Fitbit Charge HR review:

I was a little bit wrong about the Fitbit Charge HR.

While I liked it when it first debuted, I thought it could do better. The Charge HR is Fitbit's step-counting band, plus a round-the-clock heart-rate tracker. It tracks sleep at night, exercise during the day, and active heart-rate levels when resting or working out, and it syncs with nearly every major smartphone and computer on the planet.

I expected more out of the Fitbit Charge HR's heart rate measuring, and how it translated that data into useful coaching. I wanted more app features, too. And I thought the band itself, a basic black device that doubled as a watch with its little LED display, could have been better designed

Most of a year has passed, and the fitness-wearable landscape hasn't been able to beat what the Fitbit Charge HR does. No heart-rate band costs this little, feels this small, and connects to as good an app. Fitbit folds nutrition-tracking, sleep-tracking, heart rate-tracking, and social challenges with friends into one pretty clean phone experience -- and syncing is fast and easy.

The Charge HR fits well and has impressive battery life for its size: over four days, beating most continuous heart rate-tracking bands. And its little LED display-slash-clock is basic, but it's easy to lift your arm and see the time, or tap the display to see steps and other data.
New software and firmware updates have improved syncing and tracking, adding automatic sleep and activity-session tracking awareness and making tweaks to how it measures heart rate. It's smoother and better than when I first reviewed it. And it now feels like a truly automatic band.

It's the all-in-one fitness band I'd buy, especially for its low price ($150 in the US; in the UK, £120; or AU$180 in Australia) -- and it can be had even lower if you catch it on sale, which we've seen frequently. It's not perfect, but few wearable gadgets are -- and none of the other watches and bands have been able to beat it at its own fitness game.

Editors' note: This review was originally published on January 29, 2015, and updated significantly on November 24, 2015. The rating has been raised from 7.8 to 8.0.

Design: Basic, but it works

The Charge HR looks nearly identical to the older Fitbit Charge, and the discontinued Fitbit Force before it. It has an innocuous rubberized wraparound band, with a narrow black LED display that tells time, steps, and other data. That LED display isn't always lit, but you can set the Charge HR to show the time when you raise your wrist, or show time and fitness data by tapping the screen. It's a functional but unattractive everyday watch.

The band attaches with a standard watch buckle-type clasp, making it more secure and less likely to pop off. It fits snugly, but sometimes feels uncomfortable on my wrist: an optical heart-rate monitor with green LEDs bulges out of the bottom, pressing against the skin a bit when the Charge HR's properly secured.

Fitbit recommends wearing the Charge HR a finger's length above the wristbone on your arm for ideal heart-rate readings, which is farther up my own arm than I prefer to wear things. But I found it generally worked no matter where I wore it.

The Charge HR comes in several muted colors; my review unit was black. It comes in several sizes, too, although each can be adjusted significantly.

The Charge HR comes with its own proprietary USB dongle for charging, plugging straight into the bottom. Don't lose it.

Heart rate: All day on your wrist

Once attached, the Charge HR immediately flashes its green LEDs to gather heart-rate data. It does it all the time. That, plus a built-in accelerometer and barometer gather data on steps, heart rate, elevation (steps climbed) and intensity of exercise (walking or running).

It works automatically, from the moment it goes on your wrist. The Fitbit Charge HR found my heart rate quickly and held onto the reading, so I could access it quickly by pressing the side button or tapping the display, cycling through to heart-rate mode. Like many other on-wrist heart rate readers, they're more accurate when resting. The reading fluctuated during active exercise. That's true of Apple Watch, the Microsoft Band and many others; it comes with the territory. The Charge HR feels as good as those.

The Fitbit Charge HR can also track individual exercise sessions by holding down the side button -- or, thanks to a software update, it will sense and track sessions automatically (a trend in recent fitness bands). This starts a separate timed event with its own heart-rate recording, which gets synced with the Fitbit app as its own discrete activity. It also tracks average and peak heart rate in that session. You might prefer to track a session yourself if you're an active runner or gym rat, but smarter awareness is a nice touch for average folks like myself who want credit for everyday activities.

Fitbit's app is cleanly designed, and heart-rate data is folded into the app with multiple charts to look at. Making sense of what to do with this data isn't always clear, but at least your heart rate is color-coded by different intensity zones. (Heart-rate trackers aren't medical devices, so use this information as a carrot on a stick to get exercise, not a health barometer.)
The app tends to count the minutes spent in higher heart-rate target zones and calculate it as exercise. The problem is, higher heart rate doesn't always mean active exercise. Sometimes, my own heart rate drifted into a "fat burn" mode, but I knew it was more likely due to having had too much coffee.

The Charge HR calculates heart rate "burn zones" based on a formula of 220 minus your age included in the Fitbit profile, but you can customize your own as well in the app. Zones are color-coded as yellow, orange or red (fat-burning, cardio and peak), and on the Charge HR you can see your heart icon in one of three positions to indicate whether you're currently in that zone.

I should get a certain amount of cardio a week, or so my cardiologist says, but the Charge HR doesn't make it all that easy for me to target and achieve those goals. I didn't even know what the "burn zone" data meant until I dug up the information under Heart Rate in settings, and even the pop-up icon on the OLED display isn't all that intuitive. But, it's still better to have this information than not -- and it makes exercise tracking on stationary devices possible, like bikes.
Varying smarts

The Fitbit Charge HR can show incoming call notifications, like the Fitbit Charge. It's useful in case someone's calling while you're at the gym, but the Fitbit's buzz is so quick that I missed it a few times.

Notifications require you to turn on an extra pairing setting in the Fitbit app, that allows for notifications and continuous syncing. Pairing happens quickly, and syncing is fast.

