You no longer have to spend upwards of $200 on a quality pair of active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones. If you don't mind settling for a slightly older model, we highly recommend the Sony WH-1000XM3. Weeks after they dropped to $190, the wireless headphones are down another $20 at Best Buy to a new low of $170.
We gave the XM3 a review score of 94 in September 2018 due to their excellent sound and comfort. Inside is a dedicated noise-canceling chip, the QN1, which does the heavy-lifting in terms of blocking background noise and boosting audio. For those unaccustomed to ANC, you may even notice new sounds on the tracks you love. Audiophiles will also take to the customization offered through Sony's app that lets you fine-tune audio.
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the XM3's successors, the XM4. The newer headphones feature two major additions: Auto-pause and seamless multi-device listening. Hardly a deal-breaker when you consider they currently cost $348.
The XM3's design is also a crowdpleaser. The over-ear headphones come in black with bronze accents on the Sony logo and USB-Cport. In our tests, we found the plush cushioning around the pads and headband to be significantly more comfortable than some of the alternatives. You can also fold them up when you're not using them, making them great for travel. The XM3 offer around 30 hours of battery life, more than enough for regular commuters. A well-powered USB-C connection also provides five hours of charge after just 10 minutes.
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Electronic Arts held its EA Play Live 2021 event today. During the approximately 40-minute presentation, we got a first look at Grid Legends, a new entry in Codemasters' ongoing racing franchise that will feature a single-player story with live-action performances. Lost in Random, the upcoming Tim Burton-inspired action-adventure game from Fe developer Zoink Games, also got a release date. It's coming out on September 10th on current and last-generation consoles, as well as PC. For Battlefield fans, EA offered a look at 2042's new Portal mode that will allow fans to create their own custom match types that they can share with the game's community.
But EA saved the best news for last. In a short teaser, the publisher confirmed Motive Studios is working on a remake of Dead Spacefor PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S. In addition to more modern graphics courtesy of Dice's Frostbite engine, EA promised gameplay improvements, as well as new story and character elements.
When EA and DICE revealed Battlefield 2042 in June, they had to contend with a wave of leaks and spoiled surprises, but they were able to keep details about the game's third and final mode under wraps. Today, the secret's out. Battlefield Portal is the third mode in Battlefield 2042, and it's all about community interaction and user-created levels.
Battlefield Portal includes all seven maps from 2042's All-Out Warfare mode, plus six classic environments from previous Battlefield titles. The classic maps are Battle of the Bulge and El Alamein from Battlefield 1942, Arica Harbor and Valparaiso from Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Caspian Border and Noshahr Canals from Battlefield 3.
EA
The mode features pre-programmed, reimagined experiences from these past titles, including conquest, rush and team deathmatch. All of the maps, including the classic ones, will support matches of up to 128 players on PC, Xbox Series consoles and PlayStation 5. As with Battlefield 2042's main All-Out Warfare mode, matches on older-gen hardware will be capped at 64 players.
Here's where it gets custom. Along with the updated, old-school playgrounds, Battlefield Portal includes more than 40 weapons, more than 40 vehicles, and more than 30 gadgets from three theaters of war, plus all of the related content from Battlefield 2042. This means the M1 Garand, Panzerschreck, B17 Bomber, Spitfire, defibrillator and other fan-favorite tools are back.
EA
Factions are also returning to Battlefield Portal. On top of the specialists from Battlefield 2042, the mode features seven armies from the classic games, including the UK, US and Germany out of 1942, and the US and Russia from Bad Company 2. Battlefield Portal also supports classic soldier archetypes like Battlefield 3's assault, recon, support and engineer roles.
All of this culminates in the Builder tool in Battlefield Portal. In Builder, players can design their own matches and share them with the community, adjusting a range of settings including the game logic itself. Players will have control over the maps and modes in their custom games, including traits like available factions, weapons and gear; the ability to toggle down sights or go prone; the size of the battle and conditions for victory.
EA
Players won't be able to edit any of the actual maps, but overall, Portal has an extremely rich customization mode. All progress in Battlefield Portal is shared across consoles, just like stats in the main game.
