It's a terrible time to buy a car. The global chip shortage and a pandemic-driven demand for safe transportation has pushed prices to obscene levels. It's not unusual to see dealers adding on $10,000 or more in "market adjustment fees." For most people, the smartest decision right now is to hold onto your current car for as long as possible. But as my wife and I began preparing for our second child, we realized we needed a larger vehicle for carrying twice as much baby gear, as well as to take the occasional road trip.

As much as I loved my 2017 RAV4 Hybrid, it would have been too tight with two car seats in the backseat along with two kids worth of gear in the trunk. It also didn't have CarPlay integration, which meant I had to rely on Bluetooth audio and Toyota's abysmal infotainment apps. (I was particularly annoyed that I couldn't even play the radio while using Google Maps navigation.) There weren't any rear vents for heating and cooling, either, which inevitably turned the back seat into a furnace during Georgia's obscenely humid summers. That's a surefire way to make a toddler cranky, and it would be even worse with an infant onboard.

Thankfully, I've spent the last few years obsessively researching the perfect family car. (You can thank the pandemic and my desire to tinker with new hardware for that.) Toyota's hybrid 2021 Sienna taught me that minivans can actually look cool these days and get decent mileage. I've also tested out Toyota's RAV4 Prime, Prius Prime and the Kia Sorento, all of which were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) with a bit of electric driving range.

At first, I leaned towards the updated Sienna: I genuinely loved our review unit, and Toyota's reliability is legendary. But it turns out tons of other people had the same idea earlier this year. New Siennas were selling for $8,000 over their list price, based on what I saw at several local dealers. (Who, of course, didn't tell me about those extra fees until I stepped foot in their godforsaken offices.) And used 2021 models were actually going for more than their original list price. I wasn't about to spend over $50,000 on a used Sienna.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Then I remembered the other popular minivan, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It's the only PHEV minivan on the market, delivering 33 miles of electric range and 32 MPG of gas driving. We gave it a glowing review in 2018, and, well, my options were pretty limited earlier this year. My dream car would have been a large family-sized EV, but with the Tesla Model X still far out of reach and no alternatives available, a PHEV simply made more sense.

After being burned by several useless car dealers, I spent weeks hunting through Carvana listings. I appreciated that they were up front about extra fees, they don't gouge you as much as dealers and I had a great experience buying my RAV4 from them in 2020. Eventually, I found my ideal Pacifica: a Limited 2018 model with low mileage, CarPlay, a tri-plane sunroof, advanced safety features and a 20-speaker sound system. There was no way I was going to look like a cool dad in a minivan, but at least I could have a bit of fun driving it.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

A week later, Carvana took away my RAV4 as a trade-in and delivered the Pacifica to my driveway. It was love at first sight. Even though it's not as sporty as the Sienna or RAV4 Prime, I love the Pacifica's cute and quirky aesthetic. It's as if Chrysler took the idea of a family van and processed it through a '90s anime filter. Its arched LED daytime running lights seem like they're winking at you, while the elegant body lines give it a sense of motion while it's standing still.

The sheer practicality of the Pacifica also won me over quickly. The Pacifica's sliding doors made it a cinch to install my daughter's 30-pound car seat, and I appreciated having much more room for child loading/unloading. Being a minivan, its trunk area was massive, even if I decided to have the third-row seats opened up. Those rear seats are a serious upgrade over mid-size SUVs, where they're only meant for children.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

My wife and I also loved having more interior space in general, since we inevitably found ourselves buried in toddler toys and gear in the RAV4. There’s even enough room for my daughter to use her portable potty between the seats! Another bonus: The rear seats also have two separate video screens, which will be perfect for keeping the kids entertained during long trips.

Things got even better in the driver’s seat, where the Pacifica’s UConnect infotainment system finally made me feel like I was driving a modern car. The 8.4-inch screen was bright enough to be clearly visible in direct sunlight (something my RAV4 struggled to do), and it had a surprisingly responsive touchscreen. While I was most excited to have CarPlay integration, it was nice to see that UConnect’s entire interface could be customized as easily as an iOS device.