The Charge HR can also automatically track sleep, a feature in other recent Fitbits, too. Yes, it noticed when I drifted off and logged my hours resting, but its measures of restfulness seemed more forgiving than other, richer sleep-tracking monitors. The Fitbit's sleep tracking just showed big chunks of blue with tiny, tiny, lines of interruption. There's no way I slept that well. But, at least it knew when I went to bed most of the time. You can also set silent alarms to wake you up with on-wrist vibrations, a personal favorite of mine.

Battery life: Five days, more or less

I was able to get a solid five days of use out of the Fitbit Charge HR, while continuously connected and measuring heart rate, and with notifications turned on. That's better than nearly any other heart-rate wearable I've ever seen. It's less overall than standard pedometer-type trackers, but I think the addition of heart rate to the equation is worth the slight drop in battery life.

Is the Fitbit Charge HR worth it? (Yes.)

If the Fitbit did that better, and dangled the fitness carrot on the proverbial stick in ways that motivated me more, I might love it more. As it is, it's the best all-day heart-rate-tracking casual-use fitness band that's currently available. That could be good enough for you. It's the platform most people use, and it works easily. Maybe, next year, it'll take another step forward with its coaching smarts.

Home8 prioritizes security with its Smart Garage device

Many people use their garage as much as their front door, so buying a device to remotely control or automate it seems like a pretty logical investment. But a new company called Home8 says simple app-connectedness isn't enough -- security is just as important. Enter the Smart Garage Starter Kit.

At $230, the Starter Kit costs about $30 more than Garageio and $100 more than the Chamberlain MyQ. But unlike both of those competitors, Home8's kit includes security gadgets, like a camera and an alarm. For anyone worried that the garage isn't just another door, but also another home security vulnerability, the Home8 Smart Garage Starter Kit could be a useful solution.

The Kit will contain three devices. First, you'll get the garage door opener itself. This will connect with the electric opener already in place, adding smarts retroactively. The second device is the Shuttle Intelligent Hub, which will act as a bridge between your phone and the opener. That means you'll be able to control your garage remotely. In addition, the Hub contains an alarm, so you'll be alerted in the case of a break-in.

The final device in the package is a Mini Cube HD camera. The camera itself is proprietary, so how well it works remains to be seen. But with 720p resolution, a ball-and-socket mount for manual swiveling, motion detection, night vision and two-way audio, it seems to have its bases covered.

While the $230 price tag feels a little high at first glance, for a high-quality cameraand a connected garage door opener, it could be a great deal. The Starter Kit also works with integration platform IFTTT, and Home8 is working on Amazon Echocompatibility as well.

Between these strategic smart-home integrations and the security-centric approach to garage door automation, Home8 is taking a big step in the right direction. Now the question is whether the Smart Garage Starter Kit's performance will match the idea behind it.

For four grand, an LG fridge that jams

Manufacturers are always looking for new ways to tempt you into upgrading your appliances. Most of the time, that means fancy, new designs and bold claims of better performance.

And sometimes, it means we get refrigerators with built-inBluetooth speakers.

Specifically, I'm referring to the LFXS30786S, a new fridge available now from LG. It's a pretty typical-looking, large-capacity French door model that slaps a Bluetooth speaker up along the top rim. Price? Four grand.

Now, in fairness, that's the same price that LG charged last year for a very similar fridge that had no speaker to speak of. In other words, this fridge is expensive because it was an expensive design to begin with, not because LG added in a Bluetooth speaker this year. The speaker is just an extra incentive to get you to splurge.

It's not the worst idea. Plenty of us listen to a kitchen radio as we eat our morning oatmeal, or stream a favorite playlist as we cook something up for supper. Packing a Bluetooth speaker into an always-powered appliance seems like a perfectly reasonable use of real estate, and potentially a good means of clearing some clutter off of your countertop.

It's also not an idea that's all that new. Whirlpool introduced its CoolVox fridge speakers at CES 2014, and was selling a French door fridge with built-in audio hardware as recently as last year. And let's not forget the Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator, which has its own Wi-Fi radio and 21.5-inch touchscreen (and, you know, a set of speakers).

As for LG's fridge, it's a 30 cubic-foot model with LG's "Door-in-Door" feature, so if you press that button on the right door handle, the front panel of the door will open rather than the door itself, giving you quick access to the in-door shelves without actually opening the fridge. That's a pretty popular gimmick at this point, so if you want it, there it is.

As for me, I'm more a fan of the "Slim SpacePlus" ice maker, which simply means that LG packs the entire ice maker into the left door. Other models place it in the upper corner of the fridge, and since the ice needs to tumble down through the door into your glass, you end up with an unsightly hump in the inside of the door that blocks off the shelves. No such problem with LG models like these -- although the trade-off is that they make a little less ice.

The LG LFXS30786S is available now from select retailers. We'll try and test one out here at CNET Appliances HQ -- keep an ear out for a full review at that time

4 tablets so good you don't need a stylus, but they have one anyway

Some people just prefer the handiness of a stylus; maybe you're an artist who draws online comics, a writer who depends on hand-written notes or a germaphobe who doesn't want to smudge the screen too much.

Whatever the reason, you have a few options if you're interested in buying up a tablet you can scribble on. Below you'll find a list of Windows, Android and iOS tablets that might suit your needs. Just note that some styluses, like most accessories, are sold separately.

HP Spectre X2

If you're interested in a laptop inside of a tablet's body, the HP Spectre X2 is a prime candidate. It has a slim, portable design with a keyboard that's included in the base price. It's not as sleek as the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (below), but it makes up for lack of style with a lower price.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is one of the best laptop-replacing tablets and it comes with a stylus, the Surface Pen. It also offers one of the best keyboards for a tablet; however, it's sold separately. You can't win them all.

