HP Spectre x2 review: A less expensive Surface rival

We've been noticing something the past few months: Every tech company is trying to be more like Microsoft. Which is to say, they're belatedly copying the Surface Pro, a laptop/tablet mashup that's already in its fourth generation. There are different examples: the iPad Pro from Apple, Google's Pixel C, as well as offerings from Lenovo and Dell. But HP's latest is an especially literal interpretation. The Spectre x2, as it's called, is a 12-inch Windows tablet with a keyboard cover. Also like the Surface Pro, it sports a kickstand around back and can be used with a pressure-sensitive pen. But, it's cheaper and the keyboard actually comes in the box (hear that, Microsoft?). On paper, then, it would seem that while the x2 isn't groundbreaking, it could be worthwhile in its own right.

Pros

• Less expensive than rival machines and includes a keyboard, too
• Comfortable typing experience
• Adjustable kickstand
• Decent audio
• Uses Intel's depth-sensing RealSense camera setup
• Supports pressure-sensitive pens

 

Cons

• Doesn't support Windows Hello, despite having RealSense cameras
• Touchpad can be flaky
• Not so comfortable to use in the lap
• Slower than its rivals with shorter battery life
• Despite having a Core M chip, isn't necessarily thinner or lighter than "Core i" systems

Summary

The Spectre x2 undercuts its competitors with a lower price that includes a keyboard in the box (and it's a very comfortable keyboard, at that). Still, for more money you could buy a similar product with faster performance, longer battery life and a sharper screen. That means the x2 is a good deal for the money, but not the best in its class.

It works like a Surface, but it doesn't look like one. Whereas the Surface Pro is all chamfered edges and unibody metal, the Spectre x2 is marked by rounded corners, exposed screws and some chrome and glass bits. Let's start our tour on the backside for once, because that's where most of the action is. The all-important kickstand sits flush with the rear case until you hold down a release lever on the left side. When extended, it looks like an easel, with an open metal frame that stays put on flat surfaces, but isn't always comfortable to balance on your lap. I also find it's slightly more cumbersome to pull out than the Surface's kickstand, though both are a bit awkward in that respect. On the plus side, the kickstand is fully adjustable (also like the Surface Pro), which not all hybrids are.

Also on the rear, you'll find a black glass strip lining the top edge. That's where HP places Intel's 3D RealSense camera setup, which is composed of a main 8-megapixel shooter and stereoscopic 720p cameras for capturing different layers of depth information. As we've found in other productsusing the technology, it can be fun to take photos and then adjust the focus after the fact, as well as apply filters to selective parts of the picture. Unfortunately, while RealSense devices are in theory able to take advantage of the Windows Hello biometric log-in in Windows 10, the fact that these depth-sensing cameras are on the back of the x2 means they won't be of any use for things like facial or iris recognition when you want to quickly sign in to your machine. Also, it's a little awkward using a 12-inch, nearly 1.9-pound tablet to frame shots.

Speaking of the sort, the x2 is thin and light in the grand scheme of things -- i.e., compared to full-fledged laptops -- but it's not remarkably small either. All told, it comes in at 840 grams (1.85 pounds) and 8mm (0.31 inch) thick. That makes it easy to carry indeed, though the keyboard cover adds quite a bit of weight, bringing the total to 2.68 pounds. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro 4 starts at 1.69 pounds, with the optional Type Cover adding just 0.64 pounds. Need some more examples? The tablet portion of theSurface Book weighs 1.6 pounds with a more powerful Core i5 or i7 processor, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at 1.57 pounds and measures 0.27 inch thick, despite having a larger screen than the x2.

If it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, I have a point. One of the main reasons to use Core M, ostensibly, is that you can achieve thinner and lighter designs than you could with a heavier-duty Core i processor. Or, at least, that was the case last year when the first Core M PCs started hitting the market. Now, though, there's no real benefit, at least in terms of size and weight. As you'll see, too, Core i systems still have a leg up when it comes to both battery life and raw performance power. That leaves just one reason to get a Core M system, then, and that's price.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, though, let me finish up my tour of the tablet. The all-important power/lock button sits on the top edge, with separate pin-locked microSD and SIM trays on the right. Also on the right is one of two USB Type-C ports that you can use to charge the device. Google's latest Pixel Chromebook also had two USB-C charging ports and while it's not what I'd call a necessity, it's nice to be able to choose which side you'd like to have the charging cord to come out of, depending on where you're sitting relative to the nearest outlet. Should you need a full-sized USB Type-A connection, there's a dongle included in the box, something other hardware makers don't bother to offer.

On the left edge is the second USB-C socket, along with a two-stage volume rocker, headphone jack and the release lever for the kickstand. Lastly, the tablet features dual Bang & Olufsen speakers, one on the right and left side. (There's also some B&O branding on both the tablet and keyboard dock, lest you forget who's responsible for those thumping tunes.)

Display

At the center of everything is the 12-inch IPS display. The resolution is capped at 1,920 x 1,080, which is lower than some competing products, including both the Surface Pro 4 and iPad Pro. Still, on a screen this small, the difference would be subtle at best, so in the interest of keeping the cost down, this was a fine compromise. Even if the screen angle weren't adjustable, which thankfully it is, I would have had an easy time making out the screen. As a warning, the glossy panel doesn't completely repel glare, but color and contrast at least stays mostly consistent as you tilt the screen forward and back.

