If you're still looking for a last-minute Christmas gift — or a post-holiday one — for the kids in your life, Amazon has a bundle you may want to check out. The e-commerce giant is selling a Fire 7 Kids tablet and an Echo Kids speaker bundle for just $80, which is 50 percent off their original retail prices together. You can get the 7-inch tablet in purple, pink or blue, while the Echo Dot speaker that it comes with has a panda design.
The Fire 7 Kids tablet alone normally costs $100, though Amazon has been selling it for $60 since the beginning of December. As for the fourth-gen Echo Dot for Kids, its original retail price is $60, but it's been listed for $35 since November. Even taking the discounted prices into account, you'll still save $15 if you get the bundle instead of getting each item on its own.
Amazon's bundle comes with one year of access to Amazon Kids+, along with all of its apps, games, books, audiobooks and video. You (or the kid's parents or guardian) can give the recipient access to apps like Netflix or games like Minecraft via the Amazon Parent Dashboard. That's also where the child's guardian can set time limits for usage, filter out explicit songs and review activity for the Echo Dot. Of course, the bundle's recipient can also ask Alexa to play kid-friendly Audible books or interactive games from the Kids+ subscription service on their panda Echo Dot speaker.
The deal is a time-limited offer and only available for 19 more hours as of this writing. After that, the price for the bundle will likely go back to $95.
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Our end-of-year coverage kicks off this week, covering the major tech stories of the year (hi, billionaires in space) and, closer to Earth, the gear that the Engadget team spent their money on in the last eleven-and-a-half months. It runs the gamut from Apple Watches to smart bike trainers and, er, socks.
I discuss my love for the OLED Switch, which I upgraded to from my launch edition of Nintendo’s hybrid console. The screen is gorgeous, as are the white Joy-Cons, but the biggest boon coming from the first Switch iteration is the substantial battery boost. It also seems like Nintendo’s stock of the new Switch is a little more stable, so chances of getting one this holiday season seem better than earlier this year. Oh and Metroid Dread runs like a dream on it.
The Standard Range models will carry a 'mere' 98 kWh battery.
Ford quietly revealed the battery capacities available on its Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup, Auto Evolution reported. To start with, the Standard Range model, with a projected 230 miles of range, will come with a 98 kWh battery pack. Meanwhile, the optional Extended Range version (300 miles targeted) will have a massive 131 kWh battery.
LG is best known for its lightweight Gram 17 laptop, but now it wants some of that gaming PC pie. It’s revealed what it calls its "first gaming laptop" with some high-end specs. The 17-inch UltraGear 17G90Q model packs an 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake H CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics, up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. A 300Hz 1080p IPS display should keep the battery life suitably lengthy, while the design aesthetic seems heavily inspired by Razer’s laptop series and other existing gaming PCs. There’s no pricing yet, but LG will reveal more details at CES 2022 on January 4th.
Instead of the two most powerful empires on the planet vying to be first to the moon, we now have corporations — Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic — boasting a future filled with exo-planetary tourism. In 2021, the heads of these private companies finally made good on their myriad promises, successfully launching civilians, astronauts and, in two cases, themselves into the uppermost reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. Andrew Tarantola plots the launches, delays and drama of the civilian space race.
The company filed a lawsuit in California to uncover the identities of those behind the attacks.
Meta has filed a federal lawsuit to “uncover the identities” of a group of people that created more than 39,000 websites designed to trick users into coughing up their login credentials for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
People were redirected to bogus websites in a way that allowed the hackers to hide their actions. “This enabled them to conceal the true location of the phishing websites, and the identities of their online hosting providers and the defendants,” Meta said.
By 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency will require that automaker fleets travel an average of about 55 miles per gallon, up from the 37 miles per gallon standard they’re held to as of this year.
The agency estimates the policy will save American drivers between $210 billion and $420 billion through 2050 on fuel costs. Over the life of a model year 2026 vehicle, that should translate to about $1,080 in individual consumer savings. It marks President Biden’s most significant climate action to date. As of 2019, the transportation sector remains the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
Sony's true wireless WF-C500 earphones offer features like a comfortable fit and support for immersive 360 Reality Audio, but at the regular $100 price they're not quite a cheap gift. For today only, however, you can pick up a pair for $58, for a very substantial savings of 42 percent.
The WF-C500 sits at the bottom of Sony's true wireless earphone lineup, but it still has a rich feature set. Comfort is improved over the previous models thanks to a smaller size, IPX4 moisture rating and more secure fit, features borrowed from the high-end WF-1000XM4 model. It also comes with Sony's Digital Sound Enhancement Engine that restores detail lost when music is compressed over Bluetooth.