Unfortunately, Carvana didn’t ship the Pacifica with a Level 1 charging cable, but I received a voucher to receive one from a local mechanic. That process would take a few weeks though, so I bought another charger myself to get juice up sooner. After 12 hours of charging from a standard wall socket in my garage, the Pacifica truly became the PHEV of my dreams. It handled quietly and smoothly around my neighborhood, giving us enough EV driving to deal with daycare drop-off and pickup, as well as our typical neighborhood errands.

While I’m sure nobody would ever mistake the Pacifica for a Tesla, I definitely surprised some local drivers when I zoomed ahead of them at stop lights. That’s the power of EV torque in action: It was so smooth, it never felt like I was driving a large minivan.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

My family and I had a blissful first few weeks with the Pacifica. We rarely exceeded the 30 miles of EV range we typically saw every day (a bit less than EPA estimates), which meant the gas gauge pretty much stayed put. Sadly, our honeymoon period ended shortly after Valentine’s Day, when Chrysler announced it was recalling 16,741 2017-2018 Pacifica hybrid models. The company said it was aware of 10 vehicles that caught fire while the ignition was off, many of which were also charging at the same time. Chrysler’s advice: Park outside and don’t charge your Pacifica until the problem is fixed.

Sadly, our car was among the recalled models, so now we’re stuck using it like a standard hybrid. The Pacifica is still a very nice family minivan, but without EV driving it just felt less special to me. Occasionally, its regenerative brakes will gather enough juice for a bit of electric fun, but it’s never too long before the V6 engine kicks in and it starts guzzling gas again. We’re also not getting anywhere near the 32MPG estimated mileage. Instead, it’s hovering around 21MPG, which is more in line with the standard gas Pacifica.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

After all that research and anticipation, it's heartbreaking to see our dream PHEV turned into a hybrid with so-so mileage, especially with skyrocketing gas prices. I’m also kicking myself for taking a risk on a Chrysler car, a brand that hasn’t been known for reliability nearly as much as Toyota. All I can do now is hope Chrysler comes up with a fix soon and pray that we don’t have to deal with a car fire with kids onboard. (Or just throw caution to the wind and swap to the Volvo XC90 PHEV.)

Last year, Amazon revealed one of the more original products we've seen, the kid-focused Glow that does video calls and projects a touch-sensitive play space onto a flat surface. Now, the company has announced that the Glow is available for all customers in the US, complete with a 1-year subscription for books, visual arts activities, play options and more. 

The Amazon Glow combines an 8-inch LCD teleconferencing display with a projector that creates a 19-inch, touch-sensitive interactive space. Parents and others can connect to the device via the Glow mobile app that lets them speak with kids and interact with the projected play space remotely. In the original announcement video, for example, Amazon shows kids doing puzzles, drawing and playing reading games, while parents and grandparents are able to see what the kids are seeing. 

"We know a majority of parents say it’s challenging for their kids to stay engaged on traditional video calls, and, let’s be honest, stay in one place," said Glow GM Joerg Tewes. "For parents who are miles or minutes away from home for work, Glow provides a new way to say good morning or good night to keep those important relationships strong."

The device comes with "nearly 100 games and visual arts activities" through Amazon Kids+, Amazon said. Those include Chess, Checkers, go Fish, Whac-A-Mole and others. It also includes thousands of books, different play options (remote or side-by-side), the ability to interact with Disney characters (Anna and Elsa, Woody and Buzz, etc.) and more. Parents, friends and others can use the Glow app on their existing Android and iOS smartphones/tablets or on the 2021 Fire HD 10 tablets. 

Glow looks like a pretty cool product, but it isn't exactly cheap. You can now pick one up at Amazon, BestBuy.com and Target.com starting at $300, with a mat and mat case plus a 1-year Amazon Kids+ subscription included. It's also available with a Fire HD 10 tablet for $380.  

The following contains moderate spoilers for the fourth episode of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.

Continuity is something that comes up in geek media a lot, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Star Wars to DC’s TV Arrowverse. It used to be a thing only hardcore nerds really cared about, but now it’s gone mainstream, with fans of all stripes cheering at callbacks and pointing out inconsistencies. Star Trek was probably the first major example of an interconnected universe that most people were aware of, but as the franchise continues to grow, with at least five shows in active production and more on the way, is consistent continuity something it can keep up with?

