Osmo Creative Set Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Osmo wants your kids’ art saved for posterity, not just yellowing on the fridge door. The company makes educational tech products and accessories, including a line of drawing and programming tools for the iPad. Its latest package, called the Creative Set, combines a new app, called Monster, with a whiteboard, markers and an eraser, plus a handful of previously released apps.
Like other Osmo software, you’ll also need another product the company sells, the Osmo base and mirror, which is available separately. Your iPad sits upright in the stand, while a small angled mirror rests on the top of the iPad, and allows the iPad camera to see what you’re drawing (on the whiteboard, with the markers) in real time.
Jacob Krol/CNET
The whole thing sounds a bit complicated, but in practice it’s very simple. Like previous Osmo apps, the new Monster app uses a player’s pen-on-paper (or marker on whiteboard) input to drive the software.
Upon launching the application, Mo the Monster appears and it moves right into a question and answer game. Mo will ask for something to be drawn, like a fruit or a friend. The drawings get scanned by the iPad’s camera via the mirror add-on and are imported into the app, where they are used in animated presentations, including a magic show. You can even share the drawings via email in the gallery section after the show.
Jacob Krol/CNET
I had a few days to play around with the set and application, and I have to admit: I think I would’ve enjoyed playing with this when I was a kid. The setup is a little complex, with multiple pieces of hardware required, but it works as it’s supposed to most of the time. In hands-on use, I found having the right lighting can be a big factor. If the room is too dark, the app will not pick up the entire drawing.
All of this can still get repetitive, even with different questions being asked, and I’m hoping that future updates will build off of the magic show storyline and offer other experiences. An update to the scanning quality would be nice to see, but an optimal lighting environment can fix this issue.
This Creative Set is available now for $49 in the US and is coming soon to the UK and Australia for £39 or AU$69. The Monster application is included, as is access to Osmo’s similar Newton and Masterpiece applications. Coming soon, the Creative Kit ($75, £57 or AU$100) will include everything from the Creative Set, plus the base and mirror.
Mini review: Our quick verdict on the Moto G4 and G4 Plus
Since 2013, the Moto G has been our favorite mid-range smartphone — or favorite budget phone, even, depending on how you define “budget.” Now in its fourth generation, the G series has expanded to include three models, two of which we got to take for a spin in a recent review. Indeed, the 5.5-inch G4 and G4 Plus mostly impress, but not every design decision feels like an improvement. Though the phones are more expensive than they used to be, at $200 and $250, respectively, the plastic build feels less durable than we would have otherwise expected.
What’s more, the G4 is no longer waterproof, and its camera suffers in low light, to boot. The G4 Plus at least offers a better camera and faster performance, though it too has a chintzy build that doesn’t feel likely to stand years of wear and tear. Those complaints aside, the handsets nonetheless deserve their strong scores of 84 and 86 — and they continue Moto’s tradition of holding down the “value smartphone” crown.
Seagate Backup Plus Hub review – CNET
The Good The Seagate Backup Plus Hub is fast, has tons of storage and since it comes with two additional USB 3.0 ports it won’t hog your desktop’s expansion options. The drive has software that lets it work with Mac and Windows interchangeably.
The Bad The USB hub doesn’t always work when the drive is connected to a USB 2.0 port.
The Bottom Line Though it has some issues with USB 2.0, the Seagate Backup Plus Hub is an excellent external storage drive for any USB 3.0 desktop computer.
In most cases when you connect an external USB drive to your computer, you lose a USB port to it. Not so with the Seagate Backup Plus Hub. It has two extra USB 3.0 ports on the front, essentially giving you an extra port when you connect it.
Things work smoothly as long as you’re connecting the drive to a USB 3.0 port on your computer. When connected to USB 2.0, however, sometimes my computer wouldn’t recognize what was connected to one of the Backup Plus Hub’s two USB ports, through the drive itself worked fine.
It’s not a huge deal, since most newer computers have at least a few USB 3.0 ports, but if you have mostly USB 2.0 ports on your system this will get annoying, fast. If you do have an older machine and you’re reasonably technically adept, I’d recommend installing a USB 3.0 add-in card, which will add a few more ports to your system.
