At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Spotlight & siren Two-way audio Easy to install & user-friendly app Cons Some features subscription-only Missed movements on lower sensitivity settings Battery can run down quickly Our Verdict Arlo’s Essential Spotlight Camera is effortless to use and has great features. But bear in mind that key functionality is limited to a paid subscription service, so its initial price point may not be as attractive as it first appears....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Promoted as a 2-in-1 tablet and laptop solution, the little Transformer Book T100 Chi is simply a Windows 8 tablet with a clip-on wireless keyboard. Put together the result looks quite smart and we cannot fault build and finish quality at the price. However it is compromised as a laptop by feeling too cramped in working screen space, with a frustrating sleep-happy keyboard and its tiny awkward keys....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The ZenBook 14 is a very promising shakeup to the Asus laptop line. It’s smaller, lighter, and better looking than any of the previous models, without having to sacrifice either ports or powers. There aren’t many laptops around that can offer you a 14in display in a body this compact while still giving you USB-A and HDMI ports, not to mention a Core i7 processor....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict If you’re willing to import it the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 is one of the best budget phones available. It has amazing battery life, unfussy design, a good screen and mercifully stock Android software. It does lack NFC but aside from this we can’t really fault it for the price. As long as you buy from a reputable seller than you won’t be disappointed....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Gigabit Wi-Fi speeds on the latest devices Built-in VPN and parental controls Wired and dedicated wireless backhaul supported Cons Relatively expensive Not Wi-Fi 6E Large homes will want three nodes Our Verdict Asus’s ZenWiFi XT9 offers gigabit speeds at close ranges, straightforward set-up, and easy-to-use features. Extra nodes are expensive, though, so big homes will need to dig deep. Best Prices Today: Asus ZenWiFi XT9 The Asus ZenWiFi XT9 is a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system consisting of multiple routers (nodes) designed to provide fast Wi-Fi in excess of 1Gbps all around your home....

Adverts on YouTube are a nuisance for many users. In recent years, they’ve become so frequent and intrusive that we would prefer to skip them entirely. However, some ads are completely unskippable and must be watched before you can enjoy the video you’ve searched for. Many people resort to ad blockers , but Google has apparently declared war on them . Some no longer work in the browser or only show a black screen....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict An admirably steely focus, but it’s an uneven experience which requires a hell of a lot of work for, ultimately, not grea pay-off. But if you’re a fan of better living through suffering, this is the city builder for you. Best Prices Today: Banished City-building games are traditionally associated with being able to indulge oneself. Improbable motorway systems, vast gleaming edifices, skyrocketing wealth, reshaping the very land – that sort of thing....

There are a lot of amazing PS4 games on the market, making the decision of which to buy a much tougher choice. There are a range of amazing open-world games , top first-person shooters and tough survival games , but what about good old-fashioned couch co-op games? While split-screen co-op was once the default, more and more games now force gamers to play on completely separate systems if they want to play together....

Video production used to be overly complicated and the sole preserve of experts in the field. Now everyone’s doing it, which means there’s a surprising amount of decent video-editing software available for free. These contain much of the same functionality as the expensive, paid video editors, allowing you to create professional-looking videos complete with animation and special effects. Some of the free tools we feature here have even been used in the production of Oscar-winning Hollywood movies, hit TV shows such as Red Dwarf, and by NASA....

We all know that we should cook more at home. Takeaways are convenient and tasty, but the most popular varieties are often high in calories and the cost of them soon adds up. If you struggle to find interesting recipes or just don’t have the time to go shopping for those special ingredients, a meal prep subscription (or recipe box as they’re also know) can be a great solution. These arrive at your door each week complete with all you need to make great dishes and detailed instructions on how to do so....

Smart speakers are now a very normal part of a modern tech home and can be very useful far beyond streaming music with a simple voice command. With Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri options on the market – often more than one – we help you choose the best smart speaker. However, plenty of third-party brands like Sonos, Pure and Marshall make excellent options while Apple fans are likely to want a HomePod, which runs on Siri....

We’re one week in and who knows how many we have left to go. Finding new ways to keep the kids entertained might seem an impossible task, but some of the world’s biggest and best zoos are lining up to help take on that challenge. Zoo cams have become the new reality TV during lockdown, allowing the public to tune in and keep up with the animals while zoos themselves remain closed....

Redmi Note 8T was the first in Xiaomi’s Redmi 8 series to launch in the UK on 29 November, but other models in the budget- and mid-range phone family have yet to make their way here. Though some models have already launched elsewhere in Europe, to buy any of these phones in the UK you must ship them from abroad. Based on their European retail prices we can have a pretty good guess at how much they will cost when they eventually arrive here, and these Black Friday deals look to offer significant savings....

At a Glance Our Verdict Bitdefender has Consistently been at the top of our best antivirus chart, but the affordability and plentiful feature set from Norton 360 Deluxe just about edge it into second place. As the name implies, if you want Total Security go with Bitdefender, but Norton should provide everything most people are looking for. However, we gave both services a full five star review and you really can’t go wrong with either....

Xiaomi is one of most successful and prolific smartphone manufacturers of recent times. It typically targets the budget market, offering premium specs at an affordable price point. However, the company does things slightly differently when it comes to its Black Shark gaming arm, where peak performance and battery life are more important. The latest of these are the Black Shark 4 and 4 Pro, which have just launched via an online event in Xiaomi’s native China....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict For middle to larger businesses needing a speedy and sturdy colour printer which can churn out good volume and quality with all connectivity options covered without costing the earth, Brother’s HL-L9200CDWT ticks all the boxes. Best Prices Today: Brother HL-L9200CDWT You know when a printer is sturdily built when it takes two of you to manoeuvre it into position comfortably. The HL-L9200CDWT weighs a hefty 28....

Modern phones are often expensive, but they don’t have to be. In fact, it’s possible to get a top-quality handset for under £250/$250 – a fraction of what flagships usually cost. These budget phones have compromises, of course, but you might be surprised by just how much you’re getting for your money. The very best models deliver a great all-round experience for an impressively low price. Here are the three best budget phones from 2024 that we recommend above all others and you can see what other products won in this year’s Tech Advisor Best of 2024-25 Awards ....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict We were impressed with the Creative Hitz WP380 wireless headphones, for sound quality, comfort and wireless freedom. Once you tried Bluetooth headphones going back to wired models seems rather primitive. Sound quality is great and these headphones are comfortable to wear and don’t leak much noise to the outside world. Best Prices Today: Creative Hitz WP380 wireless headphones The Creative Hitz WP380 are a solid but lightweight set of headphones that allow for both wireless and wired listening....

Death Stranding is the first of the big PS4 exclusives to make its way to PC, and as a sign of things to come it’s nothing but good news. As a game in its own right? Well, it’s Death Stranding… for better or worse. You’ll once again step into the well-trodden boots of Sam Porter-Bridges, a post-apocalyptic postman played by The Walking Dead ’s Norman Reedus. The bulk of the game is spent transporting parcels between disparate outposts while dodging enemies, building up infrastructure, and letting the all-star cast spout exposition at you....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It’s a business laptop, there’s no escaping that. But our time with the Dell Latitude 13 7370 was great – it’s probably the most accessible business laptop out there, with a form factor that everyone can get along with. If you are a small business owner and you need a laptop to hook up to a monitor in your home office but also take on a business trip and not need a plug all day, then this is one of the computers you should be Considering....