Apple iPad Pro

Aspiring artist? Apple's biggest fan? Either way, you won't be disappointed by thelatest iPad Pro. Though it's smaller, sitting at 9.7 inches (like the iPad Air 2), it's more powerful than the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil is an excellent stylus that's comfortable to use, and it's great for graphic designers and other creative professionals. Of course, it's sold separately.

Huawei MateBook:
The Huawei MateBook hasn't hit stores yet, but it's worth adding to this list because its optional stylus has a built-in laser. Yes, a laser. Whether you use it to make a point during a business presentation, or to entertain your cat, is up to you. I'm not judging.

Nintendo 2DS

Remember the Nintendo 2DS? Yeah, that little wedge-shaped portable console without all the bells and whistles the 3DS XL has? It's now even cheaper.

Starting May 20, the price of the 2DS will drop from $100 down to $80 -- and that's still including a free download code for Mario Kart 7. That's 38 percent less than the $130 price at which the 2DS debuted in October 2013.
It's important to reinforce that the 2DS is Nintendo's no-frills, entry-level portable. The 2DS plays nearly all games for the Nintendo 3DS platform, but it can't display anything in 3D. It also has the smallest screens of any of the current DS models, and it doesn't have a great-sounding speaker.

Moreover, there's no hinge to keep it closed, so you'll want to protect it with a case. It also feels cheaply made and likely wouldn't survive a decent fall. But if you can look past those issues, I think the 2DS is perfect for younger players.

Editors' note: This review has been updated from its original publication in October 2013 to reflect a major price drop and changes in the competitive landscape.

Is this a good deal?

At $80, it's tough to argue against the purchase of a 2DS, if only for the huge library of 3DS games it opens the door to. Between the gamut of releases already available on the platform and all of the software available in the Nintendo Online Store, you'll never run out of things to play.

At the same time, the 2DS isn't likely to get many new blockbuster releases down the road. It feels like that door is all but closed. But for $80, access to this rich, established legacy of great exclusive games that you can't play (yet) on your smartphone or tablet -- the Marios, Zeldas, Donkey Kongs and Star Foxes -- is where the value is. And, ultimately, that's what you're paying for.

Who is this good for?

Of course, anyone can have fun with the 2DS, but I really think it's the perfect intro piece of hardware for a younger player. Older gamers might be disappointed with the
2DS' small screens -- especially compared to the flagship New 3DS XL.

Should I get one?

Teens or adults who like Nintendo games should still opt for the New Nintendo 3DS XL. That model provides the best overall mobile experience, thanks to its improved screen and head-tracking (the 3D effect looks better than it did on the older 3DS models). However, the best will also cost you more: that model goes for $199, £165 or AU$249.

But for kids under 10, it's tough to beat the price and value of the 2DS. And the included Mario Kart 7 game is like a cherry on top. Just be sure to invest in apadded case (widely available for under $10).

Heat your food anywhere with this mini microwave

Gone are the days when microwaves were relegated to the kitchen -- or even the house. Startup Wayv, in partnership withNXP Semiconductors, has created the $199/£135/AU$275 Wayv Adventurer, a handheld cooker that can go anywhere you go.

Intended for use during outdoor activities, as a backup cooker for busy parents in transit and even for defense and humanitarian purposes, the 200W thermos-esque Adventurer is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and is supposed to work for 30 minutes or more on a single charge. Wayv claims the Adventurer can work with solar energy, too.

While the team hasn't shared details on availability just yet, this $199 gadget has caught my interest. As someone who occasionally camps in areas where fires are banned, a device like this could really come in handy.

Weight is a slight concern, though. At 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms), I certainly wouldn't consider it an essential for a long-distance thru-hike, but it would probably be fine for a shorter trek.

And with just 200W of power, it will likely take longer than a regular microwave to heat up food or a drink (a traditional microwave typically has 600 to 1,200W; check out my microwave buying guidefor more details). That makes the 30-minute battery limit seem a little low. Still, I'm definitely interested in taking one on the road to see just how well it works.

Android N: 7 top features we're looking forward to

Back in March, Google gave a sneak peek at its upcoming mobile operating system, Android N. While the final version of the OS won't be available until summer, the company announced more Android N features, as well as a few other initiatives, at its annual developer's conference in May.

Currently, Android is the most popular mobile OS in the world. In addition to beefed-up security updates and new emojis, N will integrate Google's interactive Assistant service and better battery efficiency. For now, we're getting a taste of what the new flavor of Android will have, with more features to come. Let's take a look at the top new features Google has divulged so far.
Google Assistant

The new Assistant software will let you engage in more natural back-and-forth dialogue with the Android device than you can with Now (Google's current digital and search assistant), in order to get things done, like research a restaurant and make a reservation through OpenTable.

Instant Apps

Timed with the release of N but also available on phones running OS versions as old as Android Jelly Bean, Instant Apps lets you access or use certain apps without having to download and install said apps. This is especially useful for digital payment transactions, where you can pay with Android Pay instead of whatever system the app would have made you use.

Multiwindow

Looking at two apps at once will become standard on Android phones and tablets. With multiwindow, you can see apps in a split screen. This feature has been available on Samsung and LG phones for a few years, and now it'll come to many more Android devices. It's also very similar to what the Apple iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Pro can do, thanks to Apple's latest OS, iOS 9.

Google's adding a picture-in-picture option for apps that play video, too, similar to what we've seen on the iPad Air. That means, you should be able to watch a YouTube video while also browsing Twitter, or perhaps check email while watching a movie through Google Play.

