Switchmate review – CNET
The Good Switchmate units cost just $40 each, they couldn’t be simpler to install, and the related Android/iPhone app is very intuitive.
The Bad Amazon Alexa integration is forthcoming, but Switchmate doesn’t currently work with any third-party smart home products/platforms. Remote access is limited to Bluetooth range, the switches are loud, and they’re too big for side-by-side installs on 2-gang+ switch plates.
The Bottom Line Switchmate’s no-fuss installation is intriguing, but some significant limitations hold it back from greatness.
Pre-Order at myswitchmate.com
It’s a snap: This magnetic light switch installs…
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Switchmate is a $40 AA-battery-powered magnetic light controller that clings to the screws holding up your existing switch plate. Snap it on and you’re done with the installation. The sheer simplicity of setup is intriguing — who wants to deal with a big mess o’ wires when you can just enlist magnets to do the heavy lifting?
But because it isn’t hard-wired, Switchmate relies on batteries. And because it relies on batteries, it uses low-power Bluetooth tech rather than Wi-Fi. That means you can only control your lights from the related Android or iPhone app when you’re standing within a limited range of roughly 150 feet.
Switchmate also doesn’t work with dimmers or have any third-party integrations (although an Amazon Alexa skill is in the works). If circuit breakers and electrical wiring aren’t your cup of tea, the easy-breezy Switchmate would serve you well — just keep in mind that it can’t actually do a whole lot.
Up close with Switchmate
Switchmate measures 4.9 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide, with a 1-inch depth. It weighs 4 ounces and is powered by two included AA batteries that the team claims can last anywhere from 8 to 12 months (I wasn’t able to test this out, but I imagine it would vary a lot based on usage). It looks fine, but it’s quite bulky compared to a standard switch plate.
Switchmate started out as an Indiegogo campaign with a couple of different color finishes, but the final version, available on Amazon, comes in white or beige for either toggle or rocker switches (these are sold separately, as the adapter on the back is different). Configuration is as simple as inserting the batteries, picking out a light switch to control and snapping it on. Fortunately, the magnets are strong and I can’t see someone dislodging it easily by accident.
Note: Switchmate is only compatible with 1-gang switches. It can attach to multi-gang plates, but Switchmates are too wide to fit side-by-side. I really wish the team offered 2-, 3- and 4-gang options, since standalone 1-gang switches aren’t incredibly common (in my house, at least) and it looks a little odd as a standalone 1-gang controller on a multi-gang panel.
Once you’ve attached Switchmate, download the Switchmate app and follow the steps to use your light switch — it should only take a minute or so to connect. There wasn’t a plus/minus battery indicator on my review units, so I installed the batteries upside down the first time — if you’re having trouble connecting, you might need to rotate your batteries, too.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The app itself is extremely bare bones, but simple to use. You can have up to 12 Switchmates installed on one account — and the home screen displays all of the controllers you’ve installed. I tested two units, one toggle model and one rocker model, labeled Hallway and Living Room.
Hasbro Furby Connect Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Hasbro’s Furby, that weird, warbling piece of toy nostalgia that just won’t die, continues on in 2016. This year, however, Furby wants to stay connected via Bluetooth, receiving new information. It might know what time it is, or what the World Series scores are. Furby. Will. Know.
That’s the pitch for Furby Connect, a toy that might seem all-sentient but isn’t really. The new Furby uses Bluetooth to receive occasional updates when paired to iOS, Android or Amazon Fire devices via Hasbro Furby Connect app. Furby might suddenly become obsessed with a real song via lyrics supplied by a partnership with Kidz Bop, or some other weird thing. It might potentially get sports scores or news pushed to it. It might wish you happy Thanksgiving.
Furby’s new antenna…thing.
Sarah Tew/CNET
But nothing immediately on-demand, and nothing location-based. Amazon Echo with fur, this is not. Furby is strictly getting once-in-a-while push updates via Hasbro’s app, and to protect kid privacy none of it has location awareness.
Unfortunately, that means Furby might not seem that much smarter than his totally unconnected ancestors at times. In a landscape filled with seemingly far smarter robot super-toys like the Anki Cozmo and Hello Barbie, can little Furby keep up? Furby can at least get info downloaded in a burst so it can be played away from any app for a week. It’s not meant to be always-on, just to feel like it is.
Furby making some mysterious greenish spray over the toilet. Yes, it goes potty.
Sarah Tew/CNET
We haven’t used one with the app beyond a brief demo, which was cute but very similar to Furbies of the past. If another Furby Connect is placed nearby, however, the two now do more in-sync dancing, bickering, and Furby-wiggling. It’s one stop short of a “Gremlins” reboot.
Furby and Furby seem like they’re secretly planning something.
Sarah Tew/CNET
A few new tricks are on-board, too: its eyes are now full-color screens, and a glowing antenna on its head turns blue when it gets an update, and other hues for emotions. (Down the road, Hasbro mentioned it could even turn into a joystick for in-app games, if you’re comfortable with that.) Furby is, as always, packed with motion sensors, motors, and has a microphone and speaker (in case you didn’t know).
Furby, go to sleep now.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Best of all, Furby will go to sleep on command for the first time ever. An included sleep mask plugs into its eyes and makes it turn off, complete with gentle bedtime gurgles. Then it’s safe to toss in your kid’s bed or a drawer, where it shouldn’t make any noise — unlike older Furby models, which required a battery removal to shut them up. Until you remove the mask. Hasbro has hinted that the sleep-mask port near Furby Connect’s eyes could be used for “other surprises” down the road. What are those surprises? Much like Furby, that remains a mystery.
