Reviews

Huawei Honor 5X Review: Great Hardware Hampered By iOS Rip-Off UI

The Huawei Honor 5X is perfectly fine, but its mostly metal design makes this $200 chunk of phone passable as something much nicer than it really is. Once you get beyond the hardware illusion, you’re left with a major software identity crisis. On the Honor 5X, that crisis is called Emotion UI (EMUI), Huawei’s own…

Reviews Darren Orf

Asus Zenfone Zoom Review: The First Smartphone With A Real Zoom Lens

Your phone has been lying to you. Every time you zoom in to catch that perfect shot of that $20 hamburger you’re not actually zooming in. The software in your phone is really just cropping the image and blowing it up like Patricia Arquette in CSI: Cyber. To actually zoom your phone would need an…

Reviews Alex Cranz

This $2,000 Wireless Speaker Is Mind-Blowing

The Devialet Phantom’s been around a while, but the Apple Store recently started selling the basic-but-still-very-expensive version of the speaker. Fans will be tempted, but you never want to buy something just because it’s in the Apple Store, so we gave it a try. Everything about the speaker seems impressive. It’s wireless, incredibly powerful, yet…

Reviews Adam Clark Estes

If You Loved The X-Files, You’ll Probably Still Like The New X-Files

This Sunday, The X-Files returns for a six-episode miniseries. It’s been eight years since the last movie, and fourteen since the last TV episode. We’ve already watched the first three episodes of the new series, and are here to tell you, with no spoilers, that it’s worth your time. But it may not be worth…

Television Katharine Trendacosta

The First Spoiler-Free Impressions of The Force Awakens, Straight From the Premiere

The first group of non-Lucasfilm employees have finally been allowed to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night, and good news! The reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Here are what some of the celebrities, reporters, and lucky bastards who attended last night’s premiere had to say about Episode VII. Our own Germain Lussier had one…

Movies Rob Bricken

Microsoft Band 2 Review: Ugly, Uncomfortable, But Great for Workouts

Fitness wearables really only exist for one reason: To collect information about your health in order to coach and encourage you into being a better version of you. Even though the Band 2 sucks at being actually wearable, it’s still one of the best fitness trackers I’ve ever strapped on my wrist. What is it?…

Reviews Chris Mills

Toshiba Satellite Radius Review: An Amazing 4K Screen Attached to a Frustrating Machine

For many, a laptop is a deeply personal device, one that gets used and abused even more than a smartphone. So you really want to love using it—especially if you’re going to spend upwards of $1,600 on something like Toshiba’s new Satellite Radius 12. But the impressive hardware doesn’t make this laptop worth the price…

Reviews Adam Clark Estes

GoPro’s Hero4 Session Just Finally Became a Solid Buy

The Hero4 Session is GoPro’s smallest camera. It’s a little, unibody cube that’s waterproof on its own and is even more versatile in the ways it can be mounted thanks to its lightness, its shape, and its size. We liked it a lot when we tested it, but there was a problem: At $400 it…

Reviews Brent Rose

Lumia 950 Review: Microsoft’s Best Ideas Still Don’t Fit In Your Hand

Microsoft’s Lumia 950 is the first interesting Windows phone to be released in a while, mostly because it’s the first phone designed specifically for Windows 10. It’s a phone created with the ambition of turning around Microsoft’s flailing mobile efforts. At the very least, Microsoft has made a smartphone that’s usable. After forcing myself to…

Reviews Mario Aguilar

What It’s Like To Use the iPad Pro As a Tablet

Apple’s souped-up iPad Pro is supposed to be a laptop replacement–yet as many have already pointed out, it just isn’t up to the task. So I decided to use the iPad Pro as its namesake suggests: As a fucking huge iPad. To my surprise, I liked it. https://gizmodo.com/what-its-like-to-use-the-ipad-pro-as-a-laptop-1743715712 Death to “Pinch To Zoom” The iPad…

Reviews Darren Orf

What It’s Like To Use the iPad Pro As a Laptop

I don’t like laptops. There, I said it. I don’t hate them, but for years I’ve felt they can be improved in many different ways. So when Apple made the iPad Pro, I paid attention. Could this be the product I’d been dreaming of all this time? The short answer: No. The long answer: Also…

Reviews Carlos Rebato

Canon G9 X and G5 X Review: Cameras That Feel So Nice, But Have a Speed Problem

What makes a great small camera? For some, it must have comfortable controls. For others, it must actually fit comfortably in a pants pocket. So picky! Canon’s two new high-end compacts have two different beautiful exteriors that almost make me forget their few key shortcomings. What Is It Two new compact cameras with the same…

