Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

The eighth-gen iPad feels familiar. It should be familiar: iPads don't change much. But the world certainly has. My whole family is trapped at home, working and going to school; remote connections are our whole lives. And iPads and Chromebooks are everywhere in our house.

My kids connect to their classes through devices: one on a Chromebook, the younger one on an iPad. iPads aren't ideal for school. They're convenient in a pinch, but not all apps work well, and not all input tools do, either.

Like

• Faster processor handles iPadOS better
• Supports Pencil and keyboard cases
• Faster charger included in box

Don't Like

• 10.2 inch screen feels cramped with two-app multitasking
• Doesn't support Pencil 2 or newer Magic Keyboard cases
• Older front-facing camera, still not great for landscape Zooming
• Entry-level 32GB storage too low to recommend

The basic iPad has been the "good enough" iPad for forever, while the Pro and Air have offered fancier features and better performance. This year, the iPad Air is getting a major revamp with a new processor, big display and USB-C, making it look much like an iPad Pro for less. But that new iPad Air starts at $599 (£579, AU$899). The new eighth-gen iPad I've been using, in the meantime, starts at $329 (£329, AU$499). Most stores will probably drop that to $300, and holiday sales could even bring it down further, if past years are any indication. 

So what about this new 2020 entry-level iPad? It's an iPad, just like the one before. But it's a bit faster now. Whether you get one is basically the same question as before.

There's not a lot to say about this new 10.2-inch iPad. It's the same device as last year with one key improvement: Now it has an A12 processor instead of last year's A10. That's a big difference, and makes this a great time to consider the upgrade if you have an iPad that's several years old. Last year's basic iPad increased screen size and added a smart connector on the side, but it didn't change the processor. Upgrading is a major overhaul.

But you should also know that this basic iPad is a lot like last year's 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini. So much so that, really, they're variants on the same device. (That 2019 Air is gone from Apple's website, but the Mini remains.) Think of it as last year's Air for less, and it's a good deal. But it's also an older iPad design. It still has a Touch ID home button and a headphone jack. And it still uses Lightning to charge and connect accessories, even though the upcoming iPad Air and current Pros use USB-C.

Here are the key similarities and differences between this new iPad and last year's Air and Mini:

• The new eighth-gen iPad has the same processor and RAM as those iPads.
• It also comes with less base storage (32GB).
• The front-facing camera is worse on the eighth-gen iPad: 1.2 megapixels and 720p, versus 7 megapixels and 1080p on last year's Air and Mini.
• The eighth-gen iPad works with the first-gen Pencil, just like those older iPads. That means you'll have to stick it in your iPad's Lightning port to charge -- and lose track of the little pop-off Pencil cap on the end in the process.
• It works with the same Apple Smart Keyboard as the 2019 iPad Air, but that's not true of every Air case. Logitech's Combo Touch, for instance, has the same keyboard base but has two models to fit the Air and iPad's different thicknesses.
• The included charger is better and faster: It's 20 watts, and the cable is now Lightning-to-USB-C, allowing it to work better with recent MacBooks.
• The 10.2-inch display is a bit smaller and a hair less vivid than the 2019 Air. But it's still more than good enough.
• Now that the iPad supports trackpads and mice, it's also more versatile for web apps and tools.

A Lightning charger, still, but a faster 20-watt one.

Scott Stein/CNET

So this all adds up to: The iPad Is Totally Fine. More than fine, I'd say. I'm writing this review on it using the smart keyboard (editing and prepping on CNET's content management system is still best on a laptop).

The iPad still isn't as useful as a Chromebook for a lot of school tools, at least in my house. App support is amazing, and Apple's streaming-friendly ecosystem also helps it double as a fantastic little TV. But multitasking and file saving are still weird and frustrating, even with iPadOS 14 improvements.

iPads in my house tend to be free screens we grab to do things, and this basic iPad fits that role fantastically.

Do you wait for the 2020 iPad Air?

The fancier Air comes out soon, and it looks nice. It's also nearly twice the price. As a result, it's not the same product at all. The Air looks like it would make a lovely gift for someone who needs a more powerful iPad for art or graphics work, and wants to save over the Pro. But for most people I bet this iPad will be fine.

Why is the camera on the side?

Most annoying iPad feature in 2020: The front-facing camera is still on the side in landscape mode, which is the mode most of us do chats and Zooms in. My face ends up off-angle and strangely centered, staring off into space. The iPad's camera is good enough, even in a step-down mode, and better than most laptops. But it's terrible for centering your face. And everything now is Zoom. 

The Apple Pencil still goes in the Lightning port to charge.

Scott Stein/CNET

No great keyboard cases?

The Logitech Combo Touch has a trackpad, but its bulkier case and kickstand design aren't great for lap typing. It's perfectly usable, but at $150 it's an expensive accessory.

There's no Apple Magic Keyboard for this iPad, but you can use Apple's older smart connector Smart Keyboard cover, which is compact but lacks a trackpad. 