It’s available right now exclusively via Amazon for $100, and will hit other stores this fall.
OtterBox Resurgence Power Case for iPhone 6/6S review – CNET
The Good The OtterBox Resurgence Power Case powers up your iPhone to nearly a full charge, all while protecting it from rough drops and bumps.
The Bad The accessory takes some wrangling to attach and detach, and it isn’t as elegant-looking as other battery cases. After a fall, the case can pop apart.
The Bottom Line The OtterBox Resurgence Power Case is a good choice for power and protection, but if you don’t need that much durability, consider something with a sleeker design.
Similar to battery cases from Mophie and Incipio, the $60 (£90 and AU$136) OtterBox Resurgence Power Case is a power pack that slips over your phone in an extra-large case. In addition to the battery reserves, it protects your phone from drops and scrapes, giving you extra peace of mind throughout the day.
The case features the battery charger, which you slide your device in to charge, and a thick bumper that goes all around the edges of the phone. Putting the case on and taking it off does require some muscle. When I put it on my phone, I had to press around the edges, snapping each side into place to make sure it was securely attached.
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To take it off, I start by prying the top of the rim off, and the rest of the rim comes off. This takes some wrangling, and sometimes I had to pull so hard I thought I would break it. I’m sure this all helps keep the case snug and securely on the phone, but I don’t really want to wrestle with this thing every time to take it off and put it on.
Its indicator light, which tells you the case’s battery levels, encircles the power button on the back. These lights are hard to view outdoors in direct sunlight. Whenever I wanted to check my charge, I had to shade it with my hand in order to see if they turned on.
With this extra bulk, the case is going to add more weight and mass to your device too, necessitating a headphone extender (an unseemly but common requirement with these types of phone cases). I dropped the accessory with the phone inside on a cement surface several times (yes, on purpose), and the handset survived unscathed. There were times, however, when the rim would pop off after I dropped it, but it never broke apart — I just had to snap it in place again. Of course, it’d be more reassuring if the accessory remained a solid piece after every tumble, but since it did well to protect the phone each time, taking the time to make to snap the case together again was a small price to pay than, say, a brand-new iPhone.
Coboc Rome review – CNET
The Good The Coboc Rome looks great, weighs little and provides a no-nonsense electric ride on your city commute.
The Bad It costs a lot, and the battery is fixed in place so you’ll have to store the bike near a wall socket to charge it.
The Bottom Line If you can stomach the price, the Coboc Rome offers a comfy, easy ride through the city streets and looks damn good doing it.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
The Coboc Rome is a total no-nonsense electric bike.
It’s a fixed-gear model, meaning that there are no gear levers cluttering your handlebars, and cycling around town is as simple as pushing off and starting pedalling.
The 250-watt electric motor is located in the rear wheel and it provides assistance only — there’s no throttle on the Rome so you can’t rest your legs and ride only on the motor. The motor does provide plenty of assistance though and gets you up to speed — and keeps you there — with little effort on your part. The 80km range should be more than enough for both legs of your daily commute.
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Andrew Hoyle/CNET
You can’t alter the amount of assistance the motor provides, which is both good and bad. On the one hand, it means you can’t set it lower if you want an extra workout, or crank it up if you’re tired. However, the simple ‘on or off’ nature of the bike is one of its charms. It really is a bike that you just pick up and ride. No fuss.
The bike itself is extremely lightweight, making it very easy to carry up and down stairs. It’s very smooth to ride, the brakes work extremely well and the saddle and riding position make it very comfortable for a city commute. There’s no suspension, so kerbs and larger potholes aren’t absorbed well, but even rough asphalt is fine to ride over.
Its slick looks do come with a drawback — the battery isn’t removable. That means you will have to carry it upstairs into your flat in order to charge it, rather than just pull out the battery. That won’t be a deal-breaker for everyone, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you don’t have access to convenient plug sockets.
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Andrew Hoyle/CNET
At £2,999 (that converts to around $4,044 or AU$5,400), it’s not cheap by any means but the Rome’s light weight, great looks and fuss-free features make it a superb electric-assisted bike for your city commute. Its lack of gears and suspension, however, means this isn’t one to consider for weekend jaunts through the countryside.
VersaMe Starling review – CNET
The Good Starling benefits from a unique vocabulary-tracking concept and promising technology.
The Bad There aren’t enough features to justify the high price.
The Bottom Line I love what Starling is trying to do, and with some added features, it could be a great gadget for many parents. The problem is, the device boils down to a $200 reminder to talk to your kid, without enough sophistication to justify the price.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
Stanford psychologists have spent years tracking the effects of verbally engaging infants and toddlers. Kids who get consistent interaction and those who don’t are divided by a so-called language gap. This gap in speech and comprehension is evident in children as young as 18 months, and by the time kids enter kindergarten, there can be as much as a 2-year developmental disparity.
Enter Starling by VersaMe: a $200 gadget that aims to close that gap. Starling clips to your child’s clothes and tracks how many words they hear each day — a good indicator of later success. On the iOS app (an Android app is on the way), you can follow your hourly, daily, weekly and monthly patterns of interaction, and also receive notifications suggesting activities to increase it.
I love the technology behind Starling, and I’m excited for its future. But until it develops further, Starling will just feel like a $200 reminder to talk to your child.
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The Starling device is well designed and sturdy. It clips to clothing easily, and its drool- and waterproof frame won’t break when young children chew on it.