Lastly, the x2 is compatible with pressure-sensitive Wacom pens -- that's the same technology that the Surface Pro used to have before Microsoftbought Wacom competitor N-Trig. All of which is to say: The x2 will make a good pen tablet for drawing and note-taking, so long as you're willing to buy your own writing implement. HP sells an active pen on its site for $30, though any Wacom pen using the same technology will do.

Keyboard

The Spectre x2 might be slower than the competition, and the battery life might not be as long, and the screen might not be as sharp, but damn if it doesn't have one of the best keyboards I've seen on a device like this. The metal keyboard feels sturdy, for starters, which goes a long way toward making it comfortable to use in the lap. It's backlit -- another plus. And, perhaps most importantly, the keys are generously sized with an impressive 1.5mm of travel, making them uncommonly cushy for a product in this class.

Also, I like how HP gives you a choice of resting the keyboard flat against your desk (or lap), or instead folding up the top to attach to magnets inside the tablet's lower bezel. This gives the keyboard a lift in the back that for some will translate to a more ergonomically sound experience.

Too bad the touchpad isn't nearly as refined. To be fair, when it works it works well, with smooth enough scrolling and precise cursor tracking. But it doesn't always work. I wasn't always able to get the pointer to go, and I frequently found myself accidentally rearranging pinned browser tabs. Worse, there were times when I swiped my finger across the large touch surface only to find that it wasn't responding. Usually, a little persistence would do the trick, as would detaching and then reattaching the tablet. But it shouldn't be that way. Fortunately, I think this is just the sort of problem a firmware update can fix.

Performance and battery life

	PCMARK7	PCMARK8 (CREATIVE ACCELERATED)	3DMARK11	3DMARK (SKY DIVER)	ATTO (TOP READS/WRITES)
HP Spectre x2 (1.2GHz Core M7-6Y75, Intel HD 515)	3,395	3,307	E1,884 / P1,148 / X331	2,737	554 MB/s / 281 MB/s
Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (2.4GHz Core i5-6300U, Intel HD 520)	5,403	3,602	E2,697/ P1,556/ X422	3,614	1.6 GB/s / 529 MB/s
Lenovo Yoga Pro 900(2.5GHz Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520)	5,368	3,448	E2,707 / P1,581	3,161	556 MB/s / 511 MB/s
Microsoft Surface Book(2.4GHz Core i5-6300U, Intel HD 520)	5,412	3,610	E2,758 / P1,578 / X429	3,623	1.6 GB/s / 571 MB/s
Microsoft Surface Book(2.6GHz Core i7-6600U, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce graphics)	5,740	3,850	E4,122 / P2,696	6,191	1.55 GB/s / 608 MB/s
HP Spectre x360 (2015, 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD 5500)	4,965	N/A	E1,667 / P932 / X265	N/A	555 MB/s / 270 MB/s
Dell XPS 13(2015, 2.2GHz Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD 5500)	4,900	N/A	E2,114 / P1,199 / X330	N/A	515 MB/s / 455 MB/s

The Spectre x2 comes with your choice of Core M3, M5 or M7 processor. It's the same idea as Core i3, i5 and i7, except that Intel Core M sacrifices speed for the sake of achieving especially thin and light designs, like the one we have here. The unit I tested was a top-of-the-line configuration, with a dual-core 1.2GHz Core M7-6Y75 processor, Intel HD 515 graphics and 8GB of memory. Even with the best specs offered, benchmark scores still trail new machines with Core i5 chips, including the Surface Pro 4. In particular, you'll notice a big gap in graphics-focused tests, like 3DMark.

To its credit, the LiteOn solid-state drive delivered max write speeds of 554 MB/s in ATTO's disk test, which is in line with many other SSDs we've tested recently. Even so, though, it takes the Spectre x2 about 15 seconds to boot into the desktop, whereas it might take a faster machine around 10. Also, write speeds topped out at an average 281 MB/s, which trails many of its contemporaries, including the SP4, which gets into the 500-megabyte-per-second territory in write tests.

	BATTERY LIFE
HP Spectre x2	6:43
Surface Book (Core i5, integrated graphics)	13:54 / 3:20 (tablet only)
MacBook Air (13-inch, 2013)	12:51
HP Spectre x360	11:34
Surface Book (Core i7, discrete graphics)	11:31 / 3:02 (tablet only)
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display (13-inch, 2015)	11:23
iPad Pro	10:47
Chromebook Pixel (2015)	10:01
Lenovo Yoga Pro 900	9:36
Microsoft Surface 3	9:11
Apple MacBook (2015)	7:47
Dell XPS 13 (2015)	7:36
Microsoft Surface Pro 4	7:15
Microsoft Surface Pro 3	7:08

HP rates the Spectre x2 for 10 hours of battery life. If they say so. Perhaps it's possible to achieve 10 hours of use if you lower the brightness to a fairly dim setting and use the machine intermittently. For my part, I never came close to reaching that milestone. With an HD video looping and the brightness fixed at 65 percent, the x2 managed six hours and 43 minutes. And it seems we're not alone: Our friends at Laptop Mag, for instance, got around six and a half hours in what's arguably a less taxing test.