Trackpad and mouse support is the best 2020 iPad feature

Just like every other recent iPad, with iPadOS 14 you can connect a mouse or trackpad (or get a trackpad-enabled keyboard case). I find it a huge help with editing and navigating, especially while the iPad is propped up on a desk with a kickstand case.

The smart keyboard case and Apple Pencil work with this iPad, but they cost extra and aren't the most recent versions.

Scott Stein/CNET

Battery life so far: Pretty good, as always

I was able to do a Zoom for an hour without making much of a dent on a full charge. I multitasked, read, watched shows, played games, worked on stories, and the battery held. No surprise, since the iPad's claim of around 10 hours of battery life has been the same for years, though it varies a few hours more or less depending on the model. I haven't done a battery benchmark but it's doing a full day with ease. The included faster charger is welcome.

iPadOS 14 is here now, and you might want to eventually try it on your existing iPad first before upgrading iPads.

Scott Stein/CNET

What I miss most from better iPads

Compared to the higher-end iPads, this one lacks the extra screen real estate on its sides. This larger-bezeled iPad is fine, but in multitasking modes with two apps open it starts to feel cramped. The next iPad Air (or iPad Pros) feel considerably more expansive, even if it's just an inch or so. Most laptops, TVs and other screened devices make a big deal about how narrow their screen bezels are. Still, this only really matters if you need to multitask -- keeping Slack and Gmail on screen at once, for example, or writing while following news feeds. It can be done on this iPad, but it works better with a second screen that's narrower (like an email, Twitter or Slack stream).

I also miss the TrueTone on the 2019 iPad Air and iPad Pro (and iPhone). It auto-adjusts color temperature, and I've really gotten used to it. This iPad's display seems harsher or bluer than I'm used to. It also lacks the fancy 120Hz refresh of the iPad Pro, but you might not notice the difference. The 2,160x1,620-pixel display is otherwise great.

If you're looking for an iPad and have no idea which to get, this is the safe iPad bet and the one you should probably buy. It officially starts at $329, but many stores sell it for $299, which can drop to $250 during sales. And, yeah, I'd recommend going to the $429 128GB model for that extra storage security blanket if you're considering downloading more than a handful of apps. If you're a pro, and need pro-level features, then you're already considering the iPad Pro or the upcoming improved iPad Air. For everyone else -- families, students, anyone looking to pick up a good versatile extra screen -- this is where you're likely to start looking, and also where you're likely to end up. 

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Best Outdoor Projector for 2022

Best Outdoor Projector for 2022

Enjoying a movie with your family is great. Enjoying it outside, relaxing under the stars, is even better. As projectors have gotten smaller, brighter, and cheaper, it's become easier than ever to set up a backyard movie night. You can choose between easily portable, battery-powered models, or wired models with built-in streaming and tons of brightness. 

Ideally, you'll have some sort of screen, but even a big sheet or posterboard can do the trick. All the projectors on this list have speakers, but if you have a big yard, or want the movie to be heard over the ruckus of some younglings, it'd be best to connect to a Bluetooth speaker. If your Wi-Fi isn't strong enough to reach where you want to show the movie, you can turn your phone into a hotspot. In a few cases you can download some content to the projector itself, but don't expect this from every model nor with every streaming service. 

Here are the best outdoor projectors we've tested.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The small Mars II Pro isn't the brightest, nor smallest, nor cheapest projector on this list. It's not even the easiest to use. But it does combine a pleasing image with decent sound for a good price. It's an all-around great option without the serious drawbacks of many other portable projectors. 

The main issue with the Mars II Pro is it doesn't use the full version of the Android TV streaming service like some newer models. As such, it's not as easy to use and you won't get every streaming service. The big ones are here, of course, like Netflix and Disney Plus, but no HBO. You can connect a streaming stick, of course, and there's a USB connection to power it right on the back. 

The battery lasts about the length of a long movie. 

Check out our in-depth review of the Mars II Pro..

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The AAXA P6 throws out an impressive amount of light, and lasts up to a claimed 4 hours with its built-in battery. You'll need to add a streaming stick to watch anything, but there's a USB connection to power one so that's easy to do.

Overall the image quality is OK, but not great. The colors are off, the contrast ratio isn't great and its resolution of 1,280x800 pixels is noticeably softer than 1080p and especially 4K projectors. 

That said, it's bright and inexpensive, which is a great combination.

Check out our full review of the AAXA P6X.

Geoff Morrison/CNET

The Vimgo P10 regularly hovers around $250, and often drops even cheaper. It's a strange product, doing something right and a lot of things wrong. The image it produces is watchable, and has an impressively high contrast ratio, but the colors are flat-out atrocious. The brightness and sharpness uniformity are some of the worst I've seen, which means everything that's not dead center in the image is dimmer and softer than the middle. It also has no upwards throw, so it needs to be placed at the same height as the middle of the screen, which is, like I said, strange for an inexpensive projector. 

The biggest drawback for this list is its lack of a battery. But for the added price of an extension cord it's still cheaper than most other projectors on this list.

But for the price, it's hard to beat. But if you can spend more, you'll get more.

Check out our full review of the Vimgo P10..