I also like the app, which lets you set daily goals and measure your success over time. Its daily tips offer variety, so one-way conversations with your infant don’t start to feel repetitive. One tip, for instance, suggests talking your child through the emotions they’re expressing, and giving them a vocabulary to articulate those feelings as they grow.
Starling is a great resource for parents who want to set their kids up for future success. But after a few weeks of using it, I can’t help but wonder if the price tag is justified. Practically, the Starling’s greatest value is simply its presence. Even if the goal-setting and daily tips fall by the wayside over time, as they did for me, the device itself will remain a clear and helpful reminder to consistently engage with your child.
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Tyler Lizenby/CNET
But is that reminder really worth $200? I mean, a sticker that says “Speak to me” on it would have nearly the same effect, and it would cost far less.
BLU R1 HD Release Date, Price and Specs – 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.
Sony Xperia X Performance review – CNET
The Good Absolutely brimming with power, the Sony Xperia X Performance is well designed and the only new Xperia to be waterproof.
The Bad Battery life needs a big boost for this phone to live up to its potential.
The Bottom Line The Xperia X Performance runs rings around the basic Xperia X and is a great phone for anyone who likes their handsets with a bit of grunt.
If you’re a “Top Gun” type and expect your phone to have the power of a jet engine, then you’re exactly who Sony had in mind with the Xperia X Performance.
The X Performance (never to be called the XP, I’m told by Sony) is the turbo-charged version of the Xperia X. Sony has packed more processing power into the Performance, along with speedier LTE 4G connectivity and a slightly bigger battery. Other than that, the two phones are almost identical, from the 5-inch full HD screen to the 23-megapixel camera on the rear. But trust me, the differences are very noticeable.
At US$699/AU$999, it’s less expensive than I’d anticipated (no pricing or launch details for the UK, but the price converts to around £525.) With the basic X model costing $549/AU$799, that’s not much of a price hike at all.
Design
When I first saw the phone, I confess to finding the smooth, rounded edges and matte back a little pedestrian. But my opinion changed significantly while using it. It’s comfortable to hold, and when I went back to compare it with the Z5 and Z5 Premium I found it to be the best looker of the group.
My colleague Jessica Dolcourt called the Xperia X a “great one-handed phone” and the same goes for the Performance. Where she and I disagree is on screen size: A 5-inch screen is perfect for her dainty fingers. My hands are about twice as big, and 5-inch phones make me feel like I’m using a Fisher Price “My First Phone” toy. But 5-inches is what’s on offer here and I happily admit that’s a good size for 80 percent of the world.
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Performance
With the word Performance in the name, I had some high expectations for this phone and it didn’t disappoint. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core 64-bit processor is a big jump up from the X and the numbers prove it. It far outstrips the Xperia X and actually rivals the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Sony Xperia X Performance benchmark scores
Sony Xperia X Performance
2,328
5,448
29,398
Sony Xperia X
1,418
3,714
17586
Samsung Galaxy S7
2,323
5,429
29,031
Legend:
Geekbench 3 Single-Core
Geekbench 3 Multi-Core
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited
Note:
Longer bars indicate better performance
The phone feels exceptionally slick and fast. Apps open rapidly and navigating is smooth as silk. This speed even transfers over to the fingerprint sensor. Built into the power button like previous Xperia models, this is the most reliable and quick biometric security I’ve ever used on a phone. If you’re in the US, however, you’ll just have to take my word for it, because Sony has disabled the fingerprint scanner for your region.
The X Performance is also the only of the new X range to be water and dust proof. It’s rated IP65/68, which means you can not only splash the thing, you could leave it under a metre of water for 30 minutes (you know, if you desperately wanted to).
The PlayStation 4 revisited: Small improvements for a solid system
Engadget is re-reviewing the current generation of game consoles, each of which has benefited from major firmware updates, price drops and an improved selection of games. We’ve already revisited the Xbox One, and now it’s the PlayStation 4’s turn. Though we’ve raised the score from 83 to 86, you can still find our original PS4 review here, if you’re curious to read what we said at launch.
The PlayStation 4 has outsold its closest competition, the Xbox One, for most of the time since the two systems launched in November 2013. In fact, according to recently released sales figures Sony has moved some 40 million units over the past two years. Based on the company’s earnings reports, those sales have helped keep Sony afloat — even after the console’s price dropped from $400 to $350.
Similar to the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 has received a steady stream of post-launch updates, along with a ton of new features. But unlike the Xbox, the PS4 hasn’t seen any patches that fundamentally change how the console operates. Instead, features like a dedicated Twitch app, Spotify integration, rapid resume from low-power mode, and game streaming to a PC or Mac have improved upon how the system already worked.
With time, however, fresh issues appeared that we couldn’t have possibly predicted when we originally reviewed the console in 2013. Some are even the result of new features Sony has added since then.
Hardware
Sony has confirmed the existence of a newer console, the so-called PS4.5, but hasn’t said when you’ll actually be able to buy it. For now, then, the model that launched over two and a half and a half years ago is the one we’ve got. The system’s overall design hasn’t changed either. Aside from a nostalgic, ultra-limited edition console released in honor of PlayStation’s 20th anniversary, the standard version remains a coal-black obelisk. Except now, you can swap in game-themed or different colored faceplates if you’d rather the console not blend in with the rest of the black A/V gear in your living room.