Battlefield 2042 — including Battlefield Portal — is due out on October 22nd, for $60 on PC, Xbox One and PS4, and $70 on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. There's still one more game mode yet to be revealed, Hazard Zone. We know it's a "high-stakes squad-based game type never seen before in the Battlefield franchise," and it's not a battle royale mode, but that's about it.
Nearly two years after the Playdate made its public debut, Panic’s quirky gaming handheld with a crank is ready for the masses. The company recently announced that the Playdate will be available for pre-order on July 29th for $179, with a ship date of later this year. I’ve been playing with a “press preview” version of the Playdate for the past couple of weeks, and while it’s not perfect, I still think it’s an incredibly charming handheld with a lot of potential. The question is whether there’ll be enough interest — from both developers and consumers — to keep it going for the long haul.
For the uninitiated, the Playdate is not just Panic’s first-ever gaming handheld; it’s also the company’s first piece of hardware, period. Panic made its name making Mac software like Transmit and Coda, and has recently ventured into publishing indie games such as Firewatch, Untitled Goose Game and the yet-to-be-released Nour: Play With Your Food. From its inception, Panic wanted Playdate to be a different kind of handheld; instead of something mainstream like Nintendo’s Switch, it was supposed to be more like the Game & Watch devices of yore, but with a modern twist. “We didn’t want it to be too cool, but we didn’t want it to be too goofy,” said Cabel Sasser, Panic’s co-founder.
Thanks to a design collaboration with Teenage Engineering, known mostly for making quirky audio gear, the Playdate certainly fulfills that brief. The hardware is tiny; about the size of a stack of Post-It notes (76 x 74 x 9 mm), and has a black-and-white screen. But its most unique design feature is its fold-out crank, which acts as an additional game controller. It’s this combination of silly and adorable that adds to the Playdate’s charm, and I’ll fully admit that I fell for it the first time I tried a prototype back in 2019.
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The aforementioned preview unit I have on-hand is the final hardware, though the software isn’t quite there yet. Everything is similar to how it was two years ago. The button placement is the same, with the D-pad and A and B buttons under the display, the menu button on the right, and the lock button sitting on the top (you activate the Playdate by pressing the lock button twice; pressing it again will enable standby mode). All the controls feel responsive enough, with a pleasant clickiness. On the side is the mono speaker, which is surprisingly loud and clear given its size. Underneath is a 3.5mm headphone jack plus a USB-C charging port.
Most important to me, however, was that crank, which is housed on the Playdate’s right side. To access it, simply flip it open to reveal a small rotating yellow handle, which you can then use to rotate the arm backwards or forwards. The whole contraption feels a lot more solid than I remember; the rotation feels silky smooth, but it isn’t so loose that it continues to spin when I let go. This is a good thing, as it allows for more precise control, which turns out to be quite important in certain games. Internally, the Playdate has a 180 MHz Cortex M7 CPU, 16MB of RAM, 4GB of Flash storage, Bluetooth, and 802.11 bgn 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.
The Playdate is molded from what Panic says is an extremely durable engineering thermoplastic, and the screen is laminated to a hardened glass face. That aforementioned crank is also pretty solid; it’s made out of stainless steel, and the handle is plastic with a stainless steel core. The Playdate will likely survive the occasional jostle in your pocket or bag. But if you want to keep it completely free of blemishes, Panic does offer a cover for $29 (You could also purchase the Playdate bundled with the cover for $199).
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While I do like the hardware for the most part, I have to admit I have a somewhat love-hate relationship with the screen. One of the reasons Panic chose to go with a Sharp Memory LCD was because of its super-sharp pixels that use very little power (Pebble aficionados might recall that its eponymous smartwatch used Sharp Memory LCDs as well). I agree that the black and white images do look very crisp, especially in bright sunlight. However, the Playdate lacks any kind of backlight or front light, which means it’s terrible in dim environments. Maybe it’s because I live and work in a relatively dark room, but I found this rather annoying. At one point I had to position a book light underneath the Playdate just to play a game on the couch.
I should note that the Playdate does last a long time in between charges. I’ve left it unplugged for nearly two weeks now, and even though I’ve played a few hours every day, it still has over half of its battery life left.
I also noticed an “Upside Down” mode in the Settings menu, which turns the screen, well, upside down. When asked, Sasser said that this is an experimental mode for left-handed users who want to use the crank with their left hands. He did say, however, that this is feature is still subject to change.
