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Rise of the microcar – why compact EVs are finally having their day and the ones to watch

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Many cities around the world are facing a congestion crisis – and where governments and local authorities have seen fit to curb emissions from CO2-belching tailpipes, the humble automobile is slowly being phased out of many urban areas.

Although the microcar is nothing new (the petrol-powered Peel P50 was launched in the early 1960s), it is experiencing something of a renaissance thanks to those traffic and pollution problems. Plus, because battery and electric motor technology is now seen as the ‘cleaner and greener’ option, most modern models have gone electric.

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Compact workstation PC appears with weird display stand and some outstanding features — Minisforum’s Mini PC has an overclocked AMD CPU, USB4 and OCuLink to plug in your Pro GPU cards

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If you’re in the market for a mini PC then you really should be taking a look at what Minisforum has to offer.

The Chinese company produces a range of affordable, well-specced devices, such as its latest release, the UM790 XTX. This is a more powerful alternative to the UM780 XTX which Minisforum currently refers to as “The king of the Mini PC”.

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Computers

Brane X Speaker: Compact Size, Home Theater Sound

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Bass is foundational. A dedicated speaker capable of reproducing convincing bass and sub-bass not only makes music and films feel more authentic, but can even improve the detail and dynamics of the higher registers by freeing up sonic space below. So attempting to jam a real subwoofer into a handheld speaker is by no means a crazy idea—it’s just crazy difficult.

That’s what makes the Brane X so impressive. Over the years, I’ve heard lofty claims about low-extension “woofers” in virtually every kind of compact speaker, but the Brane X is the first to hit all the notes literally. It does so with a specialized RAD (Repel Attract Driver) that seems to perform physics-defying magic from within the speaker’s stout frame. That’s matched by multiple high-frequency drivers above for clear and surprisingly expansive performance across registers.

To land this kind of breakthrough bass in a package you can take virtually anywhere, Brane charges a fee that will make most casual buyers spit up their beverages. But if your budget is negotiable, the Brane X is a fabulous wireless speaker that comes as close as I’ve heard to putting a full home audio system in a pint-sized box.

Surreal Sound

Do you listen to music with percussion or drums? Bass guitar, synth, or strings? If so, you’ll benefit from what the Brane X can do. What’s most notable about the speaker’s potent punch isn’t how much bass it pumps out, but the kind and quality. This is pure, full, and unadulterated low-frequency performance from the source.

Black oval shaped speaker with handle on top and icons on top sitting in woodchips beside small plants

Photograph: Ryan Waniata

As you might guess, the Brane X is most viscerally impressive when hammering hip hop and electronic grooves, where the kick hits with clean authority well below 50 Hz, without overpowering the other instruments. Yet, listening through my catalog, it became increasingly clear that the RAD subwoofer’s pointed touch is just as impressive when more subtly deployed.

The haunting vocal and guitar intro in Springsteen’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad” sounds clear and airy, as you’d expect from a quality portable. Then the bass guitar kicks in, and everything is elevated. The rich natural tone the Brane X reproduces adds depth and gravity to the song, bringing its full emotional poignancy to life.

I didn’t have a suitable portable that could stand up to the Brane X, so I called in some of my favorite homebound Wi-Fi speakers, including the Sonos Era 100 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) and Era 300 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). Even the thrilling 300, which serves up impressive bass in its own right, couldn’t match the Brane in the heaviest tracks, sketching out more of an impression of the lowest tones than the full monty.

Brane says its Repel Attract Driver can deliver this kind of authenticity by using a special magnet and spring system to cancel the “internal air pressure forces” that hinder other speakers. This results in a claimed “tenfold increase in sub-bass sound and a hundredfold increase in sub-bass efficiency.” It sounds like so much techno mumbo jumbo out there, but with the Brane X, you can actually hear it working, and not just from the performance. Tapping the power key evokes little whirring sounds, apparently adjusting its complex internal mechanism ahead of playback.