Up front there’s a slot-loading Blu-ray drive, a pair of USB 3.0 ports and two touch-sensitive buttons for powering the system on and ejecting a disc. If you’re still mixing up which button does what (it’s OK, I do it myself occasionally), the top turns it on and the bottom spits your discs out. Finding them in the dark is a pain, but they’re directly in line with the LED strip that runs from front to back. It glows orange when the system is in low-power mode, making it easy to find the buttons by feel. Around back, meanwhile, you’ll find you’ll find an HDMI socket, digital audio output, Ethernet jack and a dedicated PlayStation Camera port.
The system is also surprisingly portable. Because the PS4 uses the same-style power cable as the PlayStation 3 Slim (and many other electronics), along with a standard HDMI cable, there’s no need to unwire your entire A/V setup just because you’re housesitting and don’t want to be away from Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End for a weekend. There’s no bulky external power supply to carry around, and the console itself is small enough to easily fit into a backpack or messenger bag.
The disadvantage here versus Microsoft’s console is the PS4’s lethargic 802.11b/g/n wireless card. If you take multiplayer seriously or just want the fastest downloads possible, you should always run a hard connection to any gaming device, but sometimes being close enough to a router to do so isn’t possible.
Doing anything on the PS4 over WiFi is a time-consuming process, be it downloading a game from the PlayStation Network Store, or an update for a game or the system itself. Indeed, some Engadget staffers have seen downloads almost three times slower on WiFi versus a wired connection. Over Ethernet, the system’s built-in speed test reports 79Mbps downloads and 4.4Mbps uploads on my home network. With WiFi that number dropped to 32Mbps down. That said, our gaming reporter Jessica Conditt has never experienced such issues on her PS4.
In 2013 the iPhone 5s supported 5GHz wireless, and Microsoft also packed dual-band capabilities into the Xbox One, which came out that year. This was a weird omission on Sony’s part, then, and it’s become all the more noticeable considering how many people buy their games digitally these days, and how large these files are. Uncharted 4 comes in at over 50GB, for instance. A faster WiFi card would also make streaming a game to another device via Remote Play a better experience.
Unlike the Xbox One, the PS4 doesn’t support external hard drives, which would augment the system storage. That’s partly because it doesn’t need to: You can swap in a new internal hard drive as large as 4TB, a step up from the base model’s paltry 500GB of storage. The dearth of USB connections is a bit of a problem, though. If you’re using the PlayStation Gold wireless headset, for instance, that eats up half of what’s available. Listening to music via a thumb drive and your DualShock 4 controller’s battery dies? It’s time to decide which is more important unless you have another device with unused USB ports nearby that you can use to charge the gamepad.
DualShock 4 controller
Speaking of which, the DualShock 4’s battery life is still awful. System updates have added the ability to change the brightness of the controller’s lightbar (a likely culprit for battery drain) but I’m still lucky if I can go more than two play sessions, totaling about eight hours, before having to charge it again. In contrast, I only need to replace the batteries in my Xbox One controllers every few months. Maybe Sony could address these issues the way that Microsoft did and release a premium-priced controller with higher-quality components and improved battery life. I’d buy one.
In other gamepad-related woes, the concave thumbsticks that original reviewer Ben Gilbert raved about have an inherent flaw: Their grippy, rubber covering is susceptible to tearing with normal use, revealing sharp plastic underneath. You can hit Amazon for a variety of inexpensive replacement sticks, but that requires tearing open the gamepad to install them — not an easy feat for most. The better solution is opting for silicone caps that stick on your stock thumbsticks. But this honestly shouldn’t be an issue in the first place, especially considering how comfortable and well-designed the rest of the controller is.
The inclusion of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack on every paddle means that you don’t need to shell out for a gaming headset if you already have stereo earphones. That said, aside from a handful of games like the excellent, Sony-developed Tearaway Unfolded, the on-board speaker goes mostly unused.
Same with the clickable touchpad that dominates the gamepad’s face. A vast majority of the time its touch-sensitive surface is neglected in favor of developers just treating it as an extra button. When a developer does make use of these novel features they tend to be really well implemented. It’s a shame more don’t take the time to. What isn’t a gimmick, though, is the “share” button to the immediate left of the touchpad, but more on that later.
PlayStation Camera
Lastly, we have the PlayStation Camera, an accessory that has been mostly forgotten by game developers. Like the touchpad, speaker and color-changing lightbar on the DualShock 4, very few devs have taken advantage of this accessory. Until Dawn uses it to record video of who’s playing during scary moments, and Tearaway Unfolded took advantage of it to occasionally break the fourth wall, but until PlayStation VR launches it’s not necessary. Sure, logging into my PS4 profile with my face is novel, but I couldn’t tell you what triggers the facial ID system to launch on start-up; I still regularly have to log in the old-fashioned way, choosing my profile with a controller. There’s just no compelling reason to own one right now.
UI
For the most part, zipping around the PS4 interface is fast. It’s an iteration of Sony’s Xross Media Bar UI from the PS3 (yeah, substituting an “X” for a “C” is still awkward), with a horizontal row of tiles for recently used items like games, apps and streaming services. Each game offers patch notes, and each tile has a drop-down menu featuring additional content. You’ll also see your saved screenshots and videos, along with recent activities from friends like trophies unlocked. It’s a lot like the social feed from the Windows 10 patch on Xbox One, but integrated on a per-game basis rather than one river of everything. Even with a speedy, wired connection, though, the drop-downs (which rely on data from PlayStation Network) are slower to load and navigate compared to the main UI.
