Asus ZenPad 3S 10 review – CNET
The Good The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 has a sharp, clear HD screen and its design is both comfy and cool. The fingerprint scanner adds extra security. Comes with a good amount of storage for its price.
The Bad The speakers are easy to block when holding in landscape orientation. Games take their time to load.
The Bottom Line The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 is a fantastic portable video watcher with enough storage to get you through long flights at a reasonable price.
The iPad Air 2 is one of the best tablets you can buy. And it’s a better tablet than the Asus ZenPad 3S 10. But if the iPad Air 2’s $399 (£379 or AU$719) starting price is too rich for your blood and you’re a fan of the Android OS, you might want to give the Asus a try.
The $299 (£300) Asus is cheaper, great for watching video and comes with twice the amount of storage as the base level iPad Air 2. That means twice as many Netflix TV shows to download. It’s not officially available in Australia but its price converts to about AU$535.
It also has a microSD card expansion slot to increase its storage and a sleek, compact feel that makes it pleasant to hold for long binge sessions. I’m not going to tell anyone to make the Asus their first choice, but if you have simple needs and are looking to save some cash, the ZenPad 3S 10 is a smart buy.
Here’s what’s good
- Build is comfortable, compact and sleek
- Smooth performance
- Large, sharp HD screen
- Expandable microSD card slot (up to 128GB)
- Charges quickly via USB-C
- 10.7 hour battery life
- Comfortable to hold
An great screen for a great price.
Josh Miller/CNET
Here’s what’s bad
- Not as fast as the Apple iPad Pro 9.7 or Google Pixel C
- Speakers on the edge are easy to block when holding the tablet
- Screen is more prone to heavy reflections than the iPad Air 2
The stylish, compact design is one of its best feature.
Josh Miller/CNET
Screen screening
The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 has the same screen resolution as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and iPad Air 2, and while they all compare favorably in sharpness, there is notable difference in color.
The Samsung tablet’s display is vividly saturated with rich colors and deep blacks. While that makes for a more dramatic image, it’s almost too colorful– like it went a little overboard with the Instagram filters. In comparison, the Asus’s range of color is more subdued and lifelike, similar to the iPad Air 2’s screen.
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There’s a USB-C port in-between the two speakers.
Josh Miller/CNET
Speaker trouble
The crisp HD screen on the Asus ZenPad 3S 10 is perfect for HD video, but its speakers are a different story.
AC Worldwide Star Wars speakers Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
If you’re a serious Star Wars fan, or you know someone who is, here’s a new conversation piece for your moisture farm.
Made by AC Worldwide, these wireless speakers are shaped like the heads of three of the greatest Stars Wars characters ever to go into hyperspace: Darth Vader, C-3PO and an anonymous Imperial Stormtrooper (did you really expect a name?). Each head is rendered in detail and delivers loud and satisfying sound for both music and phone calls. There are even a few Easter eggs to keep an entire cantina entertained.
Shiny, scary people
If you’re already reaching for your wallet, you’ll first need to clear a lot of space on your bookshelf. Ranging in height from 11 to 12.6 inches (naturally, Vader’s head is the tallest) the speakers seem almost as large as the heads of the actual characters. But if you already have a giant Lego Millennium Falcon on your dining table, I suspect you won’t mind their size.
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Each speaker’s profile accurately captures each character’s, well, character. Vader’s visage is just as chilling as it would be roaming the corridors of the Death Star, the Stormtrooper embodies a nameless terror and C-3PO is so shiny you can see your reflection in his forehead.
The eyes of each character glow when you turn them on and set up a Bluetooth connection. Touch controls on the front of each speaker adjust the volume and bass, control music playback options, initiate a Bluetooth (versions 4.0) pairing, and accept (and hang up) calls. The controls were easy to use, even though I’d prefer buttons that you can actually press down. Around back are the power switch, a USB port (for charging a phone), a microphone (for making calls), a port for the wall charger (to power the integrated battery) and a port for connecting a 3.5mm auxiliary cable.