As wonderful as the hardware is, the real value of the Playdate is the content. Though the device costs $179, it will now come with 24 different titles instead of the initial 12 (it’ll also ship with 4GB of storage instead of 2). My preview unit only came with four games however: Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, Lost Your Marbles, Saturday Edition and Whitewater Wipeout.
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I had already played Crankin’ a couple of years ago when I tried the Playdate for the first time. Designed by Katamari Damacy’s Keita Takahashi, the only controller in this game is the crank, which you’ll use to hurry Crankin along his path to meet his girlfriend, Crankette. Spinning it forward will move him forward, while spinning it backward will get Crankin to do the same. The trick is that you have to navigate various obstacles like bees and birds, which exist outside the flow of time. So as you rush along, you have to position Crankin in such a way that he can avoid them. For example, you’ll want Crankin to bend down to smell the flowers exactly when the bees fly overhead.
That might seem like a relatively easy premise, but the obstacles get more complicated as the levels progress, forcing me to replay them several times before I can get them right. Currently, I’m stuck on level five despite multiple attempts. Guess I’m not going to see Crankette any time soon.
I much prefer Lost Your Marbles, which was designed by Sweet Baby Inc & Friends. In this game, a girl named Prota is going to work for a cat scientist named Marbels (no that’s not a typo), but unwittingly brings her dog Minty along on her first day. Let’s just say that things don’t go well, and Minty eventually goes missing. Somehow, Prota also, uh, loses her “marbles” in the process. As Prota goes around town trying to find her dog, you answer questions by using the crank to roll a marble around an obstacle-filled construction, making sure that the marble hits the answer you want (It’s not explicitly said, but my guess is that the marble puzzle here represents Prota’s brain).
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I found it a little tricky to control the marble, so I ended up picking a lot of what I thought were incorrect answers. But I soon found out that there’s really no such thing as the wrong answer in this game. That’s because the weirder the answer, the more hilarious the story becomes. For example, when you’re picking the photo for Minty’s missing dog poster, one of the options is for her butt. I didn’t mean to select it, but I did so accidentally. I know this all sounds incredibly silly, and it is, but I also found the whole thing very amusing.
Saturday Edition, on the other hand, is a lot more serious, at least on the surface. Developed by Chris Makris, this is a point-and-click style adventure game which doesn’t use the crank at all. Instead, all navigation is done via the D-pad and A and B buttons. In this game, you play the character of John Kornfield who’s had a long history with aliens, but is currently on Earth.
The game opens with him in his apartment, and the cops are knocking on the door. Using the controls, you’re able to interact with various elements in the apartment like listening to the answering machine or opening the microwave. The game suggested to me that it’s a lot wiser to exit the apartment via the fire escape instead, so I did. I’ll admit that I haven’t gotten very far in this game — I’ve so far only been to his office and the nearby shopping mall. I do find the story quite intriguing so far, but I’m going to have to sink in a few more hours before I uncover all the game’s secrets.
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Last but not least is Whitewater Wipeout, by Chuhai Labs. All you have to do here is surf for as long as possible, performing tricks along the way to earn points. Like Crankin, the only controller here is the crank, which you’ll use to move the surfboard. The highest score I’ve achieved so far is 35, which is not great at all. There will eventually be a global leaderboard which you can use to compare your skills to others.
If it isn’t obvious by now, my favorite games are the ones with a heavy story element, such as Lost Your Marbles and Saturday Edition. I am not very good with hand-eye coordination, so Crankin’ and Wipeout are not really my thing. I’ll also add that after a week or so of playing the same four games over and over, I got bored pretty quickly.
Thankfully, however, the Playdate will definitely be getting more games. As part of its $179 price, the console actually comes bundled with a season’s worth of titles — 24 games in total. The first two games will start downloading the moment you activate your Playdate, and then you’ll get two games every Monday thereafter for 11 weeks.
That is, fundamentally, the sticking point with any console like this — as quirky and glorious as the hardware is, it’ll live and die in the amount of new games you can add to this on a regular basis. The indie gaming community has already embraced the Playdate wholeheartedly — tens of thousands of developers have already expressed interest in making games for it — and the company announced that they’ll be able to sell software and games that can be sideloaded to the device.
