-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeI Turned My Apartment Into a Surveillance State With These Petcube Cameras
All pet owners wonder what their furry ‘lil babies get up to while the humans are gone. That’s been especially true for me lately. While my partner’s sassy cat Pablo and my derpy, elderly Yorkshire Terrier Daisy mostly ignore each other, they do get into the occasional tiff. Recently, Daisy’s taken to hiding under the … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeVizio’s New $70 Soundbar Is a Killer Deal
If you don’t own a soundbar, you’ve probably thought about getting one. Maybe your speaker-head friend told you to check out the new Sonos Beam (sort of expensive!), or that sick-looking Sony surround sound system (even more expensive—wow!). Vizio, on the other hand, wants to sell you a new, super small and super cheap soundbar … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeLenovo’s Smart Clock Makes Snoozing Alarms Fun Again
In today’s world, it feels like every company is trying to spruce up old tech with the power of the internet. We got smart locks, smart lights, smart vacuums, so why not a smart alarm clock? But with so many people opting to set alarms on their phones rather than manage yet one more device, … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis $600 Sleep Robot Is Only Worth it if You’re Tired and Alone
If you’ve suffered the throes of chronic insomnia, you’ll do almost anything to fall asleep. Pills, guided meditation apps, vigorous exercise, melatonin, screen dimmers, aromatherapy diffusers, sleep tracking via fitness tracker, smart beds, bedtime calculators—at some point or another, I’ve tried them all and probably spent an absurd amount of money in the pursuit of … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis Cheap Robot Vacuum Isn’t Super Flashy, But It Gets the Job Done
Even though they’re still kinda dumb, robot vacuums happen to be the most successful type of home robotright now. But a couple of years ago, they were too expensive for the average person, and budget options tended to be hilariously awful. They’d miss obvious dust bunnies, crash into furniture, and get hopelessly lost under your … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomePeloton’s $4,000 Treadmill Makes Me Wish I Was Rich Enough to Afford It
Editor’s note, 05/05/2021: Peloton has recalled this product, now called the Tread+, due to safety issues and halted both sales and distribution in the U.S. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends owners stop using the machine immediately. Going for a run in the winter is brutal. Your ears freeze, the air burns your lungs, … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart Home‘Who Microwaved Fish?’: This Smart Oven Humiliated Me
I’m not a terrible cook, but I am incredibly impatient when it comes to preparing my own food. After a long day of work, the idea of cutting vegetables, marinating meat, stirring a pot, and then waiting somewhere between 30 to 60 minutes to eat is excruciating. Still, microwaving ready-made meals is sad and a … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAmazon’s DVR for Over-the-Air TV Is Surprisingly Great
The Amazon Fire TV Recast is a wacky gadget. It’s not wacky in that it looks weird. (It’s just a simple black box.) It’s also not wacky because it does wacky stuff. (It’s a DVR for over-the-air TV.) The Recast is wacky because it does this one hyper-specific thing really well. I’m not sure why … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeBose’s Fancy Home Speaker Might Be the Best Sounding Echo Alternative Yet
The idea seemed silly at first. Bose made an Alexa-powered wireless speaker with a little screen, a big $400 price tag and a promise “to fill any room with an astonishing stereo performance.” I’ve been using the Bose Home Speaker 500 for a little more than a month, and there are a few things I … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThe Big Problem With Facebook’s Portal Devices Has Nothing to Do With How Great They Are
Are you ready to let Facebook put a connected camera into your home? The embattled social network is in the middle of a years-long PR clusterfuck owing to a series of privacy screwups, anon-going moderation catastrophe, and most recently, sleazy political tactics. That said, it’s still a communication method used by billions, and it’s probably running … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeVizio Made Dolby Atmos Sound Affordable With Its New Soundbar System, and It’s Amazing
Since its introduction in 2012, Dolby Atmos has been a dazzling new audio technology that you could basically only experience in fancy movie theaters. But recently, high-end soundbars have started supporting the standard, which was cool if you wanted to spend north of $1,000 on a system. Vizio did what Vizio often does and built … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeVizio’s Fancy New TV Is a Hell of a Spectacle
Many people know Vizio as the cheap flatscreen TV they owned in college. And indeed, the company has always sold very decent displays for very low prices. That formula is evolving with the new P-Series Quantum. This $2,200 65-inch 4K LED TV is undoubtedly out of reach for most students. But, Vizio claims, the P-Series … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis Robovac With a Removable Dustbuster Created More Messes Than it Cleaned
The dirty secret about robot vacuums is that they can’t actually clean your entire house. They’re great for floors, but are completely useless for cleaning all of your other other dust-covered surfaces. It’s a problem the Coral One—a robovac with a removable handheld cleaner—was engineered to solve. Its design is undoubtedly a clever solution to … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeGoogle’s Home Hub Is a Great Start to a Smarter Home
The idea of a smart home console is exciting. A little screen where you can turn all your lights on and off and turn on the TV and see who’s at the door and crank the oven up to 500-degrees to roast that garlic and broccoli for dinner? That’s cool! It’s also what Google promises … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeChromecast Is Bumming Me Out
Google quietly released a new Chromecast device at its big event this week. And by quietly, I mean the company didn’t mention it at all. It was just sitting in the bottom of the bag that someone gave me when I left the venue. But hey, it’s new and it’s nice-looking. It’s just a bummer … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThere’s Finally an Affordable Universal Remote to Unseat Logitech
Finding a universal remote can be a trial, largely because the only company making a good one that works with all the major set-top boxes, TVs, and game consoles, also charges around $150 for the experience. Earlier this year a $400 challenger became available, and it was an extremely bad buy. It was overpriced, its … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis Smart Soundbar Is an Ugly Attempt at an Interesting Idea
Smart soundbars are an interesting idea. They’re like smart speakers, except they work with your TV, so you can use your voice like a remote control. Neat! In January, Polk wowed CES attendees with its new Command Bar. Put bluntly, this smart device is a big honking soundbar with an Amazon Echo Dot stuffed inside … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeSix Months With the Apple HomePod Almost Convinced Me It Was Good
I didn’t understand the Apple HomePod, when it launched six months ago. Sure, I got the business reasons behind Apple’s smart speaker (everyone’s got to have a smart speaker it seems), but the HomePod struck me as too stupid and too expensive. It just seemed like Apple’s weird attempt at showing Amazon and Google that … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomePlume Made Good Wifi Cheap
I’ve always had a frustrating relationship with the Internet thanks to where I lived. Long hallways or brick walls were in the way of a strong connection, requiring me to get inventive with Ethernet cables, antenna extenders, and SSID names. Mesh networks, which use multiple routers working in tandem to eradicate dead spots, have largely … Continued
-
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeGoogle and Lenovo’s Smart Display Trounces Amazon’s in Every Way
Despite Amazon having a two-year head start versus Google in the smart speaker wars, earlier this year, sales of Google Home devices surpassed all of Amazon’s Echoes for the first time ever. And while Amazon still holds the overall lead in market share, it’s not hard to see why Google is catching up fast. Compared … Continued