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More utility

Zoom

Free, $20/month at Zoom

Pros

Free plan is good for personal use
Group calls up to 300 people
Record and share meetings
In-call text chat
Lots of tools for business/enterprise use

Cons

Many features limited to paid versions
Not as plug-and-play as Duo

Zoom has quickly become the de facto service for professional video calling, and for good reason. This is one of the most robust video chatting platforms, offering features like in-call text chats, the ability to record and share Zoom calls, and support for group calls up to 300 people. You can use Zoom for personal use, but it’s better-suited for businesspeople.

Personal chats

Google Duo

Free at Google Duo

Pros

Completely free to use
Super high-quality calls
Record and send messages to people
Voice calling
Tight integration with Google Home devices

Cons

Group calls limited to 12 people
Can’t invite additional people to existing group call

If Zoom is the best video calling service for pr…

Just because you’ve been home more often doesn’t mean you have to worry about accomplishing more at home. If you could use a break, today’s deal on the iRobot Roomba 675 smart robot vacuum is one to consider. This smart vacuum cleans hard floors and carpets for you, and all you have to do is schedule when it cleans using an app on your phone. At today’s low price of $219.99 via Best Buy, you’ll be saving $50 off its regular price of $269.99.

The Roomba 675 is a great little robot vacuum. It has a 0.6 liter capacity for collecting all the dirt and hair and stuff on your floors. The robot vac uses a three-stage cleaning system that loosens, lifts, and then suctions the dirt up. It can work on hard floors and carpets and transition between them. The multi-surface brushes work together, and the auto adjusting cleaning head moves up and down in height to clean whatever surface its on.

The sensors include a Patented Dirt Detector, which helps the Roomba detect where there are larger conc…

Coronavirus is everywhere, so Facebook’s symptom tracker is too.

What you need to know

Facebook is bringing its COVID-19 symptoms tracker worldwide after a successful U.S. trial earlier this month.
The goal of the survey is to help predict hotspots before they bloom.
It’s also intended to guide health systems as countries move towards re-opening parts of society.

The COVID-19 response has a problem that social media is uniquely positioned to help solve — a lack of data. With the public health systems of many countries being overwhelmed, knowing where a hotspot is likely to form and forming containment strategies around that is likely to be very useful to states and world governments.

Facebook is putting its wealth of data and reach to help researchers build models that can predict these hotspots. It partnered with the Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center to disseminate a U.S. based survey in early April:

The survey — run by Carnegie Mellon University Delphi…

The Google Pixel 2 XL is a big, awesome phone with a huge 6-inch screen. That screen is great for watching movies, playing games, and browsing the web, but it won’t do you any good if it’s completely shattered. To make sure that doesn’t happen, pick up one of these tempered glass screen protectors to keep it safe for years to come.

Best there is

Whitestone Dome Glass

Staff pick

Without a doubt, Whitestone’s Dome Glass is the very best Pixel 2 XL screen protector you can buy. The installation process is a lot more involved than anything else on this list, but the quality of the protector is second to none. It costs a lot of money, but the Dome Glass will protect your Pixel 2 XL unlike anything else.

$65 at Amazon
$55 at Whitestone Dome

A reliable choice

amFilm Screen Protector

amFilm was one of the first brands to release a tempered glass screen protector for the Pixel 2 XL and it’s continued to improve the adhesiveness and effectiveness of their product. The protector is …

A sleeker LG than what we’ve seen in the past.

What you need to know

LG’s upcoming new Velvet debuts in its first video teaser.
The teaser highlights its arc glass, raindrop camera, and natural design.
The Velvet is expected to be LG’s followup to the G8, debuting under a new brand.

LG today showed off more of what its upcoming Velvet flagship is supposed to look like. While it’s doesn’t show off a lot more than the images we saw previously, it’s just that the added motion and lighting help to give it a physical presence and contextualize it.

Here’s what it’ll look like:

The Velvet takes on many modern smartphone design cues. There’s a colorful “3D arc design” curved glass rear panel, smooth metal sides, and even a multi-lens “raindrop” rear camera that stands out in how much it doesn’t stand out compared to say the iPhone 11 Pro Max or the Galaxy S20 Ultra and its Space Zoom camera bump.