There’s no denying that the Playdate is a fairly niche device — it’s an indie handheld made for indie games — and that’s the very thing that is so appealing about it. But it’s unclear if interest in the Playdate will last beyond its initial release.
Engadget recommends a variety of laptops every year as part of our annual back-to-school guide. But that’s not quite enough if you want a productive study environment. Whether you’re a student staying home this year or you’re returning to campus, you’ll benefit from a few additional essentials. A laptop stand is useful for preventing neck and arm pain, while a lumbar pillow supports the lower back. A pair of noise-cancelling headphones does wonders for blocking out distractions and a LED lamp helps ease eye fatigue. From an external keyboard to a USB dock, we think all our suggestions below will lead to much-improved setup for those long study sessions.
Soundance Laptop Stand
Will Lipman Photography / Soundance
While laptops are more convenient than desktops, using just your notebook for long periods of time is bad for your posture and can lead to neck ache. That’s why we strongly recommend getting a laptop stand. You can position your machine so that the screen is at the appropriate height. In general, you want your eye level to be one to two inches below the top of the display.
One of our team’s favorites is this one from Soundance, which can support laptops with 10- to 15-inch screens. It’s made from a sturdy aluminum alloy and the surface that holds the laptop is rubberized, which prevents it from sliding around. And, thanks to a series of detachable components, it’s also one of a few stands that’s easily portable. You can take it apart and put it together in minutes, making it great not just for your desk at home, but also for using it in the library.
The Soundance raises your laptop six inches above the desk, which should work well for most people. Also, the elevated design both facilitates better posture and helps ventilate your laptop. There’s even enough space underneath for you to store your keyboard and mouse when they’re not in use. If you want one with adjustable height, we recommend the Rain Design iLevel 2. It’s not quite as portable and it’s more expensive than the Soundance, but it’s a good option if you need a stand with more flexibility.
If you do get a laptop stand, you’ll definitely want an external keyboard to go along with it. (It’s not going to be comfortable typing on your laptop while it’s docked in the stand.) We recommend a wireless model so you don’t have to worry about cords cluttering up your desk. Logitech’s line of Bluetooth keyboards is an Engadget favorite, and the K780 is one of the brand’s most versatile models. It’s a full-size keyboard complete with a numpad, but it still feels slim and compact. The keys are responsive and comfortable as well, and you can pair it with up to three devices. There’s even an integrated cradle if you wish to use it with a smartphone or iPad.
In addition to the external keyboard, you should get a wireless mouse to match. Logitech’s M525 is a great option thanks to its ergonomic design and affordable price point. It’s small enough that it won’t take up much space on your desk and It has an ambidextrous design that’ll fit both right and left-handed users. Its precision scroll wheel has a tilt function that allows for side-to-side scrolling as well. We should note, however, that this isn’t a Bluetooth mouse; you connect it to your computer via a USB receiver.
If you’d rather have the convenience of Bluetooth, consider the MX Anywhere 3. It has a 4,000-dpi Track Anywhere sensor that works on most surfaces, even glass. However, the MX Anywhere 3 is a lot pricier at $80 and it doesn’t include the aforementioned tilt wheel, so bear that in mind.
Long study sessions often mean sitting for an extended amount of time, which can result in lower back pain. You could get a chair with better back support, but those can be expensive. Plus, if you’re living in a dorm, you probably don’t have much choice in furniture anyway. The next best option is to get a lumbar support pillow. I personally recommend the Purple Back Cushion because it has a cushy grid that’s malleable enough to mold to the contour of my spine. One of the features that sets it apart from other cushions is that it has hundreds of air channels, which means you won’t get a sweaty back after sitting in a stuffy dorm room all day long. It comes with a washable cushion cover and an integrated strap that helps you attach it to most chairs.
Another desk must-have is a lamp for those late-night study sessions. And if you’re going to spend money on one, it’s a good idea to get a lamp that can charge your devices at the same time. We’ve commended the Taotronics desk lamps in previous buying guides due to their multi-functionality, which is why we feel so confident recommending the Taotronics LED Desk Lamp 38 for most students.
The lamp has a built-in Qi-enabled wireless charger on its base that works with fast-charge compatible iPhone and Samsung devices up to 7.5W and 10W, respectively. Additionally, it has a USB port for charging other devices that aren’t Qi compatible. A multipurpose lamp is perfect for students who have a limited space and budget, plus the quick-charging base means you can quickly top up your battery in between classes. Of course, not having to deal with a charging cable while you’re studying is also a bonus.