Reply in a notification

Brought over from Android Wear watches, Google now lets you reply to text messages from the notification shade. When you get a new message, a little alert will pop up at the top of the screen and you can type your reply right there and go back to what you were doing. iOS has had a similar feature for awhile, so it's great to see it come to Android.

Bundles of notifications

If your notification menu is a mess of alerts, this feature might help. Developers will be able to group together notifications from their app. You'll see a bundle of notifications from each app in the menu, and you'll just tap the bundle to expand it and see each individual alert.

Again, iOS has something like this for its notification menu that you have to manually toggle on, so it's a welcome addition to Android too.

Doze on the Go

Android 6.0 Marshmallow was the first to get Doze, a battery-saving setting that halts background computing that kicks in when your phone is not in use and sitting still. Doze on the Go does the same thing, except your phone can be in motion (like if it's inside your pocket sitting idle). Google's also working on Project Svelte, which aims to reduce the amount of memory Android needs. The goal is to bring the latest versions of Android to more devices, especially those with lower-end specs.

Night Mode

Similar to Apple's Night Shift feature, Night Mode aims to reduce eye strain from viewing a bright display at night. This setting tints the screen yellow, which keeps you less revved up in later hours than the usual blue tint. You can also adjust the brightness and tint of the sepia hue.

Android...Nougat...Nutella?

Though we've seen a lot of sneak peeks, we still don't know everything that'll come to the final release of the OS. We don't have a version number or a sweet-themed name yet (though Google will "allow" fans to submit suggestions). If you can't wait until the summer rollout, however, a beta version is already available for Google Nexus 6P, 5X, 6, 9 and Pixel C tablet owners to test.

This is the smartest makeup mirror we've ever seen

The new $250 Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Pro will work with Alexa, IFTTT, and Nest.
Simplehuman, a manufacturer of everyday household items ranging from a $26 paper towel holder to the $400 Wi-Fi Wide-View Sensor Mirror, just released a new product -- the $250 Sensor Mirror Pro.

The Sensor Mirror Pro has a lot of the basic stuff you'd expect from a pricey vanity mirror. It comes with 5x and 10x magnification for applying things up close and personal -- think liquid eyeliner, eyelash curling, foundation contouring -- and any other makeup application or general personal grooming that would be easier in tight focus.

It also has a "tru-lux light system" with a color rendering index (CRI) of 90. Check out this overview of CRI scores for more details, but generally the closer the number is to 100, the better a light approximates natural light. Professional hair and makeup artist Cynthia Laws told me that daylight is the best case scenario for applying makeup, so a CRI score of 90 seems like a very good sign for this mirror.

In addition, the mirror's built-in LEDs are designed to light up automatically when it detects your presence. This feature is also available with the Wide-View Sensor Mirror, but it didn't always work. The lights would shut off unexpectedly when I was applying makeup on occasion (see the video review below). Hopefully Simplehuman made some improvements with this latest iteration.

This new mirror also does some things you wouldn't expect. It has an app and anIFTTT channel so you can create custom rules like, "If it's overcast out, then set the Simplehuman Sensor Mirror Pro to overcast preset." Nest also added Simplehuman to its Works with Nest smart-home integrations platform on May 17. With this partnership, you're supposed to be able to sync the light settings from your Nest Cam to the LEDs in your Sensor Mirror Pro.

Simplehuman also has plans to add Amazon Alexa integration into the mix in early June. While this isn't available just yet, you should be able to say things like, "Alexa, ask the mirror to set brightness to 50 percent" and "Alexa, ask the mirror to use the office setting." I'm not convinced that these smart features add much value, but it will be fun to test them out all the same. Stay tuned.

Cane Wireless Cliki review:

Smart buttons are hard explain, partly because they look so different depending on who's using them. You can control the music on your phone, toggle the smart lights in your house, order a pizza, and more -- all with the press of a button. At it's best, using smart buttons can feel magical.

But when it comes to reviewing any particular smart button, the process is strictly scientific: How flexible is it? How many functions can it perform? How many platforms does it work with? These are the simple building blocks that construct the user experience.
Cliki, a new smart button by Florida-based Cane Wireless, is Android-exclusive and can perform thirteen distinct functions. It sends commands to your phone -- to take a picture or toggle tethering -- and it does so reliably. The problem is, for a $39 product, Cliki should do so much more.

Cliki does a few things well. First off, you can attach Cliki to your keychain and use it as a fob. To me, that feels much more useful than the adhesive strips that other smart buttons have used. The Cliki app is also efficient. Rather than programming the button one command at a time, the commands are grouped into sets. That way, when you select the music icon, your button will automatically be able to play/pause your music with one press, and skip to the next song with a double press. Grouping commands in this way makes transitioning between button uses really easy.
The problem is, these pros are minor when compared to the shortcomings. To get at the heart of Cliki's problems, let's compare it with another smart button that costs a little less -- the Shortcut Labs Flic.

Price Distinct commandsSupported  devices Integration platforms Cliki$3913Android only None Flic$34over 50Android and iOS IFTTT, Zapier
On every level, Flic outperforms Cliki. An especially important note is Cliki's lack of IFTTT integration. What IFTTT allows is vastly increased flexibility, and further device reach. Rather than simply controlling your phone's functions, IFTTT allows you to connect a smart button to home devices like smart LEDs or a smart garage door opener. It also lets you integrate uncooperative apps, adding a whole new web of potential connections. And Cliki can't access any of it.
At this point, you might be wondering if there's any reason to buy Cliki. And the answer for now is no. But Cliki is adding IFTTT integration, iOS compatibility, and more features later this year. These additions, in combination with its quality app, will make Cliki much more competitive with buttons like Flic.

While it's hard to recommend Cliki to anyone right now, it's a device to watch. In under a year, it could be competing with the best smart buttons on the market.