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The AAXA P8 is tiny, like the Nebula Capsule, but rectangular to that projectors cylindricalness. It's significantly brighter than the Capsule, but it lacks that projector's battery.

Like its big brother, the P6X, the P8 doesn't have the best picture quality. However, it's inexpensive and bright, two things we like a lot. For similar money the Vimgo P10's picture quality is a little better, but that projector has its own serious drawbacks. 

All ultra-budget projectors have concessions to price, but with the P8 those concessions don't include brightness and size.

Check out our full review of the AAXA P8..

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

The Laser 4K's claim to being portable and "outdoor" boils down to a huge handle built into its design. It lacks a battery, is quite heavy, and it's really expensive. 

It is, however, exceptionally bright. One of the brightest projectors we've ever tested. It has built-in Android TV too. It's more portable, and better suited to outdoor movie nights than, say, the Epson 5050. 

The Optoma UHZ50, the BenQ HT2050A or the Epson Home Cinema 2250 are better overall, however. They're all bright, cheaper and easily carried, though they lack a stylish handle.

Check out our review of the Anker Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K.

Klaus Vedfelt/GettyImages

Other products we've tested

Anker Nebula Solar Portable : The Solar's sibling, the Mars II Pro, is better. The Solar's main disadvantage compared to others on this list is its relatively dim image, which means it can't project as large a picture and still look good. If you want a sleek, budget-friendly portable with 1080p and plan on keeping the image on the small side, however, this is a solid choice. Read our Anker Nebula Solar Portable Review.

LG CineBeam PH30N : The tiny LG PH30N is only slightly larger than the AAXA P8. It's not particularly bright, however, nor does it have built-in apps. The battery doesn't last as long as the AAXA P6X although it is a bit cheaper. Read our LG CineBeam PH30N review.

Samsung Freestyle : The small, stylish, cylindrical Freestyle is an interesting idea, but it's not very bright, lacks a battery, and is quite expensive. Read our Samsung Freestyle review.

The Samsung Freestyle is a cool looking design but too expensive for what you get.

Geoff Morrison/CNET

Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 : Is another relatively expensive small projector that could be better. You may appreciate the compact size, 1080p resolution and built-in Android TV streaming, but it's relatively dim, especially for the price. It also lacks both a built-in battery and compatibility with a USB power source, so it's not truly portable. Read our Xiaomi Mi Smart Projector 2 review.

How we test outdoor projectors

We don't treat outdoor projectors any differently, testing-wise, than any other projector. Just because a projector has the convenience of being portable doesn't mean it shouldn't perform to reasonable standards. The biggest difference is checking the performance on the battery vs. plugged in. That almost always just results in a difference in light output.

Read more: How We Test Projectors

Outdoor projector FAQs

Can any projector work outside?

Yes! Well, sort of. No projector should live outside. The humidity and temperature variations will quickly ruin a projector, just like it will with a TV. But if you plan to bring it inside after every use, something we highly recommend, you can use any projector outside.

What if my Wi-Fi doesn't reach outside?

Most phones can work as a Wi-Fi hotspot, using your cellular data instead. If you're not on an unlimited data plan, this can drain your available data however. Also consider some free, or low cost, improvements to your home's wireless network. That might extend the reach enough.

Do outdoor projectors have streaming apps? Netflix, Disney, etc?

Sometimes. Most of the projectors on this list either have full, or partial, streaming interfaces like you'd find in a modern smart TV. They might not have every streaming app, however. Netflix is pretty much a given, but beyond that, it varies. 

All the projectors on this list have an HDMI input, and all except the Capsule also have a USB connection, so you can connect any streaming stick to them and get all the apps you're used to.

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Best apps to put on kids' phones to keep them safe online this summer

Best apps to put on kids' phones to keep them safe online this summer

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the

WHO

and

CDC

websites.

School systems are formulating reopening plans amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and families are reshaping their summer schedules to adhere to safety regulations. Parents balancing working from home with caring for school-age kids need ways to keep their brood entertained. 

Read more: Our favorite back to school picks for 2020

With the surge in digital learning and not being able to visit friends in person, many kids are spending more time on their phones and computers. The safety concerns for kids online haven't lessened, but learning about parental controls and safety apps can help bring some peace of mind to parents. 

Here are a few parental control apps we think are a good idea to consider putting on your child's phone or computer.

Read more: Best kids tablet for 2020: Amazon Fire, Apple iPad and more compared 

Net Nanny

Net Nanny/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Net Nanny is an app that uses AI to block questionable or dangerous content before your child sees it. The app can filter certain websites and monitors your child's digital activity, and can also monitor and limit screen time. The software's Family Feed feature can report what your child is searching online and what apps your child uses and can alert you to content such as pornography, weapons and drugs. 

Net Nanny is compatible with Android and iOS, as well as Windows, Mac and Fire. The software costs $55 per year to cover PC, Mac and mobile for a five-device family. Net Nanny also offers a $40 annual plan to cover one Mac desktop and a 20-device protection package for $90 per year.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Net Nanny also offers a dedicated filter to block coronavirus sites and searches to help kids who might feel anxious. 