All told, between the performance and battery life results, I'm convinced there's not much reason at this point to buy a device with Intel Core M, especially if you have a choice. Yes, it enables super slim designs, but so do the latest "Core i" processors. Core-i chips also offer faster performance, and early reviews suggest that battery life is longer too, especially compared to last year's Core CPUs. The only benefit to Core M seems to be that those models are slightly cheaper price your typical Core i5 system. But if you intend to own your next computer for several years, that extra $100 or so is well worth it.

Configuration options and the competition

The Spectre x2 starts at $800 with an Intel Core M3-6Y30 processor, Intel HD 515 graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. From there, you can upgrade to a $950 configuration with a Core M5-6Y54 chip and 8GB of memory. That model is customizable, too, allowing you to swap in a Core M7 CPU ($50) and either a 256GB ($150) or 512GB ($450) SSD. Either way, the keyboard comes standard in the box, and the 12-inch screen has a fixed resolution of 1,920 x 1,080.

Or you could not buy an x2 at all. There are plenty of similar-looking tablet hybrids out there, including the one that started the trend: Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. If you were to compare the two based on price alone, the SP4 would seem like the worse deal: With a higher starting price of $899, it has the same key specs as the $800 Spectre x2, and doesn't come with a keyboard in the box (you'll need to buy that separately for $130). Price aside, though, it's still the better product. It's lighter (1.69 pounds, versus 1.85); it's more comfortable to use in the lap; it offers more powerful spec options; and the battery life is slightly longer, even with a more pixel dense display. Of the two, the Surface Pro 4 is the one I'd sooner recommend to my family and friends.

There are others. Lenovo will soon begin selling the Miix 700, and Dell recently released the XPS 12, a 12-inch Windows tablet with an accompanying keyboard dock. Since I haven't had a chance to test this one yet, I can't vouch for the performance, though it's worth noting that it runs on Core M chips, just like the x2, which means you shouldn't expect particularly fast performance. I'm also curious to see what effect the 4K screen option has on battery life.

The other thing I can't account for is ergonomics. We already know that the 12.5-inch tablet has a fixed position inside its dock; that puts it at a disadvantage against the Spectre X2 and SP4, both of which have fully adjustable kickstands. On the other hand, perhaps the lack of a kickstand will make it more comfortable to use in the lap. We'll see.

And lastly, what kind of reviewer would I be if I didn't compare the Spectre x2 to the iPad Pro? It, too, is a pen-enabled tablet designed to be used as a laptop on occasion, and it starts at a similar price of $799. The performance is fast, the battery life is longer than on the Spectre x2 and the pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil works well. But, iOS 9 isn't as robust a multitasker as OS X or Windows 10; none of the optional keyboard docks allow you to adjust the screen angle; and the fact that iOS 9 has no mouse support can get tiresome, depending on what you're doing. It's a worthy product in some ways, but I only recommend it in its current form to creative pros and early adopters.

Wrap-up

In this increasingly big world of laptop/tablet hybrids, the Spectre x2 isn't a bad choice, especially at this price. But that doesn't mean it's the best. The x2 is not the fastest, the longest-lasting or the most comfortable to use in the lap. It's screen is not the sharpest. But it's keyboard is arguably the easiest to type on of any click-in dock I've seen, and the audio is surprisingly decent. If money is no object, you will probably be happier with the Surface Pro 4. But, if you were hoping to avoid spending $930 just for the entry-level SP4 and keyboard, the x2 is a fine runner-up.

Tag Heuer Connected review: $1,500 for a smartwatch?

Smartphone makers have churned out watch after watch in hopes of happening upon something game-changing. If nothing else, they're getting good at making pretty gear. Still, none of them have the clout that horological giant Tag Heuer does, which is why our collective ears perked up when we heard that the Swiss company was making an Android Wear watch. The result is the Tag Heuer Connected, a watch that looks like some of the company's most iconic models ... and works just like every other Android Wear device out there. At $1,500 (£1,050), it's also the most expensive Android Wear watch around, but -- spoiler alert -- it's hardly worth the price.

Pros

• Excellent build quality
• Lightweight and comfortable
• Smooth performance
• Long battery life

 

Cons

• It's $1,500. Seriously.
• Design will be too bulky for some
• Middling screen quality
• No GPS or heart rate monitor

Summary

Tag Heuer's Connected is an expensive, incredibly well-built Android Wear smartwatch that runs smoothly and offers long battery life. It's too bad, then, that $1,500 doesn't net you a watch with a truly great screen, or the niceties we've come to expect from other devices. If you're a true watch nerd, you might love the blend of classic Tag style and twenty-first-century convenience. Everyone else can buy a $350 Android Wear device and not feel like they're missing anything.

Hardware

As you'd expect from a watchmaker with a storied history, the Connected is a remarkably well-built piece of kit. For one, it's almost shockingly light -- thanks to the fancy Grade 2 titanium Tag Heuer used for the chassis and lugs. I honestly wasn't expecting the Connected to feel as trim as it did just based on looks; it's a distinctly masculine piece that takes cues from a handful of the company's existing chronographs, specifically models like the relatively new Calibre Heuer O1. Its waistline measures a plump 12.8mm, for one, making it the thickest Android Wear watch, in addition to the most expensive.

