2018 Audi Q5 Release Date, Price and Specs – Roadshow

2017 Honda Civic Type R Release Date, Price and Specs – Roadshow

Livestream Mevo review – CNET

The Good The Livestream Mevo camera uses a 4K-resolution sensor to digitally reproduce the look of a multicamera shoot. The iOS app is well designed, making it a breeze for anyone to pick up and use. The app lets you create camera cuts on the fly, so your end result is a fully edited video. You can live-stream video to Livestream’s site or Facebook Live and/or record to a microSD card.

The Bad Battery life taps out at about an hour. Video quality is best suited for mobile-device viewing. Can’t control multiple cameras at once to capture different angles. No Android support.

The Bottom Line The Livestream Mevo and an iPhone put the power of multicamera storytelling in your pocket.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

Single, static camera shots can make for some pretty boring storytelling. But you probably don’t have access to a bunch of cameras, people to operate them, or a team of editors when it comes time to capture your kid’s school play, little league game or your garage band.

With the Livestream Mevo camera and its intuitive iOS app, though, you can create videos with a variety of shots using just one camera and your iPhone. The camera has a 4K-resolution image sensor and some very smart software, so you can digitally pan and zoom in and out — creating everything from wide shots to close-ups while still capturing at 720p HD resolution — with nothing but your fingers on your iPhone screen.

On top of that, the $400 2.5-inch tall camera (about £300 or AU$520) can record to its microSD card slot (a 16GB card is included) and live-stream to Livestream’s service or Facebook Live. That’s done by connecting your phone and the camera to the same Wi-Fi network, or you can do a direct Wi-Fi connection to your phone and use its mobile broadband to stream. Basically, with nothing more than your iPhone and a Mevo, you can set up a live shoot with the look of multiple cameras.

View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET

Multiple shots at your fingertips

Let’s say you want to capture a live band performance. You set up the Mevo to take advantage of its wide 150-degree field of view. Then, you wirelessly connect to the Mevo with an iPhone (it’ll work with an iPad too, but is optimized for the iPhone) and using the app you can create different shots to cut between. Start with a shot of the whole band and then pinch to zoom in for a tight shot on the singer or get a two-shot of the bass and drums.

Once the performance starts you cut between the shots you’ve created just by tapping on them, giving your video the look of a multiple-camera shoot. The camera’s intelligent face detection and movement tracking capabilities allow it to stay on subjects and can even be used to let the camera automatically create shots.

Livestream Mevo camera is a camera crew in…
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You can also zoom in and out on the fly at different speeds determined by how long you hold your fingers on the screen. The same goes for panning: drag your finger from one subject to another and hold your finger down for however long you want the pan to take. This is all done live while you’re recording or live-streaming the event, so you have a finished, fully edited movie as soon as it’s over.

The app gives you a few filter options, exposure compensation and you can change white balance for your lighting. For audio, you can use the built-in stereo mic, which are good if your subjects are close to the camera or are loud, or use your iPhone’s mic jack to mix in audio if you want better results.

Blu R1 HD review – CNET

It’s hard to say without seeing the phone and feeling it in my hands if the Blu R1 HD that Amazon is selling for $50 — half-off its retail price — is a good deal for Amazon Prime buyers (you can also get the Moto G4 for $150).

But specs do indicate what you might expect from a phone, so with that in mind, let’s dig on in.

Amazon’s two ad-supported phones for Prime members Moto G, left, and BLU R1 HD.

Amazon

The Blu R1 HD has:

• 5-inch screen
• 8-megapixel rear camera with flash
• Aluminum body
• 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
• 8/16GB internal storage with 1/2GB RAM (two capacities) — 16GB version costs $60
• Up to 64GB with a microSD card
• GSM technology, so it will work with AT&T and T-Mobile

These are low-end specs that suggest basic performance. At the very least, $50 is a tempting deal for anyone looking for a cheap smartphone that does the essentials, a cost-effective pick, say, for your tweenager’s first phone, or a handset you’re loaning overseas guests when they visit, or maybe even a backup to stash in the car for emergencies. These cheapies have their uses.

What’s this about ads?

The larger question in my mind is how well can you deal with Amazon running ads all over the screen? This is part of the deal: a cheap phone in exchange for a lifetime of ads. I haven’t seen this in action yet (but I did request getting this phone in for testing), so it isn’t clear how invasive the ads are on the phone’s 5-inch screen, and how often you may accidentally press one.

I don’t like ads myself, so in my mind, paying $50 more for a phone like this is still a bargain. That said, over time, it might be easy enough to tune them out.

Who’s Blu?