Out of all the current shows, Star Trek: Picard probably has the strongest ties to continuity right now. It’s billed as a direct sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation and follows the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we saw him and the Enterprise-E crew in Nemesis. Season one found him a broken man, after a devastating attack on Mars and the banning of synthetic life. This storyline actually made a good follow-up to the events of The Next Generation, in which the rights of an artificial being like Data were constantly being called into question.

CBS

Season two so far has decided to focus on the relationship between Q and Picard, with the omnipotent being thrusting the old admiral into an alternate reality similar to, but not identical to, the twisted mirror universe where everyone is evil. In this reality Picard is an admired general in a genocidal empire. He makes the decision to travel back in time to the point of divergence with the reality he knows, a common Star Trek plot device.

It’s common enough that the episode makes two references to at least two other previous time travel adventures in the franchise: Seven and Raffi encounter a punk on a bus with a boombox blasting the song “I Hate You” at top volume, a recreation of a scene from The Voyage Home (even featuring the same punk), and later they find that their colleague Rios is being taken to a “Sanctuary District,” a concept first introduced in the Deep Space Nine two-parter “Past Tense.”

CBS

And yet, there’s an entire plot line that involves Picard heading to a set of coordinates only to arrive at 10 Forward Street, the location of Guinan’s bar in the season premiere. Picard even laughs when he sees the street sign, showing that even he’s aware of the amusing similarity to the name of Guinan’s bar on the Enterprise-D. Star Trek is no stranger to coincidences, though the next scene makes me wonder if the writers were aware that Guinan’s bar is called 10 Forward because it was at the very front of deck 10.

Even though it is 2024, Guinan does in fact happen to be there, though she’s closing up shop. But instead of a happy reunion between the two, this version of Guinan doesn’t recognize him at all. This doesn’t seem to perturb Picard in the slightest — he even withholds his name and where he really comes from so as to not disturb the timeline.

Long-time Trek viewers will immediately see the problem with this, namely in that another time travel adventure, the TNG two-parter “Time Arrow,” Picard met Guinan in the 19th century. He saved her life, even. And that adventure was actually an answer to a long-standing question on the show: How did the two become friends without ever meeting before she stepped foot on the Enterprise-D in season two of TNG? Guinan once said their relationship was “beyond friendship, beyond family” and while the whole adventure might not have been the ideal solution that fans wanted, it was good enough at the time.

So, when Picard walks into 10 Forward Street, it seems like the perfect opportunity to deepen the connection between the two characters further. Reunited after 131 years! It’s a level of “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” that Doctor Who is known for and has managed to make work, in particular when establishing the relationship between the Doctor and River Song. If the connection between Guinan and Picard is “more than friendship, more than family” there’s room for another adventure between the two to establish why they care for each other so deeply.

CBS

Instead, it’s like they’re meeting again for the first time. This Guinan is jaded, almost angry at the state of Earth, which is why she’s leaving now. It seems uncharacteristically bitter for her, who is usually a caring, curious person. And, while Picard feels like he can’t reveal details about the future to her, he does feel like he has to convince her not to leave Earth.

But… why? Long-time fans know that at some point she returns to her homeworld, only to become a refugee when the planet is attacked by (presumably) the Borg. And when we saw her in “Time’s Arrow,” she was merely visiting, and was unlikely to stay long lest her mother show up to come collect her. It doesn’t really track that she would have hung out another 131 years, even going so far as to open a business or have a dog.

CBS

I previously argued that there’s a point where it becomes unrealistic to expect fans to keep up with every bit of continuity. There are almost 30 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and days worth of TV shows to match. And it’s impractical to expect a new Star Trek writer to watch 800-plus episodes of old Trek before they’re allowed to write a single word of script.

But to watch at least a few episodes of the show relevant to the current storyline? That’s not a huge ask, especially in a world where everything is available via streaming. We’re long past the days of the BBC erasing the tapes of Doctor Who or the original prints of films like Star Wars disappearing into the void. And no longer are TV show archives locked away in corporate storage facilities or stacked in basements of hardcore collectors. Just a few clicks on Paramount+, and any episode of any Star Trek series can be pulled up on demand. Which includes “Time’s Arrow.”

CBS

But it’s even understandable that under a time crunch, perhaps the writers couldn’t watch every episode with Guinan. But even then the excuses are thin, since the writers could do what I did before writing this post: Google it. Pull up Star Trek wiki Memory Alpha, punch in “Guinan” and skim through the entry to get a full list of her appearances. There’s even a section specifically about Picard and Guinan’s friendship, which would have alerted any reader to the existence of the “Time’s Arrow” two-parter, even if the writers for whatever reason had never heard of it.