Of course, the body had to have a little extra meat to accommodate the 1.5-inch (38.1mm) LCD display running at 360 x 360. All told, the dial measures a full 46.2mm wide. That screen is also covered with a piece of sapphire crystal that does a fine job fending off scratches, though it didn't keep the panel from getting smudgy after lots of tapping.

So yes, it's a big watch -- enough to make dainty wrists look totally ridiculous. At least the vulcanized rubber strap made for some comfortable wearing. It's dead simple to adjust the size for bigger and smaller wrists alike; you just move the titanium clasp up and down along the band to fit just about any size. In any case, I really can't overstate this: The Connected's fit and finish are the finest of any Android Wear device, even if the look won't be for everyone.

While the Connected earns points for build quality, it lacks a few of the niceties we've grown accustomed to on other Android Wear watches. It'll track your steps, for instance, but there's no heart-rate sensor on board. Other high-end watches, like the Huawei Watch, also come with speakers that will come in handy once Android Wear is updated to support them, but you won't find any here. Sorry, runners, there's no GPS, either (although, having taken the Connected to the gym a few times, I find it a little too bulky for running anyway).

Thankfully, the stuff you do get is more potent than you might expect. Rather than run on one of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400-series chips, Tag teamed up with Intel and Google to get everything optimized for a dual-core Intel chip instead. A brief note on that silicon: It's actually a 1.6GHz Z34XX Atom processor, though Tag says it's normally clocked at 500mHz. The more you know! I'll dig into performance more in a bit, but for now, suffice to say that Tag and its partners might be on to something here. Those processor cores are assisted by 1GB of RAM, and the watch sports the industry-standard 4GB of internal storage and a 410mAh battery.

In use

If you've read any of our recent Android Wear device reviews, you already have a pretty good understanding of what the OS is capable of. In fact, it's matured quite a bit since it first debuted a year and a half ago. Still, as I've said before, there's a pervasive sense of sameness that comes with Android Wear, as watchmakers aren't able to fiddle much with Wear's design and functionality.

After you plunk down your money and receive the watch, the first thing you'll want to do is register it on Tag Heuer's website. Yes, I know, I hardly ever bother with that either. This time, though, it's a crucial step in making sure your watch gets all the functionality it's supposed to. To wit: Of the four (yes, only four) included watch faces, one called "Themed" revealed a Weather Underground theme only after registering the watch. Even better, after setting that theme, the watch absolutely refused to load any weather information. Uh, thanks?

Tag's touch is a light one, so the only other apps that come preloaded on the watch are a handsome alarm, a timer and a stopwatch. The stopwatch in particular is a neat touch, as it apes a bit of classic chronometer design by displaying multiple dials for minutes elapsed and tenths of seconds. In a bid to make the Connected more palatable, Tag also inked deals with the makers of apps like RaceChrono, Golfshot Pro, ViewRanger (for trail maps) and Insiders (for curated suggestions of fancy, neat things around you). These all run fine on other Android Wear watches too, but Tag promised that Connected owners would get free subscriptions to those apps' premium features. Unfortunately, Tag offers no instructions for how to actually claim those free subscriptions, and Insiders in particular won't even let you past a landing page without an invite code. Swell.

Of course, that's just the situation right now. Tag Heuer has said that a slew of Connected-exclusive goodies would eventually come to the watch, including watch faces customized by celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and model Cara Delevingne. No, seriously. There's no word on when those features will get added, but we'll revisit them if and when they do.

Software stuff aside, the Connected still feels like a mixed bag. On the one hand, the Intel chip powering the watch is no slouch. Normally with Android Wear devices you'll run into lag while swiping furiously through notification cards and a watch's app list. There was hardly any of that here; the few instances where I did see some stuttering only underscored how fast the watch usually is. Qualcomm's stranglehold on the mobile chip market means we're probably going to keep seeing Snapdragon used in smartwatches, but I'd be happy if more device makers started pledging allegiance to Intel.

Too bad the display is a bit of a letdown. The 1.5-inch LCD panel isn't nearly as crisp or pixel-dense as the competition's. The Huawei Watch and the smaller of the two Moto 360 variants have sharper screens, making for text that's easier to read and watch faces with a little more clarity. Even the ill-fated second-gen edition of the LG Watch Urbane had a screen that was better than what we've got here in the Connected, with brilliant colors and 348 pixels per linear inch. It was gorgeous; too bad you can't buy one anymore.

Normally, this screen situation wouldn't be such a huge deal -- it's still perfectly readable, after all-- but c'mon: This is a $1,500 watch. I don't think I'm out of line for expecting something more impressive. On the plus side, though, the screen brightness is respectable, and the Connected's ambient display also does a nice job telling you the time even in bright sunlight.

Since the chipset inside is technically capable of faster clock speeds than the Snapdragon 400s inside most other Android Wear watches, battery life probably weighed heavily on Tag and Intel as they built the watch. Thankfully, while the screen fails to impress, there's a lot of life in the Connected's 410mAh battery. During weekdays when the flow of work-related notifications seemed endless, the Connected never lasted for less than 20 hours with the ambient display turned on and screen brightness set at half. And when the relative quiet of the weekend rolled around, that number surged: I'd routinely wake up the day after a full charge and have about 20 percent left to play with.