Star Wars sounds
There’s an especially cool effect when you make a Bluetooth connection. Instead of a boring tone you’ll hear familiar sounds from the films. The Vader speaker plays the Sith Lord’s signature mechanical breathing, the Stormtrooper says, “Go about your business, move along” followed by blaster sounds and the self-effacing C-3PO remarks, “I do believe they think I’m some sort of god” to the tune of the Star Wars theme. (Vader also plays sounds of a lightsaber battle when you disconnect him.)
Touch controls are on the front of each speaker’s base.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Music and more
You can connect each speaker to a music device via Bluetooth, NFC or an auxiliary cable. When connected to your phone through Bluetooth, they double as a speakerphone for making calls. I connected each to my iPhone 6 quickly and jumped straight to playing music without any hassle. Though I didn’t try it, you can connect two speakers to the same music device for stereo sound.
Sound quality from the 10-watt subwoofer was fine during the brief period I used the speakers, and the volume gets ear-shatteringly loud. Call quality over the speakerphone wasn’t quite as sharp, and it felt weird ordering lunch through Darth Vader’s mouth. Music will mute automatically if you get a call while you’re listening to tunes. The 2200 mAh battery is supposed to deliver up to five hours of music playback.
Available (not) a long time ago
For now at least, the speakers are sold only at retail stores in the UK. Look for them at Selfridges, Harrods and London Disney Stores. You also can buy them on AC’s website, where you can arrange for international shipping.
Vader sells for £169 or $211 (about AU$295) and the others for £149 or $186 (about AU$250). A selection of international plug adapters come in the box, as does a felt carrying bag.
Super Mario Run Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
What does Mario feel like on your iPhone? It feels like Mario, more than you’d think.
Nintendo’s upcoming, much-hyped game, Super Mario Run, is exclusive to iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) for now, with an Android release to follow in 2017. It’s been designed from the ground up for phones, and will cost $9.99 (£7.99, AU$14.99 and 9.99 euros) when it launches in dozens of countries on December 15. Or, it’s free. How does that work, and what does it all feel like?
I tried the first eight courses of Super Mario Run in advance of its release during a play session with Nintendo, and this is what I learned.
The courses are fast, but they feel like Mario levels. If you’ve ever played a single-button jump-type mobile game (Rayman Adventures from Ubisoft comes to mind), expect something similar here. Mario keeps running no matter what you do, and even hops over small enemies automatically. Tapping or holding down on the screen is used for leaping to higher platforms, kick-jumping and spin-jumping. But the courses I tried all look like they could have come from New Super Mario Brothers. Some even had some puzzle solving, and I had two tiny boss battles at the end of the fourth course in each world.
One hand!
Sarah Tew/CNET
Everything is controlled with one finger. This could easily be a stand-while-riding-the-subway game (as Nintendo’s Shigero Miyamoto specifically mentioned when introducing the game back in June). During actual runs, all I needed was my thumb.
The game plays in vertical mode. Unlike every other Mario game, Super Mario Run is meant for one-handed gaming with your thumb…so everything is in portrait mode. That might seem weird for a game that scrolls horizontally, but it works just fine.
The game starts free, but the full experience costs $10. You can play the first four levels in the game (the first world) for free, and challenge friends to high-score challenges. But for the other levels, you need to pay.
The main game doesn’t have a ton of levels. There are six worlds in the World Tour mode, just like other Super Mario games. Each world has four courses. That’s 24 levels, which is less than most Mario games. But new most Mario games cost more than $10.
Bowser.
Sarah Tew/CNET
… but Nintendo says there won’t be an endless stream of paid upgrades. Thankfully, this isn’t designed to be a free-to-play game that bleeds you dry with “optional” power-ups that cost “only” a few dollars. But if the game takes off, I wouldn’t be surprised if a Super Mario Run 2 is hot on its tail.
The iPad version looks just the same. Expect everything to run a bit larger, but the game plays in the same way. I saw it on an iPad Mini.