Read more: 7 parental controls you can use right now on your kid's iPhone

Bark

Bark/ Screenshot by Shelby Brown/ CNET

Bark is another option for parents who want to keep kids safe online. The app monitors texts and emails, along with YouTube and over 30 social media networks for questionable content your child might be searching or viewing. Bark sends parents alerts if it detects signs of cyberbullying, depression, online predators, adult content and more. You can also decide which platforms you want to monitor, if you want to give your child some privacy. The app recently launched a new screen-time management feature so parents can monitor their kids' accounts as well as set screen time limits from the same app. 

Bark has a seven-day free trial and then costs $14 a month ($99 annually) per family with iOS and Android devices. You can also subscribe to Bark Jr, the company's entry-level product, for $5 a month ($49 annually). Bark Jr focuses on screen time management, website filtering and location check-ins.

OurPact

OurPact

The OurPact parenting app helps families balance screen time for free on iOS and Android devices. The app lets parents limit access to certain apps, filter websites, enable GPS monitoring, and schedule screen time and recurring activities like bedtime. It also allows parents to block or grant internet and app access at anytime. 

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, OurPact said that it's offering three months free access to premium features, normally $7 per month. Premium can manage up to 20 devices, keep tabs on all the apps on your child's device and mark as Always Blocked, Per Schedule and Always Allowed. Premium also enables a spendable screen time allowance, the family locator feature and geo-fence creator for alerts, text blocking and web filters. 

Typically, OurPact's base plan is free and offers one schedule, and five blocks and unlimited grants for one device. OurPact also has a Plus plan for $2 per month that offers unlimited schedules, and manual blocks and grants for 10 devices.

SafeToNet

SafeToNet/Screenshot by Shelby Brown/CNET

Kids will be communicating over devices while in lockdown since they can't see their friends. The SafeToNet app, which is now available on iOS and Android in the US, has a safeguarding keyboard powered by AI to judge, guide and advise a child in real time as they search for content and message others. The app's goal is to help the child become more responsible and safe online without feeling like they don't have any privacy. 

Parents won't be able to see what's being written, but can view insights like the time of day when high-risk messages are sent and the top five apps used by their child. SafeToNet can show what issues the child most struggles with, too. 

The software will flag certain messages if the AI detects bullying, abuse, aggression or sexting, for example. SafeToNet gives the child a moment to pause before sending a message they can't take back. Plus, the app provides breathing exercises when anxiety is detected, lessons about self-esteem and an emotion diary.

To help during the pandemic, SafeToNet is offering its services free to families for the next 30 days. 

Google Family Link

Google/ Screenshot by Shelby Brown/ CNET

Google Family Link lets you create a Google account for your child (if they're under 13 years old) with access to most Google services, including Gmail and Photos. If your child is over 13, they have to consent to using Google Family Link. The app lets parents keep track of their kid's Google account and guide them to age-appropriate content. Parents can also approve or deny which apps their kids want to download. Family Link shows parents apps that teachers recommend, which parents can add directly to the child's phone. 

The service is compatible with Chromebook, iOS and Android. It includes other parental controls such as screen time limits, locking the phone for family time and location tracking.

Read more: 

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Europe's last dictator has a YouTube problem

Europe's last dictator has a YouTube problem

If you're a dictator, what you don't want is the world watching your every move -- but that's the attention Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko cast on himself Sunday.

Dubbed Europe's last dictator, Lukashenko earned Belarus a fresh round of local protests and international sanctions when he used military force to ground a RyanAir plane flying between Greece and Lithuania on Sunday. As the plane flew over Belarus' airspace, Lukashenko's government sent a MiG fighter jet to ground the flight full of civilian passengers. 

And what for? To take down a journalist and his Telegram group.

Police boarded the plane and arrested Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old journalist who runs Nexta, an anti-establishment news channel that operates mostly on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, where it has over 1.2 million subscribers in a country of about 9 million. 

Online platforms are rattling restrictive regimes in Europe's east: In the aligned nations of Belarus and Russia, heroic activists like Protasevich and imprisoned Russian dissident Alexei Navalny use the twin powers of Telegram and YouTube to expose corruption and governmental malignancy. 

That these dissidents are being targeted for elimination and imprisonment now, after years in the public eye, is a sign of how threatening their online presence has become to Lukashenko and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.

"These guys have really figured out how to use the internet to counter these regimes in the last few years," William Partlett, a professor at Melbourne Law School who researches post-Soviet societies, told me on a recent phone call. Because state TV is so controlled, creative and defiant young people flocked to YouTube and Telegram, where they can create their own news channels. 

While the Russian and especially Belarusian governments often target specific journalists or publications, Partlett says internet freedom has been strong in Belarus and Russia compared to a country like China. 

But now that resistance movements are being so effectively built using internet platforms, that freedom might soon become more compromised.

A RyanAir flight headed for Lithuania was diverted to Belarus. Belarus claimed there was a bomb threat on board, and had a MiG jet escort the flight to Minsk airport.

NurPhoto/Getty

Hanging by a thread

Anyone living in Belarus under the age of 27 has only ever known one president. The country, also known as "White Russia," held its first free elections in 1994. They were won by Lukashenko, and he's been in power ever since. 

