Tag Archives: region|US

Amazon’s Kindle is $20 off right now

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If you're one of the many who made a New Year's resolution to read more, an ereader can help by putting your whole library (and more) at your fingertips wherever you are. While not as expensive as an iPad or another flagship tablet, these e-paper devices can be more expensive than you think, but right now you can save on one of our favorites. Amazon's base Kindle is on sale for $90 — that's $20 less than usual and only $10 more than its record-low price.

This made our list of the best ereaders, and for good reason. It's an iconic device that gets the job done. It doesn't have much by way of modern bells and whistles, but it ships with 16GB of storage and comes in two snazzy colorways.

The build is compact and durable. It's also light, which makes it easy to pack and easy to hold up with one hand. It allows access to the vast Kindle library and this deal comes with three months of Kindle Unlimited. That's sort of like Netflix, but for books. The selection isn't comprehensive, but I've always found something to read when in a pinch.

This is an entry-level device. There's no color screen and no option to use a stylus. The battery, however, does last around six weeks with regular use. This is a metric I can personally confirm. It seems like I barely charge mine and it's always ready to go.

The only major downside here is that this is one of those Amazon devices that forces ads on you. There is a version without lockscreen ads, but it costs more. I never really found them to be all that intrusive, given that they are tethered to the lockscreen and mostly advertise books.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazons-kindle-is-20-off-right-now-183302861.html?src=rss

Clicks is bringing its first smartphone and a new keyboard to CES 2026

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Clicks is bringing its physical keyboard products to CES yet again, and these are chock full of nostalgia. The company has also unveiled its first smartphone, aimed at "communication, not consumption," that it says will function as a second phone used mostly for messaging.

The phone is dubbed the Clicks Communicator and features a tactile keyboard, a 4-inch OLED display, a 3.5mm headphone jack and expandable microSD storage up to 2TB. The interface is built on Android 16 and supports hardware-level encryption.

Even though Clicks says it wants to leave "content capture" to a users' primary device, the Communicator still sports a 50MP main camera and 24MP front camera. The phone also has NFC to support Google Pay, along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capability. Its 4,000 mAh battery can be charged via USB-C or wireless charging.

While the Communicator may look like a Blackberry or Palm device from days gone by, it carries modern features like a fingerprint sensor in the spacebar. It also has what Clicks calls a Signal LED, which is a customizable alert light that lets users know when specific people or apps are causing notifications.

As much as Clicks talks about its new phone as a secondary device, it follows the trend of minimalist or "dumb" phones as more users pull away from an overexposure to technology, social media and notifications. Some might even find it compelling as a primary device. But the secondary device idea feels unproven: having two phones would mean two phone plans with two phone numbers, which could be impractical for many users. The Communicator can be reserved now for $399 and will increase to $499 on February 27.

For users wanting a tactile keyboard to use with standard smartphones, Clicks has made the Power Keyboard. It features a QWERTY layout with directional keys and a number row. It attaches via MagSafe or Qi2 and has a 2,150 mAh battery to help keep your phone topped up. The phone can then be flipped into either a horizontal or vertical orientation, which ends up resembling a T-Mobile Sidekick.

Clicks Power Keyboard
Clicks

The keyboard is compatible with both iOS and Android and since it pairs via Bluetooth, it can also be used with tablets, smart TVs and virtual reality headsets. Pre-orders for the Power Keyboard will open January 2 and an actual launch is expected in the spring. The keyboard will retail for $110, though early-bird pricing is available for $80.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/clicks-is-bringing-its-first-smartphone-and-a-new-keyboard-to-ces-2026-182239003.html?src=rss

How to watch Awesome Games Done Quick 2026

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It's time for more speedrunning (and other shenanigans) with the Games Done Quick (GDQ) crew. The first event of the year, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), kicks off on Sunday, January 4, with Super Mario Sunshine. Donations for this year's shindig will benefit the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

AGDQ 2026 has a whole week of 24/7 speedruns on tap. You'll see slots for some of 2025's biggest games: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II are part of the festivities. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater gets both a standard run and a "versus" showdown. There's also plenty of classic Nintendo fare, including (among others) Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Super Mario 64.