The PlayStation Store where you access streaming applications and game downloads sits at the far left; on the opposite side is the library. The library was added after launch, and it’s where your entire collection of games and applications resides. Anything you’ve downloaded or installed lives here in a grid. The problem is, it’s a pain to navigate because even if you’ve uninstalled something, it still stays on the list. That means the Destiny First Look Alpha I was part of two years ago is there alongside Doki-Doki Universe, a demo I grabbed but never played. This means sifting through a lot of clutter just to get to the stuff you own.
The library was supposed to help streamline the main UI, but in practice it’s about as effective as shoving your laundry in a closet before company comes over, to give the illusion that you actually cleaned your house. Your most recently used items stay on the main screen, but with time, unused ones will migrate here too. What’d be really nice is the option to customize the main UI or at least pin specific apps and games to the home screen, similar to what the Xbox One has offered since 2013.
Pressing up on the d-pad reveals tabs for the PlayStation Plus premium service, notifications, your friends list, an event calendar, messages, party chat, user profile, trophies, system settings and power options. With the exception of the PlayStation Plus tab, everything loads almost instantaneously, and is logically sorted. In the system settings, for example, Sony removed some of the arcane video settings that were on the PlayStation 3 and opted for a more streamlined setup. That simplicity extends to options for adjusting audio output, and connecting social accounts, among other things.
My biggest gripe with the PS4 is how it handles system storage. Countless times, I’ve gone to either download or install a game and the console has given me an error message saying there isn’t enough free space on the hard drive. Except there is. The most recent offense was with Doom. My PS4 currently has over 60GB of free space, and Doom is a 47GB download. Entering my redemption code, I received an error message and was transported to the system storage screen to clear up some space. Deleting 86GB of games I wasn’t playing anymore should’ve solved the problem, but didn’t. I’ve since power-cycled the console and rebuilt the system database from safe mode. Forty-five minutes after the initial attempt, I was finally able to start downloading the game.
And that’s the best-case scenario. On previous occasions, rebuilding the database and deleting over 100GB of installed games didn’t fix the error. I’m not even sure what I did to eventually fix it those times, now that I think about it. When I asked a Sony engineer about this, he didn’t have a clear answer for me. One response was that game files need more space to uncompress than their download size suggests, hence the error about not having enough storage space. But the engineer I spoke with couldn’t explain why, even after deleting and rebooting, that sometimes didn’t address the error message.
Social
The heart of the social experience on PS4 is located right on the gamepad, where you’ll find the “share” button. Pressing it takes screenshots, records video and starts a game-sharing session or a broadcast on Twitch or YouTube. Depending on your preference, you can configure the button a few ways. You can also configure what happens when you press it. Personally, I have the button set up so that a single press grabs a screenshot and a double tap starts recording a video clip.
This saved media can be shared in a variety of ways, including as a message or to Facebook and Twitter. That will post the screenshot or video clip to the “What’s New” activity feed on the home screen. Unlike the Xbox One’s “community” tab that sorts everything into a reverse-chronological river, What’s New is three tiles wide, pushing game broadcasts from the community, not your friends list, notices of trophies unlocked by friends, suggested friends and PSN Store advertisements into one feed. It’s a mess to navigate and I rarely use it.
What I constantly take advantage of is how easy it is to take and share screenshots on PS4. Sharing them via social media is seamless and takes five button presses and I’m back to whatever I was playing prior. The annoying thing here is the inability to simultaneously share to Facebook and Twitter. Being able to take screenshots almost anywhere (and save them as PNG files instead of just JPEGs) almost makes up for it. Aside from the Twitch app, all the screenshots taken for this review were captured without using external methods. Even better? You can save them to a USB stick and do what you want with them; no need to upload to OneDrive and then download to a computer like on the Xbox One.
Another destination for your screenshots is the Communities feature introduced in the last big firmware update, version 3.5. Communities are what you make of them, and can be used to organize clan games, share screenshots to the discussion board and, well, that’s about it.
Game broadcasting
When the PlayStation 4 debuted, there wasn’t a fully dedicated Twitch app. You could watch streams originating from PlayStation via the Live From PlayStation application, but if you wanted to check out a stream of, say, the Dota 2 International you’d have to load Twitch on the system’s web browser. It was incredibly janky. Live With PlayStation broadcasts aren’t just favored; they’re the only ones that are picked up by the homescreen drop-down menus and the “What’s New” tab. But at least now there’s an official Twitch app for watching broadcasts. It works like the Xbox One version does, with a main grid of channels to choose from on the home screen, video and chat taking center stage on a given broadcast, and past streams and channel info off to the right.
While the streaming options started out limited, today they’re pretty robust. You can stream to YouTube, Twitch or even Dailymotion. You can also customize your stream with camera effects and a green screen (to remove any background from what the PlayStation Camera picks up). It offers more flexibility than broadcasting from Xbox One does, but you’re still better off launching your pro-streaming career with a PC and capture device.
PlayStation services
Sony really likes the “PlayStation” name: It’s put it on a number of services accessible from the PS4. PlayStation Now is the company’s quasi-Netflix-for-games streaming service; PlayStation Vue is its TV app for cord-cutters; and PlayStation Plus is its monthly premium service, granting access to online multiplayer and three free game downloads per month.