If you don’t know Blu, don’t worry. The Miami-based company has quietly been around under the radar for years, mostly selling its inexpensive, dual-SIM handsets in South America, though it’s broadening its presence in the US through direct sales and retail deals like this one with Amazon.

Blu distributes a range of handsets from entry-level phones to aluminum rigs housing higher-end specs. Check out this $200 Blu Vivo 5 we saw earlier this year.

2017 Chevrolet Trax Release Date, Price and Specs – Roadshow

Waylens Horizon Camera Release Date, Price and Specs – Roadshow

2017 Land Rover Discovery Release Date, Price and Specs – Roadshow

GoTenna Mesh Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

A trip to the wilderness can be a relaxing break to unplug from the always-on connectivity of city life, but it can be tricky to stay in touch with the group once your cellular service drops out.

You can pick up a satellite phone or a set of two-way radios, but there’s no way to guarantee message delivery unless you get an immediate response — not to mention a loud barking radio isn’t the most considerate way to communicate in nature.

That’s why the GoTenna is a popular accessory for campers, travelers, preppers and even search-and-rescue teams. It’s a small communication device that connects to smartphones via Bluetooth and creates a low-frequency radio wave network, allowing users to send messages and broadcast GPS coordinates to other GoTenna carriers without the need for a cellular connection.

It doesn’t offer an actual data plan for Web surfing or other online activities, but it can transmit a connection signal for three miles in outdoor scenarios and a mile in urban areas, depending on the source elevation.

GoTenna cofounder and CEO Daniela Perdomo came by CNET last month to show us the company’s next project called GoTenna Mesh. While the original sent encrypted messages via point-to-point networking, the company’s second product relies on mesh networking which allows devices to share their connections with other users and relay messages to widen the coverage area.

GoTenna just launched a Kickstarter for its second device, the GoTenna Mesh, which uses mesh networking to share device connections, relay messages and widen coverage areas.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Here’s how mesh networking works in a real-life scenario: let’s say you and a buddy are planning a trip off the grid in Yosemite National Park in California. Before you go, clip a GoTenna Mesh to each of your bags and download the offline maps for your trip, available for both iOS and Android.

Once you’re out there, if you and your buddy wander off and go out of range of each other’s GoTennas, you can still send messages back and forth using the mesh network, provided there are other GoTenna users around.

The device will automatically crawl the area attempting to locate other users nearby with a clean network connection. If it finds another GoTenna, it’ll use that device’s service to slingshot your message forward to the destination. All this happens in the background of the app to keep messages private, but the mesh network can double or even triple the effective frequency spectrum using this dynamic tool.

The demo I saw in the office wasn’t nearly as dramatic as it will be in the wilderness, but keep in mind GoTenna and GoTenna Mesh aren’t exclusively made for campers hiking off the grid. Its ad-hoc messaging has potential for emergency preppers in the event of a city-wide cellular blackout, attendees of large gatherings like concerts and sports events and anyone traveling without a working SIM card.

Like the flagship model, the GoTenna Mesh also shows read receipts, logs and sends GPS coordinates, and includes a function called Shout that lets you transmit information to any GoTenna devices in range — sort of an on-the-go “anyone out there?” call to action.

The Brooklyn-based company has simultaneously announced an open SDK for future projects as well as a premium service called GoTenna Plus that offers additional features like topographic maps, network relay, and real-time trip stats for a yearly fee.

GoTenna is using a Kickstarter campaign to give early adopters a chance to invest in the GoTenna Mesh. Preorders are available for the next month for a limited promotional price of $129 (£100, AU$170) to start, but the actual retail price will be $179 (£140, AU$235) for a pair when the product ships later this year.

Likewise, the original GoTenna without the mesh network capability will be sold for $149 (£115, AU$200) for a pair.

As always, please note that CNET’s reporting on crowdfunding campaigns is not an endorsement of the project or its creators. Contributing to a crowdfunded project comes with risk. Before contributing to any campaign, read the crowdfunding site’s policies, such as those for Kickstarter and Indiegogo, to learn more about your rights (and refund policies, or the lack thereof) before and after a campaign ends.

Xiaomi Mi 5s Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The new Mi 5s drops the glass rear for brushed metal.

Xiaomi

It’s been less than a year since the Xiaomi Mi 5 was announced at MWC, but Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is already updating its flagship. The Mi 5s drops the glass rear for a brushed metal back and switches the capacitive button fingerprint sensor to an ultrasonic one.

The change means Xiaomi can cut costs since it won’t have to cut a hole in the screen’s glass to allow the capacitive sensor to touch your skin. But there’s still a slight indentation where the sensor is. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor takes a 3D map of your fingerprint, and should recognise it even when your finger is wet.

Other changes include a bumped-up processor in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and 128GB of onboard storage.

