July ION magazine 2020

July 2020

Better living through technology

Kids & tech HOW TO BUY THE BEST • Kids tablets • Gaming laptops under $1K • Vlogging cameras

PLUS: The gear you need for an outdoor movie night Apps for meditation, working out, sleep

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July 2020

FROM THE EDITOR

T

Go deeper than the skin

echnology is not inherently racist, but the people programming it can be. And when that happens, consciously or subconsciously, you get flashpoints like: • In March 2019 researchers from Georgia Tech found that the so-called “machine vision” in self-driving autos was not recognizing people with darker skin tones as objects.

• In January 2018 Wired magazine reported that Google’s response to a 2015 incident in which an image-recognition algorithm auto-tagged pictures of black people as “gorillas” was to simply prevent Google Photos from using such labels, even on pictures of primates.

• Until the 1990s, TV and photo film was calibrated “with a positive bias toward ‘Caucasian’ skin tones because of its high level of reflectivity,” found Concordia University’s Lorna Roth in a study published in 2009. “This is not surprising, given that the dominant market in the early days of photography was perceived to be that of ‘Caucasians’ by Kodak, the main film manufacturer in North America.”

It appeared Silicon Valley was repeating this bit of history in its early days. In June 2018 Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting analyzed 177 of the largest San Francisco Bay Area tech firms and found “10 large technology companies in Silicon Valley did not employ a single black woman in 2016. Three had no black employees at all. Six did not have a single female executive.”

That kind of echo chamber results in products that aren’t made for black people, that aren’t made for women. And it exists in workplaces all over.

And that isn’t to say that color and gender are the only factors in diversity. So much more goes into a person — certainly two humans who look identical can have vastly different values, backgrounds and opinions. It’s why conversations, not assumptions, must go into R&D. This is just a tiny part of our society’s white privilege. To assume that tech will work for us, because the people making it look like we do. That is not advancement.

Editor LISA GLOWINSKI Copy Editor MICHAEL TOESET Designer MICHELLE LAUZON Vice President, Content Innovation & Development STEVE DORSEY Vice President, Marketing LORI CATRON Ad Sales GERRY JOYCE Cover photo: Bigstock © GANNETT CO., INC. 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WHAT IS ION?

Lisa Glowinski Director, More Content Now Gannett

STAFF

Technology is all around us.

How can we use it to make life easier, not more complicated?

ION’s mission is to help readers understand technology in order to use it to improve their lives. Find us on Facebook at /ionnewsmag and monthly in this newspaper.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission is only deemed valid if approval is in writing. ION Magazine and Gannett Co. Inc. buy all rights to contributions, text and images, unless previously agreed to in writing.

While every effort has been made to ensure that information is correct at the time of going to print, Gannett cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any action or decision based on the information contained in this publication.

ION is a premium edition of Gannett. Due to the size and value of premium editions there will be up to a $9 surcharge on each date of publication. Rather than assess an extra charge for premium editions, we will adjust the length of your subscription, which accelerates its expiration when you receive these premium editions. There will be no more than two (2) premium editions published each month during the subscription term.

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July 2020

Your tech questions answered Q: What are some ways to keep in touch with kids and grandkids online?

A: Free video chat services include Zoom, Apple FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger. For something geared specifically towards grandparents, try Grandy.com, a service that specializes in connecting seniors with their grandchildren through messaging, video calls and online games. Grandparents can schedule online visits or send digital postcards with photos and videos.

Caribu is another user-friendly video-calling app that enables grandparents to engage with grandchildren through books. Both the grandparent and grandchild can see the same book on their individual devices, and the adult can read the story while the child flips the pages on their side. Find out more at Caribu.com.

Finally, Netflix offers party watch nights with synchronized video playback and group chats. This allows users to watch a movie simultaneously even if they’re physically apart. Netflix Party is a free extension for the Google Chrome internet browser. Find out more at netflixparty.com.

Marcia Kester Doyle, Reviewed.com

Q: How can I show my phone’s photos on my TV? A: Many smartphone users take advantage of “cloud” backup, which automatically uploads all photos and videos to an online account. If you have a smart TV (or streaming media player like Roku or Chromecast), you could install the same app on your television to view all your images there.

You will need to log into the same cloud account on your TV as your phone — such as Google Photos, Microsoft’s OneDrive, Amazon Photos or Dropbox, for example.

With Apple’s iCloud, you’ll need an Apple TV box, or you can use a cable or wirelessly stream content.

Also, most smart TVs today let you wirelessly “cast” images from your smartphone, but the process will vary based on the kind of TV you have.

The technology may be called DLNA or Miracast, or your TV might have built-in Chromecast, Roku or AirPlay support. In most cases, simply choose a photo or video on your mobile device and then tap the Share icon for it to appear on your TV. Your phone will likely need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your TV. If you’re an Android user, just plug your phone into the TV’s USB port, using your USB-C charging cable. Make sure the phone is unlocked and

the images should appear on your screen as thumbnail images. Now use your remote to scroll through them all.

For iPhone, you’ll need a Digital AV Adapter and HDMI cable, sold separately for about $49, which connects your Apple device to your TV’s HDMI port (opposed to USB port).

For any kind of phone, you can also copy photos and videos to a PC or Mac and then load up a USB flash drive, which could be plugged into many TVs today (even if they’re not a smart TV).

Marc Saltzman, special to USA TODAY

DO YOU HAVE A TECH QUESTION? Let one of our experts find the answer for you.

Send it to ion@gatehousemedia.com.

JULY 2020

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In this issue

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RECOMMENDATIONS

POD PEOPLE

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18

What to read, watch and download now

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HBO Max review

9

Best meditation apps

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5

Help for parents trying to keep it together

GO GO GADGETS

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Smart doorbells

COLUMN

Best workout apps

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Tracy Beckerman: Don’t beep on my parade

instruction HOW DO I ... ?

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Host an outdoor movie night

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Program a wake-up routine

passion ON THE COVER Kids are still home, but there’s less to do. Letting them veg in front of a screen all summer isn’t the answer, but choosing technology that helps them practice their passion can turn a “lost summer” into one where they find themselves. 32

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Best tablets for kids

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Best gaming laptops

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Best vlogging cameras

ALL PHOTOS STOCK OR FROM MANUFACTURER UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

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July 2020

RECOMMENDATIONS S U N D AY

M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

What to watch, read and download this month This month’s sun and fun may beckon you outside, but there’s never been more to stream. New service Peacock launches for free mid-month, and notable titles are dropping fast on Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+.

Also, there’s a good chance July 4 fireworks, parades and concerts from across the country will be live streamed this year, so there’s really no excuse to leave home.

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July 2020

New books out today include “The Order” by Daniel Silva and “El Chapo” by Noah Hurowitz.

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“The Last Dance,” ESPN’s limited series on Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, releases on Netflix.

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W E D N E S D AY

T H U R S D AY

“Unsolved Mysteries” — a reboot of the ’90s crime doc series — premieres on Netflix, looking into six stories of murders that never got solved. We hope they keep the creepy original theme song.

NEW TAX DEADLINE

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Never saw “Hamilton” on stage? A recording of the original Broadway performance will be available on Disney+ starting today.

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Two series premiere on Apple TV+: “Little Voice,” a “love letter to the diverse musicality of New York” with original songs

by Sara Bareilles, and “Greatness Code,” an unscripted series focusing on pivotal moments in the careers of athletes including LeBron James, Tom Brady, Alex Morgan and Shaun White.

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Also today, NBC streaming service Peacock launches, with original content including series “Brave New World,” “The Capture” and “Intelligence,” sports documentary “In Deep with Ryan Lochte” and feature-length film “Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.” There’s also Peacock Kids progamming. Peacock is free, with a premium service for $29.99 a year (free for some Xfinity customers). peacocktv.com

Everyone’s getting into streaming these days, including The Muppets. New Disney+ series “Muppets Now” looks at their attempts to produce a show.

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July 2020

REVIEW

An impressive library with some issues to fix

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By Jefferson Graham | USA TODAY

or subscribers to the HBO Now subscription service, or HBO via most cable systems, the new HBO Max is a gift, an add-on. The old “Now” app turns into “Max” with an update. For most cable subscribers — who are familiar with HBO Go — they get to sign in to the Max streaming app with their current credentials and get Max for free.

HBO Max is HBO, plus movies, TV series and cartoons from the Warner Bros. library, classic Hollywood and foreign films from the TCM film library, original animation and more.

Original programming is light, especially compared to rivals like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. But like Disney, the library of content is so rich, it could keep you watching for months.

With a $14.99 a month subscription — the most expensive streaming service — HBO Now just got a whole lot better. And for those of us who were already subscribing, this is more of a reason to keep it.

HOW TO WATCH

You may feel that way too, if you have an Apple TV or Google Chromecast streaming device in the house. But if you’re like most people, and get your streaming via a Roku or Amazon Fire TV streaming player, you’re out of luck — for now.

AT&T, which owns WarnerMedia (HBO, Warner Bros., Turner TV, CNN) didn’t make a deal with either. So it’s either fork over $35 for Chromecast, $150 for the Apple TV device, or watch Max on one of the newer Sony or Samsung TVs. (You can also watch on your phones, tablets or computers.)