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Turtle Beach VelocityOne flightstick review – a compact, feature-packed flight sim controller, for less

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One-minute review

Flight sim peripherals are expensive. Thrustmaster’s Warthog HOTAS is the gold standard at north of $400 and Logitech’s cheaper X56 is still more than $200. Turtle Beach wants to undercut them both with this HOTAS-flightstick hybrid and, like a veteran Tom Cruise attempting some bit of cinematic aerial derring-do, it pulls it off in style. 

There are 27 programmable buttons nestled around the joystick, laid out sensibly in an ambidextrous design that makes it easy to dial in useful mappings whichever hand you operate it with. The feel of those buttons isn’t uniformly ‘premium’, with some noticeably wobblier or flimsier than others, but something had to give if Turtle Beach was going to deliver all this for $120. 

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The obscure little PC that wanted to be a big NAS — super compact Maiyunda M1 doesn’t cost that much, offers up to 40TB SSD storage, runs Windows and has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports

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At first glance, the Maiyunda M1 doesn’t look all that special. It’s a mini PC with a large on/off button on the front, alongside a TF card slot, a USB 3.0 port, and two USB 2.0 ports. On the rear, there are HDMI 2.0 and DP ports to allow the device to drive two screens simultaneously (4K/60Hz). There are also four 2.5GbE RJ45 ports plus two additional USB 2.0 slots.

With dimensions of just 165 x 147.5 x 59mm, not including the 52mm leg pads, the M1 with its all-aluminum shell looks like any mini PC, and even its manufacturer describes it as “unassuming”.

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Computers

KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine Review: Quiet and Compact

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KitchenAid is a brand that’s had a place in every home kitchen I’ve ever had, even growing up. When I bought my own KitchenAid stand mixer for the first time after college, my apartment finally felt like a place where a grown-up lived. My affection for that stand mixer cannot be overstated, so naturally my ears perked up when KitchenAid announced it was revamping its espresso machine lineup.

There are three new fully automatic espresso machines: the KF8, KF7, and KF6. Then there’s the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine, plus a 2-in-1 with a built-in burr grinder. I love a good fully automatic espresso machine for its expedience and ease, but there’s a part of me that just craves the practiced ritual of brewing your own espresso at home. The first of these machines to make their way to my doorstep was the Semi Automatic, so here we are. Keep an eye out for my review of the automatics soon.

Considerate Counter Footprint

I’m a lifelong apartment-dweller, and one of the many lessons I’ve learned from a life spent apartment-hopping is the value of counter space. When I set the KitchenAid Semi Automatic Espresso Machine on my counter for the first time, I couldn’t help but smile.

This is a fully-featured espresso machine with a built-in burr grinder, and it fits in the area previously occupied by my rice cooker—a strip of counter too narrow for other practical uses. This machine is narrow, clocking in at about 13 inches wide and 15 inches tall. It fits comfortably, with room to spare, underneath my somewhat low-hanging kitchen cabinets.

Silver espresso machine on kitchen counter

Photograph: Jaina Grey

Because of the tight space in my kitchen, it’s sometimes hard to access the water tank on the back of espresso machines I test. Usually, I have to either wrestle to remove the tank and bring it to the faucet, or resign myself to filling it by carrying cup after cup from my sink to the machine. The KitchenAid Semi Automatic effortlessly navigates that little stumbling block by having wheels on the bottom. I can just pull the machine away from the wall, turn it sideways, and fully remove the water tank.

I initially worried the machine would be too slippery with wheels, making it hard to tighten the portafilter into place without the whole thing sliding all the time. Thankfully, the wheels are smooth but they do require a little muscle to move—a good thing. To twist the portafilter in place, you still have to brace it with one hand, but you typically have to do that with small espresso machines anyway.

The wheels also make it so much easier to clean under and behind the machine. I’m currently testing another espresso machine on my other countertop, and it’s so heavy that moving it to clean up any spilled grounds or ultrafine coffee dust that’s accumulated behind the machine is a huge pain. A literal pain, given my chronic back issues.