Screen grab of a speedrunning Twitch stream. A Dick Tracy game, overlaid with a live view of the speedrunners — including one dressed like Dick Tracy.
A snippet of last year's festivities
GDQ

If you like weird, there’s plenty of that to chew on, too. The GDQ team is fond of dusting off forgotten, uh, "gems" for some entertaining playthroughs. Who can forget 1996's Bill Nye: The Science Guy - Stop the Rock! or 1994's Adventures of Yogi Bear? And although it's a 2022 game, children of the '80s can revisit the gross-out trading cards of their youth, in Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum.

AGDQ 2026 runs from January 4 to 10. The livestream begins on Sunday at 11:30AM ET on the official GDQ Twitch channel. You can browse the full schedule for more details.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-awesome-games-done-quick-2026-174938687.html?src=rss

LG made up a new word for its next ultralight Gram laptops: ‘Aerominum’

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LG just announced some new Gram AI laptops ahead of CES 2026. These are incredibly portable laptops that the company says are the "lightest in their class." This is largely thanks to a proprietary material that LG has dubbed Aerominum.

This material reportedly "reduces the laptop's weight while reinforcing" structural strength. In other words, these computers are both light and durable. Each model offers improved scratch resistance, while providing a "sleek metallic finish." The laptops have also been designed to meet military-grade durability standards.

The AI in the name refers to the inclusion of Microsoft Copilot+ PC and LG's on-device system. The laptops should be able to handle some AI tasks without an active internet connection.

These computers can also access LG's Link technology, which allows file sharing and screen mirroring across multiple devices. This works with smartphones, webOS devices, TVs, monitors and projectors.

There are two new laptops in the refreshed line. The LG gram Pro 17 boasts a 17-inch WQXGA LCD screen. It also comes with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 GPU. This is being called the "world's lightest 17-inch laptop." The LG gram Pro 16 features an OLED display and is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra processors.

We don't have pricing or availability yet on these. We'll update this post when we find out. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lg-made-up-a-new-word-for-its-next-ultralight-gram-laptops-aerominum-172323577.html?src=rss

Pebble brings its round-faced smartwatch back from the dead

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You’ve probably heard people say it’s impossible to go back and correct some error from the past. To those people, you should raise a middle finger in defiance (they are miserable, after all), and then point them to the tale of Pebble’s unlikely revival. The smartwatch pioneer’s return was a surprise of 2025, and now the company has resurrected one of its last great triumphs. It’s announcing the Pebble Round 2, and company founder Eric Migicovsky is looking to put right what once went wrong.

The Pebble Round 2 is the successor to the Pebble Time Round, which debuted in 2015 to what can only be described as frustrated reviews. It was a truly thin smartwatch, with a glorious round display, but that came at the cost of battery life and durability. The fancier components also added to the cost which pushed it to an unreasonable-for-the-time $249. It’s these flaws which the company has sought to address with the Round 2, as well as some of the issues that weren’t deal breakers at the time, but certainly weren’t ideal. 

For instance, the massive bezel around the display is now a thing of the past, with the Round 2’s 1.3-inch color e-paper touchscreen now stretching to the edge of its case. The viewing angles have also been dramatically improved, enabling you to check the time without having to move your wrist. The display has also been bonded to the glass crystal, reducing reflectivity and glare which was another downside for the original model. 

Better still, the battery life is now more than two weeks on a single charge, giving it the sort of Pebble-esque longevity its users demand. And it’s retained that thinness — measuring in at just 8.1mm — which is far more elegant than the chunkier smartwatches from other manufacturers. Plus, there’s dual microphones for interacting with AI agents and dictating messages, as well as step and sleep tracking.

Migicovsky explained that the focus here isn’t just to correct some of the more glaring issues from the first model. As he wrote back in 2022, Pebble’s failure was down to its attempt to broaden its appeal beyond the users who had so warmly adopted it in the first place. Consequently, rather than include bulky features like a a built-in optical heart-rate sensor, the focus is on utility. Not to mention a desire to reintroduce some much-needed whimsy into hardware, and empowering users to tinker with their devices, enabling them to craft their own watch faces.