The LED Desk Lamp 38 is also just a really excellent lamp, with five lighting modes and five brightness levels. You can use it on your nightstand too: It has a “night light” and a timer mode that automatically shuts off after an hour, which is helpful for those of us who like to read before bed.
A pair of noise-cancelling headphones is great for blocking out unwanted noise during study sessions, be it from annoying siblings or a raucous roommate. You might be hesitant to get one because you think noise-cancelling headphones are expensive, and for the most part that’s correct. Fortunately, there are some budget options that aren’t terrible.
Take Sony’s WH-CH710N wireless cans, for example. Engadget’s Billy Steele noted that it offers decent range and good clarity, adept ANC, plus it has dual noise sensors that can detect environmental noise. You can also switch to ambient sound mode if you need to quickly hear the world around you. They also offer an impressive 35 hours of battery life, plus USB-C quick charging that promises 60 minutes of playback on a 10-minute charge.
These headphones may look a little more basic than the higher-end XM4s, but Sony didn’t compromise on comfort here thanks to adjustable sliders and soft oval-shaped earcups. They’re also much more affordable at $198 (and we’ve seen them for less), giving you a lot of bang for your buck.
Sitting for long periods is bad for your health, which is why many people like to have standing desks. Unfortunately, they can be expensive, plus you might not even have the space for one. Instead, consider a standing desk converter that can be used with the desk you already own. Fully’s Cooper is a staff favorite, and we like it more than even the company’s Cora model because it has two levels: one for your laptop and another for your external keyboard and mouse. Raising and lowering it is easy thanks to a simple hydraulic lift, and it’s external-monitor friendly thanks to its 35 pounds (16 kilograms) weight limit. Plus, unlike a lot of other sit-stand converters, it’s pretty stylish to boot — we especially like the one with the bamboo finish.
Your computer can be your portal to, well, everything when you're in school — you're probably using it to attend classes and complete coursework all while also relying on it to connect with family, game with friends and the like. You may find yourself constantly connecting and disconnecting peripherals and accessories while pushing your machine to its limits, and that's where a dock like this one from CalDigit can come in handy. Commerce Editor Valentina Palladino likes it because it has 10 ports, including USB-A, USB-C, Gigabit Ethernet and DisplayPort (or HDMI, depending on the model you choose), and it supports up to two 4K monitors with a single cable.
Our favorite part, though, is that it works with both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C laptops, so if you’re not sure which you have, you don’t have to worry about it. You can also use it with the latest iPads, such as iPad Pros and the 4th-gen Air. Unlike smaller dongles, it’s not the most portable solution, but the Pro Dock makes up for that by giving you many more ports than your traditional adapter has — and it provides up to 94W of power to charge your device while it’s connected.
Sometimes a laptop screen just isn’t big enough, and an external monitor is needed for you to do your best work. It’s useful for those who need more screen real estate for stats and charts, Excel spreadsheets, editing photos or video, or just looking over copious amounts of code.
However, monitors can be pricey. ViewSonic’s 24-inch VA2456-MHD, however, delivers an impressive feature set for the price. Though we haven’t reviewed it, it’s highly-rated on Amazon and we’ve liked ViewSonic’s other monitors in the past so we know the company has a solid track record for quality. The VA2456-MHD has HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA connections, which makes it pretty versatile for a budget monitor. It also has 1080p resolution and an IPS panel for wide-angle viewing. Its three-sided frameless design is sleek too, an important quality for such a relatively large object. Lastly, it has a blue light filter to help minimize eye strain.
We should note however, that those looking for a color-accurate monitor might want to invest in something more powerful, like Dell’s UltraSharp U2720Q, but it is also considerably more expensive at nearly $700.