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL FIND:

• HBO is promoting heavily the complete collection of “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory” at the top of the front

page, the Harry Potter films and other blockbusters from the WB library, including “Aquaman” and “Wonder Woman.”

• Max is broken up into several “hubs” that include content libraries from HBO, DC, Sesame Workshop, TCM, Studio Ghibli, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchy Roll and Looney Tunes. Some hubs are better than others. TCM is fully featured, with classics galore like “The Wizard of Oz,” “Gone with the Wind” and the complete Charlie Chaplin film collection.

Cartoon Network has a handful of series, like “The Powerpuff Girls,” “Adventure Time” and “Dexter’s Laboratory,” but is missing some key titles like “Johnny Bravo,” “Code Lyoko” and “Courage the Cowardly Dog.” The HBO hub is basically what HBO Now was with, yes, every episode of “Game of Thrones,” “The Sopranos” and ”Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more.

• If you’re looking for something outside of these hubs, navigation is tough. For instance, Max promised classics from the Hanna-Barbera library like “The Flintstones” and “The Jetsons” and episodes of “Conan” from the TBS library. And they are there — if you’re willing to click search and type out their names.

But there should be an easier way to find them.

WORTH IT?

Overall, HBO Max looks a lot cooler than HBO Now did, with way more programming to keep you busy during these pandemic times.

Should you spring for yet another subscription service? If you’re already paying for HBO Now, there’s no decision that has to be made. Your Now logo has been replaced by Max. If you’re not, are you willing to pay $15 monthly, the priciest of any of the subscription services for “Friends,” “Big Bang” and blockbuster movies?

That’s the streaming question of the year.

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THE BEST

meditation apps of 2020

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By Lindsey Vickers | Reviewed.com t may seem like everyone is ohming and ahhing about meditation these days. In recent years the practice, which entails focusing your attention, often on something like your breath, has grown in popularity as a tool for people to relax and destress. Moreover, smartphones and their apps have made guided meditation sessions widely accessible, and ready on demand.

But there are so many meditation apps out there, it can be overwhelming to pick the best one for you.

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We tested eight of the most popular meditation apps and looked at their library size, how effective meditations were and the overall user experience. In our testing, Headspace came out on top, because of its user-friendly interface and variety of quality, guided sessions that are good for anyone who wants to develop, and stick with, a meditation habit.

HERE ARE THE BEST MEDITATION APPS WE TESTED RANKED, IN ORDER: 1. Headspace 2. Calm 3. Relax Melodies 4. Simple Habit 5. Ten Percent Happier 6. Insight Timer 7. Waking Up 8. UCLA Mindful

BEST OVERALL HEADSPACE Headspace offers a little bit of everything and strikes the fine balance between providing users with a lot of options while maintaining a high standard of quality content.

When you first download and open Headspace, you quickly set up an account, and select an area to focus on, like stress and anxiety, sleep or “trying something new,” and it carries you through to a page specific to your choice. You can also start with the “basics” program, which is designed to teach the fundamentals of meditation and mindfulness, and has 10 sessions. If these options don’t fill the bill, you can track down specific meditations in the library by searching with a keyword (“stress” or “relax,” among others).

I found the app’s beginner course easy to follow and useful, and

July 2020

the sessions conducive to relaxing and focusing on being present (without dozing off). Other basic meditations I tried were good as well, and I never left a session feeling as though I didn’t achieve what it said I would, whether that be a feeling of calm, focus or decreased stress.

One big pro of Headspace is its customizable session length. Users can set the duration of sessions from as little as three minutes to up to 20 minutes — many apps offer sessions of different lengths, but Headspace is the only one that lets you pick a session and then change the length.

Each of the meditations uses the same default male voice, though most sessions have a female voice option you can select instead.

Some users may find that just two voices isn’t enough variety, though I never got frustrated with the narration.

Many people look to meditation as a way to wind down before going to bed. While Headspace doesn’t have a massive library of sleep content, what it offers seems effective and helped me doze off faster. In fact, I can’t remember being awake at the end of a Headspace sleep session.

Headspace also releases short daily videos addressing a variety of wellness topics, which I came to look forward to.

While Headspace is the best app we found overall, it still has its shortcomings. I found it difficult to rewind or fast-forward in meditations, which you sometimes want to do if you’ve lost your focus or want to advance past a lull. But skipping backwards and forwards is imprecise, because it relies on moving an external ring around an internal circle that has the play/pause button.

Headspace also lacked a feature I came to appreciate in other apps: The option to underlay meditation narration with some sort of white noise, like rain or a stream. At times, it was hard to sit through long, silent periods in 20-minute meditations, without getting distracted by a sound outside.

Headspace also isn’t the cheapest app we tested, charging users $69.99 per year for full access, after a two-week free trial (which requires you to provide payment info). If you aren’t ready to commit to a full year, you can also pay $12.99 for access on a monthly basis, after a one-week free trial.

Ultimately, what made Headspace our top pick: It was the only app I tested that a) did not consistently lull me to sleep during daytime meditations, and b) I found myself regularly queuing up, even beyond testing for this article.

• Pros: Beginner-friendly, adjustable session length, effective meditations • Cons: Less sleep-specific content, no white noise option

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BEST VALUE CALM Calm is one of the most versatile apps we tested. The app features a broader array of voices guiding meditations than Headspace, which may be appealing to some users. In addition, Calm boasts a huge library of sessions, including more extensive sleep content than Headspace. However, Calm’s meditation content wasn’t as consistently effective for me as Headspace’s — for example, one of the sleep sessions actually kept me up.

This, in addition to minor but annoying app glitches and slow loading times for sessions, left Calm in second place.

Calm touts one feature that Headspace lacks: background sounds.

Instead of having periods of silence during sessions, you can layer a soundscape, such as a mountain lake or rainfall, beneath the narration, and adjust the relative volume of the background noise to your liking. Users living in noisy environments or who focus better when

BEST FOR SLEEP RELAX MELODIES Relax Melodies isn’t as versatile as Calm or Headspace, which is why it came in at third place in our testing. While it doesn’t offer the same breadth of options for users, the sleep-specific content, whitenoise and sound-machine features are impressive and make it worth consideration if you’re aiming to use a meditation app to bolster your nightly routine.

Relax Melodies has a large library of meditations and stories geared toward sleep, as well as winding down and relaxing in the evening.

Some of these were so effective that I nearly dozed off in the middle of the workday while testing. Moreover, even categories that aren’t labeled for sleep, like “relaxation,” have sleep-related content that can be used in nighttime routines. Relax Melodies has a grand total of 42 sleep stories (narratives to listen to while dozing off) to choose

they’re engulfed in sound may benefit from this feature. For people who just want to listen to the voice, the volume of the background sound can be turned all the way off.

The majority of Calm’s meditation library is recorded by a female narrator, though a number of the same sessions were also recorded with a male voice, giving users the option to choose. In addition, there are a handful of celebrity voices that make appearances, such as LeBron James, as well as sessions led by various guest instructors.

This variety is nice but not necessary in a good meditation app.

I had some difficulty with Calm’s interface. Some meditations took a long time to load, which wasn’t an issue in the other apps I tested. A couple of times, switching between the male and female narrator was so slow-going that I just shut down and restarted the app. This is a minor inconvenience, but it could become annoying on a regular basis.

Calm’s month-to-month cost is relatively high, at $14.99, but the lower annual cost gives you the most bang for your buck of the paid apps we tested, at $47.99 for a year of unlimited access to premium content.

Pros: Background sound options, sessions by different speakers, affordable annual price Cons: Glitchy at times, less consistently effective sessions

from, outnumbering Headspace by 12. For people who enjoy sleep stories on a nightly basis, this could make a huge difference.

Relax Melodies can also turn your phone into a sound machine.

Calm has a few sounds that users can choose from to underlay meditations, but Relax Melodies’ library is far more expansive, and allows users to overlap multiple sounds and create “mixes.”

I made a one with a trickling river sound and birds, and it’s something I still use to go to sleep on occasion. What’s more, if you use the app at night, you can set the app’s sleep timer to shut down after a certain length of time, a feature unique to Relax Melodies.

My biggest complaint about Relax Melodies, aside from its relative dearth of general mediation content, is that the interface isn’t always as intuitive as Headspace or Calm. For example, figuring out how to save a sound mix was confusing, but it rarely took me more than a minute or two to figure things out.

The cost is $59.99 per year, though users can try premium features on for size with a week-long trial.

• Pros: Broad library of sleep content, sound machine features, effective sessions • Cons: Less versatile, occasionally difficult interface

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OTHER APPS WE TESTED SIMPLE HABIT

INSIGHT TIMER • Pros: Large library, affordable • Cons: No daily meditation, serious limitations in free version

• Pros: Easy to use, sessions by different speakers • Cons: Less polished interface, expensive, limited free content

WAKING UP • Pros: Explains theory, easy interface

TEN PERCENT HAPPIER

• Cons: Expensive, no free trial, less versatile sessions

• Pro: Beginner-friendly • Cons: Too many emails, expensive, hit and miss effectiveness

UCLA MINDFUL • Pros: Free, easy to use • Cons: Small library of sessions, not versatile

July 2020

THE BEST

workout apps of 2020

By Sara Hendricks Reviewed.com

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f you use your home as a stand-in exercise studio — or have ever looked around a gym and not known where or how to begin — you may have considered downloading a workout app to guide you through the process. But this simple notion can be a whole process unto itself. There are a lot of apps to choose from, many of which promise to turn you into your best, most-fit self after a few planks, burpees and jumping jacks.