With 56 years of history and most of the writers born after the original series — and newer shows even employing people born after The Next Generation — they can’t be expected to know everything. But even as everything becomes “available forever,” there are people who’ve made it their jobs to sort through all of it and keep track of every little detail. Some writers argue that continuity can be stifling, and the jury’s still out on how much it matters, but in the case of Guinan and Picard the appeal is the characters’ shared history. A shared history that isn’t hard to look up on today’s internet.

Amazon's Fire tablets make good secondary devices for those who aren't looking to drop hundreds of dollars on a new gadget. They also make solid kids tablets, too, especially if you get one of Amazon's kid-specific variants. Fire tablets are affordable to begin with, but now Amazon's discounted many of them by up to 50 percent. The Fire HD 8 is half off and down to $45, while the Fire 7 slab is 30 percent off and down to only $35. Plus, the entire Fire Kids Pro lineup is on sale, so you can grab one of those for as low as $50.

The Fire HD 8 earned a score of 81 from us when it came out in 2020 for its refined design, USB-C charging, hands-free Alexa capabilities and long battery life. It's slimmer than the previous version and has an 8-inch 1,280 x 800 display, the latter of which would make it a solid full-color e-reader for those that read a lot of graphics novels and manga. Inside is a quad-core 2.0GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and either 32GB of 64GB of RAM — plus, you could use a microSD card to expand the storage to up to 1TB. Performance is pretty good for a cheap tablet, and it'll last up to 12 hours on a single charge. We'd recommend the Fire HD 8 for most people, and would only recommend the less powerful Fire 7 tablet for those with tight budgets, or those that want a super-affordable device to give to their kids.

Speaking of kid-friendly gadgets, the Fire Kids Pro slabs have some added features specifically for little ones and their parents. Along with all of the features you'd get on their standard counterparts, the Fire Kids Pro tablets come with a suite of parental controls, a two-year warranty, a protective case and one year of Amazon Kids+. With the latter, you'll get access to age-appropriate books, shows, movies and more for one year before you'll be asked to pay the $5-per-month charge ($3 per month if you're a Prime member). Both the Fire 7 Kids Pro and the Fire HD 8 Kids Pro are half off right now, down to $50 and $70, respectively, while the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is 30 percent less than usual and down to $140.

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Now might be a good moment to buy an Echo Show 5 as a smart alarm clock. Amazon is once more selling the second-gen Echo Show 5 for a record-low $45, or a large 47 percent below the official price. You can also buy the Kids edition for $55 (42 percent off) if the colorful shell and year-long Kids+ subscription prove appealing.

The Echo Show 5 is practically tailor-made for your nightstand between its small size, a sunrise alarm and a tap-to-snooze feature. It sounds surprisingly good for its size and includes a camera (with privacy shutter) for morning video calls. If you just want to check the weather or control your Alexa-powered smart home from your bed, this is all you need.

There are some limitations. The interface isn't quite as elegant as Google's Nest Hub, and you'll want that device if you use other Nest devices or otherwise immerse yourself in the Google Assistant ecosystem. The video calling performance isn't a huge leap over the first-gen Echo Show 5, and you can't plug in a better set of speakers. For $45, though, there's not much room to complain — it costs less than an Echo Dot with clock while offering more overall functionality.

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When it announced the Android 12L beta in October, Google promised the software for larger screens would be ready early this year. It’s not here just yet, but the company still expects it to land in 2022. And while we don’t have device specifics, we could see existing devices like the Galaxy Z Fold, Z Flip and Surface Duo pick up the new interface, adding features like home and lock screens optimized for larger displays. 

Engadget

Android has long faced criticism for still being an unintuitive system for tablets, leading to a dearth in real competition for Apple's iPads — Samsung’s efforts aside. But hey, at least with Android 12L, Google is trying to make it better. Are you an unloved Android tablet user who's intrigued? We tested the Android 12L beta here.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• After Apple’s big March event, watch our post-match analysis here!