Xiaomi brings Mi Box, a 4K Android TV-powered set-top box, to the US

You still can't buy Xiaomi phones at retailers in the US, but you'll soon be able to buy its streaming video box.

The China-based electronics giant is using Google's I/O developers conference to highlight its Mi Box, a new Android TV-powered 4K set-top box. While official pricing and release date have yet to be announced, the Mi Box -- not to be confused with a different model available in China (and via Amazon) -- will be available in "other global markets" in addition to the US.

The Mi Box's announcement comes as Android TV is getting a makeover, with a bevy of new apps, including Watch ESPN, Comedy Central and Spotify. But Xiaomi will have competition in the form of the more-established (and just updated) Nvidia Shield. Sony TVs also run the Android TV operating system.

The Xiaomi Mi Box supports 4K UHD content, as well as the latest HDR standards. Other popular apps, like Netflix, Vudu and Hulu will be available for download, and the Mi Box can mirror your phone or tablet's screen with its built-in Google Cast option.

Included with the Mi Box is a Bluetooth remote control with voice search capabilities.

Knocki release date price

Houston, Texas-based startup Knocki wants to simplify your smart home. Rather than switching feverishly among apps, voice control devices and assortedmultifunction buttons to keep your connected home in check, the team of two instead came up with Knocki, available for preorder now on Kickstarter starting at $69/£45/AU$95.

A puck-shaped Wi-Fi gizmo with built-in vibration-sensing tech, Knocki is designed to go pretty much anywhere inside your home. Use the included adhesive tape to stick one under a table, attach one to a wall, hide one inside a cabinet -- or behind a door. I'm a little skeptical about the staying power of an adhesive-mounted product that looks slightly larger than palm-size, but the team also provides mounting hardware for a more permanent installation.
Knocki promises an easy configuration that's as simple as downloading the companion app on your Android or iPhone and entering your Wi-Fi credentials. From there, you're supposed to be able to assign up to 10 custom "gestures" to a single Knocki.

Since the team claims upcoming support with the likes of IFTTT, Nest, Belkin WeMo, SmartThings, Philips Hue and other smart-home brands at launch, one Knocki can seemingly control a whole lot of stuff.

A double tap, for instance, could turn on your LEDs, two taps followed by a triple tap could unlock your integrated deadbolt, and a triple tap could dim your LEDsand turn on your TV. And that's only 3 of the 10 possible gestures you can create per Knocki device.

This quirky gizmo is also supposed to be able to know the difference between a deliberate tap and an accidental tap (I can't wait to test this out). And even if you don't have smart products at home, Knocki should be able to control music or find your phone, too.
We haven't seen anything quite like Knocki before. Sure, Shortcut Labs' $34 Flic button is similar, but Knocki is using vibrations to determine which device or devices to control rather than Flic's button presses.
The campaign ends on July 2, so there's time to get an early production version of Knocki. The $59 price tier is already sold out, but you can still snag one for $69/£45/AU$95 (the price will jump up to $129 when it officially hits retail). Knocki units will ship worldwide and are slated for delivery this December.

Razer Blade Stealth review:

Afer turning heads and garnering accolades at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, the Razer Blade Stealth is here. And having spent some quality hands-on time with the final product, it's not hard to see why this slim Windows 10 laptop with a 12.5-inch screen caught so many eyes when it was unveiled in January. Razer, best known for its keyboards and other gaming peripherals, saw a hole in the 13-inch laptop market (which we interpret loosely to include 12.5-inch screens), and drove a very unique matte black truck through it.

This is not exactly a slim-at-all-costs high-fashion ultrabook. Nor is it a gaming laptop, despite Razer's years of experience in the PC gaming biz. It's an amalgam of many different ideas about what a high-end ultrabook-style laptop should be, including some wish-list items we've wanted for years -- and a few we never thought to even ask for.
The company's previous laptops have been well-received gaming systems with 17-inch or 14-inch displays, all notable for being reasonably thin and light despite packing in mid- to high-end gaming components. The Razer Blade Stealth keeps much of the look and feel of the previous models, such as the matte-black shell, rigid construction, minimalist design and green snake-like logo. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that this is not actually a gaming laptop.

A Razer laptop without a dedicated graphics card sounds like an Apple product without an app store -- unexpected, and potentially not playing to its maker's strengths. But this is still Razer after all. So while the Blade Stealth is not a gaming laptop by itself, Razer plans for it to eventually become one component of a larger gaming ecosystem. Announced in January at CES 2016 -- but not yet available to even preorder -- is the Razer Core, an external box built to house a single desktop graphics card (for example, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980), and route its graphics rendering power to the laptop via Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C connection. (That single wire will also handle power duties, too.)

Others have gone down this road before, attempting to create an external graphics solution for laptops, but no one has yet cracked the code of balancing price, performance, flexibility, and design. Asus has offered similar products off and on for years, including a new version coming later this year, while Dell attempted to add an external GPU box to its Alienware 13 in 2014, but that product was too expensive and too proprietary to catch on.

At some point later this year, we'll hopefully hook up a Razer Core unit to a Razer Blade Stealth laptop and be able to judge it as a gaming machine. But for now, we're looking at it strictly as a flare-filled ultrabook with an optional 4K screen. If anything, that restriction makes the Blade Stealth even more impressive. It offers a great design and high-end components, plus extras such as the highly programmable and fun to play with backlit Chroma keyboard, all starting at $999 or AU$1,549. There's no separate UK pricing right now, but the US base price works out to around £705.

The base model includes a 2,560x1,440 (QHD) touchscreen display (not 4K, but still pretty good), a current-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Adding more storage and the optional 4K display jumps the price up, and the model reviewed here combines a 4K screen and 256GB of storage for $1,399/AU$2,149.