Each course has three levels of coin-collecting challenges. You can try to grab five pink coins to earn a special reward, and then do it again with red and black coins. It’s the game’s variation on the classic Mario hidden stars or large golden coins.
iPad, or iPhone. Same game.
Sarah Tew/CNET
You can play with Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi and more. I only got to play as Mario, but each character should have its own style.
A second mode challenges friends and others to 60-second score runs. In addition to the 24 standard types of Mario levels, there are timed score showdowns aimed at beating your friends on leaderboards. Collecting coins and pulling off fancy spin and jump moves in these timed modes earns coins and Toad followers. Both are needed to unlock extra bonuses in the game (see below). The score runs use randomly generated levels, meaning this part could have a lot more replay value. I tried one of these runs, and it was like playing 60 seconds of frantic timed Mario gameplay.
You can buy little things to decorate a mini Mushroom kingdom. A little town-like layout of buildings and castles can get extra hills or mushrooms or rainbows added on. These cost coins, which get unlocked in games, and they need Toad followers to unlock the chance to buy them in the first place (see above). So, it’s a way of picking up extra badges.
You can invite Facebook or Twitter friends. It looks like friends, who you can continually compete with on high scores, can be invited via email, Nintendo ID or social apps. I didn’t get to try this out, obviously.
I’d buy it. Yes, $10 is steep for an iOS game. But I’m in. Super Mario Run seems like enough entertainment to keep me happy. But it also doesn’t seem like the sort of massive game Mario fans playing on the 3DS or Wii U might expect. Does it succeed as a game that’s simple and fun enough to be entertaining on a phone, while still offering enough to justify the price, though?
I never spent more than a few dollars on Pokemon Go, and I don’t like spending more than $5 on a mobile game. Since I haven’t played the whole thing, I can’t judge. But so far, I’d play a lot more of what I’ve seen…and yes, one-fingered Mario works. It works really well.
2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS review – Roadshow
The Good Tons of downforce, grippy tires and a 0-60 mph time of 3.1 seconds. Just get in and hold on!
The Bad Not much in terms of media and connectivity. If you want even a simple USB port, you have to upgrade to the Porsche Communication Management System.
The Bottom Line The GT3 RS is super spendy but if you have the coin, it’s tough to find a better performance car.
Close
Drag
When the
2016 Porsche 911
GT3 RS arrived at Gingerman Raceway, a small argument broke out. Actually, a melee of Roadshow editors elbowed each other out of the way to hop behind the wheel and take the 500-horsepower street-legal racecar out on the track.
I emerged bruised and battered from the brawl, but nevertheless got to thrash the GT3 RS around the 2.14-mile track, where it earned a top space in my heart.
Get in, sit down, hold on, and shut up. The Porsche GT3 RS is one helluva ride.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
The GT3 RS starts where the standard GT3 ends. It’s got 50 more horsepower and a bit more torque. Vents cover the body while a big fancy-pants wing sits on the back, and its hips would make Shakira hang her head in shame. Those fenders are stuffed with staggered wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, sized 265/35-20 in the front and a whopping 325/30-21 in the rear.
Porsche employs a lot of what I like to call “small small catch monkey” tactics to add lightness. The small weight savings from a carbon-fiber trunk lid, hood, wing and spoiler, as well as an ultrathin magnesium roof, results in losing 22 pounds of weight when compared to the standard GT3. Fabric door pulls and no backseat help keep weight low, but don’t worry, air conditioning, navigation and a radio are still available.
Many race car tricks keep the GT3 RS barreling down the track and not, say, crashing into the wall at the first turn. The rear wing generates 485 pounds of downforce in addition to the 243 pounds of downforce delivered by the front splitter and vented front fenders, enhancing grip. Although it takes a speed of 186 mph to get full downforce, I was plenty happy with whatever fraction I had as I crested 140 mph on the rear straight.