Whisper Quiet

This KitchenAid machine features a certification from Quiet Mark, meaning it’s been tested to ensure it’s as quiet as possible (there’s a cute little Q sticker on the front of the machine). I was skeptical because even quiet grinders can get pretty loud. I was wrong. This Semi Automatic just might be the quietest espresso machine I’ve ever tested.

Grinding the beans produces only a little mechanical whirr sound. It’s quiet enough that you can continue to have a conversation while it grinds—a test every other grinder that’s come through my kitchen has failed, even the quiet ones. The grinder is also remarkably consistent. It produces grounds fine enough for espresso and coarse enough for other brewing methods. I think it can fully replace a countertop coffee grinder, no matter what kind of other coffee you like brewing.

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Business Industry

Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the undercover king of slab-type compact phones

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There’s been some talk lately about the slow death of the compact phone. To me, the whole situation is odd, as I’ve been watching for years how numerous smartphone users online claim to want a compact device, only for compact devices to constantly fail to reach significant sales figures. I wonder, how often has this highlighted the disparity between what some people claim to want and what they end up buying?

Some of those self-proclaimed compact phone enthusiasts will often share one or more reasons why X or Y compact phone wasn’t their ideal choice. But in the end, no compact phone seems to ever tick all their boxes. Hence, they end up buying a regular phone instead. Which, in effect, turns them into regular phone users who claim to be die-hard compact phone fans.

Unfortunately, the other people in this crowd who have always supported compact phones sincerely and put their money where their mouth is are too few and far between. Certainly not enough for compact phone makers to make a dent in the market.

Dare I say it, it’s almost like a good portion of phone enthusiasts who loudly claim to want a compact phone sometimes bait-and-switch OEMs, albeit unwillingly. One OEM or another falls for it and creates a compact phone, only to later realize that, in reality, there wasn’t enough demand for it, despite what some of the loudest ‘voices’ they may have heard online were saying.

But what if the ideal compact phone is one that can pull a similar bait-and-switch tactic, only in reverse?

Galaxy Z Flip 5 is not like any other model before it

I want to put a different spin on the compact phone saga for those few sincere phone users who truly wish for a compact device but can’t find one. I’m here to tell you that the king of compact phones already exists, and you might be looking for it in the wrong place. It’s undercover and in disguise, but it is here and dominates its market segment.

I believe the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is, without a shadow of a doubt, the king of compact phones right now. And its sequel, the Galaxy Z Flip 6, will likely be just as unbeatable.

To be perfectly clear, I am deliberately excluding the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and older models from this argument. Not because of their age, but because they lack the one key component that makes them truly compact kings — a large-enough cover display.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the first in its series to have a 3.4-inch cover screen that’s big enough to be used for virtually any task — especially when paired with Good Lock for extended support for more (if not all) apps.

The key distinction between the Z Flip 5 and older models is that even if the older versions are extremely compact, they rarely can be used as compact phones. Sooner rather than later, you’ll have to flip open a Galaxy Flip 4 if you want to do just about anything significant on your phone. However, that’s not the case with the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the first that can be used as a non-foldable 3.4-inch slab-type phone the vast majority of the time. Granted, it’s a 3.4-inch slab phone with the thickest bezels you can find and an even thicker 15.1mm profile.

Even so, it is absolutely tiny compared to any slab-type phone on the market. When folded, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 measures just 85.1 x 71.9mm. And when you use the Galaxy Z Flip 5 folded and forget about the inner screen, you get the most compact slab-type high-end phone you can buy.

I bet the majority of Galaxy Z Flip 5 users already know this. They’re using the cover screen more than they do the foldable panel. They never realized they’d sign up for this type of user experience, but that’s where many ended up. Whenever they ignore the foldable panel — which is often — they are using the most compact slab-type smartphone they have probably ever used.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 was probably never meant to occupy the compact phone niche the way it does, but here we are. Whoever thought that the king of compact slab-type phones might one day be an undercover Galaxy Z Flip?!

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Compact cameras are making a comeback as demand for Nikon Coolpix soars by over 8,000% – and it’s little to do with cameras

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It’s 2024, and retro-styled digital cameras like the new Fujifilm X100VI are very much in, but research by musicMagpie has delivered surprising findings about the genuinely retro tech that people are really searching for online.

