If you’re like me, and I’m going to assume you are for the purposes of this post, you like the idea of time tracking, but generally it’s a bit too fiddly or complicated. TimeFlip is a super-simple gadget that lets you easily track how much time you spend on different activities just by flipping it around. It’s a dodecahedron with a tiny accelerometer inside that can tell which way it’s sitting. All you do to operate it is flip it around so the side corresponding to what you’re doing is up; the chip inside sends a signal over Bluetooth to an app on your phone.

Linux app support for Chrome OS may sound like a big heaping bowl of irrelevant geek stew, but don't be fooled: This move is enormously significant.

I had a great time last year with Sony’s catchily named DPT-RP1, an e-paper tablet that’s perfect for reading PDFs and other big documents, but one of my main issues was simply how big the thing is. Light and thin but 13 inches across, the tablet was just unwieldy. Heeding (I assume) my advice, Sony is putting out a smaller version and I can’t wait to try it out.

When the prestigious Swiss watchmaker Jaquet Droz began building its Signing Machine in 2014, perhaps it was thinking it might be perfect for famous folks fed up with having to repeatedly pen their autograph for adoring fans. But a lot has happened in the last four years, with the once sought-after autograph having given way to the celebrity selfie, where the fan sidles up beside their hero and sticks a smartphone in front of their faces for a quick snap.

The chip has been there for a while to make the Samsung S9 smartphones the fastest of them all -- and now, the 4G networks can support its high-speed hardware.

Federal law says you can repair your own things, and manufacturers cannot force you to use their own repair services.

Alongside the various Android phones I've tested, I've been using the iPhone X for about two months now. One of the most noteworthy changes to the iPhone X over previous models is the removal of the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, now replaced with a high-tech face unlock function Apple calls Face ID. Some Android phones have similar features; the OnePlus 5T, Huawei P20 Pro, and the Galaxy S9 all feature facial recognition in some form, but all maintain the fingerprint sensor, too. Why?

AirPods are the best truly wireless earbuds available because they nail the essentials like ease of use, reliability, and battery life. There are alternatives that definitely sound better from Bose, B&O Play, and other. But they often cost more and all of them experience occasional audio dropouts. AirPods don’t. I’d argue they’re maybe the best first-gen product Apple has ever made.

The Lucnt SRL1 is a smart bike light that claims to work just like a car brake light, making your bike ride safer for all involved. When it comes to determining how easy to use a product really is, it’s always good to consider whether or not good ol’ mom and dad could figure it out. After all, an excellent design should transcend generations, right? Promising to pass the test is the Lucnt SRL1, a smart bike light that works just like a car brake light, making your bike ride safer for all involved.

Samsung is moving us away from the giant black rectangle.

For weeks, users of Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa, have reported versions of the same unsettling event: being startled as they went about their day by Alexa letting out an eerie laugh. Now, Amazon says that it knows why that’s been happening and is working to fix the problem.

The lack of Calendar support for Siri on HomePod has been a glaring issue of Apple’s home speaker since its release earlier this year. Now new evidence suggests that will soon change when iOS 11.4 is released. Siri Personal Requests on HomePod currently only work for Messages, Reminders and Notes. These are associated with the iPhone that was used to set up HomePod and only work for a single user when both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Today at Build 2017, Microsoft unveiled many cool new technologies, but there was one particular announcement that truly touched the hearts of many in attendance. Called "Emma," it is a wrist wearable that can help people suffering with Parkinson's disease. The device is named after the Parkinson's sufferer that helped Haiyan Zhang, Innovation Director at Microsoft Research, create the device. What exactly does it do? Well, the incurable disease causes body tremors in those inflicted, and as a result, Emma has very shaky hands.

Asus is reportedly ending development on its ZenWatch line of Android Wear smartwatches, according to a report today from Digitimes that cited sources in Taiwan's supply chain. The report is unconfirmed and The Verge has reached out for comment. The Digitimes source claims that Asus is shipping an average of just 5,000 to 6,000 ZenWatch units per month across the product line, sales that are low enough that Asus is expected to discontinue the product line.

Walt Mossberg is retiring this year — he’s already written his last column, hosted his last Code Conference, and taped the final episode of Ctrl-Walt-Delete in front of a live audience in New York. But Walt’s also assembled an impressive collection of notable gadgets over his two-decade run as a reviewer and columnist, and we asked him to talk us through some of the more notable items as he cleared out of his office.