On the wing of love with the Porsche…
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Keeping the GT3 RS flat and neutral through the turns is one word: adjustable. As in, adjustable front suspension and adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars. Also on hand is an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, and a nifty rear-steering system. At speeds under 50 mph, the rear steers opposite to the front, resulting in a tidier line. Put a little pressure on the right pedal and the rear wheels turn in the same direction, sort of crabbing the GT3 RS along the turn.
No manual is available in the GT3 RS.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Normally I’m not one for all these fancy electronic interlopers in my track day fun, but Porsche does it right. From the first scream up to 8,250 rpm, the shifts of the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox were heart-stopping.
Kenmore 22352 review – CNET
The Good Kenmore’s $720 22352 top-load washing machine has all of the standard settings you need for less. It removes stains well, too, and is extra gentle on clothes.
The Bad The 22352’s MSRP seems a little high given that it’s the most pared-down washing machine we’ve tested thus far. Don’t expect any luxury features or design flourishes here.
The Bottom Line Avoid the Kenmore 22352 if you’re looking for advanced tech, but this straightforward top-loader does just fine where it matters most — performance.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
Kenmore’s $720 22352 top-loader is about as bare-bones as it gets when it comes to washing machines today. You won’t find a touchscreen display panel or tons of options — quite the opposite. The 22352 looks like it rolled off the back of a truck from the 1980s.
That said, it removes stains quite well and it’s really gentle on clothes. You can also currently find it at Sears.com for just $500. If you’re looking for a no-frills washer that’s easy to use, you might want to take a look at the Kenmore 22352.
A bland Kenmore washer with solid cleaning…
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The gist
Kenmore’s 22352 stands out amid the sea of shiny gray metallic washers available today, but only because of its comparatively bland design. It looks like a carryover from a previous generation of appliances — and not in a good way. Plenty of folks looking for an affordable top-loader that simply cleans clothes well won’t care about that, though.
As its plain exterior suggests, this model doesn’t offer any high-end features. Look elsewhere for auto-dispensing detergent, Android and iPhone apps and other advanced options. It is easy to use, though. Turn the various dials on the display to the settings you want and press “Start.”
Here’s an overview of the 22352’s specs compared to other sub-$1,000 top-load washers we’ve tested:
Comparing top-load washing machines
| Kenmore 22352 | Kenmore 27132 | GE GTW485ASJWS | GE GTW810SSJWS |
| $720 | $950 | $650 | $900 |
| White | White | White | White, Metallic (for $1,000) |
| 4.2 cubic feet | 4.8 cubic feet | 4.2 cubic feet | 5.1 cubic feet |
| 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
| 238 kWh/year | 169 kWh/year | 152 kWh/year | 152 kWh/year |
| 27.5 x 37 x 28 inches | 27.5 x 37 x 27.9 inches | 27 x 44 x 27 inches | 28 x 44.5 x 29 inches |
| 1 year, limited | 1 year, limited | 1 year, limited | 1 year, limited |
| 120V; 60Hz | 120V; 60Hz | 120V; 60Hz | 120V; 60Hz |
| No | No | No | Yes, Android and iPhone |
Like GE’s $650 GTW485ASJWS, the 22352 relies on an agitator to clean clothes. An agitator is a plastic rod that extends from the bottom of the washer bin to the top and takes up precious cubic feet. For that reason, the 22352 only has a 4.2 cubic-foot internal capacity, meaning it won’t be able to hold the mega-size loads of laundry that some less invasive impeller-style top-loaders can.
If you want to a comparison of the agitator and impeller models, check out my washing machine buying guide.
Samsung Gear S3 review
The newest version of the Gear series is a bit bigger, packs a little more punch, and brings a few more tools for the smartwatch enthusiast. Is there enough substance behind the style? We find out in this full review of the Samsung Gear S3.
Hot Android phones:
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Before we begin, we will mention that while we are reviewing the Frontier edition, we were able to use the two different editions of it. A Wi-Fi only edition of the watch is available and is more or less the typical Gear experience, while the 4G-enabled edition through AT&T makes it easy use the watch without needing to have a phone nearby and connected.