It’s important to stay hydrated even when you’re at your desk, which is why we like having a dedicated water vessel nearby. Commerce Editor Valentina Palladino recommends the Ironflask 24-ounce Classic tumbler as a more affordable alternative to a Yeti or a Hydro Flask (the new Nomad tumbler is slightly more travel-friendly thanks to its leak-proof flip lid). Its double-walled, vacuum insulated construction can keep drinks cold for up to 16 hours and hot for up to four hours. That means you can use it for water as well as coffee or tea when you need a pick-me-up. It comes in a variety of colors, and it ships with two stainless straws, two plastic straws and straw cleaning brushes — so not only is the cup itself easy to clean, but you’re getting the tools to clean the straws, too. It also fits standard-size cup holders, which is great when you want to grab a drink on the go.
It’s tempting to get your kid every shiny new toy they ask for. But some toys are better than others when it comes to actually stimulating your child’s brain while also keeping them entertained. The parents on the Engadget staff know this well, and we’ve tried out a bunch of educational toys with our kids, with various results. These are some of the ones that have had staying power with our children — and even we adults have to admit we found them pretty fun, too.
Smart Lab: Smart Circuits
Will Lipman Photography for Engadget
When it comes to introducing kids to electronics there are a ton of options, but I personally like the Smart Circuits kit. It can take a kid from simple blinking lights to complex motion-controlled games. The snap-together baseboard can lie flat on a table like a regular breadboard, but it can also be folded into a cube or the pieces can be attached at a 90-degree angle. This gives kids an extra element to play with when they graduate to designing their own circuits.
The kit itself only has a few pieces, but they’re quite flexible. And they’re all housed in large colorful plastic that should be easy for a kid to handle. There’s the usual electronics kid fare, like LEDs, a speaker, a potentiometer and two buttons. But there’s also a tilt switch, a light sensor and a microprocessor capable of handling some relatively robust tasks. The kit comes with instructions for 50 projects, but with the parts available a creative child could build quite a few more.
My one critique is that the jumper wires can be tough to insert and might require a bit of patience — something we know not every eight-year-old has an abundance of.— Terrence O’Brien, Managing Editor
A shape sorter is an awesome toy for younger kids because it encourages hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, problem-solving and even vocabulary (by identifying the names of shapes and colors). My kids have a few of them, but the one I like most is this Playskool model and here’s why. The lid latches, which means they can’t just dump the shapes out easily; they have to learn how to work the mechanics of the lid as well. Also, the multi-colored shapes have tactile patterns on them that match the area of the box they’re supposed to fit into, and that gives me another teaching opportunity. The whole thing is durable, too — my son likes to chew on the shapes and my daughter likes to stand on the box, but despite that abuse, there’s not so much as a dent or a scratch on it. And because it’s only $9, it makes a great gift if you’re buying for someone else’s kiddo. — Amber Bouman, Associate Editor, Parenting
The Yoto Player is the perfect toy for a young child who wants to play their own tunes and stories, but who isn’t ready for an iPad or smart speaker of their own. Yoto’s cute design and blocky, pixel-like display looks distinctly retro. It’s detailed enough for kids to make out images, but it’s insufficient for video, which should actually be good news for parents worried about too much screen time. Yoto calls the player a “carefully connected” speaker: You bring it online during the initial setup, but from there kids can access safe songs and other content through physical cards. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior Editor
While Amazon’s Fire tablets may not always be the best option for adults, the company’s kid-friendly models are a safe bet. Thanks to the included case, the Fire Kids Pro lineup is built to withstand frequent tumbles. The company offers adequate parental controls so you can keep tabs on content and includes one year of Amazon Kids+ for free. The Kids+ service offers access to over 20,000 apps, games, books, videos, songs and audiobooks from National Geographic, LEGO and more. You also get access to a digital store where you can install additional apps as you see fit. — Billy Steele, Senior News Editor
I am, admittedly, a sucker for a good subscription box. But Kiwi Crate is the only one that doesn’t feel like an indulgence. Each month my three-year-old gets a collection of simple DIY toys, crafts and games built around a theme. For instance, a recent box was all about bioluminescent animals. Inside was a plush lightning bug that we had to stuff ourselves and shape using hair ties; a mushroom that had us painting a Slurpee lid and then dotting it with glow-in-the-dark stickers; and a dancing, glowing jellyfish as well as several window clings of sea creates for him to create scenes with.
Past kits have covered farm life, dinosaurs and simple machines like ramps. The stuff inside the box is usually pretty simple (think: cardboard, felt and wood). It’s definitely not built to last, but my kid has gotten plenty of use out of each piece.