The competition

Honestly, nothing else in the world of Android Wear comes close to what Tag Heuer is offering. Setting aside how well-designed the device is, owners have the option of trading in their watches after the two-year warranty expires for a unique mechanical Carrera designed to look like the Connected. It's a neat idea in theory, especially since it provides an escape route from the smartwatch age for Tag Heuer traditionalists. The caveat: You have to shell out another $1,500, which is what the Carrera starts at anyway. On top of that, since Tag hasn't actually shown anyone what that replacement looks like, who knows whether that $1,500 fee actually constitutes a good deal.

While they aren't as fancy as the Connected, the relatively affordable Huawei Watch ($349 and up) and the 2015 Moto 360 ($299 plus) are both strong choices if you're looking for something running Android Wear. As I've said, Huawei's watch has a sharp display, not to mention a boatload of attractive watch faces and an undeniable sense of style. Speaking of style, the Moto 360 comes in two sizes, including a 46mm variant for people who like the dimensions of the Connected's screen, and it's highly customizable, too.

Since the Connected's price is so high, I can't help but compare it to the upper-level Apple Watches. The closest thing pricewise in Cupertino's lineup is the $1,500, 42mm stainless-steel Watch with a Fauve Barenia leather cuff by Hermès. Apple's Hermès line and the Tag Heuer Connected share a sense of luxury and polish that befit their price tags, but man, their approaches seem totally different. Sure, they handle notifications, run apps and allow you to interact with connected phones with your voice. The thing is, the Connected feels more like a proper watch with additional smart features. Apple's goal was to make something that acts like an all-encompassing digital concierge on your wrist -- a smartwatch through and through.

Wrap-up

If you're looking for a good Android Wear watch, you don't need to spend $1,500. It's completely unnecessary. That's not to say the Connected is a bad device -- far from it. Its build quality is fantastic, and it's comfortable in addition to being stylish. It's just that nothing about the experience feels worth that kind of money.

But maybe that's just me. The lure of fancy, expensive watches stretches back to the very beginning of horological history. I can't tell you how many people I've met who eagerly pull up their sleeves, itching to talk about their new Ulysse Nardin piece or the great eBay deal they found on a Rolex Submariner. For those people -- ardent watch lovers -- the Connected makes a little more sense. It's a taste of the smartphone age wrapped in a familiar package, complete with a $1,500 exit strategy in the form of a trade-in. If that's you, well, enjoy. Everyone else can stay away with no regrets.

Intel Compute Stick review (2016): Second time's the charm

I had high hopes for Intel's original Compute Stick, but it ended up being a massive disappointment. Sure, it was cool to have a fully functional computer the size of a few thumb drives. But it was awfully slow and limited in some truly baffling ways (only one USB port?!). Now with Intel's second-gen Compute Stick ($159), it's another story entirely. It may look similar, but it packs in enough upgrades -- a faster processor, better networking and more USB ports -- to actually make it a usable computer.

Pros

• Powerful enough for most computing tasks
• Inexpensive
• Very portable

 

Cons

• 2GB of RAM limits multi-tasking
• Still needs to be plugged into an AC adapter

Summary

Intel's new Compute Stick bundles just about everything you'd need for a basic computer into a compact, inexpensive package.And unlike its predecessor, it works.

Hardware

The first Compute Stick felt like a prototype that left Intel's labs before designers ever laid their eyes on it. This new model, on the other hand, looks and feels like a solid piece of consumer kit. Instead of a boring rectangular design, it has smooth curves and perforated openings for its tiny fans (previously they looked like cheap fan grilles molded into plastic).

Even though it's a device that'll mostly live behind monitors, it's also meant to be portable, so being attractive is a plus, as you're bound to show it off. It feels more solid in your hand, thanks to a tasteful balance of matte and glossy plastic. Heck, even the placement of the Intel Inside logo seems better (it's now lower on the device instead of in the middle and has less garish coloring).

Intel has also included two USB ports this time around (one of them USB 3.0), so that you can connect a keyboard and mouse without resorting to a hub. (If you were one of the readers who thought I was being unfair by complaining about the first model's single USB port, this is why. It's not as if Intel couldn't fit in another port the first time around, and a USB hub kind of defeats the purpose of such a compact device!) I tested the Compute Stick with a wireless keyboard and mouse, so I only needed to use one of the USB ports for a wireless dongle. But the extra port came in handy for transferring files and updating the BIOS without removing my input devices.

Once again, the Compute Stick features a microSD slot for an additional 128GB of storage (on top of the 32GB of internal storage). There's also a micro-USB port for the power adapter. You still need to plug it into an AC adapter, unfortunately, which makes it a tad less portable than it may appear at first. An Intel spokesperson said the company is looking into the SuperMHL standard, which could power future models entirely over HDMI. A small power button lives on the side of the Compute Stick, and this time around there's a small cap to protect the HDMI connector. That should make it less dangerous to chuck it in your bag or pocket.

If your HDMI ports are too crowded on your TV or monitor, Intel has also packed in a small HDMI extension cord to give the Compute Stick a bit of breathing room.