Rather than offer true backward compatibility for older games via software emulation a la Xbox One, if you want to play a bulk of Sony’s legacy titles on your PS4 you’ll have to pony up $100 for a yearly PS Now subscription, $45 for three months or $20 per month. Is it worth it? Not really. Even with a solid internet connection, game streams cap out at 720p, audio quality isn’t on par with a disc-based game and there’s lag stemming from streaming gameplay off Sony’s servers, to your PS4 and then returning your controller input to the server. Taking the price and user experience into account, it’s a far better idea to pull your PS3 out of the closet. If you have a hankering for an even older game, downloading a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 game from the PSN Store and playing it on a PS Vita is a much better idea.
Microsoft wanted to control your TV’s main HDMI input with its plan to make the Xbox One into the ultimate set-top box, but it’s Sony that’s come closest in that regard, thanks to PlayStation Vue. Even then, using the app (up to $50 per month depending on the package) that wants to be your stand-in for a cable subscription is still a rough experience.
I rarely play multiplayer games online, so paying for access to do so isn’t my cup of tea. But PlayStation Plus is so much more than that. It gives me three free games per month, the occasional option to vote on what games will be free and discounts for digital purchases. A majority of the games are from indie developers, and while the quality of said games may have dipped as of late (not everything can be the killer survival horror game Outlast or local co-op adventure Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris), they still regularly best what Microsoft gives away with its Xbox Live Gold promotions.
Different ways to play
In one form or another, Sony’s Remote Play feature has been around since at least 2010. But using the company’s PlayStation Portable handheld to access a PS3 and playing games from it always felt kludgy. Using a PS Vita handheld to do the same with the PS4 is dramatically better, but my giant mitts aren’t ready to trade a DualShock 4 for the Vita’s comparatively cramped confines just so I can play Destiny from my bedroom.
More than that, the Vita is missing a few buttons that the DualShock has, so you need to remap them to the handheld’s rear touchpad. Streaming to a Sony tablet and connecting the gamepad via Bluetooth works like a dream. If you’re after precision, though, and the game you’re playing requires lightning-fast responses, like streaming with PS Now, you’re going to be disappointed. Remote Play is an interesting feature, but unless you have the perfect setup for your network (home or otherwise), the tradeoffs might not be worth playing PS4 games away from your TV.
It’s the same with Share Play, the futuristic PS4 feature that lets you virtually pass a controller to someone else via the internet. The ability to have a friend across the country help you get past a tricky spot is pretty nuts. When it works, anyway. Same goes for playing couch co-op with a friend who isn’t in the same room with you. The problem is that Share Play requires an extremely fast connection between both people to provide the best experience. My modest 85 Mbps connection floated between “low” and just a few notches into the “good” rating. Even starting a session is dicey.
But when it works — and, more importantly, when the game you’re playing doesn’t block the feature — it feels crazy. The initial setup is really unintuitive, and the amount of lag will make or break whatever you’re playing. The X-Wing training mission in Star Wars: Battlefront is okay because it doesn’t require twitch reflexes for your co-op partner, but dipping into the game’s first-person shooter survival mode can be unplayable because of lag. Simply watching a friend play a game works pretty well, though, because it’s a passive experience and doesn’t rely on transmitting gameplay data from your console to your buddy’s.
Game selection
The list of fresh exclusives on PS4 keeps growing. Last year alone saw the ultra-tough Bloodborne, the perennial MLB: The Show and the interactive horror flick Until Dawn. That’s in addition to all of the indies that hit Sony’s latest console before Xbox One, like Rocket League. This year we’ve seen Ratchet and Clank, The Witness (a console exclusive), Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and another edition of Sony’s gorgeous baseball franchise, The Show ’16. There’s still No Man’s Sky, The Last Guardian and all of the upcoming PlayStation VR games as well. Simply put, there are lots of reasons to own a PS4, with even more to come.
Wrap-up
It’s easy to see how Sony has moved over 40 million PS4s. After getting kicked in the teeth for most of the last hardware cycle, Sony wasn’t about to let that happen again. The PS4’s focus has always been on games, not replacing your cable box. By focusing on that first and then augmenting the device with services like game streaming, Sony has built an excellent — in fact, the best — game console. It isn’t perfect, to be sure, but it keeps improving on a formula that already works well.
Pentax K-1 review – CNET
The Good The Pentax K-1 delivers excellent photo quality and a ton of features in a sturdy, well-designed body.
The Bad The autofocus is inconsistent and the image stabilization isn’t as good as competitors’.
The Bottom Line For photographers who want great photo quality for less than $2,000, the Pentax K-1 hits the bullseye.
Pentax’s full-frame dSLR debut, the K-1, hits at an opportune time. Canon hasn’t updated its 6D or 5D Mark III in at least a couple of years, nor has Nikon done so with its D750 or D610. That makes a new model at an aggressive price a welcome option. The K-1 offers a ton of features with excellent photo quality and a great shooting design, but it also has one of the least-sophisticated autofocus systems and occasionally sluggish performance.
The K-1 costs $1,800 (£1,600, AU$2,900) for the body. Pentax recently released two lenses optimized for the camera: the company’s K mount works for both APS-C and full frame, but the older lenses aren’t designed for the K-1’s high-resolution, 36-megapixel sensor. There’s the fast, wide-angle HD Pentax-D FA 15-30mm F2.8ED SDM WR ($1,450, £1,550, AU$1,350) and a more consumer-focused, less-expensive HD Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6ED DC WR ($500, £580 and AU$850).
I tested it with the 28-105mm. While it’s nice that Pentax offers a relatively inexpensive lens for the K-1, I really didn’t like it much. It feels very much like an APS-C kit lens: I do recommend it for Pentax’s other cameras, but it just doesn’t do the K-1 justice.