CNET USB 3.0/3.1 external drive performance
Seagate Backup Plus Hub
181.3
195.78
Segate Backup Plus Desktop
150.9
180.45
Samsung Portable T3
125.9
221.4
Seagate Expansion
125.2
127.93
G-Tech Gdrive EV ATC
119.0
138.73
Seagate Backup Plus Slim
118.8
125.35
Toshiba Canvio Slim II
118.8
118.49
Buffalo MiniStation Extreme
110.3
118.82
WD My Passport Ultra
110.2
117.34
WD My Password Slim
107.7
107.89
LaCie Christofle Sphere
105.5
111.43
SiliconPower Armor A60
104.3
114.48
WD Elements
95.7
102.15
Legend:
Write
Read
Note:
Longer bars mean better performance
The Backup Plus Hub is compact for a desktop external drive. It measures just 4.6 by 1.6 by 7.8 inches (118 by 41 by 198 mm) with a weight of 2.3 pounds (1.1 kg). And like all desktop drives, it requires its own power adapter (included) to function. Out of the box, the drive is formatted in NTFS and should work right away when connected to a Windows computer. It includes Paragon Driver for Mac that lets it work with a Mac computer without a reformat. Alternatively, you could reformat it into the HFS+ file system if you only want use it with a Mac.
Amazon Kindle 2016 review – CNET
The Good The most affordable Kindle gets a subtle but worthwhile design upgrade (it’s slimmer, lighter and less angular) and adds Bluetooth audio for accessibility, so visually impaired readers can hear VoiceView audio.
The Bad No integrated light; price hasn’t gotten any lower.
The Bottom Line While the 2016 Kindle isn’t a huge improvement over its predecessor, it’s a perfectly good e-reader with a clearly improved design and a big upgrade for the visually impaired.
Amazon’s most affordable Kindle e-reader ($80; £60; AU$109) has been refreshed for 2016. It’s now 11 percent thinner, 16 percent lighter, has more rounded edges and comes in white as well as black.
The design changes may not seem major, but any time you can shave some weight off an e-reader it makes a difference. At 5.7 ounces or 161g, the latest entry-level Kindle is actually the second lightest Amazon reader, trailing only the top-of the line Amazon Kindle Oasis.
The new Kindle (on right) is smaller and lighter than the 2014 model. It’s available in white or black.
Sarah Tew/CNET
It feels light in hand, but it’s worth noting that the shell and edges are made out of of hard, smooth plastic (it retains the same no frills look, making it a touch slippery). Optional protective covers are available, including Amazon’s well-designed form-fitting case — though it’s a bit pricey at $30, £20 or AU$30 (it’s slimmer and lighter than previous covers).
One key missing feature is the integrated light found in the step-up Paperwhite, Voyage and Oasis models. Also, those devices have higher-resolution displays — this entry-level Kindle’s screen isn’t as crisp (167 ppi compared to 300 ppi of its more expensive siblings).
But this Kindle does have a touchscreen (unlike the pre-2014 baseline models) and it’s equipped with 4GB of storage, which enables you to store thousands of e-books. Amazon has also apparently doubled the amount of RAM, bumping it up to 512MB. I didn’t really notice a difference in performance, however.
Pioneer VSX-831 review – CNET
The Good The Pioneer VSX-831 offers an excellent array of features for the price, including six HDMI ports, multiroom audio with Google Cast, and a phono input. The interface is thoroughly modern and easy to use. Sound quality is everything you’d want at the price.
The Bad Some of the promised streaming features are yet to be released. The receiver is not as accomplished for music playback as it is for home theater.
The Bottom Line The Pioneer VSX-831’s plethora of features, excellent ease-of-use and fine sound quality make it one of the better AV receivers for the money.
It’s been a period of adjustment for the Pioneer brand. Two years ago, Pioneer Japan announced it was selling its AV division to competitor Onkyo. This resulted in a number of changes, including the loss of speaker designer Andrew Jones to ELAC America.
The 2016 line of gear is the first that’s been fully assimilated into Onkyo, but the VSX-831 is still recognizably a Pioneer receiver. This “Ponkyo” offers audio features that the Onkyos at the same price don’t, including an upgraded digital converter (DAC) and internet streaming features.
Although its sound quality is very goo overall, like Pioneers of the past, the VSX-831 is voiced more towards movie playback than music. That’s not a bad thing, as it’s certainly capable of exciting home theater bombast, but if you are looking for a receiver with melodic chops then you may find that Sony’s STR-DN1070 (yes, Sony!) or Marantz’s NR1506 might suit you better.
On the other hand, both cost more than this well-priced Pioneer. The VSX-831 is available now for a list price of $449.99, £449.99 in the UK and AU$999 in Australia.
Design
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Sarah Tew/CNET
The Pioneer VSX-831 offers a familiar fascia design with two main knobs — one for each source selection and volume — and a bunch of feature buttons between. Unlike Onkyo receivers and even some older Pioneers, there are no direct input buttons, sadly. Gone are the days of orange LEDs for Pioneer receiver displays. Like all its modern brethren, the VSX 831 features a pale blue LED.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
The remote is stripped down to the essentials and is very usable as a result. You could almost say it’s “good looking” for a receiver remote, but that’s about the lowest possible bar.
Speaking of low bars, the onscreen display of a receiver is not usually something to crow about, but the VSX-831 offers a full-color interface which is actually kinda fun to navigate. For us, at least.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
Features
The Pioneer VSX-831 is a 5.2 channel receiver that boasts 80 watts of power and a wealth of inputs for the money. Most impressive is the provision of six HDMI inputs, three of which offer 4K (60P) and HDCP 2.2 support.
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Sarah Tew/CNET
As you’d expect now that Pioneer is now part of Onkyo, there are some technological similarities between the two brands’ receivers. One is the FireConnect multiroom system, based on BlackFire as used in Harman Kardon products. FireConnect is a multiroom platform that offers playback across both Pioneer and Onkyo products and includes services such as TuneIn, Deezer and Tidal. The feature will be coming in a future update.
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If multiroom and cross-brand compatibility are your thing, the receiver also offers Google Cast, which will work with other brands including Sony, LG and Raumfeld, as well as Google Chromecast devices. It’s essentially Google’s answer to Apple AirPlay, but it works with both iOS and Android devices (and if you do want AirPlay, the Pioneer has that, too). If all else fails, at least you have Bluetooth. If you collect hi-res files, the AK4458 DAC is capable of reading up to 11.2MHz DSD files natively.
Dyson 360 Eye review – CNET
The Good Dyson’s 360 Eye robot vacuum systematically maps out floors, has a simple companion app for remote access, and is powerful enough to collect a lot of unwanted dirt and grime.
The Bad It costs $999/£800 and didn’t perform as well as the similarly app-enabled $700 Neato Botvac Connected or the $900 iRobot Roomba 980.
The Bottom Line The 360 Eye by Dyson is a very good robot vacuum, but competitors offer similar features and better performance for less.
The Dyson 360 Eye is a solidly recommendable robot vacuum
. Of the dozen-plus autonomous floor cleaners we’ve tested to date, it (mostly) holds its own alongside the best of the best. There’s just one not-so-tiny problem — price.
Like Dyson’s other small appliances, its first foray into the robot cleaner category is expensive…$1,000 or £800 expensive. It’s not available in Australia yet, but that price converts to about AU$1,4000. So since Neato’s $700 Botvac Connected and iRobot’s $900 Roomba 980 cost less and perform slightly better, the 360 Eye loses some of its initial appeal.
Get it, by all means. You’ll have a compact cleaning powerhouse full of sensors with a 360-degree standard-definition camera that smartly navigates a room. You’ll also have an app that lets you access your Wi-Fi-outfitted vacuum from anywhere. Just be sure to look at the competition before you buy, because other brands offer more impressive bots for less.
Getting to know Dyson’s first robot vacuum
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Reaching new heights
The first thing I noticed when I saw Dyson’s 360 Eye was that it was ridiculously tall. Shaped more like a dense 3-layer cake than its wider-flatter counterparts from iRobot and Neato, I assumed it would never clear coffee tables, chairs and other low-profile furniture.
I was wrong.
Yes, the 4.72-inch-high 360 Eye is 1.12 inches taller than the Roomba 980 and 0.82 inches taller than the Neato Botvac Connected — its two main competitors in the Wi-Fi-enabled robo-vac market. And that will certainly stop Dyson’s vacuum short in some cases. But for the most part, I had no issues with it clearing the same furniture as the other bots.