Hopefully, we’ll get some time in person with the Pebble Round 2 in the next few days, but in the meantime, it’s up for pre-order from today. It’ll set you back $199, and will begin shipping in May. And if you’ve already put down cash for a Pebble Time 2, and want to change your mind, you can switch your order over, no questions asked.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pebble-brings-its-round-faced-smartwatch-back-from-the-dead-150000172.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: Everything we expect at CES 2026

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We’re gearing up for CES 2026! Engadget will be on the ground, once again, to dive into the latest TVs, wearables and other wild tech from the world’s biggest consumer electronics show. In this episode, we chat about some new products we expect to see, like Micro RGB LED TVs and AI devices, and peer into what’s ahead for the rest of 2026.

Subscribe!

Credits

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/engadget-podcast-everything-we-expect-at-ces-2026-144657955.html?src=rss

Elon Musk’s Grok AI posted CSAM image following safeguard ‘lapses’

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Elon Musk's Grok AI has been allowing users to transform photographs of woman and children into sexualized and compromising images, Bloomberg reported. The issue has created an uproar among users on X and prompted an "apology" from the bot itself. "I deeply regret an incident on Dec. 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a user's prompt," Grok said in a post. An X representative has yet to comment on the matter.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, CSAM includes "AI-generated content that makes it look like a child is being abused," as well as "any content that sexualizes or exploits a child for the viewer’s benefit."

Several days ago, users noticed others on the site asking Grok to digitally manipulate photos of women and children into sexualized and abusive content, according to CNBC. The images were then distributed on X and other sites without consent, in possible violation of law. "We've identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing them," a response from Grok reads. It added that CSAM is "illegal and prohibited." Grok is supposed to have features to prevent such abuse, but AI guardrails can often be manipulated by users.

It appears X has yet to reinforced whatever guardrails Grok has to prevent this sort of image generation. However, the company has hidden Grok's media feature which makes it harder to either find images or document potential abuse. Grok itself acknowledged that "a company could face criminal or civil penalties if it knowingly facilitates or fails to prevent AI-generated CSAM after being alerted." 

The Internet Watch Foundation recently revealed that AI-generated CSAM has increased by an increase orders of magnitude in 2025 compared to the year before. This is in part because the language models behind AI generation are accidentally trained on real photos of children scraped from school websites and social media or even prior CSAM content.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/elon-musks-grok-ai-posted-csam-image-following-safeguard-lapses-140521454.html?src=rss

Fender Audio will introduce a new line of Bluetooth speakers and headphones at CES

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Fender Audio, the consumer electronics arm of the instrument maker, will introduce two flagship audio products at this year's CES in Las Vegas. These products were made under a licensing agreement with Singapore-based company RiffSound.

First up is a line of Bluetooth speakers dubbed the ELIE (Extremely Loud Infinitely Expressive). The lineup includes two models, the E6 and E12. The speakers leverage a combination of DSP and system-on-a-chip processing, which Fender says can deliver more volume while maintaining greater power efficiency.

Each speaker can handle up to four audio channels at once, including a Bluetooth source, a wired XLR or 1/4-inch input and two additional wireless channels with compatible Fender Audio accessories. Users can also sync up two ELIE speakers in a stereo set-up. The announcement was light on specific differences between the E6 and E12, but in images shared with Engadget, the E12 appears larger. We'll be seeing these in person at CES for a more thorough evaluation.

Fender will also introduce the MIX headphones, a set of modular cans that the company says are designed to adapt to a user's sound and style preferences. The headphones include a USB-C transmitter that offers lossless, low-latency and Auracast transmission modes.

The headphones are powered by 40mm graphene drivers and feature active noise cancellation. They work in wired or wireless mode, with up to 100 hours of battery life, according to Fender. The company hasn't shared much about the modular aspect of these headphones, but we'll get a closer look at CES. Details on pricing and availability have not been shared.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/fender-audio-will-introduce-a-new-line-of-bluetooth-speakers-and-headphones-at-ces-130041696.html?src=rss

How to watch the Lenovo Tech World event at CES 2026

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We've known for several months now that tech giant Lenovo is hosting its Tech World event at Sphere is Las Vegas during CES week. And like many other tech conglomerates, the world's largest PC manufacturer by units shipped is centering its focus on AI. Lenovo says it will be a "Tech World experience unlike anything CES has seen before." We'll tell you where to livestream the event and what the company has teased so far.

Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will host the event on Tuesday, January 6 at 8PM ET. You can follow along to the livestream on YouTube once the event starts. (We've embedded the code below.)

Lenovo is using the high-profile Sphere venue to share some of its tie-ins to the sports world, offering an exclusive look at how the company's technology has "revolutionized F1," Yang said in a press release. He'll also preview the plans for leveraging AI at this summer's FIFA World Cup, which takes place in the US.

After the event has wrapped up, pop singer Gwen Stefani will take the stage to perform.

As for real products, look for Lenovo to build on some of its successful launches from CES 2025. A year ago, we saw the portable Lenovo Legion Go S – the first third-party SteamOS handheld gaming device – as well as its "stretchy" laptop, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable that extends 2.7 inches taller with a touch of a button. To Lenovo's credit, both products were actually released and available for sale within months, unlike the vaporware that seems to comprise the bulk of many companies' CES announcements.

Lastly, don't be surprised if we see some new Motorola smartphones, given that Lenovo is the parent company of the phone manufacturer. Maybe a new Razr foldable? We'll find out either way on Tuesday evening.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/how-to-watch-the-lenovo-tech-world-event-at-ces-2026-130004983.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Instagram boss says ‘more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media’

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Instagram’s top exec Adam Mosseri expects AI content to overtake non-AI imagery and discussed the implications for the platform and users.

Mosseri shared his thoughts on broader trends he expects to shape Instagram in 2026. “Everything that made creators matter — the ability to be real, to connect, to have a voice that couldn’t be faked — is now suddenly accessible to anyone with the right tools,” he wrote. “The feeds are starting to fill up with synthetic everything.” He added: “There is already a growing number of people who believe, as I do, that it will be more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media.”

Mosseri doesn’t address the risk that this will alienate many photographers and other creators who have already grown frustrated with the app — it looks like Instagram is leaning into the AI firehose. And hey: whatever keeps its users using it.

Mosseri suggests many complaints stem from an outdated vision of what Instagram even is. The feed of “polished” square images, he says, “is dead.” Instead of trying to “make everyone look like a professional photographer,” Mosseri says that more “raw” and “unflattering” images will be how creators can prove they are real — not AI.

Or you could leave Instagram?

— Mat Smith

TMA
LG

CES kicks off this weekend. We’ve got a full preview that we’ll update in the run-up to the full show, but the major tech announcements will likely center on chips (ah, AI) and new TV tech (ah, CES). Intel is finally taking the wraps off its Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) chips — the first to debut on the company’s 18A process. With a promised 50 percent performance boost, Intel needs to prove it can still compete with NVIDIA and AMD. Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang will deliver a keynote at the Las Vegas show, while AMD’s Lisa Su teases Ryzen 9000-series refreshes and more.

This year’s TV obsession is Micro RGB. Samsung is going big — literally — with a Micro RGB lineup spanning 55 to 115 inches. LG, meanwhile, has its own Micro RGB Evo panels, boasting over a thousand dimming zones for that elusive “perfect” contrast. We’ll be on the ground in Vegas to separate the legitimate, exciting new tech from the marketing fluff and AI assistant tchotchkes. And remember me mentioning the celebrity CES parade? Well, will.i.am is back at CES, this time curiously involved with LG’s portable speakers. Check it off your CES bingo card.

Continue reading.

TMA
OneXSugar

OneXPlayer is quickly establishing itself as a company unafraid to get weird as hell. (Take, for example, its pseudo-foldable dual-screen console). This time, while it initially appears to be another standard dual-screen model, the Android-powered OneXSugar Wallet instead uses a single foldable screen. The OneXSugar Wallet was teased in a 54-second video on the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili. Retro Handhelds reports the Wallet uses an 8.01-inch OLED with a 2,480 x 1,860 resolution. That’s a 4:3 aspect ratio when unfolded, making it very retro-gaming friendly.

Given the foldable screen tech, the price might not be. OneXSugar hasn’t shared that detail yet.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121544371.html?src=rss