Coopers BrewArt Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Coopers

If you’ve visited a home brewing store, chances are you’ve seen a Coopers’ kit with all of the gear you need to get started. Now, with Coopers’ BrewArt, you’ll be able to brew automatically and serve the results on tap. BrewArt consists of two main parts — the BeerDroid that brews and ferments your beer in a temperature controlled chamber, and the BrewFlo, which dispenses your newly crafted beer from a carbonated and cooled tap.

A brewery as well as a manufacturer of homebrew equipment, Coopers is based in Australia. That’s where the BrewArt will first launch in mid July with a price that’ll seem extreme to hobbyists. The BeerDroid will cost AU$800 and the BrewFlo will set you back AU$700. Those prices convert to around $600 and $515, respectively, in the US and £440 and £400 in the UK. Coopers hopes to bring BrewArt to the US by the end of this year. No word yet on if it’ll come to the UK.

Beer bot competition

Other beer gadgets

• Vessi
• SodaStream Beer Bar
• Fizzics

Though the price seems lofty, it actually stacks up favorably next to the competition. BrewArt isn’t the first automatic beer brewer we’ve seen. The PicoBrew Zymatic ($2,000, £1,350, AU$2,580), the PicoBrew Pico ($1,000, £650, AU$1,385), and Brewie ($2,000, £1,350, AU$2,580) similarly automate the process of crafting beer.

BrewArt even gains a leg up on all of those competitors by controlling the temperature during fermentation with presets for whether you’re brewing an ale or a lager (the latter needs colder temps). Both PicoBrew products and Brewie take care of the first main steps of cooking your beer for you, but you’re on your own while you wait for the yeast to do its thing. And if your fermenting container gets too hot while the yeast works, you can easily introduce off flavors. However, each of those machines uses a process that closely resembles authentic brewing, and that’s where BrewArt concerns me.

The BeerDroid you’re looking for?

The BeerDroid

Coopers

In theory, the BeerDroid brews 10 liters at the push of a button. It’s Wi-Fi-enabled and has an iOS app (with an Android app promised soon) so you can track the progress of your brew remotely. You’ll be able to watch your beer cook through the brewing window and fine tune the temperature and other small details with the LCD screen and the app.

The BeerDroid even promises to automatically detect when your beer is done fermenting, and let you know with the app. That would be extremely convenient if it works right, and the BeerDroid will even enter storage mode if you’re not ready to keg right away when fermenting is done.

All of that sounds fine, but you need to use Coopers’ specifically designed ingredient packs to brew with the BeerDroid. These packs, called BrewPrints, consist of “Elements, Enhancers, Hops, and Yeast.” BrewArt’s site promises these contain only all natural ingredients, but the vacuum packed pouches in the pictures and the strange lingo used to describe the packs give me pause. On the site, “Elements” are described as malt characters and bitterness levels, which sounds like processed versions of the standard malt and hops.

When I reached out to the company, a representative clarified by email that Elements are “a range of wort blends.”

“The system isn’t designed for mashing or boiling,” he said. “These steps are taken care of here in our brewery and form the Elements and Enhancers.”

So the BeerDroid bears as much similarity to the Beer Bar from SodaStream that makes beer from concentrate as it does to PicoBrew and Brewie. To BrewArt’s credit, though, SodaStream’s Beer Bar just adds sparkling water to concentrate to create carbonation, whereas the BeerDroid seems to authentically ferment your beer. The same representative also promised you’ll be able to tinker with recipes if you’d like. BrewPrints come in a variety of styles and you’ll be able to mix and match ingredients or even “start a completely customized brew of [your] own from scratch.”

I’m not sure how that would work if the BeerDroid can’t mash or boil, but if you can do those first steps on your own, then put your own wort into the BeerDroid for customized fermentation, that might be enough to win me over.