For this reason, and for his autocratic ways, Lukashenko is known as Europe's last dictator. 

Lukashenko "won" the last election held in the country, officially scoring 80% of the polls. The European Union rejects this result, and observers believe the election was actually won by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a school teacher and wife of a jailed opposition leader. 

What followed were the biggest and most sustained protests the country has seen since independence, involving hundreds of thousands of people. Lukashenko met these democratic spasms with autocratic force: Over 30,000 protesters have been detained, reports The Economist, and over 4,000 say they've been tortured. Some have died.

Protests over last year's election were the biggest Belarus has seen since independence. 

Getty

In this environment, Nexta, created by Protasevich six years go, flourished. Its YouTube channel, with over 600,000 subscribers, circulates news. Its Telegram group spreads videos of police brutality against demonstrators and serves as an organizing ground for future protests.

Several Belarusian journalists and internet channels have been targeted by the regime ever since, often with trumped-up charges of tax evasion or similar crimes. The case of Protasevich, who fled Belarus in 2019 and has since been branded a terrorist, shows that leaving the country isn't enough to keep dissidents safe. 

Similar channels have frustrated Russia's government. Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, first gained traction a decade ago by blogging about Kremlin corruption. In recent years, his team set up a network of YouTube channels, spread across each region of the massive country, that countered state TV. His goal has been to unseat the Kremlin candidates in regional elections, encouraging liberal Russians to vote for whoever has the best chance to displace elected officials from Putin's United Russia party. Telegram groups are used to help organize rallies and demonstrations. 

The strategy proved successful in 2018, when the United Russia party lost three gubernatorial seats.

Those in power have taken notice.

After years of suppressing Navalny -- barring him from elections, having him arrested and charging him as a foreign agent -- Putin in 2020 apparently decided to eliminate him. Navalny's underpants were reportedly smeared with a toxic agent as he traveled from Siberia to Moscow. It's indicative of a broader clampdown on freedoms, both on and offline, that's happening in the two nations. (Putin denies being behind the poisoning.)

"Navalny existed and made all these videos for years and years, but something is happening now. Now they have him in prison. They've forced down a jet to get Protasevich," Partlett explained. "They're starting to lose the internet narrative." 

Despite his subsequent imprisonment, Navalny has shown that it's possible to rile regimes even from a jail cell. He regularly posts to Instagram through his lawyer, and shortly after his imprisonment his team posted a two-hour documentary on YouTube documenting a $1.5 billion mansion owned by Putin, intending to highlight the endemic graft of Russian politics. It's been viewed 116 million times.

Recent protests against Lukashenko in neighboring Poland. NEXTA's headquarters are in Warsaw. 

Nur Photo/Getty

No firewall 

What happens next? 

Lukashenko has been met with almost universal admonishment from world leaders. The EU will ramp up sanctions, initially put in place after last year's fraudulent election, and Ukraine has banned energy imports. 

"The outrageous and illegal behavior of the regime in Belarus will have consequences," warned EU President Ursula von der Leyen. "Those responsible for the RyanAir hijacking must be sanctioned." 

The key outlier is Russia. "It's an independent state," said Leonid Kalashnikov, a senior member of Russia's State Duma parliament, according to state media. "If they see a threat to their security, then they must fight this threat."

As is so often the case, experts worry that the sanctions are likely to hurt Belarus' citizens more than its leader. A new rule, for instance, bars Belarus' state airliner from flying to any European airport, making it harder for citizens to escape the regime.

Just as worrying is what this means for the limited internet freedoms enjoyed in Belarus and Russia. 

Russia has flirted with creating its own internet, separating itself from the world in the same vein as China, but little has come of that idea. It banned Telegram in 2018, but inadvertently blocked thousands of other websites before deciding to lift the ban, indicating that the gargantuan task of creating its own internet is out of reach.

So without the ability for widespread new-era censorship, Belarus' leader is resorting to age-old suppression tactics. The power of tools like YouTube and Telegram is evident in the desperation move of hijacking an international flight. In trying to block news on the internet, Lukashenko got attention from the world. 

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Arcade1up infinity game table reviews arcade1up infinity table games list arcade1up infinity game table reviews arcade1up 32 infinity game table arcade1up 32 infinity game table reviews arcade1up infinity game table reviews arcade1up 32 infinity game table arcade1up infinity arcade1up infinity game table 32 screen

Arcade1Up Infinity Game Table review: The digital board game coffee table you didn't know you needed

Arcade1Up Infinity Game Table review: The digital board game coffee table you didn't know you needed

I spent all afternoon playing Monopoly, backgammon and Sorry! with my family, sitting around the coffee table. We previously did this a lot, but we've done it a lot more since the games were actually embedded in the table, no cardboard box or plastic tokens needed. 

We have tons of board games in our house and tons of iPads and game consoles that can play games, too. And yet, we all still ended up loving the most unlikely game console to enter our living room: a giant 24-inch screen embedded in a tablet with metal legs. The Infinity Game Table is, most definitely, a table. And it's also a game platform. 