Setup and performance

Installing the Compute Stick was a cinch: I plugged it into my TV, connected the power adapter and plugged in the wireless dongle for my keyboard and mouse. It booted up immediately, and it took about four minutes for me to run through the initial Windows 10 setup process. After a reboot, it took another five minutes to plug in my Windows login details and wait for my user account to bake. That may seem a tad lengthy, but it's on par with what I've seen while setting up other Atom-based computers.

	PCMARK7	3DMARK06	3DMARK11	ATTO (TOP DISK SPEEDS)
Intel Compute Stick (2016) (1.4GHz Atom x5-Z8300)	2,419	2,677	E610 / P382	92 MB/s (reads); 176 MB/s (writes)
Intel Compute Stick (2015) (1.3GHz Atom Z3735F, Intel HD Graphics)	2,320	1,544	E266 / P173	77 MB/s (reads); 175 MB/s (writes)
Microsoft Surface 3(1.6GHz Atom x7-Z8700, Intel HD Graphics)	2,839	3,920	E941 / P552	163 MB/s (reads); 39.2 MB/s (writes)
HP Stream 11(2.16GHz Intel Celeron N2840, Intel HD Graphics)	2,607	N/A	E374	168 MB/s (reads); 72 MB/s (writes)

Once I hit the desktop, I immediately opened up Microsoft Edge and then YouTube to test the Compute Stick's media capabilities. It loaded 1080p streams far faster than the previous model, though there was a bit of slowdown as I swapped between full-screen and windowed views. But, feeling a bit cheeky, I also played some 4K streams and was surprised to see the Compute Stick managing them just fine. Occasionally it would get stuck on a frame and then catch itself back up, but the fact that it was able to load and play 4K without any buffering or major slowdown is still notable. Of course, the Compute Stick's 1.44GHz Atom x5-z8300 processor was pretty much maxed out while playing 4K, but that's not terribly surprising.

After suffering through slow download speeds with the original Compute Stick, I was surprised to see that the new model doesn't have any issue bringing down large 4K files. That's mainly due to improved networking hardware: a 2x2 antenna array and 802.11ac WiFi support. The first Compute Stick only had a single WiFi antenna, which limited its overall speed and also made it tough to both download and upload data at the same time.

Emboldened by its YouTube performance, I started using the Compute Stick as I would a typical computer. I loaded several browsers with multiple tabs; opened multiple programs in the background, including Spotify and Slack; and proceeded to go about my usual workflow. And, surprisingly, the experience wasn't half bad. The Compute Stick slowed down a bit as I quickly alt-tabbed between programs or streamed Spotify music while downloading large files; but while the first model felt too slow for comfort, this one simply feels comfortable.

It wasn't long before I felt the limits of its limited 2GB of RAM, though. While that used to be all you needed for a decent computing experience, these days browsers and most web pages eat up memory quickly. Hopefully next year Intel will be able to include 4GB of RAM in its base Compute Stick (this year's upcoming faster models all include 4GB of RAM).

As the benchmarks show, this Compute Stick is significantly faster when it comes to 3D. And while its PCMark 7 score is only marginally faster, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Real-world performance matters a lot more to me than benchmark numbers, and doing just about everything on the Compute Stick felt significantly faster than it did with last year's version. The new model even managed to play some simple games, likeHotline Miami 2 and Undertale, which the original version couldn't even touch.

One potential issue for some: The Compute Stick's tiny fan made itself known while I was running benchmarks, even though it was about 12 feet away from me in my living room. Thankfully, I didn't hear it much during normal usage. But it's not the sort of device I'd leave running high-load tasks (or at least, as much as you can make the Atom x5 do) in my bedroom overnight.

Mostly I'm impressed by just how versatile the new Compute Stick happens to be. It's more than powerful enough for kiosks and computer labs, but it can also be a solid cheap home theater computer. I was able to access network shares on my desktop and play back HD video files without any issue.

Configuration options and the competition

This year, Intel isn't going to offer a cheaper model of the Compute Stick (last year, there was a Linux-focused model for $110 with a 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM), but that seems like a wise choice. Instead, the company is going a bit higher end.

Upcoming Compute Stick models will include Core M3 and Core M5 processors for $399 and $499, respectively. They also pack in 4GB of RAM, which means we should expect performance along the lines of slower Ultrabooks, and three USB ports (two on the power adapter). Intel says both models can spit out 4K video at 30Hz, and the Core M5 version (which doesn't come with an OS) also includes its vPro hardware-level security technology. Of course, they don't offer the same amount of value as the cheaper $159 model, but I'm still intrigued to see how much power Intel can stuff into this tiny case. You can bet we'll put them through their paces when they're available.

You might be tempted to grab last year's Compute Stick at an even cheaper price or the (practically identical) Lenovo Ideacentre Stick for around $100, but I'd advise against that, unless you enjoy torturing yourself. There are also a handful of other PC sticks out there, but most of them use slower CPUs than the new Compute Stick. If you want a simple stick for web browsing, the $85 ASUS Chromebit will let you bring Chrome OS to any monitor. (I didn't include this in the benchmark table, but the new Compute Stick clocked in a 550ms SunSpider browser test score while running Edge, compared with the Chromebit's slower score of 780ms score. Do with that what you will.)

