Withings Steel HR Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

There are fitness trackers galore that track heart rate, but none I can think of that do it with an analog watch. Withings says the new Steel HR is the first of its kind. I believe it.

The Withings Steel HR arrives at the beginning of October for $180 (38mm), equivalent to £137/AU$239, or $200 (42mm), equivalent to £152/AU$266.

The Withings Activite was an analog-type watch with a digital inside, tracking steps and sleep automatically and syncing via Bluetooth, too. A stainless-steel version, much like what you see here, was released last year. Steel HR takes another step forward by adding an optical heart-rate monitor to the back of the newly redesigned watch, as well as a digital display within the watch face to show heart rate, activity and notification data.

Heart rate on display.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

So, it’s analog, but digital. Its design is certainly sharp as hell.

Withings, now a part of Nokia, hasn’t incorporated heart rate into any of its current fitness trackers. A newly updated Withings Health app will fold in the data, much like other fitness apps have already done.

Not too thick.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Withings Steel HR comes in two versions: 38mm in black or white, and 42mm in black. Unlike the older Activite watches, which used a replaceable battery that lasted for over six months, the Steel HR is rechargeable via an included and lasts up to 25 days when tracking heart rate — and another 20 days after that in a “low power mode” that still shows time and tracks steps and sleep. Heart rate tracking continues at night to get resting heart rate while sleeping. The Steel HR is 5ATM water resistant for swimming, too.

Hands-on impressions are coming shortly, but this already looks promising. Of course, how well it tracks heart rate is also important, and we don’t know that yet.

Canon EOS C700 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Canon

Canon’s cinema-focused camera line gets a lot more flexible and professional — and way more expensive — with the introduction of its EOS C700 models. Redesigned for the needs of professionals, the new versions offer service-center interchangeable EF- and PL-mounts, plus a model of the camera with a global shutter.

These top-of-the-line models shoot 4K video in both DCI and UHD resolutions, and Canon claims a 15-stop dynamic range for the Super 35mm-sized, 4.5K-resolution sensors. Mac-based producers will welcome native support for the ProRes codec. Canon also introduces the ability to shoot anamorphic 2:39:1 aspect-ratio video with algorithmic corrections to facilitate accurate monitoring.

In conjunction with the cameras, there will be a new external Codex recorder model (CDX-36150) that will enable features like 4.5K raw at 100fps, 4K raw at 120fps, 4K ProRes at 60fps, HD ProRes at 240FPS and XF-AVC at 60fps.

Canon expects to ship the C700 and C700 PL in December 2016 for $35,000 (£28,840); the EOS C700 GS PL should follow in January 2017 for $38,000 (£30,790). I don’t think it’s been announced in Australia, but those prices directly convert to about AU$46,375 and AU$50,350. Support for the Codex recorder comes later via a firmware update in March 2017.

Canon XC15 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Canon

After about a year an a half since the introduction of the XC10, Canon’s compact UHD 4K prosumer camcorder receives a minor update. The XC15 has an XLR input for external microphones and the “look” modes that have been in the higher-end models so that you can better match the video from the XC15 with them.

Canon expects to ship the XC15 in September 2016 for $3,000 (£2,410). I don’t think it’s been announced yet for Australia, but the price converts to roughly AU$4,000.

Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Tado’s Smart Radiator Thermostat, announced at the IFA 2016 tech conference in Berlin.

Tado

The era of the smart thermostat is here with Nest, Ecobee and Honeywell leading the charge worldwide. But there’s one type of connected home heating that’s been largely overlooked: radiators.

In other thermostat news:

• Ecobee’s smart thermostat closes in on Nest
• Same great Nest, now with even better looks
• Same great Nest, now with even better looks
• These smart thermostats steal the heating and cooling spotlight
• What’s a C-wire, and why should you care?
• That time we cranked up the heat in the CNET Smart Home to 105 degrees
• How to buy a thermostat

Of course, some of the Wi-Fi thermostats on the market today can work with select radiator units. The majority, though, are optimized for forced-air systems that rely on ducts to carry warm and cool air from a centralized source around your house.