Dispensing goodness

Once your beer finishes fermenting, you pour it into a 5-liter BrewArt keg that snaps into the BrewFlo. Complete with a customizable handle, the chrome finished BrewFlo will carbonate your beer for you while cooling it to your liking for the perfect pour. You can supposedly swap kegs as much as you’d like without introducing any oxygen into the kegs and BrewFlo’s display will keep you posted on how much beer is left in the installed keg. When you run out, you can dispose of the keg’s liner to quickly clean it for its next use.

Outlook

Both the BeerDroid and BrewFlo look the part of premium countertop appliances. If BeerDroid comes close enough to an authentic process to turn out good beer, then BeerArt stands to be a fun system for crafting and serving your favorite beverage.

Fitbit Surge review – CNET

The Good The Fitbit Surge has an always-on display, all-day fitness and heart-rate tracking, and GPS to track a variety of activities. Fitbit’s software is still one of our favorites and has the largest social base.

The Bad The design feels old and clunky. It can’t be worn while swimming or when in the shower. The heart rate data isn’t accurate and notifications are limited to text messages and calls.

The Bottom Line The only GPS-capable Fitbit will appeal to casual runners, but more serious athletes should look elsewhere.

The Fitbit Surge was one of the first watches to include all-day fitness tracking, GPS, smartphone notifications and an optical heart-rate sensor. But a lot has changed since it was first announced in 2014. The competition has since caught up to Fitbit and in some instances has even surpassed it.

We now have multifunction products like the Apple Watch, Samsung Gear Fit 2 and various Android Wear watches. Meanwhile, fitness companies like Garmin, Polar and TomTom have also started to include built-in heart-rate sensors and smartphone notifications in their GPS watches.

While the $250 (£200, AU$400) Surge isn’t as distinct as it was two years ago, it’s still a good buy for active consumers due to the superior Fitbit software, which is one of the easiest to use, has the largest social base and syncs with a variety of other services. The Surge, however, isn’t ideal for more serious athletes. If you don’t need GPS, you’re also better off getting one of Fitbit’s other trackers. Here’s why:

Hands-on with the Fitbit Surge (pictures)
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It’s bigger and bulkier than other watches

Calling the Surge big would be an understatement. The watch is enormous. The grayscale touchscreen is also dull to look at and can be difficult to see outdoors. While I do like that the screen is always on, I wish Fitbit would give us more appealing watch faces. There are only four to choose from and none of them offer anything besides the time and date. If you want to see your steps or any other metric, you have to swipe to the next screen.

The big design does allow for a larger battery, though. The Surge will last up to seven days, or up to 10 hours with an active GPS signal. I typically saw around four days, but your time will vary depending on how frequently you use the GPS.

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You can’t wear it in the shower

Looking for a fitness tracker to swim with? This isn’t it. Fitbit doesn’t recommend swimming or showering with the Surge, which is odd considering the watch has been tested to withstand up to 5 ATM (50 meters) of water pressure.

Heart rate data isn’t accurate

The optical heart-rate sensor on the back of the watch isn’t very good. It was the most accurate when measuring resting heart rate, but there were still random spikes (which you can view below). It had a lot of problems measuring heart rate during easy runs and hard workouts. When compared to a Polar H7 chest strap, the Surge tended to fluctuate by around 20 to 30 beats per minute, which is worse than other sensors, such as those used in the Garmin Forerunner 235 and Vivoactive HR.

Samsung UNKS8000 series review – CNET

The Good The Samsung KS8000 has a good picture for bright rooms, accurate color and superb video processing. Samsung incorporates unique devices and smart home control features, tied together with a simple remote and interface. The design is sleek and minimalist.

The Bad It’s more expensive than some TVs that perform better. It also lacks analog video inputs.

The Bottom Line A bright image and plenty of smart extras will help the Samsung KS8000 gain some followers, but its picture falls short of the competition.

For the last couple of years Samsung, the world’s number one TV maker, has used “SUHD” to induce you to pay more for its high-end TVs. The S doesn’t stand for any particular word, according to the company, but the UHD is an abbreviation for Ultra High Definition, aka 4K.

