Have you ever wondered what you could do with $44bn? It’s an inconceivable amount for most people. With all that money, Elon Musk could have brought 42 million people back from the brink of starvation six times over, or contributed significantly to the fight against climate change. But no, the richest man in the world (or at least, publicly the richest) has decided to invest 16% of his fortune in the purchase of Twitter....

Nowadays, when almost everyone seems glued to their phones, the idea of using a ‘dumb phone’ has become pretty appealing to many people. Whether you want to cut back on distractions, reduce your screen time, or just simplify your life, switching to one of the best basic phones can be a great option. But before you make the jump, here are seven important questions you should ask yourself. 1. Why do I want a dumb phone?...

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Beware of quality-control issues on an otherwise just about serviceable Windows laptop. The Extensa 15 keeps price and performance low with its cheap components and free Windows OS, but at just £280 it should prove popular. Best Prices Today: Acer Extensa EX2508-C3QZ Acer builds the Extensa 15 as a very basic budget business laptop, although its no-nonsense values may appeal to anyone just looking for a cheap Windows laptop ....

Acer has refreshed both the design and names of its Swift laptops. The range includes the Swift Go – a thin and light notebook designed for everyday use. It is joined by the flagship Acer Swift 14 for those who want a high-end design, as well as the Acer Swift X 14 if you’re looking for more powerful performance. Tech Advisor got an early glimpse of all the models in the 2023 Swift line-up, which have been unveiled at CES 2023....

At a Glance Our Verdict We’re quite simply bemused by the Alcatel OneTouch Xess tablet which is designed for use around the home yet is bigger and heavier than a full-size laptop, let alone a normal tablet. It’s not suited for use in the hand or the lap so is more like a portable all-in-one when it comes to design. If the firm fixes the performance issues and gives it a budget price then it might have a slim chance, but our initial impression is that this is a back to the drawing board case....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Inexpensive Health monitoring features Amazon Alexa Cons No GPS Manual triggering of exercise modes Small text Our Verdict An inexpensive fitness tracker with some surprising extras including Alexa and blood oxygen monitoring Best Prices Today: Amazfit Band 5 If you’re looking for a no-nonsense fitness tracker with some notifications on top, then Amazfit is a name worthy of your attention. The brand is part of Huami, the company previously responsible for making Xiaomi’s cheap and very cheerful wearable products, including the excellent Mi Band 5....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Uncongested whole-home coverage Straightforward set-up Compact design Cons Limited ports Our Verdict The standard Eero mesh Wi-Fi system is an excellent whole-home solution for people who have struggled with wireless not-spots and Wi-Fi boosters in the past. Eero set out to be the last word in whole-home Wi-Fi when it launched in 2016. Since then, the likes of BT Whole Home Wi-Fi , Netgear Orbi , and Google Nest Wifi have all hit shelves promising a similar core offering – multiple wireless hubs set around your home using the same network ID....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict UPDATE : As of 2 June 2016, the Fire HD 10 is also available in a rather attractive silver aluminium casing (just on the back) which gives it a premium feel at the same price of £169.99. View it here . As usual, this is the base price, so you’ll have to put up with adverts on the lock screen unless you opt to pay an extra £10 when ordering....

AMD is on a roll. The US chipmaker continues to eat into Intel’s CPU market share, hitting a record 25% by the end of 2021. This progress has been driven by the strong performance of its Ryzen processors, which took a big leap forward with the Ryzen 5000 Series . 2022’s Ryzen 6000 Series only includes laptop CPUs, but AMD has already confirmed that its successor – the Ryzen 7000 Series – will also feature desktop processors....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros 12 ports, inc 3 display ports Two 30W, 10Gbps USB-C ports Up to four external 4K displays at 60Hz Power button Cons Expensive Just one downstream Thunderbolt 4 port Low-charge USB-A ports No card reader slots or audio port Not for Macs Our Verdict Impressive four-display support for Windows, and two mighty 30W USB-C ports impress but this dock is found lacking elsewhere. Best Prices Today: Anker 778 Thunderbolt Docking Station (12-in-1, Thunderbolt 4) Anker’s latest laptop dock doesn’t expressly label itself as “Thunderbolt 4” because it is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and USB4 devices (and even USB-C laptops), too....