The best part is the crates will grow with him. As he gets older the projects will get more complex (and the price will go up). Later boxes include everything from screen-printing tools, to trebuchet kits and even robots. — T.O.
Sorry, folks, but this isn’t an electronic gizmo-toy that you can plug in, connect to the internet and treat it as somehow educational. As something of a traditionalist, I’ve always preferred solid toys that offer kids some license to imagine what’s going on, and this offers that in spades. Duplo’s My First Number Train is a train, with the coaches made from double-height number blocks running from 0 - 9. The aim is for your rugrats to place each block in chronological order and get familiar (almost subconsciously) with the concept of a number line.
Then, as they get a little older, you can do any number of things with the set, including (as we did) tie a ribbon around the chimney and fashion it as a pull-along train. Both my son and daughter (we bought one for each) love racing through the hallway with their pull-along trains. And, now that my daughter is in school, the train’s number blocks come in handy to help with the basics of her maths homework. Plus, it never hurts to have a surplus of double-height Duplo bricks for all of the (completely inaccurate) Frozen castles you’ll be building on Saturday mornings. — Daniel Cooper, Senior Editor
The Kano PC may look at first like a cheap Surface knock-off, but based on our testing, it’s also a perfect introduction to the computer world for young children. It’s partially DIY — the base unit is a Windows 10 tablet with a pre-installed CPU, memory and storage, but kids will have to plug in a colorful battery and speaker module to get it going. Kano encourages youngsters to take a close look at all of the PC’s clearly labeled hardware with the bundled magnifying glass. And once they get going, it’s still a decently capable Windows 10 PC, with a Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 1080p webcam. Heck, it even comes with a keyboard cover, something Microsoft still hasn’t bundled with the Surface tablets. — D.H.
The Blipblox may look like a simple noise-maker for kids, but this gadget is much more than just a toy. While the device is loaded with 300 melodies and a synchronized light show, it also packs a capable digital synthesizer engine. There’s an oscillator with the usual assortment of synth parameters along with an amp envelope, two LFOs, modulation envelope and a low-pass filter. The Blipblox also has a MIDI input for use with a keyboard or other accessories in addition to a ¼-inch output. Lastly, it runs on three AA batteries or plugged in via a USB cable. Blipblox can teach kids about music through a basic approach to instruments and synthesis, but its features are advanced enough to offer noise-making magic for parents, too. — B.S.
My kids are currently fascinated with snaps, zippers and closures, which is fun because it means it’s easy to amuse them, but awkward, too, because they often decide to undo the closures on the shirt I’m wearing. A busy board capitalizes on this curiosity by offering several different clasps, snaps, zippers, buttons and openings for little ones to work their fingers on. It intrigues children by activating their senses and helps them develop their fine-motor skills and problem solving by using real-world obstacles. It also adheres to the Montessori philosophy of simple, wooden toys that help children explore the world around them through play. The deMoca busy board is one of my favorites because it has bright, eye-catching colors, and 10 sensory activities including a zipper, a buckle, a latch and Velcro. It’s easy to bring along on trips, and deMoca also makes a “Quiet Book” — a soft-cover, fabric version that’s washable. — A.B.
Valve is on the lookout for new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive weapon skins, and it's hoping to entice creators to submit designs with a $1 million art contest. The company will select 10 original, dream-themed looks. The creators of the winning designs will each receive $100,000 and the skins will be added to the game.
Today we are announcing the CS:GO Dreams & Nightmares Workshop contest; a $1M CS:GO art contest looking for 10 original dream or nightmare-themed weapon finishes to be shipped in an upcoming case. More information here: https://t.co/mdmInLmUJkpic.twitter.com/y8KgyV46Q1
You can send in as many designs as you like and create them either solo or as part of a team. You can also have multiple winning skins.
Artists will still own the rights to their creations — sending in an entry gives Valve a non-exclusive license to use it in CS:GO. You'll have until October 21st to submit your designs to the CS:GO Workshop. You'll need to use a Steam account that's in good standing (i.e. it hasn't been limited in any way) which has made at least $5 of Steam purchases. Valve will contact the winners by November 21st.
This is a neat contest with potentially life-changing prizes. The Steam Workshop has been around for a decade. It allows players to upload mods, maps and items for a variety of games — including weapon skins for CS:GO.
