Month: April 2023

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  The Kobo Elipsa 2E. [credit: Rakuten Kobo ]

Rakuten is updating its pen-compatible Elipsa e-reader in an effort to make it more competitive with e-reader-turned-notepads like the reMarkable 2 and the Kindle Scribe. The new Kobo Elipsa 2E is a 10.3-inch e-reader with a pen that can be used to take notes, annotate documents, and make notes in books you're reading. The device can be preordered now and will start shipping on April 19.

The Elipsa 2E shares a few things in common with Amazon's Kindle Scribe hardware, including a large asymmetrical side bezel, a warm screen light that can reduce eyestrain in the evenings, Bluetooth support for listening to audiobooks, and a USB-C port. Its 227 PPI screen isn't as sharp as the Scribe's 300 PPI screen, but it's the same density as the screen included in the reMarkable 2. The Elipsa also weighs a little less than the Scribe (0.88 pounds, down from 0.96), though they're close enough that holding the two tablets should feel similar.

The Kobo Elipsa 2E's pen accessory. (credit: Rakuten Kobo)

The Elipsa's $400 price tag is OK for what you get. The Scribe starts at $340, but that gets you a less-capable Basic Pen and just 16GB of storage; stepping up to the 32GB Scribe and the Premium Pen raises the price to $390, a lot closer to the Elipsa. Kobo doesn't offer other storage capacities or alternate pens, though it will sell you a case for an extra $70. The Elipsa does have features that the Scribe doesn't offer, though, including a "lasso" tool for quickly grabbing and moving things you've written or drawn and integration with Dropbox and ("coming soon") Google Drive.

Enlarge / Apple's 2023 Mac mini. If you've seen one, you've seen them all, but it's what's on the inside that counts. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Today's best deals feature a $100 price cut on the 2023 entry-level Mac mini, a new record low. Samsung's high-performance 980 Pro internal SSD and Amazon's Fire 7 Kids tablet are also seeing the lowest prices we've tracked. Elsewhere on the web, we have deals on AirPods Pro, regular AirPods, and the latest iPad Air that all match their previous record-low prices. As always, we use tracking sites like CamelCamelCamel and Keepa to compare current sale prices to the typical street price to ensure the sales we find are good deals, too.

Apple Mac mini (2023) M2, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage for $500 ($600)

Apple's latest entry-level Mac mini desktop computer is seeing its biggest discount yet, down from $600 to $500. Equipped with Apple's M2 processor and 8GB of RAM, we found the Mac mini to be cool, quiet, energy-efficient, and packing enough power for almost any rich media content creation you'd do outside of a professional studio context. Folks who need more should look to the M2 Pro-equipped minis. This is a new record-low for the 2023 mini, so we don't expect it to last long.

Left to right: Apple's AirPods (2nd generation), AirPods (3rd generation), and AirPods Pro. (credit: Jeff Dunn)

Apple AirPods Pro for $200 ($250), AirPods for $150 ($170)

Apple's latest AirPods Pro are also at their lowest recorded prices, matching Black Friday lows, as are the base model AirPods. The Pro model adds noise cancellation and rubber tips to control outside sounds and provide a better fit. It's great for plane and train rides, but you can turn on Transparency Mode to tune in to your surroundings if you're out for a run in a busy area. Apple says this mode will also tune in to voices better, which one study found the AirPods Pro to do well enough to compete with some hearing aids. These features bring battery life down to about 4.5 hours versus the regular AirPod's six-hour life, but if these features are important to you, it could be worth the compromise. Both models are sweatproof, according to Apple, and they utilize spatial audio to tune the music to your unique ear shape. The Pro just does more to keep out (or let in) outside sounds and keep the buds snug in your ear.

Enlarge (credit: VIDOK | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

After Redditors called out a Virginia-based tech firm for posting an “illegal and nauseating” job ad—which specified that only white US-born citizens would be considered—Arthur Grand Technologies has deleted the ad and shut down its website and social media presence entirely.

The deleted job ad was posted on Indeed, seeking to hire a Dallas-based business analyst for a long-term contract. The ad included a note labeled “don’t share with candidates” that said that “Only US Born Citizens [White]” would be considered, inciting outrage that not only was the job listing giving preference to white candidates but that the company intended to hide these illegal criteria from applicants.