Great photos, at its own pace
The camera’s photo quality is generally excellent. I don’t like the default Bright image setting, which overdoes contrast and saturation, but Pentax gives you plenty of options to fine-tune the options to your taste, and the camera can produce quite accurate colors. I’m a Natural girl.
JPEGs look clean through ISO 1600 and depending upon the image, remain usable at least up through ISO 12800. The JPEG processing is pretty good, too; while you can get a little more detail shooting raw, out-of-the-camera JPEGs will suit a lot of people.
The camera retains color well as sensitivity rises, too, though the raw files show a lot of hot pixels in dark images. That said, between the high resolution and solid dynamic range, I was able to get decent results cropping way into photos where I had to bring the exposure up five stops because the flash didn’t fire (not Pentax’s fault). I wouldn’t count on photos beyond ISO 51200, though. Blown out highlights are more hit-and-miss when it comes to recoverability.
Pentax K-1 full-resolution photo samples
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I didn’t see much moire in stills; there was a bit in video, though. The video quality is OK. You’ll need to play with the settings to retain highlights (there’s a flat image profile), and it’s just not very sharp.
Analysis samples
The K-1’s JPEGs are clean through ISO 800. They’re not exceptionally sharp at ISO 800, but I think that’s just the lens I used for testing.
Lori Grunin/CNET
You can see some blurring at ISO 3200, but JPEGs aren’t bad through ISO 12800.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Depending upon the scene, you can still get usable JPEGs through ISO 51200. Above that they’re pretty noisy.
Lori Grunin/CNET
With the Natural image settings, the colors are quite accurate.
Lori Grunin/CNET
Even as high as ISO 51200 you can recover some highlight detail.
Lori Grunin/CNET
OnePlus 3 review: King of the budget phones, but no heir to the flagship throne
OnePlus once touted itself as the “Flagship Killer,” offering top-spec’d phones at a budget price. With the first OnePlus device, they showed that they could swing with the big players, but were hampered by the oft-maligned invite system and poor marketing. The OnePlus 2 suffered a similar fate, coupled with some questionable design choices and average performance. Well, OnePlus seems to have found it’s groove with the OnePlus 3, a standout phone with flagship specs at a great price, and finally a invite-free purchase system that makes it much more available for everyone.
OnePlus Three
The “Never Settle” mantra of OnePlus is on display here, as the OnePlus 3 features a 1080p AMOLED display, NFC, 3000mAh battery, a Snapdragon 820, USB-C and a whopping 6GB of RAM. It only has one storage option, 64GB, and features proprietary DASH rapid charging among other features. Certainly some impressive specs for a $399 phone, but how do they come together as a complete package?
Design
I immediately fell in love with the OnePlus 3’s design out of the box. Gone is the sandstone backing and overall cheaper feel to the build quality, replaced by a full-metal chassis and smooth curves, making it an absolute joy to hold. It has a premium feel in the hand comparable to that of an HTC device, which it seemingly borrows a lot of design cues from. Of all the OnePlus devices, this one is by far the best looking.
The OnePlus 3
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The camera bump makes the phone rest at a slight angle.
The rear of the device is simple and clean. Only a set of antenna lines and a prominent camera bump, housing the 16MP shooter, adorn the back panel coupled with the small shiny OnePlus logo just below. It is admittedly a bit slippery to hold without a case, but not as bad as I expected it to be. The back has a nice arched contour for fitting in the palm, and is so light and sleek that I’d feel bad hiding it in a case. The OnePlus 3 is very reminiscent of current flagship phones in regards to appearance, which can be either good or bad depending on your opinion. Some may miss the sandstone texture and it’s unique feel and grip, and luckily there is a case offering that material from OnePlus if you’re feeling nostalgic for the older design. Along with the sandstone case, there are a number of other stylish protection cases in material such as bamboo, rosewood, carbon fiber and black apricot finish.
The front of the device is no slouch either, with an attractive slab of Gorilla Glass 4 housing the 5.5 inch AMOLED screen, and the prominent capacitive fingerprint scanner front and center. The fingerprint scanner is amazingly fast, OnePlus claims faster than Apple’s Touch ID, with the phone waking up seemingly the instant I touched my phone to the scanner. It’s flanked on either side by OnePlus’ trademark optional capacitive buttons, which are now simple illuminated dots that disappear into the bezel after a few seconds. Bezels are very thin on the sides of the screen, but the top and bottom ones are a bit big for my tastes on a 5.5 inch phone.
The side panels, measuring a scant 7.35mm thick, house the power button and dual SIM tray on the right side, and the volume rockers and still-present mute toggle switch on the left. The button placement and feel are excellent, they are easily reachable and satisfyingly clicky and responsive. The notification toggle switch is nicely textured and feels solid, but I wish they had reversed the order, with full notifications on top and none on the bottom.
The top of the phone is bare metal, but the bottom is one of my favorite parts of the design. It holds the headphone jack, USB-C port, and surprisingly loud speaker. The whole bottom subtly curves towards the back of the phone, and the speaker grill holes and USB port are chamfered, lending even more to the premium feel and look of the 3. As bottoms of phones go, this one is truly excellent.
