Playtime Engineering debuts two new music makers for kids

Ahead of the NAMM 2022 trade show being held in Anaheim next weekend, San Francisco’s Playtime Engineering has unveiled a pair of toys, the Blipbox SK2 synthesizer and the Blipbox myTrack groovebox, designed to help even the youngest musically-inclined…

Amazon will give Cloud Cam owners a free camera when service shuts down

Amazon is shutting down service for the Cloud Cam, but you may not mind if you’re reluctant to buy a replacement. MacRumors and The Verge have learned Amazon will offer owners a free Blink Mini security camera and a one-year subscription to the higher-end Blink Subscription Plus service (normally $100 per year) before Cloud Cam functionality ends on December 2nd. Key Edition owners will also get a fourth-generation Echo speaker to serve as a replacement smart home hub. Ideally, you won’t have to pay a cent more to keep your home supervised in the near future.

In an email to customers, Amazon said it was shutting down Cloud Cam service to focus on Blink, Ring and other products that “make your home smarter.” The move will primarily end storage for video recording, but people using the Cloud Cam Key Edition as a Zigbee hub will also lose the ability to connect to smart locks until they get the Echo substitute.

The end of service doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Amazon stopped offering the Cloud Cam at the end of 2019 as Blink and Ring ultimately took over. We won’t blame you if you’re still upset, though. Amazon is joining Wyze and other brands in ending support for security cameras on relatively short notice. This could also leave some users paying more. Some of the Cloud Cam’s free features, such as quick video access and motion-based recording, require at least a $30 per year Basic subscription with Blink. That’s a small price, but it’s more than you might have expected to pay.

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE review: A refined powerhouse for work and play

Acer is one of those laptop makers that frequently tries too hard to stand out. Consider the Predator Triton 900, a wild machine with a 360-degree swiveling screen that I found to be mostly useless. Earlier this month, Acer also announced plans to brin…

The latest Apple TV 4K is back to a record low of $150

Now is a good time to shop for a high-end media streamer. Amazon is once again selling the latest Apple TV 4K at a record-low price of $150 for the 32GB model, or $29 off. However, the 64GB model is also on sale for $170 — an easy choice if you need extra storage for apps and games. We’ve seen Amazon sell the base model at this price on occasion, but rarely with a similar discount for its higher-end counterpart.

Buy Apple TV 4K (32GB) at Amazon – $150Buy Apple TV 4K (64GB) at Amazon – $170

The most recent Apple TV 4K fixes some of the few issues with what was already a powerful media player. The new Siri remote is much more intuitive, and the speedier A12 Bionic chip both enables HDR video at 60 frames per second (for the handful of content that supports it) and better game performance. This is the living room device you want if you’re interested in more than basic media playback, particularly given Apple’s tight integration and robust app ecosystem. You can get in a Fitness+ workout, control your smart home or use a niche streaming service.

Apple TV’s main caveat remains the price. At $150, it’s expensive if you just want something to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime Video Apple TV+ and other common services. You can buy a Chromecast, Fire TV Stick or Roku player that will handle 4K HDR video and some other popular apps for considerably less. If you’re heavily invested in Apple’s products or just want the most powerful media box you can get, though, this is still an obvious pick.

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Apple’s second-gen AirPods are on sale for $100

Now might be the right time to snap up a pair of Apple’s second-gen AirPods if you’ve been waiting for a good deal. The earphones are on sale on Amazon, where they have dropped from $159 to $100 for Memorial Day. That’s 37 percent below the regular price and one of the best deals we’ve seen for this model. The current price is about $10 more than the record low, however.

Buy Apple Airpods (2nd-gen) at Amazon – $99

We gave the second-gen AirPods a score of 84 in our review after finding that the fit won’t be suitable for all ears, while sound quality is similar to the first model. There’s no active noise cancellation either. However, the earbuds do have a lot going for them. They’ll be especially useful for folks who are deep into the Apple ecosystem, as the H1 chip allows them to swiftly pair the earphones with an iPhone, iPad or Mac and switch between devices in a snap. You’ll be able to listen for around five hours before needing to recharge, while the charging case provides approximately 24 hours of listening time overall.

Meanwhile, the most recent third-gen AirPods are also on sale. They’re currently $150, which is $29 off the standard price. We felt that Apple had improved nearly every aspect this time around and gave this model a score of 88. While there’s still no ANC, the third-gen AirPods have significantly better sound quality, a more comfortable fit and a longer battery life (around seven hours in our testing).

Buy Apple AirPods (3rd-gen) at Amazon – $150

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Apple’s MagSafe Battery pack is the cheapest it’s been this year

For iPhone users looking for extra power plus wireless charging who want to stay in the Apple ecosystem, the MagSafe battery pack is the best (and only) way to go. It’s pretty expensive at $99, but Amazon now has it on sale for $80 ($19 off the regular price), the cheapest we’ve seen it this year. 

Buy MagSafe battery pack at Amazon – $80

The MagSafe battery pack snaps magnetically onto the back of all iPhone 12 or 13 models and starts charging the handset once attached with about 5 watts of power. It fits onto the back of even the iPhone 13 mini, so you can continue to use your phone with one hand while powering up. If you plug in the battery pack while charging your iPhone, you’ll get up to 15W of power and you can keep track of your phone’s and the battery pack’s recharge on your iPhone’s lock screen.

The main downside to the MagSafe battery pack is the 1,460 mAh battery that can’t fully charge any of the supported iPhones, and charging speed limited to 5 watts — lower than some third-party models. If you need more juice, take a look at Anker’s $60 5,000 mAh MagGo model or the bulky but powerful $60 Belkin 10,000 mAh magnetic charger and portable power bank. Apple’s MagSafe model is certainly more elegant and portable than those options, so if you’ve been looking to buy one, it’d be best to act soon. 

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