LG hasn’t made what you’d call fashionable phones in a while. They’ve been trending …

After I put the baby to bed on Wednesday, I got in the car to drive the five miles to my local Costco. It was snowing as the sun went down, and because I was driving west I spent most of the time both staring at, and trying to avoid, the star’s monstrous and comforting output.

I feel like I’ve been doing the same thing during my work days — in turns embracing and trying to avoid the reality of this awful situation, and how it encourages a strange amalgamation of micro normalcy and macro anxiety. By now, we’ve all grown into this routine, whether it’s merely finding a comfortable spot on the couch to spend the day typing away on a keyboard, to taking turns looking after kids or parents, to finding literally any excuse to leave the house, if only for a walk or a run.

It’s truly inspiring reading and hearing the stories from people who are making the best of this tough situation.

As someone who has worked from home for a decade, I’m privileged to have my own office, somewhere t…

Over-ear headphones may not be as popular as they once were but they still have a place in the market. They’re great for when you want the best sound quality you can get from a headphone. Portable and especially wireless (Bluetooth) headphones have exploded over the past decade and that’s why the Sony WH-1000XM3 have taken our top spot as the best overall headphone you can buy right now.

Best Overall: Sony WH-1000XM3

No surprise here. Sony remains the king of active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones, and Bluetooth headphones in general, with the WH-1000XM3. Not only do the headphones feature class-leading ANC, but they also have just about every other feature you could want while retaining a great 30 hours of battery life on a single charge. When the WH-1000XM3 are dead, you can plug the included USB-C cable in and get a quick charge. Ten minutes of charge nets you five hours of listening time. Unfortunately, during that time you won’t be able to actually use your headphones as au…

The OnePlus 8 will start at just ₹41,999 ($550) in India, with the OnePlus 8 Pro debuting at ₹54,999 ($720).

What you need to know

OnePlus has officially revealed Indian pricing for the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, with both phones going on sale in the country in May.
The OnePlus 8 will be retailing at just ₹41,999 ($550), and the OnePlus 8 Pro will be available at ₹54,999 ($720).
Both devices are being sold at a significant discount from their U.S. counterparts, and that should be welcome news to Indian customers.

The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro launched earlier this week, but the company didn’t reveal Indian pricing at the launch event. With the OnePlus 8 starting off at $699 and the OnePlus 8 Pro debuting at $899, that led to a lot of consternation from Indian customers as to how costly the devices would end up being in India.

OnePlus tired to assuage fears with a tweet, and the launch of the OnePlus 8 series in China — with both devices retailing for $135 less than their U.S. e…

It’s important to keep your smartphone looking good, not only for your sake but in the event that it ends up in the hands of someone else down the road. Plus, you don’t want a scratch on the screen to affect the feedback while using something like, say, an included stylus. These are the best screen protectors you can get for the Moto G Stylus!

Best glass available

ZAGG InvisibleShield Glass+

Staff Pick

ZAGG’s InvisibleShield branding has been around for years, and for good reason as these are some of the best screen protectors on the market. The Glass+ protector has reinforced edges to prevent chipping, and with the company’s Ion Matrix technology, you’ll get a smooth look and feel from the glass itself.

$25 at Best Buy

Keep it private

Janmitta Privacy Screen Protector

Janmitta’s two-pack of privacy screen protectors makes it easy to keep away prying eyes from looking over your shoulder. Anything outside of a 45-degree angle will be unviewable, so you’ll be able to …

The Jabra Elite 65t true wireless earbuds are on sale for $99.99 at Best Buy. This sale is part of Best Buy’s Deals of the Day, which means it’s a temporary price. The same earbuds go for around $120 or more at most places, and that’s even considered a sale at retailers like Target so you could find them going for much more on a regular day. Best Buy’s sale only applies to the Titanium Black edition as the others are still going for the $120 street price.

The 65t have dual microphone technology and true wireless Bluetooth stability that helps reduce audio drops. They will last up to five hours on a single charge of the battery with an extra 10 hours of battery life within the charging case itself. That means you can spend most of the day no where near a wall outlet and without a charging cable and still listen to your favorite tunes.

These headphones also feature one-touch access to Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant, which can make your life so much easier when it comes to rememberi…