True to the "infinity" name, the game table has, so far, kept out a steady trickle of new games since I started playing. Most are Hasbro-based, but some, like Ticket to Ride and Pandemic, are welcome additions. They also cost extra ($10 each for those, and anywhere from $3-$8 for others). The Infinity Game Table includes over 50 games for free. The 62-game (and counting) total library is a much bigger bundle of games than any of Arcade1Up's other cabinets, and it's what makes the idea appealing as a long-term purchase. And as I look back at a strange year in tech, this game table remains one of my favorite (if imperfect) throwback game experiences.

Space for coffee, tea and backgammon: the Infinity Game Table.

Scott Stein/CNET

Arcade1Up's Infinity Game Table isn't perfect and it doesn't have all the games I'd want to play on it. And it's way too expensive for most people to consider. But, it still made us smile a lot around my home after a week. Oddly enough, it became a fixture for a while. And then, like many things, we sometimes grew bored and moved on. New games kept us coming back, sometimes. Over a couple of months, it occasionally became more table than a game console.

Arcade1Up has become popular for its arcade cabinet re-creations, which have anywhere from a couple to a dozen retro games per cabinet. They're specialty/novelty devices. I've hesitated on getting an arcade machine for my home, but on a recent vacation, our rental home had a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail table in the living room. The kids were wowed, even though they literally play games everywhere else every single day. It made us sit down and have some fun. It felt weirdly relaxing, too.

The Infinity Game Table does the same for board games, sort of. CNET's Bridget Carey got an exclusive look and playtest with the table when it was unveiled earlier this year and I felt both fascinated and skeptical. The table comes with a large number of games that can be downloaded and none of them are things you couldn't find for a few bucks (or for free) on your iPad. There are a lot of Hasbro games (Monopoly, Sorry!, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble -- I'll get to those in a second). There are more generic ones like Sudoku, backgammon, chess, checkers and solitaire.

The whole idea of this table isn't new. There used to be giant interactive tablet-tables a decade ago. Those cost a ton. There are iPads now: you could put those on a table. Think of the Infinity Game Table as a dedicated touch-screen board game coffee table, starting at $650. Unnecessary? Sure. Janky at times? Absolutely. And... I sort of love it.

Everything's touchscreen on the Infinity Game Table and it works pretty well.

Scott Stein/CNET

How is it as a game console?

Arcade1Up collected a whole bunch of board games for the table, which can be downloaded one by one to the onboard storage. There's enough space for all available games so far. But they don't come preloaded: You need Wi-Fi access to set it up and download the games. The 24-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel LCD screen isn't the best -- colors sometimes don't look that vivid -- but it's good enough to see from all angles. The touch response feels good, at least. And, weirdly, this table has rumble feedback. In some games, a loud buzzing shakes the table. That doesn't come into play too often (the game of Operation uses it when you mess up, or Battleship when you sink a ship) and I could have done without it.

There's a power button and volume on the side of the table, like a tablet. The tabletop can be detached from its legs and put on your own table, if you want, too. I preferred keeping the legs on.

You need to set up a user name and account with the Infinity Game Table and while all the games right now seem to be free, future games can cost extra. Two new premium games, Ticket to Ride and Pandemic, are available for $10 extra each. Many games on the table are available free with purchase, but the future of games on this table may be a la carte add-ons, like a game table app store.

Some of Monopoly's controls and settings could have been better, but we still play it a ton.

Scott Stein/CNET

The existing batch of Hasbro games and more generic games are a mixed bag. They allow anywhere from two to six players and some are well designed for the tabletop experience: Monopoly places cards and controls all around the table edge and Sorry! is easy to control from any of the four sides. Some games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders seem a lot less optimized, running only in vertical mode for some reason. Trouble and The Game of Life are natural successes, while games like Clue and Pandemic feel a little complex, and sometimes hard to figure out on the touchscreen.

Most games don't have customized controls and they don't have individual family player profiles or a way to keep track of games played and games won. Graphics and animations are also a lot less modern than anything on an iPad, at times. Dice roll animations and more animated games like Hungry Hungry Hippos hint that the processor on this game table isn't so hot compared to your average computer or phone. 

But they work. And sitting around the table is something truly different than gathering around a game system like the Switch. I love Nintendo's Switch board game collection, Clubhouse Games. But it means sitting around the TV or a tiny Switch screen. With us huddled at a table together, the vibe changes. It does feel communal. And special.

The table comes with some folding cardboard screens to hide tiles or cards in some games. Arcade1Up may be looking at phones as second screens for the table down the line.

Scott Stein/CNET

Some games are really fun. Others, though, are totally lame-feeling. Operation is turned into a maze game where you drag items with your finger to an exit. Simon is a giant touchscreen pattern-matching game. A weird sumo-wrestling game that just appeared this week feels like a terrible ancient Flash game.

Battleship is addictive. Backgammon is fun. Sorry! is great. Again, though, so few customizations. Backgammon seems to only start with player 2, and I can't swap sides, or layouts, or board designs. There's no doubling cube. I just go with the flow. Again: many games feel like old touchscreen game ideas from 10 years ago. They could use a lot of updates and finesse.