Design
While it might not be easy for everyone to sport this large smartwatch, there is one simple reality for those who can – this is one sleek device. The Gear S3 Frontier brings grooves to the signature rotating bezel, giving it an added tactile quality that is subtle but noticeably felt. Seconds in increments of five line the area just below the rotating bezel – a small detail that adds to any analog watch face. Two buttons are on the right side, one to go backwards in the interface and the other to either go back to the watch face or open up the app list. To differentiate the Frontier and Classic editions, the Frontier’s buttons are more recessed to the body and are covered in a patterned leather.
In adding to the sporty nature of the Gear S3 Frontier, a silicone band comes standard. This helps with the watch’s water resistance, ensuring that no leather will get ruined if one’s wrist gets splashed. However, it is easy to replace the bands through the 22mm standard connectors. A myriad of bands are available from Samsung via partnerships with plenty of fashion companies, but this silicone complemented the style of the Gear S3 nicely.
The body case is a large 46mm, definitely bigger than either of the previous Gear S2 models. This size makes it tough to recommend for anyone with small wrists, regardless of one’s gender. Even my own wrists could barely contain the large frame of the watch. While it certainly doesn’t look obnoxious on my wrists, it took a little bit of time to get used to. This size adds room for plenty of features and protection – turning the watch body over reveals the heart rate sensor and designations for the 316L stainless steel material that makes it up. And finally, a MIL-STD 810G rating adds extra shock, heat, and cold resistance to the existing IP certification.
See also:
Samsung Gear S2 review
October 22, 2015
What we really applaud the Gear S3 Frontier for, is its ability to work with plenty of different outfits. While it is most at home among a more formal ensemble, the sleek head-turning design makes it a centerpiece when wearing casual clothing. And to that end, it is hardly a loud device in terms of look – the black color blends in well with most paired clothing.
Which brings us to the marquee feature that returns from the Gear S2 – the rotating bezel. It takes just little tug or a little push in order to make it move, and every click from the bezel is as satisfying as the last. Full touchscreen capabilities are available still, but this physical method of moving around the Tizen interface is fluid, responsive, and as snappy as it should be. Movements far in the interface or just to the next element are equally easy, making this an ideal smartwatch for anyone that wants a tactile experience to, in many ways, replace touchscreen experiences.
Display
And the display is half the story regarding the size of the Gear S3 – at 1.3 inches, the OLED display is covered in Gorilla Glass SR+ (Scratch Resistance Plus) and boasts 360 x 360 resolution. Though these specs might sound a bit run of the mill for most high-end smartwatches, credit goes to Samsung for leveraging it as effectively as possible. OLED lends to really great colors coming from the Tizen OS along with the ability to truly turn off the display’s lighting for battery savings.
And to that end, watch faces on the Gear S3 take on a different nature when the ‘Always on Display’ option is ticked. When using pretty much any watch face downloaded from the Samsung Gear application, covering the display with one’s hand or letting it time out reveals a more toned down version of the face that still keeps the essential elements in view no matter what angle you’re looking at the watch from. For any fans of the Always on Display on the Galaxy smartphones, this is about the closest that it can get strapped onto a wrist.
In all situations – even in broad daylight – the brightness of this OLED panel keeps everything properly viewable. And it is important to have an easy time glancing at the screen because the Tizen operating system tries to pack in as much as it can in the main screen. Some watch faces have hidden functionality when tapped upon. For example, the default face doubles up as a stopwatch. Even when features like these are running, small elements are strewn about the watch face to alert the user to changing circumstances like standing notifications or when the watch is not connected to a smartphone.
Make no mistake – this is the best way to read notifications on a smartwatch. Ever. The combination of the high quality screen and the rotating bezel to scroll down in even long notifications is an experience that is unparalleled by the touchscreen-centric Android Wear and the button pressing Pebble. Even when pictures load up in the preview, they’re shown in effective fashion and simply add to the idea that this watch is supposed to be more standalone than perpetually tethered to your smartphone.