It also has that classic Dyson aesthetic going on, even though this is the brand’s first robot vacuum. Since I tend to like Dyson products from a pure design-appreciation standpoint, I like the 360 Eye’s looks, too. Specifically, it’s swathed in a glossy gray finish with bright blue accents. It even has a mini cyclone packed inside, a (revamped) legacy from its line of upright and stick vacs.
I doubly enjoyed the compact and foldable charging dock that comes with this bot, although I occasionally had to wiggle the vacuum around for its contact sensors to correctly line up with the dock so it would charge.
Check out the chart below to compare the 360 Eye’s specs against the Roomba 980 and the Neato Botvac Connected:
Comparing Wi-Fi robot vacuums
| Dyson 360 Eye | iRobot Roomba 980 | Neato Botvac Connected |
| $999 | $900 | $700 |
| 5.4 pounds | 8.7 pounds | 9 pounds |
| 9 x 4.72 x 9.5 inches (width, height, length) | 13.8 x 3.6 inches (diameter, height) | 13.2 x 3.9 x 12.7 inches (width, height, length) |
| Gray/Blue | Brown/Black/Gray | Black |
| 0.33 liters | 0.6 liters | 0.7 liters |
| Yes, Android and iPhone | Yes, Android and iPhone | Yes, Android and iPhone |
| 45 minutes | 2 hours | 2 hours in Eco mode and 90 minutes in Turbo mode |
| 2 hours 30 minutes | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| lithium-ion | lithium-ion | lithium-ion |
Navigating the robot vacuum world
Here’s what Dyson’s 360-degree camera sees.
Dyson
In addition to its digital V2 motor that Dyson says “spins at up to 78,000 revolutions per minute,” the way a robot vacuum sees rooms has a huge impact on its ability to clean.
The 360 Eye relies on infrared sensors and a 360-degree standard-definition camera that sits on the top of the vacuum to interpret its surroundings.
Dyson’s bot is very systematic about its movements, as it travels out from the dock in concentric squares throughout your entire house.
While it doesn’t follow the same parallel path as Neato and Roomba vacuums (iRobot’s older models followed a more random pattern, but the Roomba 980 is much more methodical), the 360 Eye still maps out a path that gives it a good chance of covering as much of the floor as possible.
Long-exposure shots of how Dyson’s 360 Eye (left), iRobot’s Roomba 980 (center), and Neato’s Botvac Connected (right) steer around a space.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
It doesn’t actually store and remember routes, though, since furniture and other obstacles can move between runs. Instead, it adapts to the environment on the fly.
Its 45-minute run time is a bit of bummer since competitors claim to run for roughly 2 hours before needing a charge, but it will dutifully return to its base station to charge and continue to clean the remaining rooms when it’s ready. It’s also on the loud side, so don’t expect to have a conversation in the same room where this thing is running.
Moto Mods Review: Blast, Power and Project in a snap
Modularity is the name of the game in 2016 and following on from LG’s attempt with the LG G5 and Friends, Lenovo-backed Motorola announced the Moto Z range and Moto Mods. Yet modularity comes in many forms and sizes so what do the Moto Mods offers and is this how modularity should be done?
- Moto Z and Z Force Droid Edition Review
- Deal: Best Buy lopping $200 off the Moto Z and tossing in an $80 Moto Mod free
- These are the first Moto Mods for the new Moto Z range
- Just add Mods: Moto Z/Z Force Droid Edition unboxing and first setup
We’ve spent time with the Moto Mods – well, the ones that are available right now, anyway – and have come to a rather simple conclusion: the mod system is fresh, well executed, and fun; however, they do come at quite a price. See why in our full review of the Moto Mods made for the Moto Z and the Moto Z Force.
Buy Moto Z and Moto Mods now!
JBL SoundBoost Speaker
We start off with the SoundBoost speaker, made by JBL. As is the case with all Moto Mods, there are magnets on the top and bottom of the device and all of the connectors let it interface with the Moto Z line. A large cut out for the camera optics keep the shooter from getting obstructed – and don’t worry, it doesn’t put a vignette on when using the Moto Camera.