On Reddit, commenters encouraged applicants of every race and ethnicity to apply, then file a complaint with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance to report Arthur Grand and prompt an investigation into alleged discriminatory hiring practices violating federal law.

Enlarge (credit: Ram)

Ram was the last of the big three automakers to show off an electric pickup truck, finally doing so during this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Ram 1500 Revolution concept was boldly styled, with dramatically raked A pillars, that same angle repeated between cab and bed, and wheel arches so swollen you might think they were having an anaphylactic reaction.

Today, Ram showed off the production 1500 REV electric pickup at the New York International Auto Show, and while the styling is a lot more conventional than January's concept, a look at the specs left me audibly uttering "WTF."

If you can’t be first, you might as well go farthest

So far, Ford and Rivian have the electric pickup market to themselves. GMC had to stop building the gargantuan Hummer EV for a while, and Tesla's Cybertruck is still poised to enter production without any sign that has actually happened. Meanwhile Chevrolet's Silverado EV should be about to start appearing on roads and job sites, as spring 2023 is when deliveries of the work truck version are scheduled to begin.

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  The Motorola Edge 40 Pro. You'd have a hard time picking this out of a lineup. [credit: Motorola ]

These days Motorola is mostly known as a mid- to low-end smartphone manufacturer thanks to product lines like the Moto G, but the Lenovo division still makes flagship smartphones. The latest is the Motorola Edge 40 Pro, which the company says is headed to Europe in a few days and Latin America in a few weeks. The US is left out of the party, but Motorola's latest blog post promises to "expand the edge family in North America this year." (Presumably, Lenovo's flagship US phone is supposed to be excitingly branded "ThinkPhone," but that still hasn't launched yet despite being announced three months ago.)

In Europe, the Edge 40 Pro is 899.99 euro, or about $982, so this phone needs to be on par with the best Android phones out there. The specs are close, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The OLED display has a unique stat line of 165 Hz with a 2400×1080 resolution—typically flagships have a 120 Hz display at 1440p. The battery is smaller than expected at 4600 mAh, when most phones pack in 5000 mAh at this size.

It has IP68 dust and water resistance, Android 13, Wi-Fi 7 support, NFC, an in-screen fingerprint reader, and 15 W wireless charging. One standout is the 125 W wired charging, which Motorola says will charge the phone in 23 minutes. For cameras, Motorola has included a "triple high-res camera system," which includes a 50 MP main camera, a wide-angle camera, and a 12 MP 2x telephoto camera on the back; the front has a 60 MP selfie camera.

Enlarge (credit: Best Buy)

Best Buy today announced an expansion of its electronics recycling program that lets people send in electronics without leaving their home. The retailer is now selling prepaid boxes that customers can stuff with unwanted tech and send to Best Buy for recycling.

Customers can buy a small box (9×5×3 inches) for $23 that supports up to six pounds of unwanted electronics. The medium box (9×5×3 inches) is $30 and can support up to 15 pounds. Best Buy's announcement referred to this "nationwide service" as a "pilot program." We've reached out to the company about what sort of limitations that implies and will update this article if we hear back. As of writing, though, the boxes seem available for purchase.

Although Best Buy already has an in-store recycling program, the recycling boxes target people who might not live close to a Best Buy or have an easy way to get to one.

Enlarge / Dawn Aerospace's Mk-II Aurora takes to the skies under rocket power. (credit: Dawn Aerospace)

A New Zealand-based space company, Dawn Aerospace, said Wednesday it had completed the first three test flights of a rocket-powered spaceplane.

This Mk-II Aurora vehicle measures 4.5 meters long and is powered by a combustion rocket engine fueled by kerosene and hydrogen peroxide. During its initial flights, the vehicle flew to an altitude of about 1,800 meters and reached a maximum speed of about 315 kilometers per hour, the company said.

The test campaign, which is taking place from the Glentanner Aerodrome in New Zealand, will eventually see this vehicle top out at about 20 kilometers. The lessons learned from this plane will be put into a second version of the Mk-II Aurora, which could take flight before the end of this year or early in 2024.