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• AI discovery could advance the treatment of spinal cord injuries

• Google says the latest Chrome on Mac outperforms Safari

• How Telegram found itself at the heart of the Ukrainian conflict

• Ubisoft and Take-Two are the latest game companies to halt sales in Russia

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Samsung confirms hackers compromised its systems and stole Galaxy source code

South American hacking group Lapsus$ previously claimed responsibility.

Samsung confirmed yesterday some of its data was stolen during a cyberattack over the weekend. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company admitted "some source code relating to the operation of Galaxy devices" was taken, but customer and employee credentials were not impacted. Although Samsung has not revealed the actors behind the compromise, South American hacking group Lapsus$ has claimed responsibility. The organization shared a 190GB torrent file that reportedly includes bootloader source code for all of Samsung's recent devices, as well as code related to biometric authentication and on-device encryption for Galaxy devices.

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Kia's 2022 Sorento plug-in is no Telluride

But it's still a posh SUV.

KIA

Kia's 2022 Sorento plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a capable mid-size SUV with some hybrid pep, three rows of seats and a slightly ho-hum aesthetic. It suffers a little from comparisons to the Telluride, Kia's larger and far more fashionable family SUV. The Sorento is decidedly more basic, but with plenty of charm. Devindra Hardawar test drove it for a bit.

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Cities turn to tech to keep sewers free of fatbergs

These pipe-blocking globs can outweigh an elephant.

It’s a little early to go into too much detail on fatbergs, but once you’ve had your coffee and are fully awake, this is an intriguing insight into how cities are fighting the issue, exacerbated by the boom in wet wipes over the years. Weapons to tackle them include high-pressure water cannons, remote-operated cameras and even sonar tech.

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'God of War' might also get a TV series adaptation

‘The Last of Us’ is already on its way.

SIE

Amazon Studios and Sony’s PlayStation Productions unit are in talks to produce a live-action TV series adaptation of God of War, according to Deadline. The outlet reports that Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, best known for their work on The Expanse and Children of Men, are involved in the project.

In case you’re not keeping count, Sony’s recently established PlayStation Productions unit is already working with HBO to produce a TV series based on Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. It’s also working on a Ghost of Tsushima movie and a Twisted Metal series that will stream on Peacock. There was also that Uncharted movie. Ahem.

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If you're looking for a capable mid-size SUV with a bit of plug-in hybrid pep, three rows of seats and don't mind a slightly ho-hum aesthetic, Kia's 2022 Sorento plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is made for you. It's not nearly as flashy as Toyota's RAV4 Prime, a car widely considered to be the pinnacle of affordable plug-in SUVs. But the Sorento is larger and in many ways more practical for families.

And yet, even though the 2022 Sorento PHEV offers a relatively posh experience, I couldn't help but feel disappointed every time I passed a Telluride, Kia's larger and far more fashionable family SUV. Where the Telluride raises the bar for affordable SUV designs with its aggressive front fascia, voluminous seating space and Land Rover-like styling, the Sorento is decidedly more basic. Sure, it has leather seats and plenty of great safety and entertainment technology, but looking at it just doesn't stir my soul.

That's a shame, because on paper the 2022 Sorento sounds like the ideal family PHEV for people who don't want to make the leap to minivans like the Chrysler Pacifica plug-in or Toyota's excellent hybrid Sienna. Its electric engine can keep things moving for up to 32 miles – more than enough to deal with many daily commutes. And in hybrid mode, which also taps into the 1.6-liter gas engine, the Sorento can run for up to 34 miles per gallon. It also offers standard all-wheel drive and up to 75.5 cubic feet of cargo space, more than double the RAV 4 Prime's 33.5 cubic feet of storage. So you wouldn't have to worry about hauling a large TV, or a full trunk of groceries alongside baby gear for two kids.

