are capped at a more impressive 60 Mbps (beating the S7 Edge’s 48.1 Mbps and the Mi 5s’ 42 Mbps).
Simply put, I don’t think it’s worth giving up the 4K sharpness for that little bit of stabilization; I’d rather stick with 4K and use PC video-editing software to stabilize the clips afterwards. Shakiness aside, I’m actually quite happy with the general picture quality offered by the Passport, so long as there’s plenty of daylight. There were a few still images which could use a slight boost in exposure, but that’s an easy fix. And when it’s dark, you can try using the dual-tone LED flash for the still shots.
As I mentioned earlier, the Passport is capable of face tracking and body tracking. Just pick one of these features in the sidebar, and when you see a yellow bracket around you (you need to keep a minimum distance of four meters from the drone), tap on it and off you go (it’ll start recording as well if you weren’t already recording). Despite the wind, my unit did surprisingly well in chasing after me along the beach in Okinawa. I also had similar success on a soccer field and along a waterfront park in Hong Kong, and the drone could even follow me walking up the stairs — up to the point where I had to make a turn to walk along the bridge, but the bridge wall partially blocked the drone’s sight of me.
Another neat video recording feature is the orbit mode because it’s the easiest way to make anyone look cool. Once the app recognizes me, I just have to tap the yellow bracket on my face and the drone will start circling around me until I stop it. The one thing you need to be wary of here is that the drone may drift a little in the wind, thus ending up with an incomplete orbit. Last but not least, there’s the 360 spin feature that does exactly what it says. Again, you have to tell it to stop spinning. Check out what I got out of these in the above sample video reel.
Even after playing with the Passport for several weeks, I continue to be impressed by how capable and unique this drone is. It’s essentially your personal travel cameraman, except you won’t have to buy an extra plane ticket for it. Better yet, Zero Zero Robotics has already delivered a couple of firmware updates to improve the Passport’s video quality plus body tracking performance, and it’ll continue to do so in the many days to come. But, due to its form factor, little can be done about the drone’s weak resistance against even moderate wind — either avoid the breeze or spend an extra $400 on the Mavic Pro if you want to avoid the hassle.
AIVAnet 