It also supports Sony's 360 Reality Audio if you have a supported plan on Amazon Music HD, Tidal HiFi, and others. On-board controls let you manage music, adjust volume, take calls and activate a voice assistant without the need for a phone. It delivers up to 10 hours of listening time on a charge, and a quick charge feature gives you another hour just ten minutes. The main drawback is the lack of active noise-cancellation (ANC) — normal on earphones at this price level.
If you do want ANC, Sony still has deals on its flagship wireless earphones and headphones. You can pick up the WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones with ANC for $248, or $100 off the regular price. The WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds, meanwhile, can be found right now for $248, for a savings of $32. All of those deals are limited in time, so if you need a last-minute Christmas gift, it's best to act soon.
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British mobile providers Three and EE are the first networks to reach an agreement regarding 4G and 5G coverage across the whole London Underground. The carriers have reached a deal with infrastructure provider BAI Communications, which is currently building out a network across the Tube as part of a 20-year concession with Transport for London. Three's and EE's deal will give customers access to mobile data within the stations and while on the Tube.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement:
"I'm delighted to see Three and EE sign up as the first operators to provide full high-speed 4G access across the tube network. This will make a huge difference to passengers, allowing them to make calls, read emails and check travel information while on the move. Investing in London’s connectivity and digital infrastructure is one important way we are helping to stimulate our city’s economy. It also represents a significant step towards ensuring the whole tube network has 5G-ready mobile coverage."
London's Underground network has offered WiFi connectivity for almost a decade, but it's only available to customers of certain carriers on certain platforms. Earlier this year, Transport for London chose BAI Communications to build out a mobile network spanning all stations and tunnels, allowing commuters to check emails, watch videos and do everything else online on 4G or 5G even while they're inside metal tubes underground.
BAI has already started building the network at some of London's busiest stations, including Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Bank, Euston and Camden Town. They'll be the first to allow 4G and 5G connectivity by the end of 2022. City authorities expect the network to be completed and for the whole of London Underground to have mobile coverage by the end of 2024.
Tesla's big holiday update for the year has started making its way to the automaker's fleet of electric vehicles, and it adds quite a large list of improvements and new features. For those addicted to scrolling on TikTok, perhaps the biggest addition is the TikTok app on Tesla Theater. According to the update notes posted by Electrek, they'll now be able to scroll the platform's short-form videos — on repeat, if they want — right on their vehicle's screen, so long as their car is parked.
In Toybox, owners will now also find the Light Show feature that Tesla introduced as an Easter Egg on the Model X back in 2015. For the Model X, a choreographed light show includes both flashing lights and opening falcon wing doors, but other models will have to make do with the former. Tesla has made its app launcher customizable, letting owners drag and drop their favorite apps onto the bottom menu bar. It's also simplifying navigation to make most the common primary controls, such as charging and windshield wipers, easier to access.
To automatically see a live camera view of their blind spot when they activate their turn signal, drivers can activate the new "Automatic Blind Spot Camera" option under Autopilot in Controls. Plus, drivers can now edit Waypoints to add stops or to initiate new navigation routes with updated arrival times. The holiday bundle has updates that fit the season, as well, including automatic seat heating that can regulate the front row seat temperatures based on the cabin environment, along with other cold weather improvements.
In addition, drivers can now delete dashcam clips directly from the touchscreen and hide map details to remove distractions if they want. Finally, in the entertainment department, Tesla has added Sonic the Hedgehog and Sudoku to its Arcade — though we strongly suggest playing any Arcade game only while parked. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Tesla allowed drivers to play some games in moving cars, a concern that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is discussing with the company. The agency told Engadget in a statement: "Distraction-affected crashes are a concern, particularly in vehicles equipped with an array of convenience technologies such as entertainment screens. We are aware of driver concerns and are discussing the feature with the manufacturer."
T-Mobile announced that scam call traffic more than doubled in 2021 with attempts hitting an average of 425 million calls every week, Bleeping Computer reported. It also said that it blocked over 21 billion of those calls for T-Mobile customers through December 2021 (over 700 calls per second) via its Scam Shield service.
Over half the 21 billion calls were related to fake vehicle warranty scams, while others impersonated Social Security employees, wireless providers, car insurance companies and package delivery. Scammers' preferred locations were Texas, Florida, Arizona and Georgia, with the most targeted area code being the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
T-Mobile launched its Scam Shield service last year, promising protection for all users regardless of their plan. You can choose to either screen calls as "scam likely"' when a call comes in, or block them altogether using a variety of methods, as T-Mobile details in its blog post.
AT&T and Verizon also released stats for scam calls, with AT&T saying its ActiveArmor service has blocked over 16 billion suspicious calls since 2016. Verizon, meanwhile, revealed that around 78 million of its customers were protected from 13 billion unwanted calls by its Verizon Call Filter service.
On Monday, the Biden administration finalized new fuel efficiency standards designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions put out by passenger vehicles. By 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency will require that automaker fleets travel an average of about 55 miles per gallon, up from the 37 miles per gallon standard they’re held to as of this year.