If all you care about are those specs, the Sorento will serve you nicely. But, like the middle child sandwiched between an over-achieving elder sibling (the Telluride) and a new baby (Kia's adorable EV6), it almost feels like the Sorento PHEV is an afterthought for Kia. While having some pure EV driving is a nice thing to have, especially as gas prices continue to climb, its electric motor only spits out 90 horsepower. That's enough to deal with street-level driving under 40 miles per hour, but it'll need some serious help from the gas engine to deal with highway traffic. As Car and Driver found, the weak EV just holds back the overall driving experience. (It's also unclear to me why the Sorrento still occasionally spun up its gasoline engine at low speeds.)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

During my week of testing, I drove the Sorrento PHEV around winding local roads, up highways that climbed along nearby mountains, and to visit family an hour away. The driving experience felt solid and never overtly floaty, but I was also constantly reminded that I was behind the wheel of a 4,537-pound SUV. (The gas variant weighs 3,794 pounds.) Large batteries always add more weight to PHEVs, but the Sorento felt bogged down as I I tried to reach 65MPH highway speeds in hybrid mode. Even so, I appreciated being able to force it to only use EV for local driving, something that Chrysler still doesn't offer on the Pacifica. Though the Sorento's EV motor is relatively weak, it gives a decent bit of electric torque off the line, making it well-suited for dealing with stop signs and traffic lights.

I typically saw around 30 miles of electric driving before the Sorento's gas engine kicked on, but its hybrid efficiency was less impressive, typically clocking in around 32MPG. The RAV4 Prime gets around the same electric range, but it can reach up to 40MPG in hybrid mode. As with any PHEV, your efficiency with the Sorento is dependent on how often you plug it in to charge. It typically took around 12 hours to juice up completely on a standard 110-volt outlet. If you've got access to a Level 2 charger, you can top it off in around 2.5 hours.

Given the complexity involved with installing a Level 2 setup — that involves running a 220-volt outlet to your garage and installing a charger — many EV-curious shoppers may be better off with a PHEV like the Sorento. There's no need to install any additional outlets, plus you don't have to worry about EV range anxiety since PHEVs will automatically flip over to their gas engines when they're out of electricity. That also makes them better suited for family road trips, since you won't have to spend time hunting down EV chargers and waiting to get juiced up.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

I didn't have much to complain about with the Sorento's entertainment system. The 10.3-inch central display was bright, responsive and made it easy to deal with Apple CarPlay. I appreciated that it was a wide screen, since it didn't cut into my view of the road and it didn't prevent Kia from including buttons for climate control right below it. While large and tall screens might look more impressive at first, as we've seen on Teslas and the Prius Prime, I find them much more annoying to use while driving. I'll always prefer physical buttons combined with an unobtrusive screen. Below the dash there's a circular dial for changing gears (which feels as elegant as it does on cars twice as expensive), another dial to manage driving modes, and more buttons to turn on the heated steering wheel, parking camera view and other features.

I'll give Kia credit for delivering an incredible level of comfort in a relatively affordable mid-size SUV. The Sorento's leather seats were perfectly plush, and I appreciated having both heating and ventilation options. The two second-row captains chairs were less comfy, but still better than I've felt on some competitors. It was a bit tough for me to secure my daughter's large car seat, but once I did (thanks to a bit of extra cushioning from a pool noodle), it was easy for me to lift her up and bring her down. And while the third-row seats were far too cramped for me to fit comfortably, they're fine for kids. Most mid-size SUVs have cramped back rows, which is why minivans are still the better choice if you're regularly carting around adults.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There’s also a decent dose of safety features, including forward collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist protection, blind-spot monitoring and a 360-degree camera. I particularly appreciated the camera views whenever I hit the left or right indicators, which allowed me to see right beside the Sorento for any cars or cyclists in my blind spot. If you’re a nervous driver, it may be worth looking into the Sorento for those cameras alone.

The 2022 Sorento PHEV starts at $46,405, around $6,800 more than the AWD Sorento Hybrid EX model. Since it's a plug-in hybrid, you can get a hefty $6,587 tax credit, which puts them on a slightly more level playing field. (You'll still have to wait for your next tax filing before you can see that credit, though.) The Sorento has always been a budget-focused car — the gas-powered 2022 model starts around $30,000 — so the PHEV model feels particularly out of place as it nears $50,000.

Much like video cards, these prices are also purely theoretical. The global chip crunch, along with manufacturing delays and other issues, have pushed new and used car prices up considerably. So while you may see advertised figures close to MSRP, don't be surprised if dealers end up tacking on extra fees once you're ready to negotiate. (During my recent quest to buy a new Toyota Sienna, local dealers regularly added around $8,000 in "market adjustment" fees. I gave up and instead bought a used 2018 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid with a slight markup from Carvana.)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There’s a lot to love about the Sorento PHEV, it’s just unfortunate it’s debuting as Kia’s Telluride is winning over reviewers and consumers alike. Still, it’s notable it exists at all, as there aren’t many plug-in hybrids with three rows of seats. It’s perfectly positioned as an upgrade from compact SUVs and sedans, especially for families that want to dabble with electric driving and rely less on gas. Personally, though, I can’t wait for Kia to take what it learned here and bring it over to the Telluride (which debuted as a PHEV concept car).