To ease your search, we tested 14 popular fitness apps. We found that most can be great options for anyone who wants to start or maintain a workout routine, and is willing to keep up with it. But Nike Training Club (available at Nike.com), which has great workout options for beginner and advanced athletes that are easy to do in small spaces, edged out the competition as the best option for most people.

BEST OVERALL NIKE TRAINING CLUB I love Nike Training Club. Using the app made me feel like I was working with a personal trainer and gave me access to HIIT, strength training, yoga workouts and more, plus healthy recipes and tips for improving eating habits.

When you download the app, you take a basic quiz that asks your fitness level and how many days you typically (or want to) work out in a week. From there, it recommends a few options of multi-week programs to follow, though it’s easy to explore the app and do one-off workouts on your own.

Most workouts in the intermediate program I chose — called “Burn” with the trainer Kirsty Godso — were bodyweight-based, had movements that worked in a small space, and were between 25 and 40 minutes long. The time flew by in each video I tried, and I felt well-trained and accomplished for the rest of the day, even if the workout was shorter than ones I usually do. The instructors explained the exercises and progressions in detail in every workout I tried, and clearly enough that I only had to glance at the screen occasionally, though eyeing the physical demonstrations were useful, too. The instructors are also consistent about offering modifications for advancing or decreasing the challenge of the workouts, too, so I felt I could always level up or down based on the kind of day I was having.

The app also incentivizes you to keep up with your workouts, whether you follow a program or not — the programs go in stages, so it’s satisfying to check off each step you complete, and you get “badges” for streaks and trying new workouts. Some apps try to shame you into working out, or bombard you with notifications, so I liked this

July 2020

HERE ARE THE BEST WORKOUT APPS WE TESTED RANKED, IN ORDER: 1. Nike Training Club 2. Aaptiv 3. Daily Burn 4. 8Fit 5. Sworkit 6. Skimble 7. Peloton

8. Centr 9. Obé 10. Freeletics 11. Shred 12. NeoU 13. Beachbody on Demand 14: Seven

approach. Nike’s app also offers push notification reminders (which you can turn off) to prompt you when it’s time to do a workout.

Nike charges $14.95 a month (or $119.99 a year if you pay up front annually) for its premium features, which include the guided programs, recipes and many of the coached workouts. The monthly fee is still less than the cost of a single drop-in class at most boutique fitness studios (and the annual cost is similar to what a higher-end gym charges for one month’s membership), and it’s about average for the premium features of the apps we tested. I tried a few workouts available in the “basic” membership and liked them a lot — there are a couple hundred of those to choose from — so the app is still pretty good without the premium features. But the programs are what really make it special, and worth the cost of the upgrade.

Nike Training Club is currently waiving all app fees in response to COVID-19, making the premium features free to all.

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BEST VALUE SWORKIT FITNESS I was surprised by how much I liked Sworkit (a portmanteau of “simply” and “work it”), an app I had never heard of before I started researching this guide. Sworkit is currently $9.99 a month for a month-to-month membership and $59.99 for a full year, which is significantly cheaper than Nike’s — and for everything you get with it, that’s a steal. Sworkit is great: easy to use, with a vast assortment of customizable workouts, including strength, cardio, yoga, and warmups and cooldowns.

When you sign up, you take a brief quiz, which gives you an option to join a program or toggle between different workouts. The thing that set Sworkit apart for me, however, is that you can pick how long you want each workout to be based on how much time

you have, from one minute to an hour. Other apps allow some degree of customization by filtering workouts by length, but this one actually allows you to pick the workout you want to do, then set the time. It also has good music playlists — full of real music by artists you’ve heard of — that you can listen to through the app or on Sworkit’s channels on Spotify or Apple Music, though it’s also easy to listen to your own music on your phone as you work out.

My quibbles with Sworkit are minimal. The videos are serviceable in that they show a looping video of an exercise along with clear audio narration, but they can get dull to watch and make it easy to zone out of the workout, especially if you are partial to exercise videos where you see people doing the moves in real time. The app also does not have any free features that I could access, other than a section of kid-friendly workouts that include strength, agility, stretching, cool downs and warm-ups — though, to my eye at least, they could probably benefit an adult, too.

Still, the app offers a one-week free trial, which should be enough for you to decide if you think it’s worth the price.

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OTHER WORKOUT APPS WE TESTED

AAPTIV AUDIO FITNESS APP

• Costs: $14.99 a month or $100 a year with a one-week free trial • Pros: Excellent audio narration, suggested workouts seemed tailor made to fitness level

DAILY BURN

• Costs $14.95 a month or $180 a year with a one-month free trial • Pros: Wide range of workout types and programs to choose from, live workout livestream every day at 9 a.m.

8FIT WORKOUTS & MEAL PLANNER • Costs: $25 a month or $80 a year with a free basic program • Pros: Comes with meal plans and recipes, great guidance for beginners, easy to follow along with video and narration

• Cons: Exercise demonstration doesn’t follow along with audio, so it’s easy lose your place; not the best option for beginners

• Con: Some workouts are difficult to follow without staring at the screen

SKIMBLE WORKOUT TRAINER

PELOTON

CENTR, BY CHRIS HEMSWORTH

• Costs: $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year with a one-week free trial

• Cost: $12.99 a month with a month-long free trial (can be used without Peloton equipment)

• Costs: $29.99 a month, $59.99 for three months, $119.99 a year with a one-week free trial

• Pros: Easy to follow workouts, lots of exercise and program options

• Pros: Live classes, great outdoor running and walking classes

• Pros: Meal plans and recipes are included, wide range of workouts, lifestyle guides like meditation and relaxation tips

• Cons: Workout graphics look odd compared to other apps, notifications can be annoying

• Cons: Some workout videos can be hard to follow, most live classes require equipment

• Cons: Workouts can be repetitive, basic version is frustrating to use

• Cons: Expensive, can’t listen to your own music during guided workouts, most workouts don’t feature Chris Hemsworth

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OBÉ FITNESS

FREELETICS TRAINING COACH

SHRED: HOME & GYM WORKOUT

• Costs: $26.99 a month or $199 a year with a one-week free trial

• Cost: Starts at $34 for a three-month premium subscription

• Costs: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year with a one-week free trial

• Pros: Many options for live classes, easy to follow app’s structure, great for anyone who likes cardio dance

• Pro: Decent amount of free workouts

• Pros: Great for building muscle, fun variation with coaching techniques, free version isn’t bad

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• Con: Programs are long and can get boring • Cons: Cardio options are limited, notifications can be annoying

• Cons: Some classes can be difficult to follow, some classes ask for a lot of equipment, expensive, on iTunes only

NEOU FITNESS

BEACHBODY ON DEMAND

SEVEN - 7 MINUTE WORKOUT

• Costs: $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year with a one-week free trial

• Costs: $38.87 for three months, $59 for six months, and $99 a year with a two-week free trial

• Costs: $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year with a one-week free trial

• Pros: Live classes, classes are from namebrand fitness studios, options for kids classes

• Pros: Many intensive programs to choose from, meal plans and meal logs come with each program

• Pros: Easy to follow, barely need equipment, great for someone with limited time and space

• Cons: App feels impersonal, workouts aren’t much different from what you can get on YouTube

• Cons: Instructors push Shakeology products in videos, meal plans require Shakeology products, difficult to do one-off workout videos

• Cons: Can get boring, even with variations; expensive for what it is; animated graphics are less engaging than other apps with videos

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POD PEOPLE

HELP for B parents trying to

By Matthew Girard | ION magazine

keep it together

eing a parent is hard. Being a parent in 2020 can feel impossible, from dealing with a pandemic to home schooling and keeping them safe amid the uneasiness across the world. Other parents can be a great resource of tips on how to deal with your children. Here are a few of the best parenting podcasts to listen to.

Unruffled Parenting expert and author Janet Lansbury reassures parents they can be calm and confident in the face of toddler meltdowns and defiance. Lansbury focuses on respect for the child and acceptance of their emotions and development, but allows for firm parental limits. Recent episodes include “How Self-Care and Boundaries Work Together,” “Is It Too Late to Set Limits with My StrongWilled Child?” and “Stop Worrying About Your Preschooler’s Education.”

Find it: janetlansbury.com/podcast-audio/ Suggested listening if: There’s a little one in your life.

Zen Parenting Radio Married hosts Cathy Cassani Adams and Todd Adams draw from their experience, research and pop culture to explore self-awareness. While Cathy is a spiritual and emotional mom, Todd is a logical and practical dad. The two banter and sometimes argue about relatable everyday occurrences. Recent episodes include “Talk About Race,” “Questions to Love” and “What’s Your 1 Thing?”

Find it: zenparentingradio.com/ Suggested listening if: You don’t have other parents in real life to connect with. The Adamses feel like friends.

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Their Own Devices Raising children in the digital age presents unprecedented challenges for parents. Former White House tech and privacy adviser Marc Groman and Dr. David Reitman have candid discussions and provide helpful tips about screen time, social media, sexting, privacy and online gaming. Recent episodes include “Like Adolescence,” “It’s Complicated: Societal Norms, Teens and Tech” and “Ready Parent One: Learning Fortnite.”

Find it: thepodglomerate.com/shows/theirowndevices/ Suggested listening if: You have a ton of questions about kids and tech (and who doesn’t?).

The Longest Shortest Time Alternating between heartfelt and hilarious, “This American Life” contributor Hillary Frank shares stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans. Frank focuses on motherhood, but topics include parenthood in all forms. Recent episodes include “Parents Sometimes Understand,” “Ina May’s Guide, Completely Revised and Updated” and “Busy Philipps Works the Postpartum Hollywood System.”

Find it: longestshortesttime.com/ Suggested listening if: You need to be reminded of how great it is to be a parent. We all have those days.

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GO GO GADGETS

THE BEST

smart doorbells of 2020

By Samantha Gordon and Rachel Murphy Reviewed.com Editor’s note: Due to user privacy concerns regarding Ring cameras, as well as a new round of performance testing, we are no longer recommending the Ring Video Pro 2 as our best overall pick. Our recommendation for the best smart doorbell is now the Google Nest Hello Smart WiFi Video Doorbell.

Do you want to see who’s at your door without getting up, keep an eye out for porch pirates, or simply make sure the delivery person actually leaves your package while you’re at work?

A smart doorbell that features a live video feed, two-way audio and alerts that stream to your smartphone, even when you’re not home, might be the perfect device to add to your smart home setup. We’ve tested and compared 15 of the most popular models, and the Google Nest Hello Smart WiFi Video Doorbell is our new best overall winner, ticking all the boxes we look for in a doorbell camera: reliable connection, quick alerts, detects motion, crystal clear audio and, most importantly, high-quality video.

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SMART DOORBELLS WE TESTED, RANKED IN ORDER: 1. Google Nest Hello Smart WiFi Video Doorbell 2. Eufy Security Video Doorbell (Battery-Powered) 3. Eufy Security WiFi Video Doorbell 4. Ring Video Doorbell 2 5. Ring Peephole Cam 6. Remo RemoBell S 7. Skybell Trim Plus 8. Skybell HD

9. Arlo Video Doorbell 10. Ring Video Doorbell 11. Arlo Audio Doorbell 12. Ring Video Doorbell Pro 13. August Doorbell Cam Pro 14. August Doorbell Cam 15. Olive & Dove RemoBell

BEST OVERALL GOOGLE NEST HELLO SMART WIFI VIDEO DOORBELL The best video doorbell we tested is the Google Nest Hello Smart WiFi Video Doorbell. It excels at delivering alerts right away over WiFi when you’re at home or cellular data when you’re out and about. This doorbell also offers the best video and audio quality of any doorbell we tested, facial recognition alerts for familiar faces, package delivery notifications and more useful features that will make you feel secure.

Video quality is one of the most important features to look for in a smart video doorbell, and the Nest Hello video doorbell really delivers. Unlike our original winner, the Ring Video Doorbell 2, the Nest Hello captures video in 4:3 format, whereas Ring records in a 16:9 format (more of a wide-screen look). The advantage that Nest has, according to Google, is that this view is “designed to show people head to toe.”

Within the Nest app, you have the option to control the night vision settings. When night vision is on, the video records in black and white.

Even so, the video is clear and it’s easy to make out what’s going on outside the front door.

As for the audio, we were able to clearly communicate with whoever was at the front door without any audio issues while at home and out and about. The doorbell also comes with several pre-recorded responses, available in 13 different languages, that you can select if you’re unable to get to the door.

This is the only doorbell we tested that offers facial recognition. You can assign a name to each face, so you can know when a member of your household is at the front door. This is a handy feature, especially helpful if you have a spouse or roommate who returns home from work late at night or kids who come and go throughout the day. In our testing, this feature worked accurately on family members — including grandparents who only visit from time to time.

Additionally, the Nest Hello can detect package deliveries and send notifications to your phone.

And although a paid Nest Aware subscription is required to access some of these features, the payment really enhances what this doorbell can do. Currently, a Nest Aware subscription starts at $6 per month (or $60 for the year) and comes with 30 days of video storage. The Nest Aware Plus plan includes 60 days of video history and 10 days of non-stop video recordings for $12 per month (or $120 for an annual subscription).

The paid service also includes intelligent alerts (like facial recognition) and the ability to create clips and timelapse videos to review or share with friends and family. Like Ring and Eufy, you can customize activity zones to avoid any false motion detection alerts.

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BEST VALUE

July 2020

AVOID

EUFY SECURITY WIFI VIDEO DOORBELL

OLIVE & DOVE REMOBELL

The Eufy Security WiFi Video Doorbell is our best value pick. It almost instantly sends notifications over Wi-Fi and data, offers crystal clear 2560 x 1920 pixel resolution during the day and at night, and — unlike our previous best value pick, the Zmodo Greet — Eufy’s doorbell includes free storage, so you can record and watch your doorbell’s video history without paying for a subscription. All for just $159.99.

If you’re concerned about privacy, you’ll appreciate Eufy’s claim that there is a “military-grade AES-256 chip” to make sure your data is encrypted on transmission and storage.

This doorbell, which requires existing doorbell wiring, integrates with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, both of which can announce when someone rings the doorbell.

Or, if you have a video display like the Google Nest Hub Max or Amazon Echo Show 5, you can say things like “show me the front door” to see a live stream of who is there. The only real issue we had was that, on a couple of occasions, the app would randomly log us out and stop sending notifications. But overall this wasn’t much of an issue as it only happened twice after 14 days of testing.

One thing we really like about this doorbell is the ability to watch the preview of the motion alert (including a “facial snapshot”) without opening the app like you can with the Google Nest Hello. It saves you the time of actually having to unlock your phone and open the app, which is helpful when you’re in a work meeting or running errands with kids and need to quickly check to see who is at your door.

Also like the Google Nest Hello, as well as Ring doorbells, features include the ability to set custom activity zones to help offset any false motion sensor alerts. And, the Eufy doorbell uses artificial intelligence to differentiate between actual people and other objects and animals, something that not all of the doorbells we tested can do.

Overall, the two-way audio quality is clear and without any real delays, but there were times where the person on the other end had trouble hearing my responses when I was away from home. However, this could’ve been due to my cell reception at the time. It’s worth noting that the audio from the doorbell on my end was easy to understand.

This was the largest smart doorbell in our test group, and it proved that size isn’t everything. The app setup was clunky. Once set up, the app didn’t give the option to live-stream the camera feed, which all the others did with no issue, except the Arlo Audio Doorbell. It took noticeably longer to connect the app to the doorbell than the others, and the app’s notifications lagged considerably. If you’re waiting on a package delivery or a cable guy, this doorbell is just too risky.

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OTHER SMART DOORBELLS WE TESTED EUFY SECURITY VIDEO DOORBELL (BATTERY-POWERED) • Pros: Wired or battery, responsive, reliable • Con: Requires hub (included with purchase)

RING VIDEO DOORBELL 2 • Pros: Stable and strong connection, extremely clear night vision view, ability define the motion detection areas • Con: Recent privacy concerns

SKYBELL HD • Pro: Full-color night vision RING PEEPHOLE CAM

• Con: Poor connectivity

• Pros: Battery-operated, custom activity zones • Cons: Only fits certain peepholes, night vision gets fuzzy sometimes

REMO+ REMOBELL S • Pro: Loud audio • Con: No custom activity zones

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AUGUST DOORBELL CAM • Pros: Smartphone alerts, two-way audio • Cons: Connectivity issues, difficult setup process

SKYBELL TRIM PLUS

ARLO VIDEO DOORBELL

• Pros: Durable, broad view, full-color night vision

• Pros: 180-degree field of view, clear audio, free three months of storage

• Con: No custom motion zones

• Con: Doorbell alerts sent as phone calls

RING VIDEO DOORBELL

ARLO AUDIO DOORBELL

• Pros: Clear night vision, works with Amazon Alexa

• Pro: Can be paired with Arlo Outdoor Camera

• Cons: Nothing we could find

• Cons: No video, requires Arlo Base Station, doorbell alerts sent as phone calls

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HOW TO SET UP A SMART DOORBELL

• Pros: Full-color night vision, easy to set up

Most smart video doorbells should easily install using the existing wires your home may have for a doorbell. If you don’t have a wiring setup, purchasing a smart video doorbell that’s battery powered, like the Ring Peephole Cam, will be the way to go.

For the most part, you don’t need any other smart home devices or technologies to use smart doorbells — just your smartphone and the doorbell’s app. Some doorbells, like the Arlo Audio Doorbell, require the Arlo Base Station.

However, most of these video doorbells will play nice with other smart home devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers, so check to see which are most compatible with the system you’re using. In some cases, like with our top pick, the Google Nest Hello, you can see who is at your door as soon as it rings with a smart display like the Google Nest Hub Max. Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers can also make announcements when someone rings your doorbell. Note that if you want to save your videos, a separate storage subscription cost may be necessary.

• Cons: Video quality lacking, connectivity issues

PRIVACY CONCERNS

RING VIDEO DOORBELL PRO • Pros: Sleek and modern design, works with Amazon Alexa • Cons: More expensive than other Ring doorbells, no battery; hardwire only

AUGUST DOORBELL CAM PRO

Before you buy a smart doorbell — or really any Wi-Fi enabled camera for your home — you should consider the privacy concerns that come along with these devices. Companies like Ring have come under fire for hackers being able to gain access to certain camera devices.

In 2019 Ring, one of the most popular smart video security device companies, teamed up with more than 400 law enforcement agencies around the country to share doorbell footage. Ring users must give their approval before sharing personal doorbell footage with police, but Rebecca Ricks, a Mozilla researcher, told USA TODAY in November that “once they have access, they can save it indefinitely.”

There are a few ways you can help protect your privacy. When setting up your new doorbell, you will have a chance to control your privacy settings like granting the companion app permission to access your audio and video feeds, sharing insights with the company and other personal data.

Additionally, make sure to keep the software and firmware for the app and doorbell up to date so that you’re running the latest security updates across your devices.

Finally, your password should be made up of a variety of letters (both upper and lower case), numbers and characters, and follow the doorbell’s password guidelines. Selecting a lengthy password that you have not used elsewhere is a safe bet to keep hackers out, in case your login information has been previously compromised on other websites.

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HOW DO I ...?

Host an outdoor

MOVIE NIGHT

By Michael Desjardin Reviewed.com

W

hile we might not be flocking to the multiplex for hotly anticipated summer blockbusters this year, there are plenty of ways to whip up a stay-at-home movie night for you and the people you’re sheltering in place with. In fact, if you’re lucky enough to have access to a yard, you’re well on your way to curating an outdoor movie night of your own.

A PORTABLE PROJECTOR The world of projectors is a complicated one; you could spend days sorting through various product listings and technical specifications and still walk away unsure of your options. If all you want is a no-fuss, easy-to-use projector, we recommend the Anker Nebula Mars II, our current pick for the best portable projector.

The Nebula Mars II is a battery-powered DLP projector (with 1280 x 720 resolution) that offers hardware and software flexibility, respectable picture quality and a friendly, practical design. It isn’t the best, brightest projector on the market, but it does offer the best blend of picture quality and value.

Some key features that make the Nebula Mars II a great pick for outdoor movie night are its 12,500 mAh battery (good for about four hours of continuous operation), its HDMI port (should you decide to hook up a Blu-ray player or streaming device), its Bluetooth compatibility and its 3.5mm audio jack.

But by far the best feature of the Nebula Mars II is its

built-in Android operating system. With it, users can easily access streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Video (though it’s worth noting that Netflix in particular might not hit the projector’s 720p resolution ceiling).

AN OUTDOOR SCREEN While you’re certainly not going to get cinema-level quality with a budget-friendly projector screen, there are affordable options that’ll serve you well for an outdoor movie night.

Right now, we recommend the Vamvo outdoor/indoor projector screen for most folks. Available in 80- and 100-inch sizes, the screen is easy to assemble and disassemble, fits the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, and can be secured into the ground with stakes to prevent cinematic calamity. You

There are certainly better, brighter projectors, but the Anker Nebula Mars II is our pick for the overall best for most people.

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Available in 80- and 100-inch models, this outdoor projector screen from Vamvo is a great entry-level option for those looking to have a no-fuss outdoor movie experience.

may need to iron out some of the screen’s creases before use depending on your situation, but the screen’s ability to be folded and stowed away more than makes up for the extra elbow grease.

Of course, you could also simply project the image onto the side of a house, garage, shed or any other flat surface (provided you have such an option), but this solution is obviously not as flexible. The Vamvo screen is a great entry-level option for folks who are looking to have a fussfree movie night without investing in a premium setup.

A SOUND SOLUTION Regardless of which projector you end up going with, there’s a very good chance that its internal speakers aren’t up for the task of delivering loud-enough audio for you and your crew. Pairing your projector with a portable speaker, therefore, should be a priority.

You could opt for a premium pair of speakers, I suppose, but we’re aiming for fun and affordability, not precision. Audio fidelity is nice and all, but I imagine that money’s tight for a lot of us at the moment.

Our round-up of the best portable Bluetooth speakers is a great place to start your search. We recommend scooping a speaker with a 3.5mm audio jack for easy connectivity — just in case you encounter some interference while trying to maintain a wireless connection.

A slim Bluetooth speaker is the easiest way to enhance your projector’s audio without spending an arm and a leg on equipment. REVIEWED / BETSEY GOLDWASSER

Of the speakers we’ve tested, we love the booming, bass-heavy sounds of the JBL Flip 4, our favorite portable speaker on the market. Its battery life is phenomenal, it comes equipped with a 3.5mm audio jack, and its splash-proof design makes it ready for the great outdoors. Plus, when movie night’s over, the JBL Flip 4 will keep on providing entertainment whenever — and wherever — you see fit.

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HOW DO I ...?

Program a wake-up routine

By Rachel Murphy Reviewed.com

C

reating and following a morning routine can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be if you’ve got the right tech gear to automate the start of your day.

From the moment you open your eyes, you can say

a few words to your phone or smart speaker to automatically brew up a pot of coffee, turn on the lights, adjust the thermostat, check the forecast and more to prepare yourself for the day ahead.

Not sure where to start? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite smart products that can help make your mornings easier.

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3. A FANTASTIC SMART PLUG With a smart plug, you can turn on your living room lamp and TV before you hop out of bed in the morning. Or, add it to the list of actions in your morning routine.

There are a lot of smart plugs on the market, but the Currant Smart Outlet is the best smart plug we’ve tested. It’s easy to set up and use, it controls and monitors two devices independently (more bang for your buck), and it comes with energy monitoring capabilities.

Additionally, thanks to its thoughtful design, it won’t cover the top socket if plugged into the bottom outlet on your wall.

The Currant Smart Outlet works with either Alexa or Google Assistant, and it can be controlled remotely using the companion app.

1. EXCELLENT ECHO SPEAKERS Using one of our favorite Echo speakers, you can wake up in style with automated lights, a fresh pot of coffee and the thermostat adjusted to the perfect temperature.

One of the easiest ways to put your mornings on autopilot is to use Alexa routines.

Routines can be set up in the Amazon Alexa app by tapping Menu > Routines. Click the plus sign icon in the upper right corner to create a new routine and add different actions.

Even if you don’t keep an Echo speaker in your bedroom, you can use the Amazon Alexa app to kick off your morning by saying, “Hey Alexa, start my day.” Alexa can do things like start your smart coffee maker, turn on the bedroom and living room lamps, and change the bedroom fan speed from high to low. She can also quickly share an interesting fact, tell you the forecast for the day ahead and bring you up to speed on the news.

2. AN ALEXA-ENABLED COFFEE MAKER Speaking of coffee, Hamilton Beach’s Smart Coffee Maker is here to make your mornings much easier. We’ve been testing this coffee maker since mid-March and it’s been a simple and convenient experience thus far. It’s easy to use, works well with Alexa and, most importantly, it makes a good cup of coffee (you can even control brew strength in the Alexa app).

Make a Routine in the Amazon Alexa app, and remember to put the coffee grounds, filter and water in the machine the night before. Then, when you wake up, you can call out to your Echo speaker or Alexa app and say, “Alexa, turn on my coffee maker.”

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4. THE BEST SMART THERMOSTAT The great thing about smart thermostats is that you can adjust the temperature of your home from anywhere — including your bed.

Our favorite smart thermostat, the Emerson Sensi Touch WiFi Thermostat, comes with scheduling features and integrates well with Alexa or Google Assistant routines for easy control.

5. BRILLIANT BULBS While smart bulbs and smart switches technically accomplish the same thing, smart bulbs can be a better option for renters or those who don’t want to fiddle with electrical wires. All you need to do is screw the smart bulb into the light socket and follow the setup instructions in the bulb’s app.

For easy installation and use, we recommend the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit. The Philips Hue app offers a robust suite of features that allow you to set lighting schedules and routines to help gradually wake you up. There’s even a sunset and sunrise routine so your lights will fade in and out depending on the time of day.

REVIEWED / NICK SCHMIEDICKER

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COVER STORY

Kids & tech Products to help your student/ gamer/YouTuber succeed The kids and grandkids are still at home, but without the spring’s homeschool structure, they’re probably bored. And letting you know about it. Daily.

They want tech, but you want to be cautious. And you want them to see a little sun every day, for goodness’ sake.

To help, we’ve compiled some expert reviews of kids’ tablets, gaming computers and vlogging cameras, for your students, gamers and YouTubers.

INSIDE

34 K ids tablets vs. an old iPad: Which are worth the dough?

Reviewed.com tested for weight and size, amount of content, parental controls and more.

39 T here is a difference between a laptop and a gaming laptop.

Here are the specs to look for and recommended brands.

43 I f your kid is really into making YouTube videos or short

films, help them upgrade to a real camera. Expert advice on what to look for, so you can choose the best for the medium.

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THE BEST

tablets for kids

By Georgia Kral and Anna Lane Reviewed.com

I

ntroducing kids to screens can be a fraught experience. Once your child has seen a screen a few times, they’ll be eager to see it again and again. For each parent, whether to allow children to play games and watch videos, and for how long, is different. But it’s inevitable that you’ll eventually have to decide which tablet is best for your kid.

That’s why, together with my nearly 3-year-old daughter, we tested eight child-focused tablets (plus an Apple iPad) to find the best. We kept safety issues in mind, how the tablets adapted for older kids, whether an Android tablet or other operating system mattered, and how the devices might interact with gadgets parents might already own.

Using criteria such as ease of use, intuitiveness, app and game quality, durability, and audio and video performance, we found the best tablet for kids is the Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition, whether you’re looking for a device for younger kids or older ones.

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TABLETS WE TESTED, RANKED IN ORDER: 1. Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Edition 2. Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition 3. Samsung Kids Tab E Lite 4. Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition 5. LeapFrog Epic 6. LeapFrog Ultimate 7. Dragon Touch K8 Kids Tablet with Stylus 8. Kurio Xtreme Tablet

BEST OVERALL AMAZON FIRE 8 KIDS EDITION (2018) We found Amazon’s Fire HD 8 tablet to be easy to set up and simple to use, and it comes with so many pre-installed apps and videos it would take some time for your child to grow tired of it.

The Fire HD 10 is pretty much the same device, the major difference being a bigger screen size (10.1-inch HD vs. 8-inch HD) that may be unwieldy for smaller kids. Another difference is the 8 has more space for a Micro SD slot (up to 400GB of additional storage, versus 256GB in the 10). For comparison, the Fire 7 has a 7-inch display (not HD) and its most recent release includes 512GB of additional storage via a MicroSD slot.

The best thing about the Fire tablet is how stocked it is with easily accessible, ad-free and fun content. Each Fire tablet comes with one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. Basically, it provides access to more than 13,000 apps, games, videos, books and other content from PBS Kids, Disney and more (don’t worry, it’s not all downloaded on the tablet when you first get it). My daughter was entertained continuously and never asked me for help to find other things to play or watch. After a year, users pay a monthly fee for FreeTime. At present, pricing begins at $2.99 per month.

There are different accounts for parent and child, and a passcode is required to enter the parent’s account. The parental controls are robust and allow you to limit your child’s screen time and what he or she can play. There’s an added educational layer in the Fire tablet. You can require your child to log a set number of minutes using apps with educational content before moving on to videos or games.

In addition, this Amazon tablet felt sturdy and stood up during our drop test. The picture and audio quality are also very crisp.

OTHER KIDS TABLETS WE TESTED AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HD 10 KIDS EDITION (9TH GEN) The Fire HD 10 Kids Edition is the newest iteration of Amazon’s popular tablet. With a 10.1-inch screen, this is a big tablet. We love that it comes with a colorful, squishy case that protects the actual tablet from any damage — a real selling point considering my 5-year-old dropped it mere hours after it arrived.

As with the 8, the 10 includes a free year of Freetime Unlimited, and my first-grader really enjoyed the selection of books tailored to his reading level.

A new feature is a USB-C connection, as opposed to the micro USB that came standard on older models. This gives the device the ability to charge much faster, and it’s less liable to break easily.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB E LITE KIDS EDITION It’s a pretty sleek device; easy to set up and seamless to use. Like the Fire tablets, there are different accounts for parent and child, and a passcode is required to enter the caregiver account. The parental controls are robust and allow you to limit what your child can do on the tablet based on the type of activity (games, videos, etc.) and for how long.

After setting up the tablet, in order to create the child account, the user needs to register and sign up for Samsung Kids, which is an all-in-one subscription service much like Amazon FreeTime. It gives access to all the games, apps and other content in the Samsung Kids library. There is content for kids ages 3 to 12 from Sesame Street, PBS Kids, National Geographic and more. The first 30 days are free and then subscriptions start at $7.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

This tablet is a nice size at 7 inches. It’s a bit smaller and thinner than the Fire 8 and the cover, while sufficient, is definitely thinner and less substantial. It may be better suited to a slightly older child.

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LEAPFROG EPIC LeapFrog has been a leader in educational kids toys for decades, but its foray into tablets and learning devices for kids appears, at least from our testing, to be lackluster. The Epic received higher grades in our testing because it worked much better and more smoothly than their Ultimate device. It also featured better pre-installed apps and games and was more intuitive for the user. That said, the apps weren’t very compelling, or were hard to follow.

My daughter lost interest quickly. It’s possible this tablet could be better for an older kid (LeapFrog says it’s for kids ages 3 to 9).

The Epic uses the Android operating system to run, and that is what made it work better than it’s sister tablet, the Ultimate, which runs on a LeapFrog operating system.

AMAZON FIRE 7 KIDS EDITION (2019) Just as we finished up testing, Amazon released its 2019 version of the Fire 7 Kids Edition. It has additional space via a MicroSD (512GB instead of 256GB), a faster processor and a cover that includes a built-in stand. Besides pink and blue, the device is now available in purple, too. But otherwise, we’re pretty sure it’s similar to the product we tested.

The biggest reason the previous version of the Fire 7 we tested fell in our scoring is it felt slightly outdated in comparison to the 8 and 10. The screen is not HD (and neither is the new version) and its touchscreen was a bit less responsive, which for young children who are just learning about patience can be a dealbreaker. Fortunately, the apps and features are all still the same as the 8 and 10, which is why the Fire 7 remains in the top half of our list. It’s also more affordable than the Fire 8 and 10 so if you’d rather spend a little less and sacrifice a little quality, this is a great option.

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LEAPFROG LEAPPAD ULTIMATE The Ultimate tablet is solidly built; the body is extremely hard plastic (no case needed) and the glass over the screen is shatterproof, according to the company, but the tablet itself is hard to use, confusing and counterintuitive.

Like the Epic, there are no free additional apps to download.

KURIO XTREME Like the DragonTouch, the Kurio was difficult to use and confusing in its design. The apps and games load extremely slowly, and using it is frustrating. It also runs on Android and utilizes the Kidoz platform, which isn’t user-friendly.

The Kurio has its own parental controls, which allow adults to set time limits, limit web access and choose which apps are available to kids.

DRAGON TOUCH K8 The DragonTouch runs on the Android operating system. While this device had a nice handle to carry it around with that also bends to allow it to be propped up on a surface, it was difficult and ultimately frustrating to use. The navigation is clunky and the entire system is slow to respond to touch commands.

DragonTouch uses the platform Kidoz, which collects games, videos and more and features fairly decent parent controls that allow you to choose which apps (YouTube, Google Play store, etc.) appear on the child’s profile and how long they can use the tablet.

The pre-installed apps did not excite my daughter, but downloading from the Google Play store was not difficult. The biggest problem with the DragonTouch is how counterintuitive the navigation is.

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passion WHAT ABOUT AN IPAD? The first tablet my daughter used was a hand-me-down iPad. There are obvious benefits to this tactic. It’s free, it’s already set up and you, the parent/caregiver, already know how to use it. But there are downsides to iPads, too.

With an iPad you can’t set up a separate child’s account, making it difficult to limit the device to only kid-friendly content. You can, however, set up your child with their own Apple ID, which allows you to control (somewhat) what they may be doing on another Apple device and try to stick to child-friendly apps and websites. This is called Family Sharing. For the purposes of this testing that didn’t help, since it’s usually only older kids who might have access to their own cellular devices. So if you give your kid an iPad, make sure you wipe it of all social networking and content apps. We took YouTube and even YouTube Kids off of ours because, trust me, you don’t know what they could get into.

We decided to test the new iPad anyway, as a benchmark for the rest of the tablets. In our rankings, it came it in the middle, below the Amazon Fire Kids Edition tablets and the Samsung, but above the LeapFrogs and others. There is no doubt the iPad is well designed and that it works very well.

But we also tested a brand new device, and that’s not what most people will be giving their preschoolers.

The iPad is also the only tablet we tested that didn’t come with a cover already on it. We evaluated two covers for ease of assembly and protective qualities, the Topsky Case and the Fintie Case. Both served their purpose: When the tablet was dropped neither case was damaged and the iPad was securely protected. The Topskie is a bit heavier and well built, but the Fintie comes with a handle that converts into a stand, which was a nice feature for a young child.

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WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING An important consideration when choosing a tablet is the operating system it runs on, and what companies, if any, are already linked. For example, if the parents or caregivers use Apple products, a Samsung or other device that runs on Android software may not initially be as desirable. Along similar lines, the Amazon Fire tablets are linked with your Amazon Prime account, which makes managing them very simple if you use Prime regularly.

These considerations did not affect our rankings, as everyone uses different products in their lives.

Another consideration is whether you want a tablet that comes ready to use or one that needs to be set up with apps and content first. The Amazon Fire tablets all came pre-installed with lots of apps, games and more. I have a Prime account and linking it with the tablet was extremely simple. The Samsung, on the other hand, had to be registered first before the Samsung Kids portion of the device could be enabled.

The age of your child also comes into play. An iPad is better suited to an older child who will be able to appreciate its quality and may be less in need of assistance when it comes to downloading apps. The Fire and Samsung tablets are good for all ages as the apps that are available span age ranges.

REVIEWED / JACKSON RUCKAR

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July 2020

THE BEST

gaming laptops under $1K

By Florence Ion and Alex Kane Reviewed.com

G

one are the days where you had to shell out thousands of dollars for a proper gaming rig.

Thanks to smaller chips and lighter hardware, you can now buy a gaming powerhouse in laptop form for a grand or less.

From graphics capabilities to battery life, we tested the best budget gaming laptops to figure out what’s worth the money. After hours of testing, the Lenovo Legion Y545 ended up nabbing the top spot. Comfortable, stylish and shockingly powerful, getting your hands on the Legion for a grand or less is an absolute steal.

And there are some other fantastic options, too. Whether you’re looking for the perfect all-purpose laptop or a dedicated gaming machine that won’t drain your budget, these are the best gaming laptops under $1,000 we tested, ranked in order: 1. Lenovo Legion Y545 (i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) 2. Asus ROG Strix Scar Edition 3. HP Pavilion 15 (i7-9750H, GeForce GTX 1650) 4. Acer Nitro 7 5. Lenovo Legion Y520 6. Dell Inspiron 15 7577

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BEST OVERALL LENOVO LEGION Y545 (81T20001US) With its elegant black-and-white color scheme, the Lenovo Legion Y545 is a gorgeous piece of hardware. It’s got a comfortable keyboard, the trackpad feels fantastic, and it delivers strong, reliable performance for something under a grand.

It comes with the same 16 gigabytes of RAM and Intel Core i7-series processor you find in most of the laptops that cost twice as much.

Another standout feature is the power supply, which plugs into the back center of the base as opposed to the side. I found this to be more comfortable and convenient than most laptops, but for most users it will probably take some getting used to.

As for frame rates, the Legion Y545 stayed locked at a steady 60 frames per second the entire time I was playing “Rise of the Tomb Raider” — on low as well as high graphics settings — so hardcore enthusiasts who favor higher numbers over consistency may not be fully satisfied there. That said, for a budget machine, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB graphics card doesn’t disappoint. And at two and a half hours, battery life is fairly unremarkable, but this laptop’s a lot of fun to use. It’s the bang-for-buck choice for players on a budget.

OTHER GAMING LAPTOPS ASUS REPUBLIC OF GAMERS STRIX SCAR EDITION Between the Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, the Scar is powerful enough to run virtual reality experiences and video editing programs. It’s a gaming notebook, but who said you had to use it specifically for games?

When we played “Overwatch” on high settings, it hovered around 60 frames per second, occasionally dropping to 40 or 50 fps (depending on activity). You’ll probably get the best performance out of AAA titles like “League of Legends” or “Battlegrounds” on medium settings, as they’re not as visually demanding as other games.

While we love the performance and wide selection of ports, battery life leaves little to be desired and fan noise is a problem.

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HP PAVILION (15-DK0055WM) HP’s Pavilion 15 doesn’t look that impressive — its somewhat boring black design comes with either lime-green or white accents — but it’ll run games like “Apex Legends” or “Metro Exodus,” and the price tag is appealing. Like the Lenovo Legion, the Pavilion 15’s locked at 60 frames per second thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB graphics card but manages some impressive benchmark scores in other areas. In the Geekbench CPU test, it actually outperformed HP’s own Omen 17 gaming laptop (earning a single core score of 5,049, as opposed to the Omen’s result of 3,709).

For a student or someone on a tight budget, this is a solid jack-of-all-trades PC in the ballpark of $750, depending on what configuration you choose.

ACER NITRO 7 (AN715-51-752B) The Acer Nitro 7 is an excellent example of how to save money and equip yourself with the kind of hardware that will play your favorite games and help you get things done.

The Nitro 7 has the latest Intel Core i7-9750H processor along with an Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card and 16GB of RAM. Like its pricier competition, it also offers a 15.6-inch Full HD display with 144Hz refresh rate, which means games run pretty smooth. It even managed to maintain high frame rates in visually-demanding games like “Metro 2033” and “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” It boasts impeccable battery life, too, with up to four hours of continuous use before it requires a charge.

LENOVO LEGION Y520 (16GB RAM, 2TB HDD + 256GB SSD) With its unique tapered design and black plastic hood, the Lenovo Legion makes a strong first impression. The muted color scheme is a nice change of pace, especially if you’re not into that gaudy gaming aesthetic.

It’s a good option for the gaming enthusiast on a tight budget. The Legion also packs a good amount of graphics power.

The Nvidia GPU is a big power-suck, so you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for an outlet. The angular trackpad is awkward to use, but you can always hook up to an external mouse.

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DELL INSPIRON 15 7577 (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) For just under a grand, you’re getting a powerful GPU plus a classy design that strays from the typical gaming aesthetic. The “New” models even offer Intel’s quad-core 8th-gen processors. So it’s powerful enough to run games like “Overwatch” on medium to high settings.

The display isn’t very bright or colorful and viewing angles are poor. This isn’t too surprising because it’s a budget gaming laptop, so sacrifices need to be made to keep the cost down. In addition, the laptop is bulky and awkward to handle — you’re not going to enjoy lugging it around.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY When you start your search for gaming laptops, you’ll notice that there isn’t much variety when it comes to the internal hardware. The most popular graphics cards these days are made by Nvidia. Companies like AMD also manufacture high-performing graphics cards, but most of the laptops we tested have Nvidia hardware powering their insides.

The latest Nvidia graphics cards are the 10-series, 16-series and 20-series. The 10-series includes 1060, 1070 and 1080 cards. These tend to be more budget-friendly and they’re capable of handling the latest games at high frame rates as well as virtual reality experiences (provided you have enough RAM). Like the other cards mentioned here, they’re also compatible with Nvidia proprietary G Sync, which helps manage smooth frame rates of up to 240Hz. The 16-series includes the 1660 Ti and 1650 and are both based on newer architecture than the 10-series. They perform well at 1080p and 1440p resolutions and offer better memory bandwidth so that graphics continually render smoothly at high frame-rates. The only caveat of the 16-series is that they tend to ship with less virtual memory, which can become a future-proofing issue down the line.

The 20-series include the RTX 2060, 2070 and 2080, and they’re considered some of the best cards in their class. The RTX in their name stands for

ray tracing, which helps generate interactive images that react to lighting, shadows and reflections, contributing to more immersive gameplay. Games like “Metro Exodus” support this rendering technology. The 20-series are also able to facilitate gaming on a 4K monitor.

The processor inside your gaming laptop won’t directly affect your gaming prowess, though this part of the configuration matters for day-today tasks and simultaneous streaming. Most of what you’ll find on our list come with Intel Core i7 chips, either last generation’s 8750H variant or the ninth-generation 9750H. There isn’t a significant difference in performance between the two, and you can save some money by foregoing the upgrade.

If you’re looking at budget gaming machines, you’re likely to run into Intel’s Core i5 processors. They’re capable chips, but you will see a performance difference as you push the machine to its capacity.

The standard screen size for gaming laptops is 15.6-inches with 1080p resolution. It’s enough screen for partaking in action without carting around a laptop that’s breaking your back.

Refresh rates make the most significance on gaming laptops. You may have noticed that a majority of our picks include a 144Hz refresh rate, with machines like the MSI GS65 Stealth with RTX 2060 graphics clocking in at 240Hz. The higher frame rate effectively smooths out gameplay and leads to less stuttering issues than on a standard monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate.

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BEST OVERALL PANASONIC LUMIX GH5

REVIEWED / JACKSON RUCKAR

THE BEST

vlogging cameras

By Adam Doud | Reviewed.com

F

rom showing exotic places abroad to the humdrum of everyday life, video blogging (also known as vlogging) is a popular way to share your experiences with the world. Most vlogs involve a simple talk-to-the-camera setup while others focus on b-roll, which is a set of background shots showing things besides the host talking. All you need to get started is one thing: the right camera.

We tested eight digital cameras that are perfect for vlogging to see which is the best.

With its gorgeous video and a wide selection of accessories, the Panasonic Lumix GH5 tested higher than the others to become our top pick.

THESE ARE THE BEST VLOGGING CAMERAS WE TESTED. RANKED IN ORDER: 1. Panasonic GH5 2. Go Pro Hero7 Black 3. Panasonic G85 4. Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II

5. Sony Alpha a6400 6. Nikon D5600 7. Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 V 8. Sony RX0 II

This Panasonic has everything we looked for such as ease of use, versatility and durability. It also supports dual memory cards as well as headphones, HDMI and external microphone inputs.

The camera comes with a 20.3 megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor, which captures crisp images. The screen is a gorgeous 3.2-inch rotating LCD touchscreen that closes into the body for protection. It shoots video in 4K and has a 225-area autofocus. It also comes with Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity for external devices.

Weighing a beefy 25.6 ounces, the camera is built with a magnesium alloy body. That means the camera is quite sturdy, but also heavy.

There’s a wealth of controls all around the camera body for adjusting the manual settings.

While we love the crisp images the LCD screen captures and the connectivity options, we still had a few nitpicks.

Low light video is bright, but the picture is a bit grainy. Autofocus is also slow and wanders aimlessly at times and, since this is the heaviest camera on our list, it lost points for portability. If you plan on using this camera for hikes and other outdoor adventures, we’d recommend hooking it up to a tripod, as it’s pretty hefty.

