Reviews

I Got My Friends to Try Female Condoms. Here’s What They Thought.

I know they’ve been ridiculed. I know some people think they’re ew. Thing is, I don’t believe in judging things on blind emotion. I believe in data. So I recruited two of my friends and their partners, all of whom have a really good sense of humor, to test some female condoms for me. Image:…

Pebble Time Preview: Why Can’t All Smartwatches Be This Simple?

Before the Apple Watch, there was the Pebble—the smartwatch that raised an incredible $10.3 million on Kickstarter. The smartwatch that managed to outsmart Google’s Android Wear. The Best Smartwatch according to critics everywhere. For the past six days, I’ve been wearing its successor: the Pebble Time. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a smartwatch…

Silicon Valley Takes a Dig at Digg, and the Myth of the Reborn Genius

Silicon Valley picked up the pace this week, with a quick, sharp episode about betrayal, failure, and the indignities of no longer being a billionaire. Pied Piper plays dirty In last week’s episode, Pied Piper got screwed by a new rival called End Frame, the same people who “brain raped” the team earlier in the…

Stratos Card Review: This Smart Credit Card Is Still Too Dumb

Technology is a conquerer. The evidence can be seen in mounds of dead pagers, flip phones, and CDs. When companies and startups agree to kill something off, it’s usually not long for this world. But one piece of tech has become an unkillable cockroach—the credit card. Apple has Apple Pay. Samsung has Samsung Pay. Google’s…

In Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Power Lies With Politics, Not Magic

What if a world of mysticism and magic stood alongside Regency high society? Susanna Clarke’s break-out novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell — the BBC’s adaptation of which began in the U.K last night — asks just that. But as the first episode shows, even in a world with magic, the real power is in…

Samsung POWERbot VR9000 Review: A Luxury Vac Worth the Price Tag

Like a fancy touchscreen watch that reminds you to buy milk, a robot vacuum is a luxury few of us actually need—but many of us would love to have. For years iRobot’s Roombas have been the go-to choice for autonomous floor cleaning, but Samsung is making a strong case to upgrade to its new POWERbot…

We just updated The Best Smartwatch for Every Wrist. The Apple Watch isn’t perfect, but it’s still one of the best!

Apple Watch Review: I Beta-Tested The Watch So You Don’t Have To

Two weeks ago, I started wearing an Apple Watch. I’ve come to a conclusion: I just paid hundreds of dollars to be a glorified beta tester for Apple’s latest product. But you know what? I’m glad I did—because Apple’s latest product really needs a kick in the pants. What Is It? A meticulously crafted aluminum,…

Razer Nabu X Review: Fit for Fitness, Not for Gaming

Razer loves to announce BIG, INDUSTRY SHAKING gadgets only to immediately scale them down. The company’s first laptop started life as a handheld game console. Its first tablet originally had handlebars. The Nabu X is Razer’s latest big idea, similarly shrunk down. It’s weird, but also kinda neat. What Was It? Okay,so originally, the Nabu…

Moto E (LTE) Review: When Cheap Means Cheap

Last year, all the most exciting mobile phones were dirt cheap. For just a couple hundred dollars, I could buy an amazing device without tying myself to a contract. So I convinced myself cheap phones were the future. Maybe they still are. But not Motorola’s Moto E. It isn’t nearly daring enough. What is it?…

Microsoft Surface 3 Review: The Tablet I Want At The Price I Don’t

I’m dancing on the grave of Microsoft’s original Surface tablet, and I feel no remorse. It’s hard to feel sad—it was a beautifully crafted ten-inch tablet that ran a crippled version of Windows. It was awful. Now it’s dead, and I’ve got a way better tablet. I’m so happy. What Is It? It’s a cheaper,…

Crowdsource Your Next Camping Trip

Looking for a good place to go camping this weekend? Need to borrow a tent to make it happen? The same tools you use to find a new restaurant or save money on hotels or rides are finally coming to the outdoors. Yelp, For Campgrounds How do you find new places to go camping? If…

ASUS G501 Lightning Review: If The MacBook Pro Could Game

Want a thin gaming laptop? We have a whole guide for that—but the ASUS G501 wasn’t the best laptop on our list. In fact, I kind of dismissed it with just three sentences. It deserves more. Let’s take a slightly deeper look. What Is It? Emblematic of what manufacturers seem to think a thin gaming…

Polaroid Zip Review: Tiny, Fast, and Pretty Damn Fun

When I was a teenager, I got a job at Kmart to fund my photography habit. It bought me my first SLR—but also a later model Polaroid, arguably one of the greatest cameras ever. Tomorrow, Polaroid will ship a device that attempts to recapture some of that old magic: The Zip. In some ways, I…

Logitech MX Master Review: The Best Mouse Got Better

Roughly three million years ago, when I’d just started at Gizmodo, Logitech’s Performance Mouse MX won our Best Wireless Mouse Battlemodo. It was a triumph of ergonomics and it was a joy to use. Well, almost four years later, it’s received an update: the MX Master. Rather than mess with success, Logitech retained everything that…

Parrot Bebop Drone and Skycontroller Review: Looks Aren’t Everything

You’ve graduated from your cheap beginner drone, and you want to try something new. Something that can shoot beautiful video from the sky—but doesn’t cost $1,000+ like a camera-equipped DJI Phantom. You spot the $500 Parrot Bebop Drone, and pull the trigger. It’s kind of fun, you think, between strings of obscenities. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-drone-for-every-indoor-need-1644579797 What Is…

Intel Compute Stick Review: Don’t Buy It

Who wants a cheap HDMI stick that can turn any TV into a full Windows computer? Everybody, right? That’s what we thought. Oh god were we wrong. When Intel announced the $150 Compute Stick at CES, we figured it could become the ultimate miniature PC for all kinds of people. Too bad it’s terrible. Theoretically,…

PopSlate Lightning Review: This iPhone Case Has An E-Ink Screen in Back

What does the back of your phone look like? Is it covered by a case? Either way, I’m willing to bet it looks the same every day. What if you could personalize it with the push of a button, wirelessly beaming your favorite photos to an e-ink screen that lives in a special iPhone 6…

New MacBook Review: Stupidly Thin

The new MacBook is a marvel of engineering. It’s beautiful, and far more functional than a computer this size has any right to be. But it’s not for me, and I doubt it’s for you, either. It’s just too damn thin. What Is It? The latest crazy-thin Apple computer—a tiny 12-inch laptop with a incredible…

HBO Now Review: It Passed the Game of Thrones Test, But Is That Enough?

I still remember that terrible night in 2011 when millions of fans screamed in agony as Game of Thrones started, stuttered, and died on HBO Go. We all felt burned by HBO’s crappy internet service. But HBO Now, launched just in time for last night’s GOT premiere, promised to be better. Was it? Yes. What…