Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

14" Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i Laptop Review: Power, Portability, and Excellent Battery Life in a Stylish and Svelte Package

Reviews

14″ Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i Laptop Review: Power, Portability, and Excellent Battery Life in a Stylish and Svelte Package

I thought I had found a near-perfect laptop in the Lenovo Yoga 9i, but that was before I met its even more compact sibling, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 9i. Although choosing the IdeaPad Slim 9i over the Yoga 9i requires you to do without the 360º rotating screen with the Dolby soundbar hinge that makes the Yoga 9i a true 2-in-1, there’s an excellent trade-off. In return, you get an even slimmer, lighter, and less expensive laptop that is also gorgeous to look at, a pleasure to use, and that’s powerful enough to do just about everything.

Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders: Qualcomm and ASUS Debuting a Beast of a Smartphone!

News & Features

Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders: Qualcomm and ASUS Debuting a Beast of a Smartphone!

In case you weren’t aware, in March, Qualcomm set up a program called Snapdragon Insiders. It all kicked off with a simple video done by Christiano R. Amon, the President and (at the time) CEO-Elect of Qualcomm. Amon promised access to Qualcomm experts, the latest updates from Snapdragon, and tech-reader collaborations. Months have passed; Amon is now the CEO of Qualcomm, and the Snapdragon Insiders program now has 1.6 million members. To celebrate, today they are announcing their first Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders that utilizes the best Snapdragon has to offer in a mobile experience.

Anker PowerHouse II 800

Reviews

Anker PowerHouse II 800 Review: Charges So Many Things When Needed!

I used to think that if we had a winter power outage lasting a week or more, Kev and I would be adequately prepared. We’d have plenty of drinking water on hand, piles of cut wood for the fireplace, our food would be safe (because, winter), and portable battery packs would power our electronics. Earlier this year, we got to find out just how unprepared we actually were when Texas got slammed with one winter storm after another, causing a massive power crisis. What would have made a huge difference for us during this disaster? The Anker PowerHouse II 800.

WD_BLACK D30 Game Drive SSD

News & Features

Western Digital Flash Perspective Event: Creating Environments Where Our Data Can Thrive

Over 40% of the bits in the world are stored on Western Digital products, which is insane when you think about it, but here we are. Just about everything that we use or do utilizes some form of storage, and Western Digital is the global leader in both hard drives and SSDs. During the Western Digital Flash Perspective Event today, they shared some exciting announcements that give us a glimpse at how Western Digital will continue creating environments for our data to thrive.

Lenovo Go USB-C Laptop Power Bank

News & Features

Lenovo Go Empowers Remote Workers with a 65W 20K USB-C Laptop Power Bank and Wireless Multi-Device Mouse

One of the many things inadvertently learned during the last year has been that working remotely isn’t always as easy or as efficient as it should be. Lenovo Go, a new Lenovo sub-brand, was designed with a hybrid workforce in mind; they want to provide needed tools for better mobile productivity. Their first two products are the 65W 20,000mAh Lenovo Go USB-C Laptop Power Bank and the Lenovo Go Wireless Multi-Device Mouse.

This Video Tour of the $500M The One Mega-Mansion Will Blow Your Mind

News & Features

This Video Tour of the $500M The One Mega-Mansion Will Blow Your Mind

After watching a video tour of The One mega-mansion, a soon-to-be complete 105,000+ square foot “home” reportedly valued at $500 million located in Bel Air, I was literally blown away by the sheer size and total excess of it all. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to live in a home that could double as a high-end hotel — complete with a full-size nightclub, insane LA views, and enough space to easily host a couple thousand (or more) of your closest friends post-pandemic, you’ll enjoy this insanity.

Lutron Caseta Outdoor Smart Plug

Gear Bits

Lutron Caseta Outdoor Smart Plug Makes Your Outdoor Lights Smart

So many of the things in your home are smart, but wouldn’t it be cool if the exterior of your home was smart, too? Imagine if you could control your backyard landscaping lights, the lights you have hanging under your patio, your pond, holiday inflatables, up to 1000′ of holiday lights, or other outdoor items with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple Homekit. With the new Lutron Caseta Outdoor Smart Plug, you can.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G

Reviews

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G Review: Thin and Light and in Many Ways Just Right

It’s easy to get enamored by all of the flagship phones being released by phone makers, but what if you don’t necessarily need (or want) something with 5G, the fastest processor, or a $1000 price tag but still want a great camera? You have options, and one of them is the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G. This phone packs many features in its thin and light body, and it sells for around $300 — not that you’d ever be able to tell, just looking at it.

AnkerWork PowerConf C300 Webcam

News & Features

AnkerWork PowerConf C300 Webcam and PowerConf S500 Conference Speaker Will Make Your Virtual Meetings Better

If working through the pandemic has meant that you’ve been at home more than usual, then you’ve likely run into challenges that have made you wish for equipment upgrades. One of my biggest pain points has been virtual conference calls. Having to do so many virtual meetings in the past year has exposed how insufficient my iMac’s built-in webcam has always been. If you’ve felt let-down by your video conferencing set-up, then the new AnkerWork PowerConf C300 Webcam and the PowerConf S500 Conference Speaker might be of interest.

OPPO Find X3 Pro

Reviews

OPPO Find X3 Pro Review: A Brilliant Android 11 Flagship in Every Way

OPPO has been making phones since 2008, yet the OPPO Find X3 Pro is the first OPPO phone that I’ve ever tried, much less reviewed. Seeing as the Find X series is OPPO’s flagship line, and the Find X3 Pro is their top model, I can’t think of a better phone to introduce me to this company, which as of January this year, has overtaken Huawei as the number one selling smartphone brand in China. I have been using the Find X3 Pro as my primary phone for the past few weeks, and I have found much to like.