Price as reviewed$1,399/AU$2,149Display size/resolution13-inch 3,840 x 2,160 touchscreenPC CPU2.5Ghz Intel Core i7-6500UPC Memory8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHzGraphics1024MB Intel HD Graphics 520Storage256GB SSDNetworking802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0Operating systemWindows 10 Home (64-bit)

Conclusion

For use as a travel laptop, I'd lean towards that QHD model, as the resolution is still more than high enough for something this size, plus it costs less and promises better battery life. With a QHD display and 128GB of storage, it's a fantastic value if you're looking to hit that magic $999 number, and likely will run for significantly longer per charge, based on our previous experience with 4K vs. non-4K laptops.
But the 4K display and added storage space make the higher-end configuration tested here are worthwhile upgrades, too, and the extra-bright display is really a joy to watch. While we're eager to see if Razer can pull off the Core add-on and its promise of high-end slim laptop gaming, the Stealth is a fantastic highly portable laptop all on its own.

For another option in a 12.5-inch 4K/Core i7 laptop, Toshiba has dropped the price of its similar-on-paper Radius 12 from $1,599 to just $1,199, but that system had so many ergonomic and usability issues that it failed to impress. Plus, you can't set it in a dark room and have it cycle through a trippy rainbow of keyboard colors until your eyes bleed.

          SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS

Razer Blade StealthMicrosoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.5HGz Intel Core i7-6500U; 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 1,024MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics 520; 256GB SSDApple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2015)Apple Yosemite OSX 10.10.2; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-5250U; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 1,536MB Intel HD Graphics 6000; 128GB SSDHP Envy 13Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6200U; 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 128MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics 520; 128GB SSDLenovo Yoga 900Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.5HGz Intel Core i7-6500U; 16GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 128MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics 520; 512GB SSDMicrosoft Surface Pro 4Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) 2.4GHz Intel C

Samsung RF28HMEDBSR review:

For  $3,300 samsung sells a "Food Showcase" French door fridge with a hidden door that lets you access the in-door shelves. The problem? Not all of us are sold on the utility of putting a door in our refrigerator door.

Enter the Samsung RF28HMEDBSR. For that same $3,300 asking price, it's a nearly identical model that ditches the Food Showcase feature and replaces it with a dedicated "Flex Zone" drawer that you can dial up and down between four temperature presets.
For my money, that's the more practical feature of the two, and also the feature that's more worthy of a high-end asking price. Think about it -- one is an entire additional section for refrigerated goods, complete with its own thermostat. The other is a latch.

My main problem with this fridge is that it wasn't a strong performer in our battery of tests. Most sections of the interior ran a few degrees warm at both the default, 37-degree setting and at the minimum setting of 34 degrees (though, in fairness, that Flex Zone drawer was a performance standout, with accurate, steady temperatures at both its highest and lowest settings). Overall, we saw better cooling performance from the comparable LG LMXS30786S, which retails for $3,600.

          Design and features:
It doesn't come in black stainless steel like Samsung's newer high-end fridges, but the RF28HMEDBSR is still good-looking, thanks in large part to the four-door design that you get with a dedicated flex drawer. Still, it isn't a unique look -- the very well-reviewed LG LMXS30786S has the same basic build, though it also costs a few hundred dollars more.

The interior is essentially the same as the Food Showcase version, save for the addition of that flex drawer. You might think that the flex drawer would eat up some of the main refrigerator section's storage space, but it doesn't really -- the Food Showcase model had a pantry drawer beneath the crispers, and in this model, the flex drawer simply takes its place.

Of the two, I'll take the flex drawer. It's roomier, for starters, and it also has more temperature presets and a more robust thermostat than the pantry drawer did. Plus, as mentioned before, it looks good.
The similar interior build yielded storage test results that were nearly identical, which is to say that the RF28HMEDBSR has plenty of space for your family's groceries. You might need to move a shelf or two in order to make room for big, bulky items, and those shelves aren't as easy to move as I'd like, but you at least get a shelf that slides out and another that flips up out of the way, same as the Food Showcase model.

Also same as the Food Showcase model: the ice maker. It sits in the upper left corner of the fridge and dispenses cubes down through the door. I'm not a fan of this design, because it requires the inside of the door to angle upwards to catch the ice, which in turn, blocks off one of the shelves almost entirely. Comparable LG models put the ice maker into the door itself, which keeps things nice and flat -- I'll take that design over Samsung's any day.

Cooling performance

The RF28HMEDBSR consistently ran a few degrees warm in our performance tests. Still, there wasn't anything that alarmed me. The body of the fridge never quite averaged above the FDA's food safety benchmark of 40 F, good enough for a passing grade in our test lab.
All in all, the comparable LG LMXS30786S was the stronger performer overall, but I do give Samsung's drawer an edge. With drawers like these that have their own temperature settings, we'll set them to the opposite setting of the fridge -- as cold as it'll go during the default temperature test, then as warm as possible when we test the fridge at its coldest setting.

In both tests, Samsung's Flex Zone Drawer was right on the money, and by far the most accurate section of the entire appliance. Whether you're using it to store delicate items like meat, fish, and cheese at the optimal temperature, or you're just looking for a fridge with a beer drawer, it'll do the job nicely.

The verdict

This isn't the most impressive fridge I've ever tested, but it doesn't have many notable weak spots, either. The performance isn't the best, but it's good enough. The design isn't cutting-edge, but it's modern enough. The cost is a bit steep at $3,300, but the sale prices look like relative values. As big, boxy refrigerators go, it's surprisingly well-rounded.