"Over five million content creators have submitted and published over 20 million new items for a variety of games on Steam, making them available for purchase to millions of gamers around the world," Valve said. "And, as everyone who plays these games knows — including CS players — many of the most iconic in-game items, maps, and more have been authored by members of the community. The Dreams & Nightmares Content Contest is designed to help further support this community."
The upcoming Steam Deck handheld could shape more than just Valve's hardware fortunes. According to a Steam forum post from a Valve employee, the console's user interface will replace Steam's Big Picture mode, a front-end for your games that's compatible with bigger displays, TVs and controllers. A slick new UI will probably be welcomed by those who believe the almost decade-old Big Picture mode is on its last legs. In fact, the feature hasn't really been visually updated much since its launch.
Valve surprised everyone last week by dropping the Steam Deck — a Switch-like hybrid console for PC gaming — out of the blue. Pre-orders were swiftly opened for the device, which comes in three variants with different storage sizes priced at $399, $529 and $649. The Steam Deck features a custom Linux-based SteamOS. As it's designed to be ported to TVs, it's not hard to envision the console's UI becoming a natural successor to Big Picture Mode.
Shedding light on the Steam Deck's UI for IGN, Valve designer Tucker Spofford said the home screen will let you continue the game you're playing, see what your friends are doing, see what's new in the store and your library and get recommendations.
Samsung has just announced what feels like itszilliontheventthisyear. But at least this one's something we were expecting. The company just sent out invites to Galaxy Unpacked for August 11th at 10am ET, and the event will be held online only.
In years past, Samsung's hosted August launches for its Note series of high-powered phones. This time, though, multiple reports have indicated that there won't be a new Note. That's become a more likely possibility now, after the company brought Pen support to its Galaxy S21 flagships this year. The stylus has been a hallmark of the Note line since its conception and has distinguished the series from its S-branded siblings.
We'll be streaming Samsung's event live on our YouTube channel, where we'll host a pre-show and a Q&A after the company is done. Come join us to watch the launch together live and get your questions answered as quickly as possible.
A report last week hinted at some of Netflix's gaming ambitions. In its Q2 2021 earnings report, the company confirmed some things. First, Netflix says it "will be primarily focused" on mobile at first, looking to expand on its interactivity projects like Black Mirror Bandersnatch and its Stranger Things games. The upcoming titles will be available at no additional cost as part of your subscription and the company was clear it will keep up the pace on movies and television.
"We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV," the company said in a letter to its shareholders.
2020 was a big year for Netflix. With everyone stuck at home and movie theaters closed, the streaming service attracted 16 million new customers in three months. As expected, in 2021 that pace has dramatically slowed and the new customer numbers continue to be a struggle. In its earnings report, the company says it added 1.5 million subscribers in Q2, which was actually a bit better than its forecast mark of one million. However, that's lower than Q1 2021, which saw the company tack on 3.98 new customers globally.
Netflix says it forecasts new customer additions to hit 3.5 million in Q3 2021, up from 2.2 million during the same three-month a year ago. If it does so, the company explains that would bring the total new subscriber tally to 54 million over the last two years. The pace may have slowed for Netflix, but overall it's doing just fine. Revenue was still up 19 percent year-over-year at $7.3 billion for the quarter.
According to Netflix's own numbers, Shadow and Bone was a popular series this quarter, streaming to over 55 million "member households" in less than a month. The show has already been renewed for a second season based on those numbers. Sweet Tooth, a series based on a DC comic, was streamed by 60 million households the first month it was available. Unscripted series like Too Hot to Handle and The Circle were popular selections as well, as was true crime docuseries The Sons of Sam. In terms of movies, Zac Snyder's Army of the Dead hit 75 million households in the first month. Netflix also explained that The Mitchells vs. The Machines is now its biggest animated film to date, streaming to 53 million households.
Netflix says COVID-related production delays led to a "lighter" first half of 2021 in terms of content, but the pace will pick up throughout the rest of the year. The company's Q3 lineup includes new seasons of La Casa de Papel (Money Heist), Sex Education, Virgin River and Never Have I Ever in addition to live action films like Sweet Girl (Jason Momoa), Kissing Booth 3 and Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Plus, there's the animated film Vivo, which will feature new music from Lin-Manuel Miranda.
