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The top 17 gaming gadgets you can buy right now
Say hello to Engadget's first-ever Buyer's Guide dedicated to consoles, turbocharged headsets and all things gaming. It's a wide, wide world out there, and choosing the right console and accessories is a daunting task. So whether there's a special gamer in your life, or you're looking to make a few upgrades yourself, we have the top 17 picks right here -- just click the gallery below.
Introducing Engadget's gaming and portable audio buyer's guides!
When Engadget unveiled its new and improved buyer's guides earlier this year, we started out with just a handful of categories: smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables. You know, the stuff we're most likely to give the full review treatment. Still, a few of our readers wondered why we didn't include a wider range of products. To all you who were craving a little more, the answer is: We were already on it. Today we're adding two new guides to the mix, including one for gaming gear and another for portable audio gadgets. As always, when deciding what to include, we asked the people who know best: the Engadget writers who are already testing this stuff. In the case of gaming, that includes our resident game writers Ben Gilbert, Sean Buckley and Tim Seppala. Likewise, we consulted our biggest audiophiles on staff, Billy Steele and James Trew, who in a previous life wrote about music for a living. Have a peek at our gaming and audio guides, and check back over the coming months -- you never know when we'll add a hot new item to the list.
Check out our laptop buyer's guide for the best in portable PCs
Tablets are great, but if you're really looking to get some work done, a laptop is still one of the best for the job, especially if you need flexibility and portability. With the variety of Chromebooks, Ultrabooks and slimmed-down gaming laptops on offer, you don't even have to weigh yourself down anymore. So if you're looking for an upgrade, it's definitely worth checking out the laptop section in our buyer's guide or the gallery below for a few suggestions. We'll also be adding new items in the months to come, so let us know (in the comments below) if there's something you'd like to see listed.
Check out our latest wearable buyer's guide
Since we first posted our buyer's guide this summer, one of the most awaited wearables, the Moto 360, was released and is now starting to encircle the wrists of Android users everywhere. While it did have some battery woes at launch, recent software updates have addressed the issue, keeping this definitively watch-like device as one of our top selections this year. It's obviously not the only quantifying and notifying option out there, so for a quick refresher on some of our other top picks you can head to the gallery below. You can also check out our full listing of phones, laptops, tablets and wearables that could help flesh out your holiday wishlist. There's still more to come over the next few months, and we'd love to hear your input (in the comments below) on what items you'd like to see included.
The top 15 smartphones you can buy right now
It's possible you already purchased one of the smartphones we listed in our buyer's guide last July, but things tend to move quickly, and with fresh handsets from names like Apple, Samsung and Motorola, some of you may already be itching for an upgrade. To that end, we've made some fresh additions to our list of the latest and greatest smartphones out there today. Sure, our official Holiday Gift Guide is just around the corner, but this update will help you make some quick decisions, or at least get a head start on that holiday wish list.
Meet Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: The iPhone 6, Moto X and more!
Here at Engadget, we make good on our promises. So when we say we're going to be updating our buyer's guide more frequently, well, gosh darn, we mean it. Roughly two months after we re-launched the guide, we're adding a bunch of new gadgets, including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the new Moto X, HTC One M8 for Windows, the Acer C720 Chromebook, the NVIDIA Shield gaming tablet and the Moto 360 smartwatch. Of course, we also had to remove some of our original picks to make room for the new ones: The new, 5.2-inch Moto X takes the place of the old 4.7-inch one, while the Moto 360 overtakes the Samsung Gear Live -- formerly our favorite Android Wear device. We're also getting rid of all the BlackBerrys for now. That's not to say BBM hold-outs should switch operating systems, but until we get to try the new BlackBerry Passport, we're going to refrain from including those older models. Check out our guide right here, and stay tuned for more updates next month -- who knows what we'll be adding then!
Check out our 2014 Back to School guide!