Arlan Robotics is developing a robot just for adults, and yes, you know what that means.

For Linux programmers who want maximum power on the road, you can't beat the Dell Precision 5520 Mobile Workstation.

The father of information theory built a machine to game roulette, then abandoned it.

If you have been watching the famous space series “Star Trek”, you would be familiar with a device called The Tricorder, which is a science-fictional handheld device that is used to scan sensors and analyze and record data. As far as the medical tricorder, it might not be fictional anymore, it might become a reality and an important part of every astronaut’s arsenal very soon. 

Mechanical keyboards are a bit of a nostalgic luxury, echoing back to the days of punchy, clacky key switches and metal springs and a sound so crisp and loud you can hear it through the walls. These days, a nice mechanical keyboard typically runs you $100 or more, with many of them marketed to enthusiasts or PC gamers and carrying switches from top-line electronics maker Cherry.

On the heels of a $25 million funding round, connected device maker Tile is today rolling out a more premium line of lost item trackers, with the launch of its Tile Pro series. The line today includes two new devices, a dark slate-and-graphite Tile Sport and a white-and-gold Tile Style. Beyond their more fashionable look, these Pro trackers include upgraded internals, allowing the devices to be located from further away. They also offer a louder ring, better water resistance, and improved durability.

Snap’s Spectacles sunglasses may prove to be more of a fad than a must-have device. Snap revealed during its call following weak Q2 earnings that it generated $5.4 million in “Other” revenue, which would equate to around 41,500 pairs of its Spectacles camera sunglasses at a $130 price point. That’s compared to $8.3 million in Other revenue in Q1, or fewer than 64,000 pairs, meaning Spectacles sales have declined roughly 35 percent.

From the start, we've believed that your Google Assistant should be be available wherever you need help, and that’s why it’s already on Google Home, eligible Android phones, iPhones, Google Allo and Android Wear. This week, we’re continuing to make your Assistant available in even more places.

If you have an iPhone, you'll want to see this.

A calculator collector reflects on the early 1970s, when HP's programmable calculators revolutionized the everyday work of engineers, technicians, and financial professionals. Oh, and computer scientists, too.

We've all heard of a bed so comfortable you never want to leave, but what about a bed that's super functional? We've found the ultimate bed, one that not only looks cool, but is packed with ingenious design features.

Ten years after Polaroid stopped making instant film cameras, and nine years after it stopped making the film those cameras use, the Polaroid instant camera is back. Well, kind of. Announced today, the new $99 Polaroid OneStep 2 is not made by Polaroid, if only because Polaroid largely exists these days as a brand and a nebulous collection of patents and intellectual property.

Jacquard is part jacket, part wearable tech.

Would you spend north of $100 on an HDMI that promises better visuals? If so, there are plenty of options out there, many of them from Monster. One that is a little different, however, is Marseille's mCable Gaming Edition. What separates this HDMI cable from other high-priced offerings is an embedded video signal chip that offers contextual anti-aliasing.

Want a pure Linux smartphone, no Android? Purism has the cash it needs to give it a try.

One thing that Google left unannounced during its Pixel 2 launch event on October 4th is being revealed today: it’s called the Pixel Visual Core, and it is Google’s first custom system-on-a-chip (SOC) for consumer products. You can think of it as a very scaled-down and simplified, purpose-built version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, Samsung’s Exynos, or Apple’s A series chips. The purpose in this case? Accelerating the HDR+ camera magic that makes Pixel photos so uniquely superior to...

Sony took its Aibo robot off of the market more than a decade ago, but now it's coming back.

Malware makers, phishers, they really are all out to get you. Here's how to stop them in their tracks.

When goTenna put out their Mesh device earlier this year, I thought the off-grid communication gadgets would be great for an emergency kit or back-country hike. But it turns out that both I and goTenna underestimated how hungry people were for a resilient, user-powered mesh network: thousands of dedicated nodes now populate cities across the country, and volunteers are using them to get Puerto Rico back online after a devastating hurricane season.

Despite my love for the previous Retina MacBook Pro, I won’t be able to use it forever. The best laptop to ever exist should be in the future, not the past. There’s a lot to like about the new MacBook Pros, but they need some changes to be truly great and up to Apple’s standards. Here’s what I’m hoping to see in the next MacBook Pro that I believe is technically possible, reasonable, widely agreeable, and likely for Apple to actually do, in descending order of importance: