Tech toys are fun, but sometimes the best Christmas gifts are the ones you can use throughout the year and that not only entertain, but make your life a little better. The Anova Precision Cooker can make sous chefs of us all. From the perfect steak to bistro-worthy desserts, this little tool helps you cook amazing and healthy meals without having to spend hours over the stove or rushing back to the oven to make sure you didn’t overcook the food again.

                                                     Anova Precision Cooker 

Sous vide (pronounced sue veed) cooking sounds like something you would study at a French culinary institute, but it's really quite simple. You prepare your food, whether it's a salmon fillet or corn on the cob, then vacuum seal it in a plastic bag and place it in a water bath to cook at a certain temperature. The precise temperatures ensure the food is cooked perfectly every time. The food not only tastes delicious, but also retains more of its vitamins and minerals than with conventional cooking.

With the Anova precision cooker, all you need is a pot big enough to hold the bags and the water to cook them in. You don't even need special bags. Regular Ziplock bags work and are safe to use, and you can vacuum seal them by partly closing the bag, then lowering it into the water. The water pressure pushes out the air. When the zipper is just above the water, then seal the bag shut, and voila!

The Anova is essentially a cylinder with a heating element and controls to measure and maintain the temperature you program. You set the time and temperature, attach it to the side of the pot, add the water and bag(s), and go about your other business. In fact, you can download an app to your phone to have Anova tell you when your food is done. No more rushing to the oven because you thought you heard the timer – or dealing with overcooked food because you forgot the timer. You can learn more about it on our Best Sous Vide Machine page.

The Anova precision cooker was super easy to set up. Connecting to the smartphone app was so seamless, we weren't sure it had worked. When planning cooking time, though, give yourself time for the water to heat. In our case, supper was late because we didn't calculate that in our start time. However, once it's going, you can walk away while it cooks. The steak and lamb chops, which we cooked in separate bags but in the same pot, were amazing! The only thing we didn't like about the Anova is the short cord, which limits where you place your pot unless you want to deal with an extension cord. Our tester didn't want to give it back!

The Anova precision cooker is a terrific gift for the dedicated chef or hapless cook who always overcooks or undercooks meals – or just doesn't like spending hours in the kitchen. Plus, it makes healthy eating an achievable goal for 2017.

Anova Precision Cooker

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Self-control usually skips town for the holidays then returns in time for New Year's resolutions. Maybe this year you can help your friends and family keep their New Year's resolutions with a creative Christmas gift that's designed to help people exercise greater control over their decisions.

kSafe 

The kSafe, formerly the Kitchen Safe, looks like a fairly normal kitchen storage container, but it's not. The lid contains a round knob, a small digital screen and a locking mechanism. Here's how it works: If you're trying to limit your intake of something – chocolate chip cookies, for example – you place the goodies inside the container, put on the lid and set the timer for any amount of time between one minute and 10 days. Once you set the timer and the lid locks slide into place, the safe won't unlock till the timer runs out. There's absolutely no way, short of cracking the container open, to override the timer.

The kSafe isn't just useful for controlling your intake of sweets. If you want to limit your kid's time in front of the Xbox or TV, you can lock the game controllers or TV remote in the kSafe until homework time is over. Be careful, though, because there’s a real issue of controlling the urge to play jokes on your friends and family members with it. It's amazing how frustrated people get when their cell phones are locked up for an hour in plain view!

If some clever kids think they can trick the kSafe by removing the batteries, the joke is on them because that just pauses the countdown until the batteries are replaced. The container certainly isn't indestructible, but it would take some serious force to break it open. This is a simple product, but it's certainly smartly designed.

This affordable gift comes in two sizes and a few different color options. The regular kSafe fits items the size of a 5.5-inch cube. If this is too small, you can opt for the kSafe XL; it's the same length and width as the smaller model, but it's 5 inches taller. Although the XL actually has 80 percent more volume, it costs only a few dollars more than the smaller version. The bases come in white and clear, and the lids come in solid red, green, blue, white and pink.

For the right recipient, this gift can be a life-changer that encourages positive changes. Sometimes your willpower needs a little help, and the kSafe can give provide that.

kSafe

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Amazon's Fire TV is an awesome device, letting you access movies, music, streaming TV and a whopping 7,000 different apps. Now, the updated Fire TV stick lets you harness the power of Amazon's voice assistant, Alexa, to make navigating all those choices even easier. It's a great Christmas present for anyone with a TV, but especially those who are short on space or do a lot of traveling.

Fire TV Stick 

The stick itself is plenty powerful, with a 1.3GHz MediaTek Quad-core ARM, 8GB internal storage and 1GB of memory. It has a dual-band, dual antenna Wi-Fi and is Bluetooth 4.1 capable. It's game-controller compatible and supports high definition video. It's definitely improved compared to the previous version, but the Alexa interface makes it an excellent choice.

You speak to Alexa through a microphone built into the remote, and it can do more than scroll through menus and enact apps. For example, you can tell it, "Play Stranger Things," and Alexa will access Netflix and stream the latest episode. Or you can ask Alexa to find songs by a specific artist. The Fire TV stick supports voice-controlled music requests from Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime Music, Pandora and iHeart Radio. It also lets you watch videos from YouTube, Vevo and Vimeo.

With the many apps, the Fire TV isn't just about what you can watch or play. You can surf the internet and even order pizza.

Neither you nor the person you give it to needs technical skill to set up the Fire TV stick. You plug the stick into the power outlet and into any compatible high-definition TV, and it's ready. If you have an Amazon account, you'll have to sign in, of course. The device is as portable as a flash drive, so you can take it anywhere you have Wi-Fi and an HDTV.

The only difficulty we had with the stick is plugging it in. It's small compared to a Fire TV, but the stick itself is much larger than a thumb drive. It would not fit our TV where we had other HDMI cables plugged in, and was just long enough that it took some maneuvering to plug it in to one of the bottom-facing jacks. It does have an adapter, however, for those occasions, and once it's in, though, the device worked like a champ.

Economical and convenient, the Amazon Fire TV stick is a great gift for anyone who wants to carry their entertainment with them, and the addition of access to Alexa on the remote make it great for those who just want to chill on the couch at home. It's a win-win gift.

Fire TV Stick

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Nostalgia is fun for people of any age, and so are Nintendo games. Originally released in 1985, the original NES console was a childhood staple of many young (and not so young) adults. This Nintendo NES Classic Edition is a fun way for millennials and their children alike to enjoy 30 of the most popular original NES games. This this console is an excellent gift for gamers.

NES Nintendo Classic 

This miniaturized console and accompanying controller both preserve the classic design and shape of its predecessor, but it has a few modernized features. The most notable upgrade is that you no longer have to switch between cartridge games – this has 30 games built-in and ready for you to enjoy, including: Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Metroid, Castlevania, Excitebike, Ninja Gaiden and more.

The new Suspend Points feature gives you four slots for each game, which act as a kind of save point. You can even lock a save file to prevent losing your progress in a game, and resume playing at any time. The controller can also be used with your Wii or Wii U, or with NES Virtual Console games.

This mini console comes with one controller. It can accommodate two players, but you’ll have to buy that second controller separately. It also has an AC adapter and an HDMI cable. The console maintains its retro feel by not having any internet connectivity, apps or other staples of modern consoles, letting you focus on gaming.

It gives you multiple display mode options for an enhanced experience. There’s Pixel Perfect, wherein each pixel is fully square so you can experience 8-bit games as they were intended; the 4:3 ratio option gives you the original look, but it is slightly stretched horizontally; or you can opt for the CRT filter, which makes your TV screen look older with scan lines for a more retro feel. What’s more, the console only runs about $60, which is – in most cases – less than what its original version costs today.

Summary

The NES Nintendo Classic proves that great things come in small packages. It’s fun, retro design, 30 built-in games and two controller slots mean fun for your friends and family, and its low cost will help you pack a powerful punch this holiday season, whether you’re playing Pac-Man or Punch-Out!

NES Nintendo Classic

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The Echo Dot is the smallest voice control device from online retailer Amazon. It uses Amazon's Alexa service to do specialized tasks, called skills, which work with music services, smart home equipment and other web services. The Echo Dot is also inexpensive, making it one of the best Christmas gifts.

Amazon Echo Dot 

Voice control makes the Echo Dot one of this year's most popular Christmas gifts. To use it, you simply say the trigger word, "Alexa," and ask your question. The Echo Dot responds with a fairly natural voice. The strong voice recognition is due to an array of seven microphones in the top of the device.

Alexa voice recognition lets you set kitchen timers, search Wikipedia articles, or play music from services such as Spotify and Pandora. You can also add skills from companies such as Uber and Domino's Pizza using the Alexa app. For example, if you connect the Echo Dot to a compatible smart home device such as Nest or Wink, you can ask it to turn down the thermostat or turn on the lights.

At first glance, the Amazon Echo Dot looks like a shorter version of the original Amazon Echo. The main reason for this is that the Echo Dot's speaker isn't as powerful. It makes up for this with a 3.5 mm audio output that connects to larger speaker systems, which is something the original version lacks. You can also connect the Echo Dot to Bluetooth speakers.

As an Amazon device, the Echo Dot connects to most of the company's online services. For example, you can order products from Amazon, listen to Audible audiobooks or Kindle eBooks, and play music from Amazon Prime. The Echo Dot comes in two colors, black and white, though you can also buy fabric or leather cases that slip over the outside of the device and help it blend into your home's decor.

You can install the Echo Dot in about five minutes. After you plug the unit in, you connect it to the Wi-Fi in your home using the Alexa app. Once the Echo Dot has an internet connection, it's ready to use. In some cases, however, the device might require a firmware update before you can use it. Amazon covers the Echo Dot with a 90-day warranty, though you have the option to purchase an extended warranty up to three years long.

Amazon Echo Dot

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Apple Watch Series 2 

The Apple Watch Series 2 will surely be at the top of many wish lists this holiday season. The newest iteration is waterproof, has a much brighter display and sports built-in GPS.

This wearable device is the perfect gift for people who like to track their fitness, check their notifications and stay closely connected with friends and loved ones. Just make sure the person you are getting it for uses an iPhone since this smartwatch doesn’t work with Android or Windows smartphones.

Like the original Apple Watch, the Series 2 has different variations of watchcases and wrist straps to choose from. You can choose from two case sizes: 38 mm and 42 mm (1.5 and 1.7 inches). We recommend the $369 anodized aluminum Apple Watch. You have four case colors to choose from – silver, gold, rose gold and space gray. You can pay extra for nylon, leather and stainless steel bands, but the included silicone strap is comfortable and doesn’t get dirty easily. No matter which variation you choose, all have the same internal components.

If you want a more premium watch, there’s one with a stainless steel case, which starts at $549. The most expensive version has a ceramic case and costs $1,249. Both of these models have a sapphire crystal display, compared to the aluminum model’s Ion-X display. The screen on the 42 mm space gray aluminum model we tested still doesn't have any scratches after a month of wearing it.

The Series 2 Apple Watch is twice as bright as the first-generation watch, making it much easier to read outdoors, especially in direct sunlight. However, its screen resolution remains the same as the last model and it lacks an always-on display mode like Android Wear watches offer.

When we reviewed the previous Apple Watch, we complained about it being slow, especially when using apps. Fortunately, this model has a much faster dual-core processor, better graphics performance and 1GB of RAM.

The battery for the Series 2 Apple Watch is 32 percent bigger than the one in the original Apple Watch. However, the size increase hasn’t affected battery life much. This is likely because of the brighter display and built-in GPS. You will have no issues getting a full day of battery life (19 hours), but we recommend you charge the watch each night.

What makes the Apple Watch Series 2 stand out from other smartwatches is its fitness tracking capabilities and waterproofing. It tracks several common cardio-focused workouts and has a built-in heart rate monitor and GPS for tracking runs. Since it's waterproof you can use it to record your laps, strokes, pace and distance in the pool.

Apple is known for its outstanding customer service. The Apple Watch Series 2 comes with one year of AppleCare, which includes phone, email, live chat and in-store support.

The newest Apple Watch may be much better than last year's model since it’s screen is brighter, it’s faster, the casing is waterproof and it finally has GPS. Does anyone really need one? Maybe not, but sometimes the best Christmas gifts are things that we don't need.

Apple Watch Series 2 

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From the outside, ultrabooks can seem interchangeable with other laptops. Like any computer, they rely on the same shell for computing, keyboards and displays. However, top ultrabooks also have to be designed to follow Intel's demanding requirements. These include guidelines for dimensions, minimum battery life and processing horsepower. Ultrabooks bring several key advantages and disadvantages compared to other types of laptops.

Speed
Because of their smaller size, laptops have traditionally been a step behind desktop computers when it comes to speed. However, the best ultrabooks are designed to bridge this gap. Internally, ultrabooks frequently have high-end Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors along with solid-state drives for fast processing performance. By comparison, entry-level and mainstream laptops often have to make compromises on processor or hard drive speed in order to maintain a low price tag.

While solid-state drives offer faster data-transfer speeds compared to traditional hard-disk drives, they do have one notable limitation. Solid-state drives generally cost more per GB compared to hard-disk drives. As a result, the base configurations for most ultrabooks use a 128GB or 256GB solid-state drive. If your ultrabook needs to store items such as a music library or large files, a bigger hard drive or external storage is a necessary upgrade.

Display 
Mainstream and business-focused ultrabooks take separate approaches to the ultrabook laptop's display. While ultrabooks always use high-resolution displays, business ultrabook screens typically top out at 1920 x 1080, which is a resolution equivalent to a standard home television. Screens at this resolution are more than capable of handling basic office tasks but offer limited visual fidelity compared to competing mainstream ultrabooks. These series often feature displays of up to 3200 x 1800, making them ideal for tasks like movie watching or photo editing.

Graphics Cards
While gaming laptops are the only type of computer explicitly designed for mobile high-end gaming, ultrabooks can handle casual games and current titles on lower quality settings if they are properly configured.

Most ultrabooks rely on Intel's integrated graphics units, which provide basic graphics processing performance. In comparison, discrete laptop graphics units from manufacturers such as AMD and Nvidia offer gaming performance comparable to desktop graphics cards. An ultrabook that is paired with a discrete graphics card offers well-rounded performance for business and recreational applications.

Ports
Intel's strict ultrabook specifications emphasize portability. With maximum thickness requirements of 0.78 to 0.9 inches, the thinnest ultrabooks have to fit a full slate of components into a small chassis. But consequently, manufacturers frequently have to make compromises on an ultrabook's connectivity options. 

Optical drives and Ethernet jacks are often omitted on ultrabooks in order to save space. Manufacturers frequently offer USB-based adapters or external disc drives as an alternative, though these dongles also add additional bulk to the ultrabook. In addition, many ultrabooks offer limited options for display output and include either HDMI or Mini DisplayPort jacks. Still, options such as USB 3.0 ports and audio jacks remain standardized inclusions on all ultrabooks.

Ultrabooks are a smart option for lots of people. They offer processing speed and power comparable to many desktop computers. They also offer the portability of laptops. The dual nature of these computers can make them more expensive than regular laptops, but they are still a great option for home or business use.

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Sol Republic includes four different sizes of tips so you can find a fit for your ear shape. Although we were able to find a comfortable and secure fit, we discovered that these earbuds don’t do the best job of blocking external noise. You have to turn up the volume about 75 percent to block out all ambient noise. Fortunately, this pair of cordless earbuds is our loudest pick – it reached 75 decibels during our tests. The sound quality was detailed with a well-defined bass.

Not only were we impressed with sound quality for music, we found that the SHADOW has the best call quality. This is probably because the microphone rests on your neck, placing it closer to your mouth than if it were built in to the remote like other wireless Bluetooth earbuds.

Speaking of controls, don’t fret – this one still has them. A play and pause button, which also serves as a button for answering and ending calls, is on the right side, along with some volume controls. There is a separate button for powering on the earbuds and putting them in pairing mode. For whatever reason, we had some hiccups when trying to pair the earbuds to our computer, but pairing them to our smartphone took less than a minute. The SHADOW’s battery life is strong, lasting for eight hours.

These cordless earbuds have a one-year warranty, which is the same length as competing wireless earbuds. Sol Republic’s customer support agents are friendly and hold times were practically nonexistent. Besides phone calls, you can reach a support agent over email. Sol Republic also has social media accounts you can interact with, but the company lacks a live chat option.

Summary

Sol Republic’s SHADOW earbuds provided us with the best call quality and impressive sounding audio. However, the earbuds do let in some external noises. They are loud enough to drown it out but at the risk of damaging your hearing.

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Size & Fit

In a sense, earbuds are a lot like a pair of shoes. Some are more comfortable and fit better than others. With the JLab Epic earbuds, you can be certain you'll have a tight and comfortable fit, even if you have ears like Dumbo. You can even use these wireless earbuds when running. We also didn't have any issues with these earbuds falling out when lifting weights, jumping rope and doing calisthenics. JLab includes six different-sized silicone tips so you can get a secure and custom fit.

Even though the earbuds kept a tight seal and remained in our ears, they weren't as easy to put on as other earbuds. You have to wrap them around the back of your ear like a hook and then insert them into your ear canal upside down. The earbud's cord that wraps around your ear is flexible but remains secure. Weighing in at just 0.53 ounces, these earbuds are incredibly lightweight, and we were able to forget they were even there when wearing them for extended periods of time. If you aren't used to around-the-ear-style earbuds though, they may feel funny at first, but you get used to them after wearing them a few times.

Audio Performance

The sound of the Epic cordless earbuds is quite remarkable, considering their price point and the fact that they are wireless. During our sound quality tests, we noticed a trend with wireless earbuds – almost all of them have boosted bass, so you may want to increase the treble for a more balanced sound. This shouldn't be a huge problem, since several people listen to electronic, hip-hop or rock music while working out. While listening to Florence and the Machine's "Shake it Out," the vocals didn't sound as full as they would with a premium pair of headphones. Rest assured, the Epic earbuds sounded better compared to the other wireless earbuds we tested. They are capable of reproducing an array of frequency ranges and sound great.

Although we don't recommend using your earbuds at full volume, if you need to crank up the volume to block out your gym's radio, or any other background noise, these earbuds – which have an 8-mm driver – get quite loud. While wearing these earbuds in the office, people had to motion with their hands to get my attention, the seal is so strong. At the time, the earbuds weren't even at full volume.

Like other earbuds, the Epic has a three-button remote. To pair them to your smartphone, tablet, or computer, press and hold the center button. Pairing was seamless and took less than a minute. The remote, which is located behind your right ear, is easy to find and use. Other earbud remotes weren't positioned as well and felt harder to reach, especially while running.

Battery & Connectivity

The biggest annoyance with wireless earbuds is you have to remember to charge them. A rocking playlist can really make for a stellar workout. And when you open your gym bag, pull out your earbuds and put them in only to find out that they are dead, odds are you're going to be annoyed and a little less motivated to achieve your fitness goals. Fortunately, this pair of wireless earbuds have 10 hours of juice. Charging the buds with the included micro-USB cable on a Dell XPS laptop took a little more than three hours. A full charge lasted us an entire workout week.

We also tested the wireless range for these wireless Bluetooth earbuds. JLab advertises 30 feet, which is standard for most Bluetooth devices. We actually were able to go 85 feet away from our phone before the wireless signal started to break up. Your mileage will vary, depending on if you have lots of furniture or other obstacles that can impede the Bluetooth signal.

Convenience

These earbuds have a built-in microphone, so you can use them to make phone calls or interact with Siri or Google Now. However, since the mic is positioned behind your ear, it doesn't pick up your voice as well as a wired pair of earbuds would.

JLab Epic earbuds are water- and sweat-resistant so if you get caught in the rain or have an intense workout, you shouldn't worry about them breaking. They aren't completely waterproof, so you shouldn't wear them while swimming laps or in the shower. But make sure that the micro-USB port door is shut when wearing them everywhere else to lower the risk of potential water damage. Overall though, these headphones are quite durable. Even though JLab includes a case, we still threw them in a gym bag with sweaty clothes, tennis shoes, and a leaky water bottle without the case. The earbuds came out unscathed and fully operable. The same can be said when they were stashed in my work bag. They withstood the weight of 15-inch MacBook Pro no problem.

Help & Support

JLab provides fantastic customer support. These earbuds come with a one-year warranty. If you need help pairing the earbuds to your device or have any issues, you can reach out to the company by email, telephone or through JLab’s many social media channels. There isn't a live chat option, but JLab does have a FAQs page.

Summary

These are arguably one of the best pairs of wireless earbuds. They have impressive sound quality, a wide wireless range and are incredibly durable. The Epic earbuds fit in most sizes of ears and remain secure, even during the most strenuous of workouts. Not only that, they are comfortable, water-resistant and have a long lasting battery.

JLab Epic BluetoothVisit Site

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Xiaomi made its first appearance at CES this year with the announcement of Mi TV 4 – which is just 4.9 millimeters thick – a whole 30 percent thinner than the iPhone.

The screen almost has no bezel, and it definitely turns some heads. However, it isn't the thinnest. LG unveiled its OLED TV W7, which is just 2.57 mm thick.

 

The display of the Xiaomi Mi TV 4 comes in three different sizes: 65, 59 and 49 inches. The 65-inch version comes with a separate sound bar, and Xiaomi claims the entire system will cost less than $2,000.

The largest model features a modular design that separates the panel from the rest of the components like the CPU and motherboard. These are connected to the display by a single proprietary cable. It also incorporates Dolby's upward-firing Atmos speakers which bounce sounds off your ceiling to create a unique surround sound effect. We saw a demo featuring a clip from the western "Magnificent Seven." The lead character was walking on a balcony above a saloon and the sound of footsteps really seemed as though they were coming from above our heads.

Besides the television, Xiaomi debuted its new Mi Router HD that has up to 8TB of built-in storage. The Wi-Fi router has an attractive aluminum casing and four powerful antennae that deliver speeds up to 2600 Mbps in 802.11ac standard. You can use the router as a NAS server if you wish. We also liked that it supports automatic syncing with Dropbox and lets you back up your devices with Time Machine. As far as pricing goes, the 1TB version will cost under $200; the larger 8TB version should cost less than $500.

Lastly, Xiaomi announced a white version of its Mi Mix smartphone, which will launch later this year. The phone features a gorgeous 6.4-inch (2020 x 1080) IPS LCD display, a speedy Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 4GB or 6GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of internal storage and a 4400 mAh battery.

To our disappointment, Xiaomi still hasn't announced U.S. availability of its products. Currently, the company only ships its products in China. The company says it does plan to launch its smartphones in the States "eventually," but it's hard to say when that will be.

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CES is likely the most opportune time to see and hear what electronics manufacturers are most excited about and what they predict the buying public will be interested in. CES 2017 continued that tradition with more companies than ever trying to win consumers' attention and business for headphones.

Prices for headphones range from bargain basement to the stratosphere. While there’s certainly some correlation between price and quality, there are some remarkably well-priced headphones that will meet the needs of lots of people under myriad circumstances. Here are a few over-the-ear headphones that opened our eyes at CES 2017.

If the Sky’s Not the Limit

If you have absolutely no room for compromise in your audio gear, not to mention virtually no limit to your bank account, there’s only one choice, the fabled Sennheiser HE-1 electrostatic headphones. After waiting for a couple of years in anticipation, CES 2017 was the first time I actually had an opportunity to listen to them, and it was an experience that I’ll not soon forget. Even firing them up is exciting as the eight vacuum tubes emerge from the amplifier that powers them. The amp is made of Carrara marble for a luxurious feel that lets you know that you’re special.

But how do they sound? As near to perfect as I can imagine. I simply heard the music, uncolored by the equipment that delivers it. And that’s the goal of audiophile gear. Pure music as the artist intended with no nuances blocking the way. The Sennheiser HE-1 is, as far as I can tell, the best headphone available. Period. The price, though, is well beyond the reach of almost all of us at $55,000. I certainly will never own a pair. Indeed, I don’t know anyone who is likely to buy them, but dreaming is free.

Beyond the HE-1, Sennheiser ranks consistently among our favorite headphones, and there are many from which to choose, including three wireless models announced at CES 2017.

Standouts That Real People Can Afford

Blue is a company that’s known for microphones. From studio models to a wide range of USB microphones, Blue is a favorite among podcasters. The company has added a range of headphones to its lineup. The new lineup, sporting female names including Ella, Sadie and Lola rather than model numbers, is notable. I particularly liked Ella, which, rather than the ubiquitous dynamic drivers design, is based on the superior technology of planar magnetic drivers. The sound is exceptionally clear and detailed.

V-Moda offers a wide range of quality headphones and earbuds. Its wired models generally have corresponding wireless offerings. The news here is in the quality of the Bluetooth headphones compared to their wired counterparts. I listened to the Crossfade Wireless headphones in both wired and wireless modes, finding there to be close to no difference. That says a lot, since we’d expect wireless sound quality to be less. V-Moda could be on to something here, and I’m anxious to test them in our own lab.

A wide selection of excellent headphones is available for listening at CES 2017. The new Sound Reality Hi-Res Audio models are exceptional. Sound is crisp and clean. Clean deep bass, strong mid-range and exhilarating treble is apparent in these phones. In-ear models are also available.

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For too long, it’s been easier to share the photos you take with your smartphone than those grabbed with your trusty DSLR. No matter how great your DSLR might be or how fine your skills are, when you just want to share that perfect moment to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, using your smartphone is a guarantee that your friends and family will quickly see what the fuss is about. Using your camera means waiting until you can get home and fiddle with SD cards and oversized images.

No longer. At CES 2017 in Las Vegas, Nikon announced that it has integrated Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth into one of our top picks for entry-level DSLRs: the 24.2MP D5600. It’s a move that could change the photo sharing game.

Why You Should Care

With its new and improved connectivity, every time you take a picture using a D5600, a low-res version gets automatically uploaded to your phone via Nikon's Snapbridge app – no more SD cards to transfer or cables to hook up between your camera and a computer. On top of that, the D5600 is one of the few DSLRs to sport a touchscreen, which means you can use your fingers to focus, shoot, crop and edit your pictures.

The D5600 also has a dedicated mic port and supports 1080p video recording at 60 fps, which makes it a good choice for budding filmmaker. Other specs include a 24.2MP sensor, 5 fps continuous shooting and an ISO range from 100 to 25,600.

Pricing & Availability

The D5600 will be available in late January 2017, starting at $799 for a kit including an 18-55mm lens. There will also be a kit featuring an 18-140mm VR lens for $1,200 and a two-lens kit with an 18-55mm lens and a 70-300mm lens for $1,150.

Outlook

The D5500 was already among our favorite DSLRs under $1,000, and with its new built-in Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth, as well as simpler sharing and new touch-based controls and cropping, the D5600 is well-worth a $100 increase in price over its predecessor.

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Entry-level DSLRs are a fantastically reliable way to capture high-quality images and have remained the go-to choice for photography enthusiasts on a budget. In recent years, mirrorless cameras have been the real headline grabbers, boasting smaller, slimmer designs while entry-level DSLRs remain reliable as ever yet experience little more than incremental updates once a year or two.

This year at CES, the U.S. release announcement for the Nikon D5600 was the only update we saw for entry-level DSLRs, and while it’s an incredibly capable camera, most of its changes are relatively small. Those most noteworthy are its new Snapbridge connection, touchscreen scrubbing and in-camera time lapse creation.

The Snapbridge connection is an always-on low-power connection that the camera uses to automatically sync full-sized JPEGs with your smartphone or tablet. This is a relatively small change since Nikon’s entry-level DSLRs have had Wi-Fi and NFC for a while, but the automatic nature of it all could prove to make a big difference. The more steps we can take out of the process from shooting to sharing, the better.

The D5600 features a swiveling touchscreen display much like the cameras that preceded it. But regardless of the display, browsing through photos after a heavy day of shooting has always been challenging with the relatively basic controls found on an entry-level DSLR. To help alleviate this, the D5600's touchscreen now allows you to scrub through your photos much like you would scrub through a video on your phone, rather than swiping through photos individually.

In-camera time lapse is a great feature for those looking to create more than just photos with their camera. This mode lets you choose the duration, resolution and framerate of your photo, then the camera automatically takes photos at your predetermined intervals, combining all of the photos into a finished MOV file. It makes getting a DSLR-quality time lapse easier than ever before.

Aside from its stand-out features, there are many specs from the D5500 that carry over into the new version. The D5600 retains the same EXPEED 4 image processor, 5 fps continuous shooting and 39-point autofocus system as its predecessor. It also has essentially the same sensor.

The D5600 will ship with a 24.2-megapixel CMOS sensor. Like the sensor found in the D5500, it lacks an anti-aliasing filter. This can increase the instances of moiré, a strange effect caused by extremely fine or complicated patterns, but it makes for sharper, clearer images on the whole and is generally seen as a positive move.

Overall, we were impressed by the D5600 during our brief encounter with it at CES. However, with a retail price of $799.95, it’s definitely on the expensive end for an entry-level DSLR, but not unexpectedly so considering its robust feature set. For those looking for the same great image quality at a lower price, check out our other reviews .