Tado, a startup based in Munich, Germany wants to change that trend with its new Smart Radiator Thermostat exclusively for the European market, announced today at the IFA 2016 consumer electronics conference in Berlin.

Available now on Tado.com, the team will offer a Smart Radiator Thermostat Starter Kit for £179/€199 with two thermostats and one Wi-Fi hub, as well as standalone Smart Radiator Thermostats for £59/€79 a pop.

In addition to smartening up your radiator setup via a related app, Tado says its thermostats are also compatible with Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa, as well as IFTTT.

Close

How to install the Honeywell Lyric Thermostat
Drag

With HomeKit and Alexa, you can literally command your thermostat to do your bidding. Phrases like “Alexa, set the living room to 23 degrees [23 degrees Celsius converts to 73 degrees Fahrenheit],” and “Siri, switch on the A/C in the bedroom” give you even more ways to access your thermostat remotely. And with IFTTT, you can create a variety of custom automation rules linking your Tado Smart Radiator Thermostat with connected products from other manufacturers.

Tado told me it has no immediate plan to sell this thermostat or its new £199/€249 next-generation Smart Thermostat V3 overseas, but its Smart AC Control, announced at last year’s IFA show, is available in the United States.

Want to see more IFA 2016 coverage? Check here.

Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Dyson

Dyson’s rolling its newest vacuum innovation to the US. On display at the IFA trade show in Berlin, and on sale starting today at Dyson.com, the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball follows you diligently as you clean with the attached wand, and should it fall, it’ll pick itself back up.

A vacuum that rights itself certainly sounds like science fiction, but Dyson keeps all components of the canister inside of a sphere with a low center of gravity. Should the canister get jostled and tip, it’ll naturally work itself back to its upright position.

As usual with Dyson products, you’ll need to pay an exorbitant price to take advantage of this cool feature. The Cinetic Big Ball costs $600. Again, it’s available today at Dyson’s site. Starting September 18, you’ll find it at major US appliance retailers.

If you’re in the UK or Australia, the self-righting Big Ball is already on sale. Dyson introduced it in those markets, where canister vacuums are more popular, back in April. It’s £450 in the UK and AU$1,000 in Australia.

Dyson’s competition

• Miele Blizzard CX1
• Electrolux Precision Brushroll Clean
• Oreck Touch Bagless

Like the Cinetic Big Ball Animal Allergy we reviewed last year, the new Cinetic Big Ball ditches the need for a filter. The Cinetic technology breaks down dirt as it sucks it in, so you don’t need to hassle with filter maintenance and it never loses suction. I was skeptical of this innovation when Dyson debuted it a year ago, but after rigorous tests, I’ll confirm Dyson Cinetic tech works, and it’s cool.

Between the filter free approach and the canister that takes care of itself, the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball might have enough going for it to convince Americans to give up their uprights. The price, though, is still a lot to stomach, and the one sticking point we’ve been unable to justify in all of our Dyson reviews to date. Maybe this vac can change our minds when we put it to the test for a full review.

Head here for much more from IFA in Berlin.

Sony Xperia X Compact Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Sony’s Xperia X Compact is a phone of contrasts.

It packs the same 23-megapixel camera as the higher-end Xperia XZ that Sony announced alongside it, but in an itty-bitty body. How tiny? The X Compact’s 4.6-inch display looks positively peewee compared with the XZ’s 5.2-inch screen. The pro: It’s seriously palmable and easy to use one-handed. The con: Its small screen is harder to read. There’s less room for your fingertip taps, too.

Just how small is Sony’s 4.6-inch Xperia…
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Another thing you should know: The phone’s body is made of glossy plastic instead of the XZ’s metal, though I didn’t mind. It makes sense for the phone type, but it’s important that the price be right. It doesn’t have the waterproofing of some more top-tier Sony phones.

Still, the X Compact doesn’t feel like a throwaway device. In addition to identical cameras, the two new Xperias have nearly the same battery capacity — 2,700mAh versus 2,900mAh — as well as the same USB-C charger port and same 3GB of RAM. That’s pretty generous for a small phone that I expect to come in at a budget price — but we don’t have anything official yet. In some senses, Sony’s generosity could wind up making the X Compact the better deal.