The KS8000 series reviewed here is currently Samsung’s least-expensive SUHD TV for 2016, promising improved picture quality over the company’s cheaper 4K TVs. In our tests its image was impressive in some ways, but not up to the overall level of some competitors from Sony and Vizio. The S doesn’t mean “superior” picture quality, at least with this TV.

The S could stand for “smarter” though. The KS8000, along with many 2016 Samsung TVs, has the ability to control your devices with its included remote, and can recognize many just by plugging them in. It can also control SmartThings Smart Home gear, like lights and thermostats. And of course it delivers streaming video from the usual sources like Amazon and Netflix, with a new simpler interface.

For most buyers, however, those extras aren’t the highest priority. The KS8000 is an appealing, capable television with plenty of features and great style, but people who prize picture quality can do better for the price.

Samsung UNKS8000 series (pictures)
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Series information: I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 65-inch Samsung UN65KS8000, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have identical specs and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.

Samsung also makes a few closely related models. The KS8500 series is basically the same as this TV but with a curved screen. The step-up KS9000/KS9500 series add a few more picture-affecting features, that may provide some improvement, but we doubt they’ll be significantly better than the KS8000 in picture quality. See Features below for more details.

Device control: Easy setup, but needs more support

Samsung’s new control system comes closer to emulating a good universal remote than any TV we’ve seen. The biggest advantage is ease of setup: Simply plugging in a device during initial TV setup is often enough to get the TV to recognize it and completely set up control using Samsung’s TV remote. This unique auto setup ability worked for a little over half the ones I tried. That’s not bad, but it’s hardly “universal.”

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For supported cable boxes, control is particularly impressive and allows you to ditch your cable company clicker for most commands. My Fios box was automatically integrated into the TV’s Home menu bar complete with its own Fios icon. The TV’s on-screen display let me select the box’s own guide (also accessible by pressing the remote’s “channel” button), its DVR recordings or its main menu, all easily navigable using Samsung’s TV remote.

The TV remote can also pause and fast-forward through commercials, although it relied on a pop-up menu instead of dedicated buttons, and the all-important forward-skip isn’t available — just fast-forward. You can also set up favorite channels on the Home menu that tune your cable box, and direct-dial channel numbers using another (tedious) pop-up.

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Other devices, when they’re detected and controllable, work well too, but many I tried are left in the cold, either not detected at all or unable to be controlled via the remote. Here’s the results for all 16 devices I tested for this review.

Other downsides? You’ll need to plug your stuff directly into the TV, so if your setup incorporates an AV receiver it won’t work. The system mostly relies on infrared commands sent from Samsung’s remote, so you’ll need line-of-sight to control most devices (if your stuff is hidden in a cabinet, it won’t work).

In the end I’d stick with my Harmony, but people with simpler systems that use supported devices might be fine using just Samsung’s remote to control everything.

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Simplified remote, sleek TV design

Although it’s missing the cool motion control found on past Samsung clickers, the new remote’s design is very good. It’s small enough to fit anyone’s hand, yet feels substantial. Bumps, depressions and logical placement make finding keys by feel with a thumb as easy as on any clicker I’ve ever used. I’m an especially big fan of the raised flanges for volume and channel.

With a remote designed for universal control, however, I would have appreciated backlighting, as well as a few more keys–in particular dedicated fast-forward, rewind and skip keys.

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Samsung’s overall TV design is superb, as usual. The set is mostly black when seen from the front, including a very thin border on the top and sides of the screen. The bottom is thicker and silver, and matches the detachable stand legs. I love that you can choose two different positions for the legs — splayed far to the sides or closer to the center — depending on your furniture or personal preference.

Smart TV: So-so app support, slick integration

With an all-new design yet again, Samsung’s homegrown Tizen-based smart TV system is very good for a TV, but app coverage isn’t as comprehensive as Android TV (on Sony sets) or Roku TV. If your streaming tastes go beyond the basic apps, you will probably still need to connect an external device like a Roku or Apple TV.