See also:
The best Android Wear watches
4 weeks ago
Performance
So, for a watch that wants to do as much as possible, there has to be quite a bit of power under the hood. For the Gear S3, this comes in the form of an Exynos 7270, born and optimized by Samsung and for Samsung, in the case of their own smartwatch operating system Tizen. It comes at no surprise, then, that the watch simply flies through its operating system and applications. A quick spin of the rotating bezel shows how fluidly all of the widgets and screens zip past with no issues at all.
The only problems we had with applications came from third party developed downloads from the Gear Manager. This is not so much the problem of the watch and its processing power, but from the development of the apps. While this is an issue that bears mentioning, the core experience of the Gear S3 is still about as good as it can get – and that says a lot, because this watch tries to do a lot out of the box.
Hardware
As mentioned earlier, we have been able to use a 4G LTE enabled version of the Gear S3 that comes with a few extras. Namely, the ability to sync up the watch without needing to be around the smartphone it pairs with. Setting up the Gear Manager properly means that as long as both the smartphone and smartwatch are connected to some sort of network, notifications will come to the Gear S3, no matter where the user is.
The added benefit is the ability to make calls and send texts in this very situation, without the smartphone around. On AT&T, this service is called NumberSync and it makes it so that the watch goes off alongside its paired phone. Calls on the watch make use of a speaker and microphone combo that is found on the left side of the body, tucked under the top half of the watch. The experience of taking calls on the S3 is akin to a small walkie talkie that is strapped to your wrist, but it isn’t effective in even semi-loud environments and thus requires either a Bluetooth headset connection or, surprise surprise, moving to the phone. It’s a great idea made into reality, it’s just not as awesome as we probably all expected it to be.
Not the mention that having this extra functionality in the Frontier LTE means paying for a smartwatch plan that encompasses data and wireless signal, which costs $10 on top of any smartphone plan you are already paying for. Is it worth that extra money each month? That’s up to you, but we think that there is already so much fun to be had on the Gear S3 without having to shout at your wrist.
Connecting a Bluetooth headset to the watch opens up a couple of possibilities. Not only will calls be easier to manage, but the on-board storage can be used for local music playback. The LTE-enabled Frontier allows for Spotify streaming, which is nice but is a battery drain. 4GB of storage is available for local files so that content is always within reach.
One final feature on the Gear S3 is Samsung Pay, enabled on the Gear S3 through an add-on that is installed in the Gear Manager. The setup takes a little bit of time, but after getting any credit cards put into the add-on and then transferred over to the NFC and MST enabled Gear S3, payments are quite easy at multiple stations across major stores. Simply hold the back button, select which card to use, and then bring the watch up to the station and voila. This is yet another fun aspect to using the Gear S3, and even this skeptic that prefers physical credit cards gets a kick out of it.
See also:
Samsung Pay: What is it, how does it work and how do I use it?
March 5, 2016
The battery of the Gear S3 is charged via a wireless charging dock that is magnetic, making the watch snap right into place easily. Though Samsung claims two days of battery life out of the 380mAh unit, that is less true when usage is constant and aggressive. This is mostly true for the Frontier LTE, in which everything from taking calls, sending texts, and even fitness tracking combined will make the watch seem more like a one day warrior. When using more applications and functions on the regular, be prepared to take the watch off and dock it at least once a day to top off the battery.
Software
And lastly, Tizen – the smartwatch OS of choice for Samsung. Since the Gear S2, there have been some enhancements made to the operating system, and existing Gear S2 users will get this through an update. These are mostly in terms of using the rotating bezel, which can be rotated to answer or decline calls, for example.
The main noticeable changes are in the overall optimization of the Tizen software, and it shows in the smooth look and feel that the Gear S3 provides. Which is good, because there are a lot of apps that require some due diligence. Weather, calendar events, reminders, Flipboard, S Health, and so much more are available to the user, and it can get a little overwhelming. Add upon all that the different ways that users can respond to messages – voice, emoji, canned messages, and a T9 keyboard that is a bit easier to use on the larger screen but is still far from ideal.