Sony starts selling the small handset in September (on September 25 in the US).

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow	Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
5.2-inch; 1,920×1,080 pixels	4.6-inch; 1,280×720 pixels
Metal build	Polycarbonate (plastic) build
23-megapixel	23-megapixel
13-megapixel	5-megapixel
Snapdragon 820	Snapdragon 650
32GB/64GB	32GB of storage
3GB	3GB
2,900mAh	2,700mAh
Globally; not in US	Globally; not in US
IP68	None

Sony MDR-1000X Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

When it comes to noise-canceling headphones — those models that actively block outside noise like airline engines — Bose is generally considered the gold standard, but Sony’s engineers have been on a mission to beat Bose at what it does best.

The result of their efforts is the MDR-1000X, which Sony is calling its most technologically advanced headphone and features both wireless Bluetooth connectivity and adaptive noise-cancellation in a swanky looking chassis that retails for $400 (£330, AU$700) and ships in October.

Sony says it developed new ear pads for this headphone and the embedded touch controls for volume adjustment and skipping tracks forward and back are more responsive than those found in the MDR-1ABT.

The headphone comes in two colors: the black here and gray-beige (pictured below).

David Carnoy/CNET

I’m not going to get into all the technical details but this headphone is equipped with similar drivers to the highly rated MDR-1A and has microphones not only on the outside of the ear cups to measure ambient noise, but inside to take account for the shape of your head and ears, and whether you wear glasses.

Sony has trademarked this feature, calling it the Sense Engine and says it tailors the noise-canceling individually to you. You can also choose alternate settings that allow more ambient noise to seep in or even filter out everything but voices so you can hear announcements in airports while listening to music.

Another cool feature is the ability to muffle your music and let the outside world in by simply holding your hand over the right ear cup, where the touch controls are located. Once you finish talking to someone, you remove your hand and the music resumes playing at its previous volume and the noise cancellation kicks back in.

Folded flat in its carrying case.

David Carnoy/CNET

Battery life is rated at 20 hours and a cord is included if you want to listen in wired mode. I didn’t get a chance to listen to it as a wired headphone, but the Sony reps I spoke with said it sounds a touch better, particularly if you’re listen to high-resolution tracks.

Like a lot of Sony’s latest headphones, the company is promoting it as a high-res headphone, with support for Sony’s proprietary LDAC format that’s supposed to provide higher quality sound than conventional Bluetooth streaming, but you need a Sony music player with LDAC to take advantage of it. (Sony makes a variety of hi-res music players, but I suspect that the majority of people will use this headphone with their phones).

Also, Sony says this is the first headphone to have its Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE HXTM) built-in to “upscale compressed music from any source to near hi-res audio sound quality, even in wireless mode.”

Sony MDR-1000X (pictures)
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In my short time with an early unit I listened to a few tracks using Spotify and Tidal to get an initial impression of the sound, but will need more time with the headphone to give you an in depth evaluation. (I also need to test it as a headset for making calls.)

Still, I heard enough to say that if you’re a frequent traveler, the MDR-1000X should definitely be on your short list of headphones to consider. It’s a step up from Sony’s H.ear On Wireless NC that I rated highly and which folds flat into a slimmer carrying case.

The sound quality is top-notch for a Bluetooth headphone and the noise-canceling appears to be as effective and perhaps even slightly more so than that of the Bose QC35 (I’ll have to do some more A/B testing before I reach a final verdict). However, the Bose is lighter and arguably slightly more comfortable. It also costs $50 less.

Sony Xperia XZ Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Cameras are Sony’s strength, so we took note when its Xperia XZ appeared with a 23-megapixel rear shooter and a 13-megapixel selfie cam. Partly because of the cameras, partly because of its metal build and partly because of the current Qualcomm 820 chipset, Sony considers the Xperia XZ a flagship phone of the X series. And so far it seems to mostly fit there, as far as the specs list goes — especially compared to the tiny, plastic Xperia X Compact that shares the same megapixel-heavy rear camera. (That phone might well wind up being the better buy for casual users.)