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One exciting trend we saw at CES 2017 was the surge in gaming laptops priced below the $1,000 mark. In a category dominated by tricked-out gaming rigs that sell for thousands of dollars, the introduction of NVIDIA’s new GeForce GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti graphics open up new affordable options for anyone who wants gaming capability in an inexpensive laptop design. These discrete graphics cards offer gaming-grade performance on current titles, delivering 60 frames per second at full HD (1080p) resolution. In this affordable gaming category, we saw several new models announced by major manufacturers, including Acer, Dell, Lenovo and Samsung.

While there are some strong similarities between these four new systems, especially on the hardware front, they are far from identical. Varied features, capabilities and aesthetics make each one distinct. However, they all have one important thing in common: a price that puts PC gaming in the reach of many, many more people.

Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming

While Dell has primarily sold gaming systems under the Alienware brand, it announced an updated version of its unsung gaming hero, the Dell Inspiron 15 Gaming. We called it out recently as the best sub-$1,000 gaming laptop, and Dell has upped the ante with new hardware and an improved design.

The previous model was essentially a regular Inspiron with a fancy paint job, and the new version gets a makeover, with larger rear-facing ventilation grilles for better cooling, a patterned lattice speaker grille across the front of the chassis and a new aesthetic that makes it clear the laptop is built for the gaming grid.

The updated model benefits from NVIDIA’s new entry-level gaming graphics cards. While that’s a far cry from the multi-monitor 4K- and VR-ready performance more expensive models offer, gaming at 1080p is perfectly acceptable for the budget gamer. It’s even more acceptable in terms of price, with starting configurations selling for $799.

Lenovo Legion

Lenovo has renamed and rebranded its gaming laptop line. The once drab-sounding Ideapad Y series is now the Lenovo Legion line of gaming laptops. This week, Lenovo announced the first two members of the Legion family: the 15-inch Legion Y520 and the 17-inch Legion Y720.

The new Legion Y720 has plenty of gaming chops and some new glowing features. The laptop now has a multicolor backlit keyboard – a feature previously restricted to the most premium models. More importantly, it comes with the now standard NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics and can be configured with up to a quad-core Core i7-7700HQ processor. New functions abound, with optional Microsoft Hello and surround sound, and VR capability comes standard on models with at least an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 GPU.

Lenovo has also added some software to expand the usefulness of your VR headsets. A VR media center lets you watch movies in a virtual theater and gives you the option to play many non-VR games through the headset, using your gaze for aiming and cursor control. The laptop has Xbox controller support built in, so there’s no need for any clunky dongles just to use your favorite gamepad.

The 15-inch Legion Y520 will be available this February with a starting price of $899, while the larger and better-appointed Legion Y720 should be available in April, with base configurations selling for $1,399 or more.

Samsung Odyssey

Samsung has jumped into gaming with both feet with the new Notebook Odyssey line of gaming laptops. These slim, affordable gaming rigs feature lightweight plastic designs with a lot of visual pizzazz. A glowing logo adorns the lid while a glossy, LED-backed visual feature surrounds the touchpad. Samsung points out that the Notebook Odyssey has sculpted keycaps for comfort and a dedicated button for performance boost.

The underside of the laptop is essentially an integrated cooling pad, allowing better airflow thanks to a patterned ventilation grille. The grille panel can also be removed, providing access to user-upgradeable RAM and SSD slots. The laptops will offer a number of configurable options, but the 15-inch model can be outfitted with up to 32GB of RAM, while the 17-inch boasts up to 64GB. The Notebook Odyssey will be available in 15- and 17-inch sizes, with both black and white options for the 15-inch model and the 17-inch available only in black.

The 15-inch Samsung Notebook Odyssey will be available sometime this spring, and the 17-inch model will follow later in the year. Pricing details were not yet available as of this writing.

Acer Aspire VX 15 Notebook

While Acer has been in the affordable gaming category for years with its Predator and Aspire Nitro V model lines, it also has something new up its sleeves for the introduction of NVIDIA’s new budget gaming cards. The Acer Aspire VX 15 may not have the snazzy Nitro name, but it looks a lot more like a gaming system, with a red-on-black color scheme, large red-ringed ventilation grilles on the back and a red backlit keyboard.

The Aspire VX 15 can be outfitted with up to an Intel Core i7-7700HQ quad-core processor and 16GB of RAM, though users can upgrade it themselves to as much as 32GB. It will also be available with either the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or the VR-ready NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060. The laptop is available this month, starting at $799.

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