S Health returns in Tizen as the main method of fitness tracking. Much like in the Gear S2, S Health will count steps and periodically take heart rate metrics to get a snapshot of the day’s fitness. While its step count default of 6000 is still rather absurd to us, there are a few more tools here to use when going out in the wild. GPS tracking is available when doing distanced based workouts, though it has to be enabled via the specifically selected activity, like hiking. And speaking of hiking, there are barometers and altimeters to get a better handle on one’s environment. Hikers, in particular, will probably find altitude information useful. Other functions in S Health help users track water and caffeine intake along with sleep, but these are rather simplistic in their execution.
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The app ecosystem of Tizen has grown a lot since the Gear S2, and some apps that I envied Android Wear and Pebble for during my usage of Samsung’s OS have finally arrived. That said, there are issues with some third party application development, as we mentioned earlier. Sleep as Android, my sleep tracker of choice, is still a little buggy and didn’t give full reports a couple of nights. And S Voice is just not as good as Google’s voice assistance.
All in all, Tizen is an experience that is still best taken at its core, because that is where it shines best. Third party support is still lacking, but Samsung is still able to make it work where it counts – fitness tracking, though sometimes simplistic, is robust; and Samsung Pay helps add a bit of flair to the notification prowess and daily info already built into the Gear S3.
Gallery
Conclusion
There was a feeling I couldn’t shake when using the Gear S3 – with every notification that came in, I found myself enjoying reading the entire message (usually SMS) on the screen, scrolling down with the satisfying clicks of the rotating bezel. This is an experience I had before on the Gear S2, but for some reason this was better on the even larger, more men’s fashion-oriented Gear S3. And for any faults that I came across in this smartwatch, like buggy apps or tough to hear voice calls blaring from my wrist, the simplest daily activities were made better by what Samsung continues to build upon since premiering their unique tactile user experience.
…one of the most enjoyable smartwatch experiences we’ve had in a little while…
The Gear S3 Frontier, in particular, really tries to wear a lot of hats at once – smartwatch, notification center, health monitor, payment system, GPS tracker, audio player, and voice caller, to name a few. And though there are a large number of users that may be turned off by the visage of this smartwatch, credit has to be given where credit is due – Samsung managed to make the bulk of these features work well enough in concert to make what has been one of the most enjoyable smartwatch experiences we’ve had in a little while. Android Wear unfortunately has one of its biggest competitors in the Samsung Gear S3.
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What do you think of the Samsung Gear S3? Would you buy one? Or is an Android Wear device or the Apple Watch more your type of smartwatch? Let us know your views in the comments below!
C by GE Lamp with Alexa Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The C by GE Lamp, featuring Amazon’s Alexa.
GE
In 2015, Amazon made the world of manufacturing an offer. Make a device with a microphone, a speaker, and an internet connection, they said, and we’ll let you add in our virtual assistant Alexa, free of charge.
Now, GE is taking them up on it.
The device in question looks a lot like something that came out of Dyson’s R&D department, but it’s really just an internet-connected desk lamp. Plug it in and pair it with your phone via Wi-Fi, and you’ll be able to control it alongside the C by GE smart bulbs in GE’s smart lighting app. And, thanks to the addition of a microphone and speaker in the base, you’ll be able to use it to talk to Alexa, too.
In essence, that makes this thing an Amazon Echo with a lamp growing out of its head (though given the size of the speaker, the sound quality might be closer to the pint-size Amazon Echo Dot). GE says you’ll be able to use it just as you’d use an Echo — just say the wake word, “Alexa,” followed by a question or a command. No button press needed.
As with other Alexa products, you’ll be able to ask it to wake you up in the morning, read off the day’s news or weather forecast, tell you a joke, play a podcast from iHeartRadio, or stream some music from Pandora, Spotify or Amazon. You can also ask it to control any Alexa-compatible smart-home devices you might own (including the lamp itself, obviously), or enable any of Alexa’s thousands of third-party “skills” — essentially voice apps that teach Alexa new tricks.