When it comes to technology, AI has been the word on everyone’s lips in 2024. Almost every new hardware launch or software update has included it in some shape or form. However, as is often the case with new technologies, Apple has been slow to adopt artificial intelligence. At launch, none of the iPhones or iPads released in 2024 included any generative AI features. That’s all changed now, with Apple Intelligence available to consumers in both the UK and the US....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The 2017 iPad isn’t Apple’s usual big upgrade. Instead, it’s aimed at owners of older iPads who want better performance and the latest software features. It’s slightly disappointing that the screen isn’t laminated and that the cameras aren’t the best Apple offers in an iPad, but Considering the price it’s good value overall. Best Prices Today: Apple iPad It was rumoured for months, and then Apple announced it: a new 9....

If you’re buying an electric toothbrush, you’ll need to factor in ongoing costs. Chiefly, this means buying a new toothbrush head every three months. And that’s to buy compatible heads. They’re designed to work with a branded electric brush handle – but crucially aren’t made by that brand. A full year’s worth of these could cost as little as $/£12. Advantages and disadvantages of generic brush heads Rightly so, as there are disadvantages to buying....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Asus DSL-AC68U is a great 802.11ac modem router, with excellent software and decent performance at a reasonable price. Best Prices Today: Asus DSL-AC68U The AC68U supports 600Mbit/s 802.11n speeds thanks to Broadcom’s TurboQAM feature, but it’s unlikely you’ll see the benefits, since without a TurboQAM-compliant adaptor in your client PC, of which there are very few on the market, you’ll be limited to the usual 450Mbit/s....

At a Glance Our Verdict Our initial impression of the Transformer Book Duet TD300 is that it’s a unique device that will attract some genuine interest and intrigue. However, the device seems a little too cumbersome to be used as a convertible device as it’s intended to be, meaning that users are only really going to use it in the Laptop mode, making half of the Transformer Book Duet TD300 virtually redundant!...

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 is one of the best-designed pieces of tablet hardware I’ve yet seen. But the software made my time with it a chore, and I actively sought to not use it. That isn’t good. If you take the time to change the theme, delete a hell of a lot of apps and remember to keep it charged then it could work for you....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Four Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 ports One 10Gbps USB-A port 150W total power 96W PD laptop charging Compact Cons 4.5W USB-A port Our Verdict The Belkin Connect Thunderbolt 4 Core Hub is a compact and well-priced Thunderbolt 4 hub with fast connections that can handle as much as a small docking station. You can add up to two external 4K displays and still have one fast Thunderbolt 4 port free to add a fast storage drive or other USB-C device....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict We love the focus on international travel that makes the Bellroy Travel Wallet an essential part of the tourist or business traveller’s kit. In particular the passport access and boarding pass and custom card features make this wallet a long-haul champion. Best Prices Today: Bellroy Travel Wallet While the Bellroy Travel Wallet isn’t really “tech” (it includes a pen, for Heaven’s sake!) it’s so cool that we are going to bestow Geek status on it....

It might sound a bit weird to play games on your watch but with Android Wear it’s perfectly possible, if a bit awkward at times. Here are some of the best Android Wear games you can get. Since a smartwatch screen is very small, the better games tend to be simple with easy controls. The ones we’ve listed below should work with most Android Wear devices. Check out the best smartwatches you can buy and the best general apps for Android Wear ....

Due to the ongoing trade issues between the US and China, AppGallery is Huawei’s answer to Google Play. It’s not a new app store – it’s hugely popular in China, where Google Play isn’t available – but for anyone with one of Huawei’s new phones , including the Mate 30 Pro and P40 5G it will be the first time they will have heard of the Huawei-owned app store. The company has worked hard to populate AppGallery with apps that we use in the west....