Display
The display of the OnePlus 3 has been a point of contention in the smartphone community. It’s a 5.5 inch “Optic” AMOLED display with a 1920×1080 resolution, that’s 401 ppi for those interested. It is a very nice screen, and a definite upgrade from the OnePlus 2, but the lower resolution is a bit of a downer considering pretty much every other Android flagship hits the 2560×1440 QHD resolution. The colors and image quality are clear and crisp, and more than enough for the average user but coming down from a Nexus 6P and it’s massive QHD 
display, it’s a noticeable difference that made me miss the extra resolution for YouTube and movie watching. I will say that the lower resolution display has done well for battery life. OnePlus has included some decent customizations to the display, including the “Optic” tuning and a color balance slider, so you can adjust the color tone yourself.
For most people, the OnePlus 3 screen is perfectly capable, but anyone coming off of a QHD display may be in for some disappointment.
Performance and Software
The OP3 and its 6GB of RAM made headlines prior to it’s launch, and rightfully so. 6GB is a ton of RAM for such a small device, but does it have an impact on performance? The answer is… maybe. The RAM coupled with the Snapdragon 820 chip make this phone lightning fast and super snappy, jumping between apps with ease, but even with all that power under the hood it’s nothing mindblowing in terms of day to day performance. Gaming on the OP3 was satisfying and smooth, and app load times were in the expected range. Oneplus did add some nice tweaks to multitasking, including a clear-all button and a “clean” button to halt all background processes and clear all that RAM. It’s definitely comparable to today’s flagships in terms of speed, but it certainly isn’t the top contender in that regard.
One downside of the OnePlus 3 is the lack of expandable storage or larger storage options. 64GB is fine for me, but I know a lot of people who live and die by the SD card. It is disappointing for sure, but certainly not a deal breaker. Also, connectivity issues have been cropping up for many OP3 users, including myself. Difficulty with LTE connectivity, rapidly switching from 3G to 4G to LTE, as well as issues with wi-fi calling on T-Mobile have made using the OnePlus 3 off of wi-fi a bit harrowing at times. However, the problems are not nearly as bad as they sound, and regular daily use has been stellar otherwise, with these connection problems only popping up once in awhile.
The custom Android Marshmallow ROM, Oxygen OS, is just as light as before and with some welcome stability and performance improvements. OnePlus still offers those wonderful 
tweaks to the stock experience, like optional hardware or software buttons, night mode, screen-off gestures and more. In place of the Google Now page on the left-most screen, OnePlus introduces the Shelf. The Shelf holds a place for widgets, recent apps, and a quick memo section for easy note taking. I initially avoided using the Shelf as I was so used to Google Now being there, but as I used the phone more and more I found it to be a welcome addition and very handy. Oxygen OS is easily one of the better ROMs for Android, being nearly as stock as a Nexus device but offering just enough customization and extra features to differentiate it.
Battery
Battery performance is very solid on the OP3. The 3000mAh battery and standard definition AMOLED screen do wonders for all-day use from 7 AM onwards, I rarely had to top off the battery with an average day’s usage. The phone does heat up a bit when under heavier use, but nothing too concerning so far. I was surprised at how well the OnePlus 3 stood up to my Nexus 6P with its larger battery, both managed to stay above 20% by the end of the day at 9 PM. OnePlus has done an admirable job of making sure users get the most out of the battery despite it’s pedestrian capacity.
Where OnePlus really shines is its DASH charging, a rebrand of Oppo’s VOOC charging technology. Using the included charger and cable, or any VOOC charger, the OP3 can get a full day’s charge, about 60-70%, in 15 minutes. It is mind boggling to plug in your phone and five minutes later see a 10-15% jump in battery life for the first time. Compared to the rapid charging on my Nexus, this was fast as hell and one of the best features of the OP3. It’s a shame that more chargers don’t support it, as I’d like to use a longer cord and still get the DASH results.
Camera
The camera on the OnePlus 3 is another area of merely average performance. The 16MP rear shooter is fine at all levels, but isn’t going to beat out the likes of Samsung when it comes to image quality. OIS is a nice touch, and shutter speed and focus are fast and responsive. Software-wise, the OnePlus camera app gets the job done, and has some nice manual options as well but the LG camera app from the V10 still has a bit of an edge in that regard. The front-facing 8MP camera is great for selfies, and works well. Snapchat users will have a great time using it to get those memorable snaps.
OnePlus 3 photo samples
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Image quality has been satisfying on the OP3, especially in bright daylight. Low light pictures are fine, but the flash can be a bit aggressive if left on automatic, going off even in well lit areas causing a washed out image. I’m not generally a big phone photographer, so not the best judge of a camera, but the OnePlus 3 is certainly very good. Most people will have no issues at all taking some sweet photos.
Conclusion
Overall, the OnePlus 3 is an incredible deal at $399. You’d be hard pressed to find a more feature-packed device in this price range, with this few compromises. If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t be able to tell that this was a device from a small Chinese offshoot brand at all. OnePlus should be commended on finally finding that perfect balance between specs, price, and design to make the OnePlus 3 a real hit. That being said, I still found myself drawn back to my 6P, for a few different reasons. The screen resolution and wifi calling issues are chief among them. The OnePlus 3 has all the element s to match or best the current crop of flagship devices from the likes of Samsung, LG, and HTC but if you’re currently using a 2015 or 2016 flagship device, the performance and specs aren’t enough to justify a swap unless you are a die hard OnePlus fan. If you are a budget conscious person, the price certainly crushed the competition and other phones in it’s price range just can’t compare. I would say that the OnePlus 3 is a excellent device, if maybe not as polished as it’s competition, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of best phones of 2016. The OnePlus 3 is king of the budget phones, and a great pick for those looking for an affordable phone that Never Settles for budget features.
AIVAnet 