Crazily enough, the fall semester is about to begin. For that very reason, we're kicking off our Back to School 2014 guide, with comprehensive gadget recommendations to fit every budget. Even if your college days are behind you, we guarantee you'll find some new gear worthy of a place in your cubicle -- be it a new laptop or a Rubik's Cube lamp. Click here to check out all eight sections in the guide, and make sure to enter our back-to-school giveaway both below and via the 14 other links posted throughout the month on our sweepstakes page. Winner: congratulations to Pablo H. of Collegedale, TN.
Engadget Daily: Tesla's Model 3, new buyer's guides and more!
Elon Musk reveals Tesla's latest electric vehicle, we show off our new buyer's guides, discover we still have a lot to learn about stem cells and take a trip to Taiwan with T-Mobile's new global roaming plan. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
The Engadget Buyer's Guide is back and better than ever!
If you've been reading Engadget regularly, you know we've been offering buying advice for quite some time now. And if we do say so ourselves, we're pretty good at it. Still, it was high time we shook things up a bit. Today, we're introducing our new and improved buyer's guides, which combine a sleek design with professional photography and expert advice. Whereas we used to refresh our picks only four times a year, we're now going to put up one guide each for smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables -- and then update them whenever a hot new product comes out. That means each time we review a device that we'd recommend to family or friends, we'll add it to the buyer's guide, allowing us to give our readers real-time advice. Which is important, considering companies unveil new products seemingly every week. You can find our guides here, or you can click the handy "guides" tab at the top of the page. Have a look, and then keep checking back in. Who knows? By next month, we could have a host of new favorite gadgets.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: winter 2014 edition
The tablet landscape is changing rapidly. It's now relatively trivial to find a cheap, full-featured Windows slate, and we've seen a number of smaller models that still manage to pack plenty of power. In light of those shifts, our tablet buyer's guide looks very different this winter. Dell and Nokia are on the list for the first time, and Windows tablets sit shoulder-to-shoulder with their mobile OS rivals. We've even brought back an older Nook that's received a new lease on life thanks to updated software and a significant price cut. Whether you're looking for a productivity machine or just something to watch movies on, we've got a tablet that should fit the bill.
Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: fall 2013
As the leaves turn to gold and flutter from the trees, the Engadget team digs out their scarves and mittens to get ready for the mad rush of phone launches that take place ahead of the holiday season. We've seen big devices (both large and high-profile ones) enter the world over the last few months, including new heavyweights from Apple and Google. Then there's Samsung, Nokia and HTC, which are all following the philosophy that bigger is better. But it's not just on the hardware side that things are getting exciting. T-Mobile's eliminated roaming charges and Verizon is doubling its LTE speeds to a whopping 80 Mbps. AT&T is offering customers a $5 daily pass for internet and is making mobile share plans the standard rather than the exception. Of course, if you'd prefer unlimited data, Sprint is promising that its Spark LTE will beat the field -- but it's currently only available in NYC, LA, Chicago, Tampa and Miami. Whether you're looking for a smartphone right now, or if your contract is about to expire, this is your guide to the best ones on the market.
Weekly Roundup: Surface 2 review, McLaren P1 'hypercar,' Google's Project Shield and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Engadget's back to school guide 2013
Welcome to Engadget's back to school hub for 2013! Whether you're a middle schooler, a college senior or just a tech-head looking for an excuse to refresh your gadget lineup, we're here to help. Throughout the month of August, we'll be posting in-depth guides to accommodate every budget, from cheap picks to high-end options. These guides will help you do your research, but 15 lucky readers will have the shopping done for them; our giveaway includes a flagship smartphone, an Ultrabook, an e-reader and many other toys to see you through work and play. We'll be drawing the names of winners in early September, but in the meantime our guides should keep you plenty busy. Click on the available category pages to start your comparison-shopping, and stay tuned for upcoming guides. Smartphones Ultraportables Tablets E-readers Laptops HDTV Gaming Cameras Accessories Portable audio Docks Bags and cases Printers Fun stuff Note: You can enter our back to school contest by leaving a comment on the giveaway page, or at any of the category pages listed above. Comments left on this page will not be considered.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: summer 2013 edition
Tablets are virtually tailor-made for our summer vacations, whether we're checking email at the hotel or watching movies during an airport layover. The manufacturers must know this, as there's a surge of new slates set to arrive while the weather's still scorching. Our 2013 summer tablet buyer's guide will help you decide which of these models is worth space in your travel bag. There are also several veteran tablets we recommend, although some of them could be obsolete soon -- we'll let you know when newer devices loom ahead. Whether or not you want the latest hardware, though, our guide should have the tablet you need.
Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: summer 2013 edition
Summertime is now in full swing, and it's also a period of transition within the mobile world. With the exception of a brand-new smartphone that wields a 41-megapixel shooter, our buyer's guide hasn't changed much since the last installment, but that's not to suggest the market is stagnant. On the contrary, high-profile smartphones such as the next iPhone, the Moto X and the successor to the Galaxy Note II are in the pipeline, and there are even rumors swirling of a larger BlackBerry. Likewise, two of the world's premiere smartphones -- the HTC One and the Galaxy S 4 -- are now available with stock Android directly from Google, which brings the added promise of timely software updates. Mobile carriers are changing the game too, thanks in large part to the T-Mobile Jump program, which allows customers to upgrade their smartphone every six months. AT&T Next and Verizon Edge will soon provide similar (albeit more expensive) offerings, with upgrade eligibility that comes once per year. Even Sprint is doing its part with Unlimited, My Way, which promises unlimited data for life. Whether you're looking to purchase a new handset right away, or you're simply evaluating your options, Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide is the definitive resource for finding the very best smartphones on the market today. We'll be here when you're ready.
Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide: spring 2013 edition
Stepping into a carrier's store can be like a visit to the candy shop for the gadget junkie, but once playtime is over and it's time to choose just one, the decision can get a bit overwhelming. You'll find Android phones that range in size from tiny to massive, Windows Phone handsets that cover the rainbow in colors and, of course, the ubiquitous iPhone, which has a price point to suit every need. There's also the latest BlackBerry, which melds a familiar name with a brand-new operating system. Naturally, it's no easy task to sort through the wide number of options on the market today, and it's even more difficult to find the best of the best. That's where Engadget's smartphone buyer's guide comes in handy. Here, you'll find a very exclusive list of the smartphones that we confidently use and achingly desire. Regardless of your financial situation or platform preference, you're bound to find a stellar choice that's a great fit for your needs. So read on as we round up the very best smartphones of the season.
Engadget's laptop buyer's guide: winter 2013 edition
Here's a fun fact: in the three months since Windows 8 went on sale, Engadget has reviewed 16 laptops, including a few hybrid form factors. Yep, that's right: more than one a week for the past 12 weeks, and that's not even counting a couple tablets running Windows RT. So, now that we've given over our collective social lives to writing about Win 8, we finally feel qualified to make a few recommendations. Here, in our first-ever laptop buyer's guide, we'll walk you through the most promising of the bunch -- everything from convertibles to laptop / tablet mashups. Indeed, we've got lots of touch-enabled systems ahead (including nods to models that didn't make the cut), but if you're simply in the market for a good, old-fashioned notebook, we have a few of those to recommend, too. So without further ado, join us. Note: With regard to the Windows PCs we highlight here, we'll be focusing on machines that run full Windows 8, specifically. For recommendations of ARM-based tablets running Windows RT you can look to our tablet buyer's guide.
Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: winter 2013 edition
As we begin 2013, we're stuck in a kind of tablet limbo. Most companies rushed to get devices out for the fall, while the models we saw at CES 2013 aren't yet shipping. As such, it's a mostly familiar deck, with Apple, Google and Microsoft once again striving for the top spot. That said, there are new entries from Amazon and ASUS, and many of us who didn't score some sweet loot this holiday season have a slate-sized pile of cash to spend. If you're in that situation, continue on for our first tablet guide of 2013. Note: If you're looking for tablets with an Atom or Core i5 CPU, you'll find those in our forthcoming laptop buyer's guide, since they have the same guts as notebooks (or netbooks, in some cases). For the purposes of this tablet guide, we define tablets as slate-type devices with low-power ARM processors.