At 5.2 inches, the screen’s a little smaller than some, which makes the body easier to maneuver with one hand. The resolution and battery capacity are a little lower, too. An IP68 rating makes the Xperia XZ — named for its a stylistic cross between the Xperia Z and Xperia X Performance — submergible in 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

This Sony Xperia XZ is a sliver of silver
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I didn’t get a whole lot of quality time with the camera in our hands-on briefing, so it’s too soon to comment on image quality. But the camera is easy to operate with both tap and swipe controls, and there are plenty of filters. Lasers help with autofocus and an RGBC sensor promises to punch up lowlight scenes. More exacting photographers will find a manual mode.

My complaint with Sony is that it (illogically) insists on turning off the fingerprint reader in the US. Globally, though, the power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader works quickly and accurately on other phones we’ve tested, like the Xperia X from earlier this year. Anyone Stateside who buys the US version of the XZ (or any other Sony phone) will have to do without that common security measure.

The Xperia XZ starts selling October in the US. We’ll update with global pricing and availability as soon we have it.

Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow	Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
5.2-inch; 1,920×1,080 pixels	4.6-inch; 1,280×720 pixels
Metal build	Polycarbonate (plastic) build
23-megapixel	23-megapixel
13-megapixel	5-megapixel
Snapdragon 820	Snapdragon 650
32GB/64GB	32GB of storage
3GB	3GB
2,900 mAh	2,700 mAh
Globally; Not in US	Globally; Not in US
IP68	None

IFA 2016: All of the gadgets from Europe’s…
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Wacom Bamboo smart notepads review – CNET

The Good Wacom’s Bamboo Slate and Folio are easy to use and a seamless way to get your written notes into the cloud without sacrificing pen and paper.

The Bad You may not like the feel of the pen for writing in long stretches.

The Bottom Line The Wacom Bamboo Slate and Bamboo Folio provide a practical bridge between handwritten notes on paper and making them available in the cloud.

In September 2015, Wacom launched a new line of note-taking products with the Bamboo Spark, a “smart” folio that allows you to take notes on a normal pad of paper with a special ballpoint pen; when you press the button, it sends the notes to your account in the cloud. The Spark has done well enough that Wacom introduced two new versions, the clipboard-like Bamboo Slate and the larger portfolio design, Bamboo Folio. Along with the new hardware and some operational tweaks, Wacom has rebranded its Wacom cloud service and apps as Inkspace.

The Slate comes in two sizes, small (A5/half letter) and large (A4/letter) which cost $130 (£91) and $150 (£105), respectively. The Folio only comes in the large, for $200 (£140). I don’t have Australian prices yet, but those convert to roughly AU$172, AU$200 and AU$265. The basic Inkspace service is free with registration, but Inkspace Plus is only free for three months, after which it’s $3 per month. (No UK or Australian pricing, but that’s about £2.30 and AU$4.) The subscription buys you an upgrade from 5GB to 50GB storage, supports handwriting conversion as formatted instead of plain text, allows SVG export and provides full-text search. Wacom will also introduce a collaboration mode that will only be available via subscription.

How it works

You charge the folio via a standard Micro-USB cable and charger, and pair the folio with your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. When you’re ready to send your notes to Inkspace, you press the button on the folio, and it communicates with the Inkspace app running on your device, saving a picture of the page locally and uploading it. From Inkspace you can convert the page to a JPEG, PNG, PDF or the native WILL file, or SVG if you pay for it, as well as convert it to a plain text file via the web site. There’s also a live mode in which the device mirrors the page as you write, suited to sharing during in-person meetings.

The key to the system is Wacom’s EMR (electromagnetic resistive) technology; the specially formulated ink in the pen communicates with the electronics in the folio, which records your strokes in Wacom’s WILL (writing ink layer language) format. It works with regular paper, as long as the pad isn’t too thick. Because of the custom ink, you have to buy refills from Wacom. One comes in the box.

