Forget the so-called flagship phones: The new Australian battleground for your dollar is the mid-tier outright purchase. The latest contestant to rock up is the LG K10, a AU$299 phone first seen back at CES at the start of the year. It’s a pretty basic phone, as you might have guessed from the price. There …

First, a disclaimer: As with any beta software, you may run into some issues and odd behaviors with MacOS Sierra that should have you thinking twice about jumping in now instead of waiting for the final release to arrive this fall. If you can’t wait, I suggest you install the beta on a secondary Mac if you have one or, …

Lithium polymer or LiPo batteries have a lot of benefits that have made them the choice for use in consumer drones. They have a high energy density in relation to their size and weight, with a higher voltage per cell — typically 3.7 volts — so you can get the necessary power with fewer cells than other rechargeables. LiPos discharge …

First things first: the Fluance RT81 turntable‘s build quality is way above what I’d expect from a $250 turntable (with free shipping in the US). It puts the $309 U-Turn Orbit Plus and $449 Rega RP1 turntables to shame. The solidity the construction of the medium-density fiberboard base is noteworthy, and my sample’s real walnut grain finish was stunning. This …

I get off on the sound of live and recorded music, but sometimes the sound interferes with the enjoyment of the music. For example, I wouldn’t go to Carnegie Hall to see my favorite acoustic artist if the only available tickets were in the upper balconies. I say that because in the past when I’ve been way up there, I …

While fishing in Poole, England, on July 5, YouTuber Francis Darracott caught something much more impressive than a big fish. He reeled in a lost GoPro camera. “It was covered in barnacles and looked like it had been down there at least a year,” Darracott said in his YouTube video. “Water had seeped through the housing.” Related stories Killer whales …

When Greg Greeley and his team flipped the switch on the first-ever Prime Day last year, starting in Japan, they quickly realized their idea to host a major sales event in July would pay off. “We knew immediately when we turned on Japan and saw the response from Japanese Prime members that we had hit upon something special,” Greeley, the …

That handy app you had to delete years ago — to free up space on your phone — what was it called? Is it still around? Now that you have a shiny new iPhone, can you re-download it? You sure can! Android, iOS and Windows all keep convenient running lists of every app you’ve ever downloaded. As long as the …

“Back to the Future Part II” got it partly right. As of 2015, the hoverboard is a real form of transportation that lets trendy kids get into trouble while effortlessly zipping along the sidewalk. There are a handful of important differences, though. These self-balancing scooters don’t actually hover like the ones in the movie. Also, they could potentially catch on …

Tidal refreshed its media streaming app today with an update that finally lets users send audio and video to a Google Chromecast dongle. In addition to software bug patches and improvements to the play queue, Tidal’s latest version 1.14.0 for iOS and Android adds an integrated Cast option that pops up in the playback screen. Your phone will always show …

Congratulations to John P. of Anderson, South Carolina, for winning a Parrot Bebop drone in our “Crowd Control” giveaway two weeks ago, and to Bryan S. of Newberg, Oregon, for winning all seven seasons of “The League” on DVD last week. We’re all about commitment. Last week, to serious binge watching, this week, to fitness. The Skulpt Chisel is a …

Now playing: Watch this: Stream Facebook Live Video like a superstar 1:07 When it comes to broadcasting an event or a random rant to your social-media friends, it might make sense to do it where you spend a lot of your time: on Facebook. Facebook Live is an interactive way to share what you’re doing while you are doing it. …

You may have watched last month’s epic NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers at a bar. But during next year’s finals you could be face down, anywhere, staring at Twitter. The company is trying to negotiate a deal with Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and cable network conglomerate Turner to nab the digital streaming …

As video continues its conquest of our smartphones and other gadgets, Google has scooped up a firm that will let it offer content companies like NBC Universal tools for creating and publishing clips. Google’s Cloud Platform unit said this week that Anvato would be folded into its team. Anvato makes a software platform that “fully automates the encoding, editing, publishing …

If you love “Ghostbusters,” chances are you already know all too well the controversy ping-ponging between diehard fans over whether the mostly all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will be funny or is just a gimmick to sell tickets. Some people can’t wait to see what “Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig does with the …