Smart Speakers

Amazon Echo Show 15 Review: Much More Than a Beautiful Smart Digital Photo Frame

If you are using an Amazon Alexa smart speaker to control your home’s various connected features, adding an Alexa-enabled smart display to the mix seems like the obvious next step. Built with the user’s privacy in mind, the Amazon Echo Show 15 is a convergent device that functions not only as an elegant touchscreen smarthome hub but also as a convenient family communication center, a mesmerizing 15.6″ digital photo frame, a helpful cooking companion, a smart speaker, a movie and video entertainment center, a home security camera, and more!


Lenovo Smart Clock Essential Gains Alexa and Ambient Light Docks

Sure, your home is smart, but it can always be a little bit smarter. It’s the little things that make smart objects more useful, and Lenovo understands that smarter items need great design as well as intelligence to become integral to your everyday life. That’s why they’re rolling out the new Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Amazon Alexa alongside some new ambient light docks for it.



Acer Announces a Whole Year’s Worth of New Products

Do you need a new computer? Chances are, with all of us working and learning from home, if you don’t, then someone in your household might. Whether you need a Chromebook, a Windows PC, or some accessories, chances are Acer just announced a product that fits!


ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 TV Speaker Boosts Dialogue and Clarifies Voices

We’ve reviewed quite a few ZVOX soundbars, and one thing I have always appreciated about them is how they use technology to make it easier to understand what people are saying onscreen — even when explosions are happening in the background. Their latest is the ZVOX AccuVoice AV157 TV Speaker, and it adds the power of Alexa to their already powerful speakers.


Head Back-to-School with Our Big Lenovo Giveaway

Need a little something to perk up your back to school experience? We’ve got you! Lenovo has sent us a huge box of giveaway items that are looking for new homes, and we can’t wait to share them with you! Entry is easy, and if you are one of our lucky winners, one of these prizes will soon be in your hands.



Nest Hub Max Is the Smart Assistant to Beat

As I’ve written in recent months, I’m deeply entrenched in Amazon’s Alexa voice services but I’m slowly being won over by Google’s offerings. I reviewed a JBL smart speaker last year (read my review) and Google’s Nest Mini last month (read my review). I’ve had a chance to play with the Google Nest Hub Max, and I have to admit that I’m impressed.


Google Nest Mini Is Small but Mighty Connectivity for Your Home

I’ve been all-in with Amazon’s Alexa smart devices since they first came on the scene. In recent months, however, devices leveraging Google’s smart assistant have been winning me over. The new Google Nest Mini is, in part, responsible for that. It is under $50, sounds surprisingly good, and it lets you control your home and more using only your voice.




Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2019 Awards

  Berlin’s annual IFA show is the largest consumer electronics event in Europe with “more digital lifestyle products in one place than any other show worldwide.” After walking the show floor, sitting in on private pre-briefings, standing inside packed press conferences, and attending media-only showcase events, these are the items we’ve chosen for Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2019 Awards.






Cleer’s Latest Products Are Worth Checking Out

A brand that I knew absolutely nothing about prior to receiving their products to check out on a whim have really convinced me that sometimes it’s not the name branded on the device, but the actual items themselves After testing them for the last month, Cleer’s headphones and Bluetooth speaker have left quite the impression on me. 


Lenovo Smart Tab P10 2-in-1 Smart Dock Review

If you’ve wanted a capable under $300 Android tablet that also doubles as an Alexa display, you’re going to love the Lenovo Smart Tab P10 2-in-1 Smart Dock. It’s an Amazon Alexa enabled device with a 10.1″ FHD screen, but you can pull the display from the dock and use it separately as a regular Android tablet, too.


JBL LINK VIEW is JBL’s Entry into the Smart Display Market

My home is filled with Amazon Echo devices but, as Judie and Carly reported, it was Google Assistant rather than Alexa that was on display at CES 2019. If the amazing JBL LINK VIEW I have been reviewing is any indication, there’s a good reason why. It is a fantastic device and Google Assistant is remarkably powerful.



The House of Marley Has Sustainable Smart Speakers and More

Speakers and headphones with integrated smart assistants have become all the rage. The House of Marley is jumping into the fray but are doing so with a twist. Some of their new speakers and headphones leverage services like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant and do so using sustainable materials. Smart and socially responsible is a nice way to go!