The agency estimates the policy will save American drivers between $210 billion and $420 billion through 2050 on fuel costs. Over the life of a model year 2026 vehicle, that will translate to about $1,080 in individual consumer savings after factoring in the higher initial cost of a more efficient vehicle. The EPA estimates the policy will also prevent the release of about 3.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide over the same time frame.
“We followed the science, we listened to stakeholders, and we are setting robust and rigorous standards that will aggressively reduce the pollution that is harming people and our planet – and save families money at the same time,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said.
The new standards effectively mirror those put forward by the Obama administration in 2012. Had former President Trump not weakened those in 2018, they would have required automakers to make vehicles that could travel about 51 miles per gallon by 2025.
Jeff Alson, a former EPA senior engineer, told The New York Times, the new standards recapture the emissions cuts carved out by the Trump administration. “That’s good, but it’s not going to get us anywhere near the level we’ve got to get to reduce vehicle emissions enough to protect the planet,” he said.
We've reached out to Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Stellantis for comment on today's rulemaking.
The new standards mark the most significant climate action taken to date by President Biden. As of 2019, the transportation sector has been the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. However, the announcement comes just one day after Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not support the Democratic party’s Build Back Better plan. Among other items, the approximately $2 trillion plan includes a proposal for up to $12,500 in individual tax subsidies for Americans who buy an EV as their next car.
Meta is taking legal action to disrupt a large-scale phishing campaign. On Monday, the company filed a federal lawsuit to “uncover the identities” of a group of people that created more than 39,000 websites designed to trick Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users into coughing up their login credentials.
The company says the scammers used relay service Ngrok to redirect people to their websites in a way that allowed them to hide their actions. “This enabled them to conceal the true location of the phishing websites, and the identities of their online hosting providers and the defendants,” Meta said. Starting this past March, the company began working with the relay service to suspend “thousands” of URLs linked to the campaign.
This isn’t the first time has used the threat of legal action to try and stop a phishing campaign. In 2019 and 2020, the company filed lawsuits against OnlineNIC and Namecheap, two domain name registrars that had allowed cybersquatters to claim domains like instagrambusinesshelp.com and whatsappdownload.site. However, the scale of this campaign would appear to dwarf the ones OnlineNIC and Namecheap enabled. When Meta sued the latter company in 2020, it said it had registered 45 domains that were explicitly made to confuse people.
One of the games PlayStation Plus subscribers were able to claim at not extra cost in March was Final Fantasy VII Remake. Sony announced that month's PS Plus lineup at the same time it revealed an upgraded version of the game for PlayStation 5: Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.
Starting this Wednesday...
• PS Plus subscribers who previously redeemed @FinalFantasy VII Remake via @PlayStation Plus will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version of the game.
• Episode Intermission, the DLC featuring Yuffie Kisaragi, will be 25% off for a limited time! pic.twitter.com/mnkCIRR586
However, there was no way for those who snagged the PS Plus version of FF7 Remake to get Intergrade without paying for the full game. As of Wednesday, though, there'll be a way to upgrade. Square Enix clarified that the upgrade won't be free, but it hasn't revealed pricing as yet.
Meanwhile, Square Enix says the "Intermission" expansion, which is only available on PS5, is $15 for a limited time, $5 less than the regular price. The Yuffie-centric DLC was included for those who bought FFVII Remake Intergrade outright. Those who upgraded from the PS4 version had to pay for the DLC.
The FF7 Remake upgrade process has been as convoluted as many Final Fantasy titles. The game was originally released in April 2020, and Intergrade arrived on PS5 in June this year. Meanwhile, FF7 Remake Intergradelanded on PC for the first time last week.
If you're scrambling for a last-minute holiday gift, it might be worth checking out a solid deal on Beats Studio Buds. The earbuds have dropped from $150 to $100, which matches the lowest price we've seen for them to date.
We included Beats Studio Buds on our list of the best wireless earbuds on the market after giving them a score of 84 in our review. They offer good sound quality with the kind of bass levels that Beats gear is known for. The earbuds, which have IPX4 sweat and water resistance, include active noise cancellation and an option that automatically adjusts the volume depending on environmental audio levels.
Studio Buds have Apple's H1 chip (Beats is owned by Apple, after all), and they support fast pairing with both Android and iOS devices. You can use them for AirPods-style seamless switching between Apple products, and they support the company's Spatial Audio feature. In addition, Studio Buds work with Apple's Find My and Android's Find My Device. There's also hands-free Siri support.
On the downside, we felt that call quality wasn't great and the lack of wireless charging support might be disappointing for some. There are no on-board volume controls or any options for customizing the sound either. Still, these are a worthy option for those looking for a set of true wireless earbuds.
