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Save $70 on Jabra's Elite 85h noise-cancelling headphones at Best Buy
If you're looking for a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones, Best Buy is currently selling the Jabra Elite 85h for $180.
HP's Reverb G2 VR headset delivers Valve Index features at $599
HP's latest VR headset, the Reverb G2, includes features designed by Valve and a reasonable $599 price tag.
Google offers a free Nest Mini to YouTube Premium subscribers
Google is once again giving away a free smart speaker to YouTube Premium subscribers, though this time around the offer is available to a greater number of people.
T-Mobile customers can send RCS messages to Android users worldwide
It's taken a couple of years, but T-Mobile now fully supports the RCS Universal Profile protocol, which is good news for Android users on the carrier's network.
Save $70 on a Nest WiFi bundle at Best Buy and the Google Store
Several retailers across the US, including Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond, have discounted Google's latest Nest WiFi router and access point bundle to $200.
Lenovo's $400 digital picture frame is half-off if you pre-order it
In an unusual move, Lenovo is allowing people to pre-order its upcoming $400 Smart Frame device on Indiegogo. Doing so, you get a 50 percent discount.
Apple buys virtual reality company NextVR
In one of its more interesting acquisitions in recent memory, Apple has purchased NextVR. The company confirmed the deal to CNBC. The two had worked together to produce and broadcast basketball games and highlights in virtual reality.
Get the 2019 Dell XPS 13 with touchscreen for under $850
Now is your change to pick up Dell's excellent XPS 13 Touch laptop.
August's slimmer WiFi smart lock is now available for $250
After debuting at CES 2020, August's latest smart lock is now available to buy on the company's website.
Origin's new 17-inch laptops pack RTX Super graphics in five-pound frames
You can buy the EVO17-S and NT-17 starting today through the Origin website.
Get a free Razer mouse when you buy a Huntsman TE keyboard at Best Buy
Best Buy has an intriguing deal on a pair of Razer peripherals.
Watch Microsoft's Xbox Series X gameplay stream here at 11AM ET
Microsoft will reveal live gameplay footage from the Xbox Series X during a special episode of Inside Xbox that starts at 11AM ET.
Oculus sales are booming despite stock shortages
The Oculus Quest and coronavirus pandemic helped grow Facebook non-ad revenue by 80 percent.
Save $300 on the Roomba i7+ vacuum robot at Best Buy
Typically, you have to spend $1,000 to get the Roomba i7+, so this is compelling sale on an otherwise expensive device.
CarPlay in your classic Porsche, just what you needed
If you're lucky enough to own a classic Porsche, the German automaker has something special to let you update it in style.
Garmin’s Forerunner 35 GPS watch is an even better bargain at only $90
Once $200, Garmin's Forerunner 35 GPS smartwatch is currently $90 at Best Buy, making it a great fit for newbie runners.
8BitDo is making a wireless controller for the TurboGrafx-16 mini
When Konami's TurboGrafx-16 mini becomes available sometime later this year, you'll be able to buy a wireless controller for the retro console courtesy of 8BitDo.
The best USB Wi-Fi adapters
By Joel Santo Domingo This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide to USB Wi-Fi adapters. Plugging in a USB adapter is one of the easiest ways to add 802.11ac Wi-Fi access to a desktop PC, especially if you don't want to (or are unable to) install an internal card yourself. After 50 hours of testing 20 models against a high-end laptop's internal Wi-Fi, we are confident the TP-Link Archer T4U is the best USB Wi-Fi adapter for most people. The TP-Link Archer T4U is inexpensive, had excellent throughput performance all over our test home, didn't drop connections while we were testing, has a two-year warranty, and works with Linux computers, Macs, and Windows PCs. The TP-Link Archer T2U Plus is a little bulkier than the Archer T4U because of its six-inch external antenna and it didn't perform as well at long range, but it's still very good and was the only sub-$25 adapter to complete all of our tests. It has an identical two-year warranty and is just as compatible with Macs and Windows or Linux PCs. The Netgear Nighthawk A7000 is a bulky USB adapter that costs almost three times as much as the budget Archer T2U Plus. However, the trade-off is worth it if your broadband connection is faster than 100 Mbps or so. It posted our top throughput scores all over our test home, significantly outperforming the laptop's internal Wi-Fi adapter.
MIT project turns spray paint into a functional user interface
Scientists from MIT have developed a way to create interactive surfaces using airbrushed inks -- or in other words, graffiti that actually does stuff. The SprayableTech system lets users create room-sized interactive graphics with sensors and displays that can be applied to everything from walls to furniture. Spray-painted art on walls can be used to turn lights on and off, for example, while designs airbrushed onto the arm of a couch can be used to control a TV. After designing the interactive artwork with a 3D editor, the system generates stencils for airbrushing the layout onto a surface. Then a series of inks are applied -- conductive copper ink, paint, dielectric, phosphor, copper bus and a clear conductor -- and then a microcontroller is attached, connecting the interface to a board that runs the code for sensing and output. The system hinges largely on the stencil design phase, to ensure the inks are placed in the right places and can connect to the microcontroller properly, so at this stage there's not much opportunity for spontaneous exploration -- you couldn't just spray a design on the wall and expect it to control your lights, for example. But the team is now working on creating modular stencils, potentially allowing users to try the system at home without needing to use a 3D editor or cut out stencils themselves. And looking ahead, the team has even bigger plans. Michael Wessely, lead author on the paper about SprayableTech, says, "We view this as a tool that will allow humans to interact with and use their environment in newfound ways. In the future, we aim to collaborate with graffiti artists and architects to explore the future potential for large-scale user interfaces in enabling the internet of things for smart cities and interactive homes."
The Morning After: Apple's iPad turns 10
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous. Engadget's review of the first iPad ten years ago lauded its potential, even if the first version of tablet software couldn't do much for one's productivity. Since then, Apple has slowly gotten around to adding multitasking, external storage management and even mouse and keyboard support, all while maintaining a tight grip on the segment. To remember how that happened, check out Chris Velazco's look back at the iPad killers that missed their shot, as well as Engadget readers' impressions of the first-gen model. Separately, Jessica Conditt recalls one use case that developers have mostly given up on: second-screen gaming. -- Richard