Reviews Michael Hession

Amazon’s $50 Fire Tablet Sucks, But It’s All The Tablet I Need

Before you go buy a tablet, you should ask this question: “what am I going to use this tablet for?” This seems like common sense, but really, take a moment. What are you going to do with that slab of internet-connected screen? If your answer is I need “something for making life-like 3D animations and…

Reviews Mario Aguilar

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Is The Character-Focused Superhero Epic We’ve Been Waiting For

In the past decade, we’ve seen an endless parade of comic book movies and TV shows, promising to be darker and more “realistic.” But until Jessica Jones, none of them has really hit the mark. We saw the first seven episodes, and here’s our spoiler-free review. There’s a lot to like about Jessica Jones, the…

Television Katharine Trendacosta

CSI:Cyber Achieves New Heights of Overwrought Handwringing in a Killer Sex Toy Episode

I’m surprised it took this long to incorporate the greatest Grandma fear of them all—death by doing sex stuff online—into CSI:Cyber’s roster of tech habits that can kill you. But here we are! It’s the sex toy malware episode, and it’s just as preposterous as I’d hoped. “Corrupted Memory,” has the gang investigating a murder…

Television Kate Knibbs

OnePlus X Review: Great on the Outside, Just OK on the Inside

When OnePlus founder and CEO Carl Pei first showed off the new X in our Manhattan office, I was impressed. Nice glass design, kind of a hybrid iPhone/Xperia look. The textbook definition of “premium.” But it’s really what he said next that got me. Update: The OnePlus X is no longer invite-only, and you can…

Reviews Darren Orf

Roland Boutique Series Review: Retro Synth Sound for Modern Day Dial Turners

With software these days you can recreate almost any sound you want. The hulking equipment that used to produce electronic music is long gone. And yet, people have a desire to touch buttons and turn knobs. The Roland Boutique Series is a middle-ground between the digital age of music making and the classic synths of…

Reviews Michael Hession

Alienware Steam Machine Review: PC Gaming With Console Comforts

Steam is a massive online gaming platform that reaches 100 million players worldwide. Now, Valve, the company behind Steam, along with a litany of hardware makers (in this case Dell/Alienware) wants to go head-to-head with Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. This home console is its new contender. It’s got a controller that makes PC games feel…

Reviews Bryan Lufkin

A Real-Life Hacker Car Hijacking Inspired This Week’s CSI: Cyber

“Someone out there is playing Grand Theft Auto—only this is no video game.” As the Cyber gang investigates a drag race turned fatal, Patricia Arquette delivers that line with a straight face. I’m starting to think someone slipped a cursed amulet into her Oscar swag bag, trapping her in this role. The team discovers that…

Television Kate Knibbs

Droid Turbo 2 Review: Definitely Shatterproof, But Also an Eyesore

There is no shortage of high performance Android phones out there, and it can be hard to find a good reason to go with one over the other. The Droid Turbo 2 has a couple of features that say hey over here, pick me. pick me!! But a great phone has to feel right in…

Reviews Michael Hession

Huawei Honor 5X Review: Great Hardware Hampered By iOS Rip-Off UI

Asus Zenfone Zoom Review: The First Smartphone With A Real Zoom Lens

This $2,000 Wireless Speaker Is Mind-Blowing

If You Loved The X-Files, You’ll Probably Still Like The New X-Files

The First Spoiler-Free Impressions of The Force Awakens, Straight From the Premiere

Microsoft Band 2 Review: Ugly, Uncomfortable, But Great for Workouts

Toshiba Satellite Radius Review: An Amazing 4K Screen Attached to a Frustrating Machine

GoPro’s Hero4 Session Just Finally Became a Solid Buy

Lumia 950 Review: Microsoft’s Best Ideas Still Don’t Fit In Your Hand

What It’s Like To Use the iPad Pro As a Tablet

What It’s Like To Use the iPad Pro As a Laptop

Canon G9 X and G5 X Review: Cameras That Feel So Nice, But Have a Speed Problem

Amazon’s $50 Fire Tablet Sucks, But It’s All The Tablet I Need

Marvel’s Jessica Jones Is The Character-Focused Superhero Epic We’ve Been Waiting For

CSI:Cyber Achieves New Heights of Overwrought Handwringing in a Killer Sex Toy Episode

OnePlus X Review: Great on the Outside, Just OK on the Inside

Roland Boutique Series Review: Retro Synth Sound for Modern Day Dial Turners

Alienware Steam Machine Review: PC Gaming With Console Comforts

A Real-Life Hacker Car Hijacking Inspired This Week’s CSI: Cyber

Droid Turbo 2 Review: Definitely Shatterproof, But Also an Eyesore

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

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