The Game Table isn't that tall (look at the table behind it). But it's fine with a sofa.

Scott Stein/CNET

How is it as a table?

This table is my first gaming furniture review. So... is it a good table? Strangely enough, yes. Arcade1Up's cabinets take some time to construct. The Infinity Game Table is a lot simpler: just snap in the metal legs and you're basically set. The 24-inch model was manageable enough for me to put together by myself. (There's a larger-screened version but it's also in the table footprint, just with less bezel around the screen).

The glass-topped table feels solid to lean on and the legs feel sturdy too (with rubber feet on the bottom). There are plastic-rubber bumpers around the table edge, which I appreciated, because of kids and hitting things by accident. 

The table is pretty easy to assemble: the metal legs just snap into the back.

Scott Stein/CNET

But the table is also lower and smaller than I expected. It works best as a coffee table by your sofa. Regular chairs are a bit too high to pull up to it without leaning in too much. It does snuggle next to our sofas pretty well, though.

The display is surrounded by a pretty large bezel of black space on the table. On a regular tablet, it would be ugly. Here, it's a great free space for drinks and snacks. I put some coasters on the table and enjoyed morning coffee and backgammon with my wife. Of course, I'm worried about spills and crumbs too, but the table surface is at least smooth and uninterrupted by holes or buttons, so it should be easy to wipe clean.

The table has USB ports, SD card storage and room for a battery. But be ready to snake the power cord to an outlet in your living room.

Scott Stein/CNET

Then there's the power cord. The table needs to be plugged in all the time to use, much like Arcade1Up's other cabinets and cocktail tables, which means snaking that multi-foot power cord somewhere where it won't be seen. I couldn't find a way to do that in a living room, so it was left exposed along on the floor (at least it's long enough to reach across to a nearby outlet). There's a slot for a battery to charge up the table for a few hours of gameplay at a time, but the battery wasn't included with the table I tested. (There are also two USB ports, oddly, and an SD card slot for memory storage expansion, although the 16GB of onboard storage held all the available games with room to spare.)

There's a jigsaw puzzle app, too, which wasn't as good as I hoped... and yet it's also meditative and addictive.

Scott Stein/CNET

It's become a little in-home vacation

I miss this thing not having more serious games, like Catan, or Hive, or any of the other cool indie games I love. Puerto Rico? Carcassonne? Azul? Pyramid Arcade? Mansions of Madness? That's what my massive board game collection is for. Or, my iPad. It's what keeps the Infinity Game Table from feeling infinite. And I wonder if Arcade1Up has bitten off more than it can handle with a game platform this ambitious. At least other arcade cabinets made by the company stick to a well-known list of retro games... Would this have been better as just a Hasbro Game Table? How much would have I wanted to play it then?

And yet, we loved it. It's something different and it's made us play more, even though games literally surround us. Maybe it's having a free table ready to go, clean and clear, and all ready to run. Maybe it's the novelty. And of course, this is as much a novelty item as any Arcade1Up machine.

But it also feels like the sort of thing I'd have found in the corner of a hotel lobby when I used to travel more, or in a rental home, or in the corner of an arcade. Something that would be fun to try for a while and lose myself in. At home, it removes us from our space for a bit, makes it feel like we're doing something special, immersive, arcade-like. I'd love for this table to be more, but it's a clever idea that feels more logical now than I ever expected it to.

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Amazon Echo's spooky sounds and stories can get you ready for Halloween. Here's how

Amazon Echo's spooky sounds and stories can get you ready for Halloween. Here's how

Spooky season is here. That means it's time to pick out costumes, candy and cue up your favorite Halloween movies. But Alexa has a few ways to help you get in the Halloween spirit, too. Your Amazon Echo device can play spooky sounds throughout the house, control smart lights and tell scary stories once you add a few Alexa skills. The voice assistant can even help you find a last-minute costume just in time for your spooktacular soiree (more below). 

You can add Halloween skills from the Amazon site or a voice command to give your home a creepy vibe (most of them are free). And if you want to really go all out, Google and Ring have a few Halloween tricks and treats to give all of your smart home devices a spooktacular feeling. 

We'll show you how to set up some of our favorite Halloween skills so you can use them this weekend (and year-round if you're obsessed with Halloween, like me). Here are our favorite ways an Amazon Echo ($37 at Amazon) can make your home spooky on All Hallows' Eve. And if you're having trouble with your Echo-enabled device, here are a few common problems and easy solutions. 

Scare neighbors with your Echo speaker 

If you've got multiple Echo speakers, it can be fun to place one outside, out of sight, to spook others. For example, you can broadcast creepy sounds or play Halloween music. You can also use the Drop In feature on the speaker to let trick-or-treaters know from a safe distance that you enjoy their costume or how much candy to take. Note that it may be best to set out small bags of candy to avoid dozens of hands touching each piece. You should also make sure your Echo is out of the rain to prevent any water damage. 

Play spooky sounds

It's not Halloween without creepy sounds, and there are many Alexa skills that provide them. You can also say, "Alexa, let's get spooky" to prompt Alexa to give you ideas.