Wrap-up

Well, Intel did it. The Compute Stick bundles just about everything you'd need for a basic computer into a compact, inexpensive package, and unlike its predecessor, it works. It's no wonder we named it one of our Best of CES finalists this year. If you have a spare monitor laying around, you could easily turn that into a machine for your kids or some sort of household kiosk. And no matter how you use it, it'll make you rethink your notion of what a PC can be.

Amazon's Echo speaker can now order an Uber for you

The hardware is still the same, but Amazon's Echo continues to impress with smarter and more useful software. Want to listen to your favorite Spotify playlist? Not a problem. Craving some Domino's Pizza? It'll be on your doorstep soon enough. For its next trick, Amazon has teamed up with Uber so that -- yep, you guessed it -- you can hail a ride just by calling out to Alexa. As the Verge reports, the speaker will accept a number of phrases including "call me an Uber," "get me an Uber" and "request me a ride."

The pairing is a match made in heaven. Uber wants as many passengers as possible, so it makes sense for the company to integrate with hardware that will encourage extra users and rides. For Amazon, it's all about making Alexa a more natural and intelligent assistant. There are plenty of occasions when you need to order a taxi (or similar) in a hurry, or just don't fancy pulling out your smartphone and launching the app. Of course, you'll need to set up your Uber account first through the Alexa app, but once that's all sorted the voice commands should become second nature.

Bragi Dash review: The smartest earbuds on the planet

Pros

• Good sound
• Snug, secure fit
• Easy to use
• Excellent design and build quality
• Portable charging case

Cons

• Bluetooth problems outdoors when the phone is in your pocket
• Sleeves for different ear sizes are ugly
• Still some bugs in the firmware
• Fitness features need expanding

Summary

The fact that Bragi managed to deliver exactly what is said it would is an impressive feat alone. It took the company longer than anticipated, but the final product is a category first. Truly wireless headphones that break new ground in terms of features and usability. Sure, there are some performance issues, but there's nothing to suggest a few software tweaks wont smooth off these early rough edges.

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Whether I actually need all that stuff is a question for another day, but if you're a gadget lover who likes to hit the road/trail/gym, you'll likely have your own fitness tech setup—even if it's just a phone and headphones—that could do with a little streamlining itself. If so, you'll want to know about Bragi's wireless (and we mean truly wireless) sport-centric earbuds.

Almost two years in the making, the Bragi Dash is possibly the mostambitious pair of earbuds on the market. It's a stand-alone media player with 4GB of storage; a fitness tracker, complete with a heart-rate monitor and step counter, among other things; and a general-purpose hands-free kit. While there's definitely a leaning toward the active crowd, features like touch/swipe controls and audio transparency (more on this later) are cool enough to appeal to anyone willing to pay the $299 entry fee. For me, they represent a tantalizing opportunity to strike one more item off my gear checklist.

The first time I tried the final version of the Dash (the one that you will be able to buy, not a prototype) was in the cozy confines of a Las Vegas hotel room. The second time, it was while walking toward my local running spot, a dry riverbed converted into a wonderful park. I already knew the Dash was decently loud (a real concern with earbuds, especially wireless ones, I find), but I wanted to see if that held up in the real world, where wind, cars, kids and dogs pollute an otherwise tranquil airspace. Fortunately, it did. Which is good, because there ain't no quicker way to kill my running mojo than piss-weak music volume. I was also relieved that the quality of the music is on par with my earlier experience. The balanced armature drivers deliver clean sound with minimal coloring (i.e., no ridiculous throbbing bass).

More important for active types is how well these things stick in your skull. Truly wireless headphones that are tethered neither to each other, nor to you, in any way have had many people assuming you'll spend as much time scouring the ground looking for the one that just popped out as you will getting any training done. It's a fair assumption. After all, I gave up on earbuds for running a long time ago, switching to sport-friendly on-ears, because I never found a pair that would stay put in my ears. I was constantly pushing them back into my sweaty lug-holes.

The good news? Not at any point over a huff-and-puff five-miler (hey, Vegas will take it out of you) did I feel I was going to lose one of the 'buds. There's possibly a certain amount of luck here. Everyone's ears are different, and Bragi's mammoth task was to design the Dash to fit as many people as possible so that they don't pop out of ears and down a drain, etc. But for me, they were a great fit out of the box.

In my experience, the Dash sits snugly and comfortably inside each ear. Enough that I only needed to gently adjust them a few times during each run, but never to stop them falling — more to keep them in the sweet spot. These small adjustments are something you can usually combine with the gesture for changing a music track (two taps on the right) or getting your current running progress (two taps on the left). While I had no problems at all with fit, the first thing my partner said when she tried them on was that they felt like they were going to fall out.

Should the Dash not suit you off the bat, there are a couple of silicon skins, or "FitSleeves," in the box that will augment them to accommodate different-sized ears, but they kinda ruin the Dash's polished-black look. It may be interesting to note that I usually put the bigger tips on regular earbuds, but with the Dash I was fine with the unsleeved ("XS") bud.