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4K streaming with HDR is available from Netflix and Amazon. There’s a Vudu app (as of press time it hadn’t been updated to support 4K or HDR), an UltraFlix app with some niche 4K content and, of course, 4K support on the YouTube app.

Other apps are hit or miss. You get Hulu, Plex, both HBOs (Go and Now), Pluto TV, MLB TV and Pandora, for example, but Samsung’s system is still missing Showtime (or Anytime), Sling TV, Watch ESPN, CBS All Access, PBS, PBS Kids, Google Play Movies and TV and Spotify. Roku and Android TV have all of those, and many more niche apps than Samsung.

Samsung incorporates content more seamlessly than other TVs, though. Click the Home button and you’ll be able to browse content from within apps like Netflix and Hulu while your current video keeps playing in the background. The menu even serves suggestions and, on some apps, lets you resume stuff you were watching previously.

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Search is another strong suit and, like Roku, it incorporates results from Netflix and Amazon, complete with pricing. It also ostensibly supports your cable service, although that feature didn’t seem to work well in my tests. Searches for “baseball” and “evening news” came up blank, for example. At least voice recognition was decent.

Overall, Samsung’s new menu design makes finding content from apps, other devices and even your cable box easier than other TV systems, but most people will end up using their external device menus anyway.

Key TV Features

Features

The main image quality feature separating Samsung “SUHD” TVs from regular LED LCD TVs is Quantum Dots, which consist of microscopic nanocrystals that glow at a specific wavelength (or color) when given energy. Used as an additional layer in the traditional LED LCD TV sandwich, they enable the TV to achieve improved light output and color compared to other TVs and to the company’s 2015 sets, according to Samsung. According to our tests those claims have merit, but it’s also worth remembering that despite all those fancy marketing terms, at heart these are LED LCD TVs, not a different display technology like OLED.

The KS8000 has an edge-lit LED backlight with local dimming, and unlike Vizio, Samsung doesn’t disclose the number of dimming zones. It does say that the “Supreme UHD Dimming” found on step-up models like the KS9000 and KS9500 denotes even more zones, although we doubt that will deliver a big improvement in image quality. The same goes for the “Auto Depth Enhancer,” a processing feature on Samsung’s curved TVs like the KS9500 and KS8500.

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The set supports HDR (high dynamic range) content in HDR10 format only. It lacks the Dolby Vision HDR support found on Vizio’s and LG’s 2016 HDR TVs. It’s still too early to determine whether one HDR format is “better” than the other, and I definitely don’t consider lack of Dolby Vision a deal breaker on this TV–instead it’s just one more factor to consider. Check out my article on the HDR format war for more.

Like most other 4K TVs the KS8000 uses a 120Hz native panel. It offers Samsung’s Motion Rate 240 processing with black frame insertion to improve motion resolution. According to Samsung, the Supreme MR 240 feature on step-up models like the KS9000 analyses scenes before performing the insertion, which might deliver a slight improvement over the KS8000, but again we don’t expect it to be drastically better.

Unlike high-end TVs from LG and Sony this year, the KS8000 does not support 3D. Samsung has yet to make any announcements about support for its novel evolution kit upgrades, either for 2015 sets or for future upgrade kit support for its 2016 models.

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Connectivity

• 4x HDMI inputs with HDMI 2.0a, HDCP 2.2
• 3x USB ports (2x version 2.0, 1x version 3.0)
• Ethernet (LAN) port
• Optical digital audio output
• Stereo audio output (minijack)
• RF (antenna) input
• Remote (RS-232) port (EX-LINK)

This list is mostly solid, unless you happen to own a legacy device that requires analog video (component or composite) or audio. The KS8000 is the first TV I’ve seen that doesn’t at least offer one analog input (audio or video).

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

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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.

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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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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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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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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.

Shining a limelight on the Sony Xperia X…
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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).