This might be a good time to buy an e-reader and foster your child's love of reading. Amazon is selling the Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $110 as part of a one-day-only sale, or a full $50 below the usual price. The standard Kindle Kids is also on sale for today at $60 with a similar $50 discount. With both models you'll get a two-year "worry-free guarantee," a child-appropriate cover and a year-long Kids+ subscription with access to thousands of books.

Both Kindle devices should work well if you're looking for the essentials. They offer a eye-friendly reading experience that will eliminate the distractions of tablets, and their weeks of battery life will spare you from having to plug them in very often. The extras from the Kids versions might also help you save money — particularly a costly replacement if there's an accident.

Of the two, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is arguably the better value. There's a larger (and sharper) screen with more LED lights, a waterproof design, an adjustable warm light and a considerably longer 10-week battery life versus the base Kindle's four. It should be easier to read at any time of the day, and you won't have to worry if your little one gets it wet. To put it another way, you can focus more on improving your child's literacy skills instead of managing their gadgets.

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Unless you religiously follow Android blogs, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard of OSOM Privacy. It’s a startup made up of former Essential employees who worked on the PH-1 before the company became mired in controversy on account of founder Andy Rubin. OSOM was founded in 2020, the same year that Essential went out of business, by its former head of R&D, Jason Keats.

When Keats first shared details on the OV1 late last year in an interview with Android Police, he said it would stand out from other Android phones thanks to its focus on privacy. At the time, he also had a few things to say about the phone’s specs – noting, for instance, it would ship with a Qualcomm chipset. Today, OSOM shared more information about the OV1 before its release later this year.

OSOM Privacy

In an email to Engadget, the company said the phone would ship with a Snapdragon 8 series chipset. Notably, OSOM didn’t say the OV1 would include Qualcomm’s current flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Take that as you will.

If you had a chance to use an Essential Phone, you know it didn’t have a great camera. It didn’t take great photos in less than ideal light, and its camera app was slow to fire up. OSOM claims the OV1 won’t suffer from similar issues. The phone will feature a dual-camera system consisting of 48-megapixel and 12-megapixel sensors. “Unlike at Essential, OSOM has enlisted the help of the best teams in the world to bring a truly flagship camera experience to our users,” the company told us.

As you can see from the photos OSOM sent over, the design of the device is reminiscent of the Essential Phone. The company says the OV1 is “noticeably” bigger than its predecessor to allow for better antenna performance and the inclusion of a bigger battery. The housing is made from stainless steel and titanium, while the back of the phone is made from zirconia and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Like the iPhone, it will include a UWB antenna, though OSOM didn’t say what kind of functionality it plans to build out around that feature. The phone will also come with a dual SIM slot and a secure data cable.

OSOM Privacy

The company didn’t say what the cable does, but if we had to take a guess, you can flip the built-in switch to prevent it from transferring data. That’s something that could help you protect your phone if you ever need to plug it in to charge at a public USB port, such as the ones you’ll find in a plane. That’s all we know for now. But we’ll likely find out more about the OV1 when it ships sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In his first State of the Union address, President Biden has asked Congress to implement new laws to increase child safety on Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms. "It's time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children," he said on Tuesday evening. 

To get started on implementing those changes, the White House will specifically ask for funding to study the question of child safety on social media. Biden also plans to request $5 million in next year's budget to research the mental health impact of social media, while launching a "national Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental Illness." The aim of that is to develop new guidance on the impact of adolescent social media use.

Much of the motivation for the changes appears to have come from the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who attended the address as a guest of Jill Biden. She recently testified before Congress, accusing Facebook parent Meta of disregarding child safety on the platform. 

Her revelations impacted politicians on both sides of the aisle, who agreed that stronger rules were required. Last month, Democrat Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), that would give parents and children more control over their privacy and safety on social media, while setting new rules for social media platforms.

"As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit ," the President said.