Google appeals order demanding it apply 'right to be forgotten' globally

Google has appealed an order from France compelling it to scrap certain search results not just by country but across the world.

In May 2014, Google started complying with a European Union ruling that requires it to honor requests from a European citizen to remove search results that may no longer be relevant or may infringe upon that person's privacy. Initially, the company limited those take-down requests to just the countries from which they originated.

A year later, France's Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL) ordered Google to remove search results upon request from all its global domains, including those in the US. In March of this year, Google started taking down links from all its domains, but only when accessed from the country where the request was made. That didn't placate authorities in France. The CNIL fined Google 100,000 euros ($112,150.00) for not taking the program far enough.

On Thursday, Google filed an appeal against the CNIL's initial order with France's Council of State, the country's supreme administrative court, Reuters has reported.

The "right to be forgotten" ruling has provoked controversy over where and when to draw the line between privacy and the public good. Proponents of the ruling argue that it protects individuals by eliminating links to potentially private, outdated or otherwise embarrassing information about them. Opponents say the ruling infringes on free speech by removing links to information that other people may have a right to know about.
The CNIL has argued that expanding the reach of the "right to be forgotten" program to all Google domains, no matter where or how they're accessed, is the only way to fully protect the rights and privacy of European citizens. Google has countered that one country should not be able to impose its rules on people in other countries.

"As a matter of both law and principle, we disagree with this demand," Kent Walker, Google's global general counsel, said in an op-ed in France's Le Monde newspaper Thursday. "We comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate. But if French law applies globally, how long will it be until other countries -- perhaps less open and democratic -- start demanding that their laws regulating information likewise have global reach?"
The CNIL declined to comment on Google's decision to appeal.

Canon EOS 80D review

Canon delivers a decent update to its popular prosumer action-capable camera, the EOS 70D. The 80D gets a new version of the company's Dual Pixel CMOS sensor with a faster on-sensor autofocus system, plus some minor additions. It has some notable improvements over the 70D, including much better Live View performance; it's not as fast as a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera, but it's finally usable for subjects in motion. And the generally improved performance will resonate with the typical action-shooting enthusiast who buys this class of dSLR. But if you're persnickety about color, you'll have to do some tweaking.

It costs $1,200 (£1,030, AU$1,880) for the body and $1,600 (£1,380, AU$2,400) for a kit with the updated EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 USM lens that supports new the power zoom adapter.

Good photos, but change the defaults

The 80D is capable of producing excellent photos -- as long as you either shoot raw or change many of the default JPEG settings. The camera's automatic white balance isn't very good. Under our lab lights, the only way I could get anything I could compare to other cameras was by using manual white balance; I've had similar issues with the Nikon D7200 and other Canons, but the 80D's is pretty bad. In real daylight it's better, but still has problems -- among other things, it turns blue flowers purple. I couldn't find a white-balance preset that produced accurate colors. On the flip side, though, the cast keeps its low-light photos from shifting too far to yellow.

Complicating the issue is Canon's Auto Picture Style, which pushes the saturation and contrast way too much, plus overprocesses edges, making them look too heavy. The new Fine Detail option is much better at edge processing, delivering results comparable to using raw up to about ISO 1600, and delivers sharpness on thin lines comparable to other APS-C-sensor cameras. It should really be the default. You can get pretty good results processing raw through ISO 6400, though beyond ISO 1600 there isn't a lot of dynamic range available to recover.

The slightly higher-resolution sensor plus Fine Detail mode allows the 80D to produce noticeably better JPEGs than the 70D, though the latter's auto-white balance is more accurate. The 80D also has a far cleaner noise profile in general across ISO sensitivities.

The video still looks good, not much different than the 70D's, though with the same caveats about the color and image settings. Now it also supports 1080/60p, though.

Conclusion

While the Canon EOS 80D is a definite improvement over the 70D, it's not without its drawbacks. It's fast, and you can get much better photos and video out of it as long as you don't leave it on the defaults. But if you're into filters, want in-body image stabilization for greater lens-choice flexibility or want sharper 4K video, there are less expensive but still good mirrorless interchangeable-lens options.
Comparative specifications