While I was impressed with the user experience during my initial hands-on, my concern was that the gesture-based controls might fall apart once I was out in the wild. To navigate menus, you need to either tap, long-press or swipe. Each time you do, a soothing voice gives you feedback. Gestures are much easier said than done, though, once your basic faculties start to wane (after a couple of blustery miles), or when your fingers get sweaty. I did find myself swiping when I wanted to tap, and vice versa, but the menu is set up so that if you do, the worst thing to happen is that you might get told you're already at maximum volume, or that you accidentally activated transparency mode.

This is probably a good time to go over exactly what "transparency" is, and why it's so cool (it is). Normally the last thing I want while listening to music is to hear the outside world. That's less true while running near roads and people, and hearing your surroundings is positively essential for those daring to play music while riding a bike on the road. That's basically what transparency mode does—it uses the microphones on the Dash (the same you'd use for speaking on a hands-free call) to feed directional ambient noise into your ears.

This works whether you have music playing or not. If you don't, if just means you can speak with people without taking the headphones out—possibly what I use it for most. When you do have tunes going, it means you're able to hear that truck backing up from across the street. It's neat, and now one of my favorite features. Possibly the only downside is that certain kinds of ambient noise can be annoying, mild wind sounds that are like someone raking gravel in your ears—particularly relevant for fast-moving cyclists—and even jangling keys in your pocket can be pretty grating.

The fitness-tracking side of the Dash is, at least right now, its weakest skill. Currently, the only activity the Dash can track is running, though cycling and swimming are coming soon via an update. While the Dash is laden with sensors (optical HRM, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer), the only metrics you can get are duration of workout, heart rate and total steps. What's worse is that there's not really anything to do with this info right now. It's not saved in the app, and there are no satisfying graphs breaking down your accomplishments. The in-ear assistant recaps these data at the end of your run, and that's it; it disappears into the ether. A Bragi spokesperson told me that more metrics and training logs are coming in a few months.

For what it's worth, though, I ran with a GPS watch to measure my distance, and the number of steps the Dash gave me, multiplied by my stride length, came close to the distance on my watch. The same goes for heart rate. On a treadmill session with the Dash, a wrist-worn heart-rate monitor and the one built into the treadmill, the three readings were close enough to call equal. It was while I was in the gym that I enjoyed the Dash the most, for a few reasons.

A big flaw in Bluetooth, especially with regard to headphones, is that outdoors the signal has nothing to bounce off, so it can diminish in range dramatically. It's a problem I first discovered on the Adidas SmartRun, where sometimes I'd need to put the watch on my other wrist, or put the headphones on the other way (only works for symmetrical headphones, obviously) to stop the music from breaking up. This is a problem for the Dash when walking with your phone in your pocket. Especially for me, since I usually keep my phone in my left pocket—connectivity was so bad, it was almost unusable. In my right pocket, it fared a little better, and anything above the waist was fine. This was with an iPhone 6S Plus and an LG G4. In the gym, however, I encountered no such issues.

At this point, it's worth remembering that the Dash is also a stand-alone media player. Walking in the outdoors while listening to the music stored directly on the Dash is, of course, seamless and without issue. The Dash stores music in playlists, which you navigate and choose with long and short taps. Skipping tracks is a double tap etc. It's how I soon came to prefer using them for training (that all-important goal of less gear). Training in the gym with just the Dash and no phone frees up anxiety about having your phone around, and stops you from distracting yourself between exercises with email and Instagram.

One other big anxiety you might have is battery life. The stated three hours doesn't sound like a lot, but that really depends on how you're using them. I sat with the Dash playing music while I worked, just to test out the battery life (it is, indeed, three hours or so). I rarely use 'buds this long in one session, but if you do, that's something you'll want to consider.

Any anxiety about run time should also be lessened by the fact that the case doubles as a portable charger, with a 2,200mAh battery built in. It's officially good for about five full charges of the Dash. (I tested it—it's true!. If anything, you'll get more than that.) In theory, if you're popping them in and out, you're looking at more like 15 hours of real-world use before you need to plug them in. I never found that to be an issue. The only real potential problem is that when the battery is low, the headphones glow a devilish red, and you have no idea about that until you catch yourself in a mirror. And I do mean bright red—like your ears are on fire.

There are a few other performance quirks. Once or twice, the left earbud would seemingly drop off or lose connection. (Bragi uses NFMI to connect both buds, a technology found in hearing aids.) This is partly due to the physics of wirelessly communicating through what is basically a warm melon (my head). It's something owners of those other wireless 'buds,Earin, are facing. It happened to me no more than three times, and never lasted more than a few seconds. There was the odd occasion when the software seemed to crash and reboot, with the headphones going silent for a few moments before giving me the "connected" jingle again. This also happened only a few times. I used the Dash solidly enough over many hours that the frequency of these "bugs" felt more like teething problems than a flaw. Bragi assures me that new firmware will solve these issues.

It's hard to let small glitches take the shine off what's clearly a very well-made, category-defining product. All the individual technologies exist in other devices (wireless, heart-rate monitoring, built-in media player), but to see them in action together, with a polished user interface and design, is impressive. The problem with the phone in the pocket aside (this one will vary based on physical and environmental factors), all the issues mentioned here, including the fitness tracking features, are set to be resolved with software updates. But from what I've experienced so far, it looks like Bragi has achieved what it set out to do.