John P. Falcone

Mar 24, 2024 | cnet.com | John P. Falcone |Charlotte Maracina

If you're looking for a gift for the frequent traveler in your life, the good news is that there's a wide assortment of options to choose from. Whether their preferred mode of travel is by plane, train or car, they'll appreciate gifts that are specifically designed to make their journey easier and more comfortable. From headphones to a lightweight, collapsible water bottle or a comfy travel pillow, these travel essentials will make your loved one's journey less stressful.

Oct 10, 2023 | cnet.com | John P. Falcone

Let me cut to the chase: If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, do yourself a favor and get the Rachio 3 Sprinkler Controller. It's currently on sale for Prime Big Deal Days starting at $116 -- that's 22% off, which is within $10 of the all-time low. (I paid a bit more when I bought mine during Prime Day 2022.)Here's the backstory on why I love this thing so much.

Oct 10, 2023 | cnet.com | John P. Falcone

There's nothing worse than low battery anxiety -- that point where your phone goes below 20% battery life, and you have no idea when you'll be seeing a charger in the next few hours, be it because you're on a plane, a train or just out and about. That's why a supplementary battery is a must. For iPhone owners, there are plenty of choices, but it's the Anker MagGo 622 that I've grown to appreciate -- first with my iPhone 14 Pro, and now that I've upgraded to an iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Oct 10, 2023 | cnet.com | John P. Falcone

Bluetooth speakers are one of the big consumer electronics commodities these days. Everybody has one, but a lot of them are no-name plastic blobs with tinny sound -- or worse, so old they have a micro-USB charge port. That's why I'm always excited to share when the JBL Go 3 goes on sale. The list price remains at $50, but during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale, it's back down to $25 -- half off, and tying the lowest price we've seen.

Sep 20, 2023 | cnet.com | John P. Falcone

Amazon has unveiled two new 10-inch Fire tablets aimed at the youth market. The Fire HD 10 Kids is intended for children aged 3 to 7 while the Fire HD 10 Kids Pro is targeted at 6 to 12-year-olds. Both retail for $190 and will ship in October. Both models are upgraded versions of the Fire HD 10. According to Amazon, they incorporate a 10.1-inch 1080p full HD screen, 3GB of RAM, 5-megapixel cameras and are lighter and 25% faster than the previous Fire HD 10, which was released in 2021.