Canon EOS 70DCanon EOS 80DNikon D7200Sensor effective resolution20.2MP Dual Pixel CMOS24.2MP Dual Pixel CMOS24.2MP CMOSSensor size22.5 x 15 mm22.5 x 15 mm23.5 x 15.6 mmFocal-length multiplier1.6x1.6x1.5xOLPFYesYesNoSensitivity rangeISO 100 - ISO 12800/ISO 25600 (exp)ISO 100 - ISO 16000/ISO 25600 (exp)ISO 100 - ISO 25600
(up to ISO 102,400 in black and white)Burst shooting7fps
40 JPEG/15 raw7fps
110 JPEG/25 raw6fps
100 JPEG (Normal quality)/27 raw (12-bit)Viewfinder
(mag/ effective mag)Optical
98% coverage
0.95x/0.59xOptical
100% coverage
0.95x/0.59xOptical
100% coverage
0.94x/0.63 xHot ShoeYesYesYesAutofocus19-point phase-detection AF
all cross-type
center dual cross to f2.845-point phase-detection
all cross-type
27 to f8, 9 cross-type
1 to f2.851-point phase-detection AF
15 cross-type
center to f8AF sensitivity-0.5 - 18 EV-3 to 18 EV-3 - 19 EVShutter speed1/8,000 to 30 sec.; bulb; 1/250 sec. x-sync1/8,000 to 30 sec.; bulb; 1/250 sec. x-sync1/8,000 to 30 sec.; bulb; 1/250 sec. x-sync, 1/320 sec. x-sync at reduced flash output, 1/8,000 sec. FP x-syncShutter durability100,000 cycles100,000 cycles150,000 cyclesMetering63 zone7,560-pixel RGB+IR, 63 zones2,016-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering IIMetering sensitivity1 - 20 EV1 - 20 EV0 - 20 EVBest videoH.264 QuickTime MOV
1080/30p, 25p, 24p; 720/60pH.264 QuickTime MOV
1080/30p, 25p, 24p; MP4: 720/60p, 1080/60p, 30pH.264 QuickTime MOV
1080/60p, 50p @ 1.3x crop; 1080/30p, 25p, 24pAudioStereo, mic inputStereo, mic input,headphone jackStereo, mic input, headphone jackManual aperture and shutter in videoYesYesYesMaximum best-quality recording time per clip4GB4GB/29:59 mins10 minsClean HDMI outNoNoYesISOpticalOpticalOpticalDisplay3 in./7.7cm
Articulated touchscreen
1.04m dots3 in./7.7cm
Articulated touchscreen
1.04m dots3.2 in./8 cm
Fixed
921,600 dots
(plus extra set of white)Memory slots1 x SDXC1 x SDXC2 x SDXCWireless connectionNoneWi-Fi, NFCWi-Fi, NFCFlashYesYesYesWireless flashYesYesYesBattery life (CIPA rating)800 shots
(2,600 mAh)960 (VF); 300 (LV)
(2,600 mAh)1,100 shots
(1,900 mAh)Size (WHD)5.5 x 4.1 x 3.1 in.
139.0 x 104.3 x 78.5 mm5.5 x 4.1 x 3.1 in.
139.0 x 105 x 79 mm5.3 x 4.2 x 3.0 in.
135.5 x 106.5 x 76 mmBody operating weight27.2 oz.
771.1 g26.4 oz.
748 g26.9 oz.
762 gMfr. price (body only)$900
£730
AU$1,240$1,200
£1,030
AU$1,880$1,050
£870
AU$1,300 (est.)Primary kit$1,200
£1,060
AU$1,620
(with 18-135mm STM lens)$1,600
£1,380
AU$2,400
(with 18-135mm USM lens)$1,350
AU$1,800 (est.)
(with 18-140mm lens)
£1,070
AU$1,750 (est.)
(with 18-105mm lens)

Release dateAugust 2013March 2016April 2015

Motorola's Moto G4 Play adds less ambitious specs to an already diverse phone family

Just as it unveiled the new Moto G4 and G4 Plus, Motorola today also added a third new member to the ever-expanding Moto G family, the Moto G4 Play.

Announced for the US initially and also coming to "select" regions, the G4 Play is similar to the Moto G4 and G4 Plus though it scales down the key specs slightly. The display is smaller (5 inches versus 5.5 inches) and it has a lower resolution (720p versus 1080p); the Snapdragon processor is quad-core rather than octa-core; and the camera resolution tops out at 8 megapixels instead of 13.

Like its siblings, though, it is water-resistant and it runs Android Marshmallow. Pricing and specific availability are yet to be revealed, but we'll add those here as soon as we get the info. Stand by for hands-on photos and analysis, as well.

Specs and key features :Qualcomm 410 Snapdragon quad-core processor5-inch, 720p displayAndroid Marshmallow8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front2,800mAh batteryMicro-USB port3.5mm headset jack

Google Home crashes Amazon Echo's party

Thanks to all its features, the Echo has enjoyed early success as a hub for the connected home, with Amazon selling an estimated 3 million devices so far. But Google likely wants to deny Amazon that lofty position.

Google's parent Alphabet already spent $3.2 billion to buy Nest, which makes connected smoke alarms, webcams and thermostats, and Google would rather its hub -- not the Echo -- operate these products. Google and Amazon also have become fiercer rivals, with the tech titans fighting over consumer electronics,grocery deliveries and cloud storage services. Google Home, which was rumored to come out, provides yet another battlefront.
Google's advantage in this fight could be its large portfolio of popular apps, including Google Maps, Google Photos and Google Calendar, as well as Nest's smart-home devices. Also, Google's digital assistant, known as "OK Google" or Google Now, already resides in Android smartphones and the Google search app. Having a device that can bring all those items together in an easy-to-use, voice-controlled speaker could give the Echo a run for its money. For example, Google executives said people will be able to use the Home to control their Nest devices or play music in different rooms using speakers enabled with Google Chromecast Audio.

The Echo, though, already works with Nest devices and Google Calendar, and includes more than 300 different capabilities, from reading Bible verses to ordering an Uber car.

"There certainly will be some catch-up that Google has to play," Gartner analyst Brian Blau said. "Not being first isn't that much of a disadvantage, but waiting too long can be. I don't think waiting too long has happened yet."

An Amazon representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

The Google Home can be personalized with different materials and colors, and may let users ask a broader range of questions than the Echo can manage, since Google's digital assistant connects to the company's powerful search platform.

"We're creating a new set of entry points into the conversation that you can have with Google," Scott Huffman, a search engineering executive at Google, said in an interview, "that are explicitly focused on this idea of having a natural conversation."
With the help of machine learning, the Google assistant will improve over time by learning a specific user's preferences and patterns. While "OK Google" will start as the Home's wake word, other options like "Hey Google" will be added.

Users will have the same privacy controls as they do with Google search histories, with users able to delete some or all their queries to the Google Home.
Google's new speaker increases the chances thatdevices will have more voice controls going forward, which could help people navigate complicated sets of commands without having to use a remote or touchscreen. Apple has worked to add its Siri digital assistant into more devices, as is Microsoft with its Cortana platform.

"The future of conversational user interfaces is pretty bright," Gartner's Blau said. "It seems that talking to your home is popular these days."