Glyph Blackbox Plus review – CNET

The Good The Blackbox Plus has fast performance, a rugged design and is compatible with USB-C. The drive comes with helpful warranty policies and is available with several storage options.

The Bad Capacity caps at 2TB and that version uses a slower internal hard drive than smaller capacities. The drive includes no software nor does it support encryption.

The Bottom Line Fast, compact, rugged and future-proof, the Blackbox Plus is an excellent portable drive for serious users on the go.

View full gallery CNET

The Glyph Blackbox Plus portable drive is better than the G-tech G-Drive Mobile USB-C in nearly every way. While both drives support USB-C, allowing them to work with existing and future computers — they will also work with Thunderbolt 3 ports by the way — the Blackbox Plus has so much more to offer.

First of all, it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) as opposed to the Gen 1 (5Gbps) support of the G-Drive. Apart from the rugged aluminum casing, the Blackbox Plus has a removable protective rubber case to save it from accidental drops. It’s also available in three hard drive-based capacities including 500GB, 1TB and 2TB priced at $100, $120 and $170, respectively; and two solid-state capacities including 512GB and 1TB that cost $230 and $450, respectively.

The G-Tech mobile drive, on the other hand, is available in a single hard drive-based capacity of 1TB for $120. What’s more, the Blackbox Plus includes an interesting 3-2-1 warranty policy. You get 3 years of regular warranty against hardware failure, 2 years of free level-1 data recovery (meaning no advanced recovery method is required) and one year of advance replacement where if the drive is defective, Glyph will send the replacement right away before you have to send the defective drive back.

CNET Labs’ USB 3.0/3.1 portable hard drive performance

Glyph Blackbox Plus

149.9

159.87

Seagate Backup Ultra Slim

149.6

169.21

Seagate Expansion

125.2

127.93

Sony HDD HB

121.7

128.06

G-Tech Gdrive EV ATC

119.0

138.73

Toshiba Canvio Slim II

118.8

118.49

Seagate Slim

110.4

111.49

Buffalo MiniStation Extreme

110.3

118.82

WD My Passport Ultra

110.2

117.34

G-Tech G-Drive Mobile USB-C

109.9

125.75

WD My Password Slim

107.7

107.89

SiliconPower Armor A60

104.3

114.48

WD Elements

95.7

102.15

Legend:

Write
Read

Note:

Measured in megabytes per second. Longer bars mean better performance.

Most importantly, in testing, the Blackbox Plus did much better than the G-Drive. I tested the 1TB hard drive-based version through the USB 3.1 connection, using a USB-C cable with a USB-C computer and it scored a sustained real-word copy speed of 150MB/s for writing and 160MB/s for reading, among the highest for a portable drive of this type. This is likely because the drive houses a fast 7200-rpm internal drive on the inside. Note that the 2TB version of the Blackbox, however, houses a slower 5400-rpm internal drive, so its speed could be slower. On the other hand, the SSD-based version of the drive, which I haven’t tested, will likely be much faster. The Blackbox is bus-powered, you won’t need a separate power adapter, and it also works with USB 3.0 as as well as USB 2.0.

The Blackbox Plus includes pretty much every USB cable you’d ever need: two USB cables, one USB-A to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable for computers with USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port. The drive is quite compact, measuring just 3.7 inches by 5.75 inches at 0.8 inch thick, though it’s still a bit bulkier than the G-Drive. Out of the box, the test drive was formatted in NTFS and works right away with a Windows computer but it can be easily reformatted to work with a Mac. Similar to the G-Drive, it doesn’t support encryption to protect data against the case of loss or theft nor does it include any backup software. This is not a big deal, however, since in my experience, it’s better to use Time Machine and Windows 10’s built-in File History for backups anyway.

Should you get it?

If you’re in the market for a fast, compact, rugged drive that will also work with future computers, you can’t go wrong with the Blackbox Plus, of which I find the 1TB capacity to be the best deal. On the other hand if your computer doesn’t have an USB-C (or Thunderbolt 3) port and you’re not planning to upgrade anytime soon, a non-USB-C drive like the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim or WD My Passport Ultra will offer lots of storage, albeit with slower performance, for about the same price.