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BEST VALUE GOPRO HERO7 BLACK The GoPro Hero 7 Black may be the smallest camera on the list, but that doesn’t make it any less mighty. This action camera’s capable of shooting 4K video at 30 frames per second or 2K at 60 FPS, and it carries a 12-megapixel sensor. The optics are great, as the depth of field is quite deep. This means objects stay in focus whether close up or at a distance (without having to rely on an autofocus system).

All GoPro accessories are proprietary, meaning you’ll need an accessory simply to mount this to a tripod. That being said, GoPro has a ton of accessories that can make your product do just about anything, and they’re all interchangeable, so once you buy into the ecosystem, all of your cameras going forward will be well-equipped.

The downside to the aforementioned depth of field is that you won’t get the bokeh effect of a blurred background, which adds “pop” to videos. The display on the back of the camera doesn’t flip around, so keeping yourself in the frame is a challenge. There’s an app for your smartphone that allows you to adjust any setting and see yourself in the camera, but that requires a second hand, which can be just as annoying as it is convenient.

OTHER VLOGGING CAMERAS WE TESTED PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-G85 The Panasonic G85 performs just as well as the GH5 and is super lightweight and portable. The lenses from the two cameras are interchangeable as well, meaning you can pick up the G85 and upgrade to the GH5 later. While the G85 has a lot going for it, there are a few trade-offs.

Images are less sharp, especially when the camera is in motion, and low light video is more grainy. Although the G85 and the GH5 have similar accessories, they’re not interchangeable, which is disappointing.

If you start with the G85, you’ll get a 16-megapixel camera with 49 autofocus zones. It shoots in 4K at 30 FPS and a maximum ISO of 3200. If you’re on a tight budget, then this camera is a good choice. It performs well, is very portable, and it won’t burn a hole in your wallet.

CANON POWERSHOT G7 X MARK II This compact, all-in-one camera has a lot going for it. It seems like it’s designed for the casual camera user, as you can’t really adjust the exposure and ISO. You can adjust them a little bit with the two dials on the camera, but it’s really hard to get full control over the settings you want. However, in auto mode, especially when you have good light, this camera does quite well. It’s also one of the most stable cameras for walking and talking.

That said, this camera is missing some basic features (like a viewfinder). You need to use the screen all the time, which is fine, but if you plan to be away from power for a considerable amount of time, you can use a normal viewfinder to save some of that power. Also, since the screen only faces out, it may be prone to scratching or damage. While the camera does have an HDMI output, there are no additional ports for a microphone and external flash. As long as you don’t need to do anything above and beyond a basic point and shoot, this camera will get the job done.

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NIKON D5600

SONY ALPHA A6400 The Sony a6400 is a great little camera, with a body that is a little bigger than a typical point-and-shoot.

With its interchangeable lenses, lightweight body and great autofocus, there’s a lot to love. This was also our best low-light performer. While low light images were darker than the Panasonic GH5, it was less grainy.

Navigating the settings menu can be a headache.

We’re also not fans of the screen, which faces out when you fold it in. This simply leaves the screen prone to damage or scratching. However, the Z-Fold system is more robust and stable than the typical rotating screen.

Overall, this is a great camera and our favorite of the three Sonys we tested.

SONY RX0 II The Sony RX0 II is one of two ultraportable cameras we tested. Although this camera can fit inside your pocket, don’t let the small size fool you. Not only is this camera durable, but there’s a flip-up forward-facing screen. However, similar to the other Sonys on this list, there’s no touchscreen.

The controls are hard to get used to as well, mainly because the buttons are so small. This makes it a little frustrating to use.

The Nikon D5600 comes with a 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor and is among the lightest DSLR cameras we tested, which made it the most portable and easiest to handle and store. It’s also quite compact with a nice bright touchscreen that folds into the body. Image quality is good, but the video footage is limited to 1080p.

This camera isn’t the most user-friendly, as the buttons are all over the place. They’re on the right side, left side, top and front. If you’re looking for a camera that you can use one-handed, you may want to look elsewhere.

Out of all the cameras we tested, this is the only one with a lens lock, which allows you to extend the lens so it’s ready to shoot. One might argue that it’s a good feature, designed to keep the lens safe, but it’s just not user-friendly.

The build is made of plastic, which isn’t a bad material but it feels cheap and not very durable.

SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-RX100 V The Sony Cyber-Shot Rx100 V was the second of two point-and-shoot cameras we tested. It boasts a 20.1 Megapixel 1-inch sensor and a 2.92x optical zoom. This little powerhouse is even capable of 4K video, albeit with a 5-minute limit. Because it’s a pointand-shoot, it’s small and portable. What’s more, the camera holds nice surprises like the pop-up viewfinder and flash. The VCT-SGR1 Shooting Grip, which connects with this camera, gives it a nice tripod base with buttons to zoom, record video or shoot a still.

However, there’s no touchscreen and the screen itself doesn’t fold in. The menu is also a bit of a pain to navigate with the five-way rocker switch. Image quality is good but we noticed that, especially in outdoor testing, highlights get blown out, washing out the possibility of reading text on a page at a distance. That said, it’s not a bad camera.

BEFORE YOU BUY Before deciding on a camera, you should first consider what kind of vlog you’d like to make. Will it require a lot of b-roll shots? Will it be a simple walk and talk setup?

Do you want to focus on shots of another country? All of these contribute to your ultimate purchasing decision.

If you plan on doing anything adventurous, getting the best image quality might take a backseat to durability. If you’re shooting in a studio, low-light quality may not be much of a concern. There are a few trade-offs to consider.

At the end of the day, find a vlogging camera offering both portability and versatility.

If you want the real deal, expect to spend about a grand.

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COLUMN

July 2020

Don’t beep on my parade

T R ACY B EC K E R M AN Lost in Technology by Tracy Beckerman looks at the lighter side of figuring out how to use tech. Tracy has written a humor column, Lost in Suburbia, for GateHouse Media and Gannett since 2008. You can find her weekly column about life as an empty-nester, along with her Lost in Suburbia Classics column in many Gannett newspapers.

Follow Tracy on Twitter @Tracy Beckerman and at Facebook. com/LostinsuburbiaFanPage.

S

omething was ringing. Well, it wasn’t actually ringing. It was more like some kind of short, electronic series of tones. Or maybe some beeps. Whatever it was, it was obviously meant to alert me to the fact that some device needed my attention. The problem was, I had no idea which device it was.

In the past month, we had upgraded all our cell phones, switched the TV from cable to satellite, and got a new digital toaster oven and coffee maker which all had a variety of sounds and alerts associated with them.

Additionally, we finally got our broken digital dishwasher repaired, installed new smoke detectors, and got a new home alarm system which all beeped and pinged.

The refrigerator dinged when the door was open, the microwave beeped when it was done, and just about everything in our house that could be plugged in or was battery operated had a series of eeps, peeps and ditties associated with them. I had no idea what doohickey made which sound and why.

Being old enough to remember the days when the only ringing in the house came from the telephone, I was frustrated that my electronic life had gotten so complicated that I couldn’t tell if my toast was done or my husband was texting me. I wasn’t sure if the dishwasher was stuck in mid-cycle or if I had forgotten to put water in the coffee carafe. Was the smoke alarm telling me the house was burning or was I being reminded by my calendar that it was time for me to call my mother? I was in digital ding hell.

“What’s that ringing?” I asked the dog.

He shrugged. He didn’t have a cell phone and none of his stuffed dog toys pinged or beeped, they just squeaked.

The sound continued at irregular intervals. I checked my cell phone first. No beeps coming from there. Then I checked the regular phones. They were quiet. I walked over to the toaster oven and listened. Nothing. Then the

oven, the fridge, the dishwasher and microwave. Silence.

If anyone had walked in and seen me cocking my head and sticking my ear in every appliance in the house they would have thought I’d lost my mind. Actually this was not such a big stretch. I was pretty sure if I didn’t figure out what was making the noise, I would go bonkers.

Since my husband was the techno geek in the house and he had set up every phone and electronic device, I figured he might know what the sound was coming from. Unfortunately, he was out of town, so I had to call him.

“Honey, something is ringing and I can’t figure out what it is.”

“What does it sound like?” he asked.

“Dum dee dee dum dum dum.” I responded.

“Not helpful,” he said. “I meant, can you hold it up to the phone?”

“If I could hold it up to the phone, I would know what’s making the noise!” I barked at him.

“Sorry, honey. You’re on your own,” he responded.

For the next 15 minutes, I wandered around the house tilting my ear at smoke alarms, clock radios and even the dog’s electronic collar. I wondered if maybe I had become one of those people who receives radio signals in their head and I was actually getting an important message from aliens that they were going to invade Earth if I didn’t respond. If that were the case, civilization was doomed.

After several hours of this nonsense, I finally gave up and went to bed. But just as I started to drop off, I heard the mystery beeping loud and clear. I followed the sound into the bathroom and waited. A minute later, the electric toothbrush emitted its enchanting little low battery tune.

Somehow it had gotten unplugged from the wall and was trying to let me know it was running down.

I snatched it off the vanity and threw it in the trash can.

I don’t beep, but I think I got my point across.

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The grid that relieves the grind.

Our thousands of free crossword puzzles help you break up a bad day and replace it with a little pat on the back.

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