While film photography is certainly in vogue, with Gen Z turning to point-and-shoot cameras like the Kodak Ektar H35, it turns out that digital compact cameras from the 2000s and 2010s, like the Nikon Coolpix S6900 (pictured above), are making a comeback.

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Bisnis Industri

Compact travel charger handles iPhone, Apple Watch for $18

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Enjoy wireless, easy charging for your Apple gear with this $18 charging solution.
Save an extra 20% on this foldable, wireless charging station.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Need a compact travel charger for iPhone, Apple Watch and more? This Foldable Wireless Magnetic Charging Station does the trick, with its two MagSafe-compatible charging pads and integrated adapters. Through March 10, this nifty charging option is only $17.59 with code ENJOY20.

Compact folding travel charger for iPhone, Apple Watch and more

Perfect for clearing up space on your desk or nightstand, this compact folding travel charger can juice up two devices simultaneously. The smartphone pad delivers up to 15W of power, while the Apple Watch pad offers up to 2.5W.

This charging station also features an LED so you can quickly check if your devices are charging correctly. And with safeguards like foreign-object and short-circuit protections, your beloved devices can power up safely.

Perfect for tossing in a carry-on or working remotely

Its sleek and compact foldable design allows you to easily pack up the charger to bring it with you when traveling or working remotely. You can even fold it up in a triangular configuration to create a phone stand so you can watch videos while taking a lunch break or FaceTime a friend or family member as your device juices up.

It works with Qi-compatible smartphones. And if you’d also like to use this travel charger for other devices, it comes with integrated adapters for USB Type-C to USB-A, Micro USB, 8-pin, etc., for maximum compatibility.

Save on a compact travel charger that folds up small

Don’t settle for outdated charging solutions that clutter your space and complicate your life.

Enjoy seamless wireless charging when you grab this Foldable Wireless Magnetic Charging Station on sale for just $17.59 when you use ENJOY20 at checkout. You have until 11:59 p.m. Pacific on March 10 to secure this offer.

Buy from: Cult of Mac Deals

Prices subject to change. All sales handled by StackSocial, our partner who runs Cult of Mac Deals. For customer support, please email StackSocial directly.




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Compact 2-in-1 Keychain Wireless Charger

Keychain Wireless Charger

Imagine a world where you can charge your Apple Watch on the go, without the need for bulky cables or power banks. A world where you can simply place your watch on a sleek, compact device and watch as it powers up, ready for your next adventure. Welcome to the world of the 2-in-1 Keychain Wireless Charger.

This lightweight and compact charger is not just a device, it’s a lifestyle. It’s for the tech-savvy, the travelers, the busy bees, and the efficiency seekers. It’s for those who value convenience and style, and those who believe that the best things in life come in small packages. With its 2,500mAh battery, this charger can efficiently power up your Apple Watch 3-5 times, ensuring you’re always connected, always in the loop, and always ready to seize the day.

Key Features of the 2-in-1 Keychain Wireless Charger

  • Magnetic design for perfect alignment with all Apple Watch series
  • Type-C port for versatile charging options
  • Functions as an emergency power bank for other devices
  • LED digital display for clear visibility of the battery level
  • Fast charging and short circuit protection
  • 1-year manufacturer’s warranty

But that’s not all. This charger is more than just a power source; it’s a statement. With its sleek black ABS+PC material and dimensions of 3.54” x 1.95” x 0.78″, it’s a testament to the fact that power and style can coexist. It’s a testament to the fact that you can have it all – convenience, efficiency, and style.

And the best part? This charger is user-friendly. Simply place your Apple Watch on it to start charging. No complicated setups, no confusing instructions. Just pure, simple, efficient charging. And with its LED digital display, you can easily keep track of your battery level, so you’re never caught off guard.

So why wait? Embrace the future of charging with the 2-in-1 Keychain Wireless Charger. Because life is too short for tangled cables and dead batteries.

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