The rest of the outer part of the unit is the speaker, sporting some large areas that are divided by a red kickstand – there are more reasons why the kickstand is a brilliant idea for the speaker but the simple fact that the device is propped up for easy viewing already makes it a very useful tool.
The inner portion of the speaker that attaches to the phones has a few more bits and pieces. An arrow design is found throughout, there are the already aforementioned magnets and connectors, and finally there are a couple of bits pertaining to the unit’s battery.
The SoundBoost speaker comes with a 1000mAh battery that can be charged through the USB-C port, while checking the battery level is as simple as hitting a button to see a green or red light. 1000mAh doesn’t sound like too much, but Moto claims that the speaker can go for up to 10 hours. In our testing, we found the SoundBoost to actually go for a very long time. 10 hours is a long duration to test a speaker, but we’re certain that it can go the distance especially if kept below full volume. After a good three hours of playing the speaker in this state, we were only down to 78%.
Which brings us to how it sounds – it should come as no surprise that this makes the sound experience on the Moto Z incredibly different. The front facing speaker on the Moto phones is decent, though it lacks a lot of richness and bass. But slap on the JBL and it all changes – there’s a great deal of volume coming from this small unit, and the kickstand points the drivers downward so that the bounce back of the audio really adds some body.
Comparisons to standalone Bluetooth speakers are inevitable, and the answer isn’t all that surprising – you’ll get a better overall soundstage from a larger unit, even ones that are around the same price of $79.99. But it’s hard not to like having such a convenient way of upping the Moto Z sound game. Especially considering its battery life, the JBL SoundBoost speaker can be one of the most sought after add-ons to the Moto Z line.
Inicipio OffGrid Power Pack
But not as much as simply having more power – and that’s where the Inicipio OffGrid Power Pack comes in handy. Simply put, this is probably the mod that Moto Z users will be clamoring for, if not for the better battery life overall, but for the wireless charging that it adds to the whole package.
The Power Pack will come in a variety of looks, thanks to Incipio, but ours was a bright white unit with a matte finish, helping to add to the phone’s grip aside from just adding a sheer amount of weight. The inner portion of the pack has a battery level check button just above the connector pins, but no USB-C port for charging.
And that’s because the Power Pack has wireless charging built-in. Not only is it the only way to charge the pack, it is also a feature then added onto the phone. Thanks to the Power Pack, one of the few features missing from the Moto Z can be added on. It would have been nice to have a USB-C fast charging port here, in case waiting around for a wireless charging pad just don’t do. But when the phone is sitting on a wireless pad most of the day, that isn’t too much of an issue.
The Power Pack works in a couple different ways – it can straight charge the phone or work in an efficiency mode that will only work to keep the phone at 80%. I used the mod as backup power when the Moto Z Force got down to single digits, and it allowed me to get back up to almost 60 percent when left alone. Under moderate to moderately heavy usage, I was able to get up to another 90 minutes of screen on time.
Related: Best wireless chargers – how they work and perform17
Incipio Power Packs will come in a number of different styles and will range in price from $59.99 to $89.99. Though we would like to say that the higher price means higher capacities, that hasn’t been confirmed yet. But this version is the $60 edition, which makes it fairly affordable for backup power and the addition of wireless charging.
Moto Insta-Share Projector
Finally, there is the Insta-Share Projector. Anyone familiar with Lenovo’s Yoga tablets might see shades of it. The projector, when slapped onto the Moto Z, emits its image out of the side and has a stiff folding stand that can angle the image to any surface. One button is found to the side of the optics, which has to be held to turn it on. The back portion has a matted finish to it, but the grills are there to allow for airflow – there are indeed fans inside to prevent overheating and it isn’t hard to hear when the unit is running.
The inner portion of the projector has the battery level button and indicator, as well as the USB-C port used to charge the 1100mAh battery. Considering the 50 lumen projection power that it outputs, an hour of battery life is understandable. It isn’t particularly ideal for long viewing sessions of even two or three Netflix episodes, but for presentations and business applications it provides just enough use.