Xiaomi has also buffed up the camera. While it’s gone down from 16-megapixel to 12-megapixel, the Mi 5s is using a Sony IMX378 1 or 2.3-inch CMOS sensor with larger pixels at 1.55 microns, which Xiaomi says is equivalent to those found on compact cameras. I’m looking forward to seeing how the camera holds up when I get a review unit.

Personally though, I’m not too sure if I’m a fan of the design change. The glass rear of the original Mi 5 helps it to stand out against a sea of competitors that sport a metal rear, and the Mi 5 now will be hard pressed to stand out. Then again, having accidentally dropped my Mi 5 and shattered the glass rear, I can guess why Xiaomi wants to switch that out for a more durable material.

We will see how the phone holds up when we get a review unit, in the meantime, here’s a quick rundown of the phone’s specs.

Key features

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
• 3GB or 4GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB onboard storage
• 12-megapixel rear camera, 4-megapixel front
• 3,200mAh battery
• USB Type-C port
• Retails in China only for now
• 1,999 yuan ($300, £230, Au$390) or 2,299 yuan ($245, £265, AU$450)

The Mi 5s will come with a headphone jack, in case you’re wondering.

Xiaomi

Kenmore Elite 31633 review – CNET

The Good Kenmore’s $1,530 Elite 31633 washing machine (available at Sears for $915) has the best stain removal score of any top-loader we’ve tested so far. It also looks high-end and can hold twice as many clothes as your standard washer.

The Bad The touch-screen-integrated control panel is very sensitive and it doesn’t have an extra hot water temperature setting.

The Bottom Line The Kenmore Elite 31633 is the best top-load washer we’ve encountered to date and it’s on sale at Sears for just $915 — a steal if you need a large-capacity model.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

I was pleasantly surprised by Kenmore’s $1,530 Elite 31633 top-load washing machine. $1,530 is a lot to spend on a washer, so I expected it to have a lot high-end features. But the 31633 isn’t app-enabled, it doesn’t have a built-in sink or support a second, smaller washer in a storage pedestal below. Still, it’s an excellent appliance.

That’s due in large part to its, well, large 6.2-cubic-foot capacity and exceptional stain removal power. In fact, the 31633 earned the best cleaning score of any top-load washer we’ve tested so far.

Bonus: Sears regularly marks down its appliance prices and the 31633 is currently available for just $915. Get the Kenmore Elite 31633 if you’re looking for a family-sized top-load model that absolutely demolishes stains — particularly if you can find it at its discounted price. If not, consider Kenmore’s 29133 — it also performed very well, but has a smaller capacity and costs a more reasonable $1,100.

Up close with Kenmore’s Elite 31633 washing…
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A truly massive top-loader

Wrapped in a dark gray metallic finish with a glossy black touchscreen display panel, Kenmore’s 31633 looks like the top-loader of the future. A central dial lets you select among the 10 available cleaning cycles and everything else is accessible via integrated “buttons” on the display.

The controls actually work more like a phone touchscreen than actual buttons. At times they seemed too responsive, since you barely have to tap on the option you want to make a change. Alternatively, you have to hold the Start button for a couple of seconds before it will kick into action — something you’ll have to get used to considering the super-responsiveness of every other button.

The controls include basic settings like Wash Temp, Soil Level and Spin Speed, as well as advanced features like Steam Treat, Two Rinses, Fabric Softener and Accela-Wash — an option that reduces cycle time by at least a few minutes (the exact number varies based on the specific cycle you choose).

There’s no traditional clunky agitator taking up space inside the drum cavity either, just 6.2 cubic feet of space with a high-efficiency impeller-style agitator hanging out in the bottom.

Here’s a look at the Kenmore Elite 31633 versus some other top-load washers:

Comparing washing machines:

You start to realize just how massive the 31633 is when you compare it with other high-end top-load washing machines. Many washers hover around a 4.5 cubic-foot drum size and that’s plenty big enough for a standard 8-pound load of laundry. Looking at the chart above, LG’s WT1801HVA has a 4.9-cubic-foot capacity, Kenmore’s 29133 has 5.3 cubic feet of space inside its drum and GE’s GTW860SPJMC has a 5.1-cubic-foot capacity.

With a whopping 6.2 cubic feet in the Kenmore Elite 31633, you can literally double your laundry load and accommodate 16 pounds of clothes no problem. Got Laundry, a web-based laundry service says 15 pounds of clothes is roughly “8 T-shirts, 3 pairs of jeans, 8 pairs of socks, 2 towels, 2 sweatshirts and 1 sweater.” That’s a whole bunch of clothes — more than you could comfortably fit in any other washer we’ve tested to date.