For now, GE’s just calling it the C by GE Lamp, though I’d challenge them to do better given the fact that it’s such a unique-looking product. Preorders are expected to start in early 2017, with devices set to arrive on the C by GE website and on Amazon in the second quarter of the year.
Pricing isn’t set yet, but a GE spokesperson tells me that they expect the lamp to cost less than the Amazon Echo, which sells for $180 in the US and £150 in the UK (that’s about AU$240, converted roughly — though Alexa isn’t available in Australia yet). GE also tells me that the lamp will make its start in the US, as the Echo did, though it wouldn’t rule out the possibility of expanding to other countries where Alexa is available, as well.
GoPro Hero5 Black review – CNET
The Good The GoPro Hero5 Black is a true flagship camera with all the shooting options from its predecessor plus raw and wide dynamic range photo capture and linear field of view video, a touchscreen, a waterproof body, GPS, electronic image stabilization, stereo audio, voice control, the option for auto cloud uploads, and the best photo and video quality in a GoPro,
The Bad Battery life, especially with GPS, Wi-Fi and EIS on, is predictably short and the camera is not compatible with older batteries. Auto upload feature only works with GoPro’s $5/month Plus service. Linear field of view and electronic image stabilization not available at all resolutions and frame rates.
The Bottom Line Combining everything great about the Hero4 cameras and then some, the GoPro Hero5 Black is a no-compromise capture device for the ordinary and extraordinary.
With the Hero5 Black, GoPro is selling more than a camera. It’s a solution for shooting, editing and sharing video nearly anywhere. Whether that’s done at the beach, on a mountain or in your backyard is up to you.
It’s been more than two years since GoPro launched the Hero4 cameras and in that time, unsurprisingly, competitors caught up or surpassed them on features as well as price. Even the company’s top-of-the-line Hero4 Black was missing an important feature — a touchscreen — that made it less attractive than the less expensive step-down Hero4 Silver.
The Hero5 Black corrects this, giving you everything you’d find in the Hero4 Black (including the best possible video and photo quality) plus a touchscreen and a whole host of new features for $399 in the US, £350 in the UK or AU$549 in Australia.
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The Hero5 Black’s touchscreen is bright and responsive.
Joshua Goldman/CNET
The new camera also does away with one of the things I liked least about them: the polycarbonate housing. The Hero5 is dustproof and waterproof to 10 meters (33 feet). You don’t have to think twice about a little snow, mud, sand, rain or surf. There’s no more muffled audio from being sealed up and the lens cover is easily replaced if it gets dinged. For those times when you do need more protection, there is a housing case good to depths of 196 ft (60 m).
GoPro also ditched the three-button setup on prior models. Press the record button on top to power up and start recording, then press it again to stop recording and turn it off. There’s also a small shooting mode button on the side that acts as a power button as well.
Don’t have your hands free to work the camera? The Hero5 can be controlled with your voice. It works really well in general and I found myself using it when I didn’t even have to.
Here is the list of voice commands
There are no voice commands for turning on and off wireless or the built-in GPS, which could save battery life if included. Also, in noisy environments like biking around New York City, it worked sporadically. The GoPro Remo waterproof voice-activated remote fixes this, making it possible to ride through the city with the camera mounted on my helmet and control the camera hands-free.
All of the shooting options from the Hero4 Black are carried over, including video capture at up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second as well as 1080p at 120fps. New options include 12-megapixel photos in raw format for more editing control, and there’s also a wide dynamic range mode. GoPro also added a linear-view setting that corrects distortion in its wide-angle photos and videos as well as electronic image stabilization (EIS). Neither the EIS or linear field of view are available in 4K and can’t be used with frame rates higher than 60fps.
Wind noise gets addressed with the Hero5, too. GoPro used three mics on the Black and the camera will automatically switch between them to deliver the best possible stereo audio. You even have control over whether you care more about wind reduction or stereo audio.
AIVAnet 