• Spooky Halloween Sounds will play a continuous loop of unsettling noises until you tell Alexa to stop. Just say, "Alexa, start Spooky Halloween Sounds" to get started.
• Spooky Sounds plays 50 minutes of original spooky sounds (in a continuous loop), complete with an audio Easter egg hidden within. Say, "Alexa, open Spooky Sounds" to begin.

• Spooky Scream will play a random scream after a set time of your choosing. Say, "Alexa, ask Spooky Scream to start in 5 minutes." Turn up the volume and wait for your unknowing victim to fall into your trap.

You can also request audio like the Spooky Sounds for Halloween EP on Spotify. Alexa has other creepy sounds available, including Haunted House and Scary Halloween Sounds to turn your Alexa device into a Halloween sound machine. 

Spooky sounds are sure to scare the neighborhood kids.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Play Halloween-themed games

If you're looking for an eerie game to play, there are quite a few Alexa skills to choose from. But if you'd rather have Alexa pick for you, just say, "Alexa, let's get spooky."

• The Magic Door is a popular interactive adventure game. If you take the Dark Forest Path, it will lead you to the Witch's mansion in search of the Wise Wizard.
• Ghost Detector is exactly what it sounds like. You must detect and capture ghosts to earn Ghost Bux, which you can use to buy "improvements, gadgets and missions" for further gameplay.
• Haunted Adventure is just one of several spooky adventure games.
• Halloween Feel the Pressure is a spin-off of Feel the Pressure with a Halloween twist. You must answer questions based on a letter of the alphabet. You need 10 correct answers in a row to "save your soul."

Ask Alexa to tell a scary story 

Want to hear something chilling, yet kid-friendly? Simply say, "Alexa, tell me a spooky story" and you'll hear a short story voiced by an actor. They're pretty cheesy, so they're best for younger ears.

If you want to hear something a bit scarier, you can try the Scare Me skill. Just say, "Alexa, ask Scare Me to tell me a scary story." It'll read you a short, two-sentence scary story. Kids can also use the Scooby Doo! Mystery Inc. Theater for scary stories. Just say, "Alexa, I'm ready for a mystery from Scooby-Doo" or "Alexa, tell Scooby-Doo I want to solve a mystery" from any Echo-enabled device. The skill is free but requires a parent's permission in the Alexa app. 

Still not scary enough? Try creating your own scary story using the Alexa Halloween Blueprint. You can even use names of the people in your home as the characters in the story.

Alexa can tell you scary stories. 

Alina Bradford/CNET

Play Halloween music

One of Alexa's best tricks on Halloween is playing party music. You can easily make a playlist with all your Halloween favorites on Amazon Music or Spotify -- like this Halloween Party Soundtrack -- and ask Alexa to play it. Or you can use the Halloween Music skill. 

Greet visitors with spooky sounds

Use your Alexa-compatible video doorbell, like Ring, to talk to trick-or-treaters who are waiting at your door. With the Ring doorbell, you can have it say "Boo" to anyone who comes to the door. You can also change the chime to a spookier tone. Your Ring doorbell has a few other spooky features and hardware accessories. 

You can also use the Trick the Witch skill for your Alexa device to entertain your guests with a witch voice. Just say, "Alexa, start Trick the Witch" to get started. Lamona, the witch, is an interactive game that trick or treaters can take part in while practicing social distancing. Or you can enable Halloween Facts to share facts about Oct. 31 with your visitors. 

When you hear the doorbell, or think you hear it, tell Alexa to "Answer the front door" or "Show [camera name]" to see who's there.

A video doorbell will show you who's at the door.

Chris Monroe/CNET

Create a smart haunted house

You can turn your home into a haunted house using your Echo devices. You'll need to replace your regular bulbs with smart bulbs and change the colors to orange, purple and red. However, it's much more fun to set up a routine that you can trigger by saying, "Alexa, make it spooky," rather than a boring "Alexa, change the lights to red."

For example, you could create a routine that turns the lights orange and plays Halloween music. If you've got a smart plug, you can even plug a Halloween decoration into it and set it to come on with the routine. 

Spookify your house with smart bulbs.

Josh Miller/CNET

Get help with a last-minute costume 

If you're one of those people who wait until the last minute to find a costume (guilty), Alexa can help you come up with some ideas. Using the Halloween Costume Ideas skill, Alexa will list some ideas until you find one that you like.

Just say, "Alexa, open Halloween Costume Ideas." Then answer the yes-or-no questions until you come across the perfect costume idea.

Lighten up with Halloween jokes

If you're spooked out by the end of the night, have Alexa lighten the mood by telling jokes. Just say, "Alexa, tell me a Halloween joke." The joke it gave me was, "Why shouldn't you date a spirit? So you don't get ghosted." The jokes may not be fall-over funny, but at least they can distract you from the scary stories you listened to earlier in the night.

When Halloween's over, dive into the 10 weirdest things your Amazon Echo can do, the four best uses for an Amazon Echo in your living room and four places to avoid putting your Amazon Echo in your home.

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