Working the projector is as simple as slapping it onto the back of the Moto Z and holding the power button. The entire screen will then be outputted through the projector, but there are a few extra settings that can be tinkered with. Keystoning, thankfully, is done automatically so even if the projector is at a certain angle, it will be fixed to make the image easier to view. The other settings are for focus, which can be changed via a wheel on the other side of the lens, overall brightness, and finally to keep notifications only showing up on the phone’s screen and not on the projected screen. To access this menu requires just a single press of the power button.
The image that is projected can be up to 70 inches in size but is only 480p resolution. That’s 854×480, which is actually somewhat common for cheaper Pico projectors, but there are plenty of standalone units that have hit the 720p mark and beyond. And though Pico projectors are often lacking in color output, it’s very apparent when the AMOLED screen of the Moto Z is plainly in view and compared to the washed out projection.
That said, having a projector so easily accessible and effective (for particular applications) on a phone is an experience that only the Moto Z can provide – but it does come at a very high price. The Insta-Share Projector is a whopping $300, making it the most expensive of the currently available Moto Mods. That’s an incredible amount of money to put down for a peripheral that only lasts an hour and outputs the bare minimum image resolution and quality. Other Pico projectors are available for around the same price that last longer and output at least 720p resolution.
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Conclusion
There you have it – the Moto Mods. It’s great to see that the Moto Z’s new idea is actually executed very well. Though the most unique of them is also the most expensive, it’s hard not to enjoy the fact that big sound and extra battery life are available with simple snap to the back of the phone.
That brings to light one issue – these mods are only compatible with the Moto Z line, which limits their usage. Though the mods are done very well, they are not particularly required to define the Moto Z and Moto Z Force experience, and it may be easier (and more cost-effective) to get wireless or Bluetooth solutions that can be used with any device. Here’s to hoping, then, that the Moto Mods are not forever relegated to just the Moto Z – but until then, we have a good example of a step forward in smartphone technology.
- Moto Z and Z Force Droid Edition Review
- Deal: Best Buy lopping $200 off the Moto Z and tossing in an $80 Moto Mod free
- These are the first Moto Mods for the new Moto Z range
- Just add Mods: Moto Z/Z Force Droid Edition unboxing and first setup
What do you think of the Moto Mods and Motorola’s implementation of modularity? Do you plan to buy any of them for your Moto Z or Moto Z Force? Let us know your views in the comments below!
Buy Moto Z and Moto Mods now!
Xiaomi Redmi Pro Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Aloysius Low/CNET
Xiaomi is saying “yes” to dual cameras. The Chinese phonemaker’s Redmi Pro uses two camera lenses on its back to take shots with Bokeh effect, that artful look that leaves some of the image in focus and beautifully blurs the rest. It’s a feature seen in Huawei’s P9, and also in 2014’s HTC One M8.
What’s interesting here is that the lenses aren’t the same. You have a 13-megapixel Sony sensor and a 5-megapixel Samsung sensor. The Redmi Pro combines image data from both cameras to let users adjust the depth of field they get, so they have a chance to play around with the amount of blur. The effect works best when shooting portraits and closeups, setups where you want the focus on what’s in front of you.
Xiaomi did not say if the dual-camera setup had other features, such as telephoto zoom or better lowlight shots, which we’ve seen on camera modules from Israeli startup Corephotonics.
True to its name, the Pro steps up the hardware specs compared with the other Redmi phones. It has a metal body, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of onboard storage and MediaTek’s Helio X25 ten-core processor. There’s 4G LTE support for two SIM cards, but you could also use one SIM card and insert a micro-SIM card. There’s a fingerprint sensor too, located below the 5.5-inch full-HD OLED display.
A basic version of the Pro will sport 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage and will use the Helio X20 processor instead.
The phone is set to launch in August 6 and will retail from a ridiculously low price of 1,499 yuan (this converts to around $225, £170 and AU$300), while the highest end version goes for 1,999 yuan (about $300, £230 or AU$400). Interestingly, it will also be sold offline at retail stores as well as Xiaomi’s normal online model. While it’s only China for now, expect to see the company launch the phone in markets like India, Hong Kong and Singapore shortly after. Check back soon for our full hands-on with the Redmi Pro.
Key specs
- 5.5-inch full-HD display
- 10-core Helio X25 processor
- 8GB RAM, 128GB onboard storage
- 4,050 mAh battery
- Silver or gold colors
AIVAnet 