Author: News Room
The sun’s out… or at least, it is somewhere in the world. But tackling the outdoors and withstanding a torrential downpour to the face is all part of the hiking experience. Seasoned veterans will know how to handle the elements, and will likely have all the gear needed to keep you warm, dry and on the right path. But most of us aren’t as prepared as the anorak-wearing anoraks. Wandering into the great outdoors on a whim may give off a Jane Eyre vibe, but we have shoes with ankle support and breathable materials in the 21st century so you…
Sure, Bluetooth speakers are awesome to have for picturesque beach trips, camping weekends, and other outdoor adventures. But they’re just as good to have for some sprinkler time in the yard with the kiddo, or for blasting some tunes or a podcast while you make food. No matter the use cases you have in mind, now’s a good time to pick up one of the best compact Bluetooth speakers. Now through July 17th, JBL’s Flip 7 is on sale for $89.95 ($70 off) at Woot with a 90-day warranty, marking a new all-time low.Despite being about the size of a…
Both 8BitDo and GameSir announced tiny gamepads designed to turn smartphones into Game Boy-inspired handhelds at CES 2026. GameSir released its Pocket Taco months ago, but the longer wait for 8BitDo’s FlipPad has been well worth it. While the Pocket Taco may be a better fit for some players and devices, the FlipPad is a thinner, lighter, cheaper, and smaller alternative that’s easier to keep on hand for occasional gaming on your phone without having to rely on an emulator’s touchscreen controls.The FlipPad is one of 8BitDo’s smallest gamepads to date, but instead of using Bluetooth, it directly connects to…
Testing camping gear is one of my favourite parts of the job. Space and weight are always at a premium when camping, so the best kit has to earn its place twice over, multitasking and holding up under pressure. That’s exactly why I was excited to take the Dometic Go Area Camp Light out on a recent trip. A modern design The first thing that gets you is the design. It’s not trying to look “outdoorsy” in that overly rugged, over-engineered way a lot of camping gear does. It’s compact, it’s clean, and it wouldn’t look out of place next…
The Home Depot is once again upgrading its 12-foot-tall skeleton to help keep the viral piece of Halloween decor popular as spooky season creeps closer. Skelly is borrowing some of the tech introduced in the smaller 6.5-foot Ultra Skelly last year, including letting you speak through the skeleton’s moving mouth using a mobile app. The new version of Skelly will be available online starting tomorrow for $379 and in Home Depot’s stores later this summer, along with a new collection of Halloween characters.Skelly was last upgraded two years ago with eight different animations for its animated LCD eyes, but the…
Motorola has launched the Edge 70 Max, its latest flagship phone that’s designed for power intensive tasks like streaming video and mobile gaming. Alongside having a huge battery and rapid wired charging support, the Motorola Edge 70 Max is the first Android phone to support full 25W wireless Qi2 charging since Google launched the Pixel 10 Pro XL last year.Other Qi2-supported Android models, including the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and the HMD Skyline are capped at 15W for magnetic wireless charging. The Edge 70 Max also has a larger 7100mAh silicon-carbon battery compared to 5200mAh…
Samsung has unveiled a new flexible display technology for foldable phones that’s designed to be slimmer, more durable, and less prone to creasing. The Flex Titanium tech is the culmination of everything that the company has learned over seven generations of foldables, according to Samsung, and will debut with the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. And since Samsung Display is a long-time Apple supplier, this improved display might even appear in the rumored iPhone foldable expected later this year.As its name suggests, the Flex Titanium display uses a combination of two titanium-based components to…
Epic Games and Google have just jointly withdrawn their attempt to retroactively settle the lawsuit that’s changing how Android app stores work in the United States — and that means Google will be forced to carry rival app stores inside of its own. In fact, Google tells the court, it’s ready to begin carrying third-party app stores on Wednesday, July 22nd. Does that mean it’s time for Microsoft to launch an Xbox game store on Android?But Judge James Donato was skeptical he should abandon his original permanent injunction in favor of Google’s proposed “Registered App Stores” that users would have…
Google is announcing a big change to the Google Images homepage in honor of the platform’s 25th anniversary this week. Instead of a mostly blank page with a search bar, the homepage will soon show you a bunch of images that it thinks you might like before you even start searching.The company says the new “browseable” homepage features a “dynamic, immersive gallery of images from across the web — updated in real time and intelligently tailored to your unique interests.” Based on images Google has shared, the layout reminds me of platforms like Pinterest and Imgur that stuff a lot…
A group of 26 former Meta employees is suing the company over claims that it used AI tools to unfairly target workers on leave with layoffs, as reported earlier by Reuters. In the lawsuit, the employees allege Meta determined which workers to dismiss based on performance data collected by a “constellation” of internal AI tools, but failed to exclude those on parental or medical leave from its ranking system:The result was that employees who took protected leaves were disproportionately selected for layoff, based on scoring that not only failed to account for their protected leaves, but in effect penalized the…
OpenAI’s first device is set to be a smart speaker that lets you talk with ChatGPT, according to a report from Bloomberg. The device apparently won’t have a screen, but will use a camera and additional sensors to “understand” your environment.The report comes just days after Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI that accused the AI company of stealing hardware secrets. OpenAI, in a new statement on Tuesday, said that it is “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.”Sources tell Bloomberg that OpenAI’s device will also feature a rechargeable battery that will allow users to carry it…
Jeep has been busy boosting its range, with updates to both the Avenger and this, the Jeep Compass. I loved the Avenger when I drove it a few years ago and now there’s an 85th Anniversary Edition model that tops off a selection including e-Hybrid, full electric and 4XE powertrain variants. There’s even a manual petrol Turbo 100 option for good measure. It’s a compact and very decent on and off-road option. Focusing on the latter, though, there are a couple of key additions to the Compass line-up. The dual motor, all-wheel drive Compass 4XE is capable of over 370…