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Timekettle T1 AI translator during our review
Product Reviews

Timekettle T1 AI translator review

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Designed for jet-setting business professionals and travelers, Timekettle’s new AI translator is an update on the original T1 but now includes – you guessed it – artificial intelligence. Where the older model ran AI translations in the cloud, it’s now happening on the device thanks to the AI Edge model.

Beyond the updated internals, it’s largely the same device in size and design, and even specs like the 0.2-second translation time. Still, it’s incredibly well-designed, feels great in the hand, and I had no problems with the translations, which cover everything from two-way conversations to taking photos, letting you translate signs, documents, websites, and so on.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: Price and availability

The Timekettle T1 AI translator retails for $300 / £300 by clicking here. It’s widely available, with the official Timekettle website letting you change to your chosen currency. I’m not yet seeing the latest model on sites like Amazon, but given the non-AI model is available elsewhere, it’s only a matter of time before they reach other online retailers.


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The included eSIM gives you two years’ free data. After this, you can continue connecting the handset via Wi-Fi, insert your own SIM card, or sign up for a new eSIM contract – although I’ve struggled to find exact costs for this on Timekettle’s website, which is never a good sign. Information elsewhere for other Timekettle units suggest a price of around $50 a year.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: Unboxing and first impressions

(Image credit: Timekettle)

Everything you need to get started is included in the box, including a USB-C cable, SIM tray eject pin, and a manual for easy set-up.

Then there’s the device itself. And my word, it’s pleasantly small and light. Measuring 4.59 x 2.30 x 0.44in / 11.68 x 5.86 x 1.12cm and weighing 0.25lb / 115g, you’ll have no trouble taking this with you around the world.

This new model also addresses a small but important issue we had with the previous model – there’s now a lanyard included in the box.

Ok, it might not seem like much, but this sort of extra is absolutely essential for business professionals carrying this from meeting to meeting (or holidaymakers while on vacation for that matter). A phone already takes up enough space in the pocket, and now there’s no need to jam another device in there with it.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: Design and operation

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(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )

Specs

Connectivity: 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Nano-SIM, e-SIM
Offline languages: 31
Online languages: 40
Translation speed: 0.2 seconds
Camera: 8MP
Operating system: Android 10
Storage: 4GB RAM / 32GB ROM
Dimensions: 4.59 x 2.30 x 0.44in / 11.68 x 5.86 x 1.12cm
Weight: 0.25lb / 115g

Design-wise, this is pretty much identical to the original FluentTalk T1 translator (you can see our review here). There’s a 4in HD screen, dual-speakers, and three function buttons to the left. On the right, you’ll find the SIM tray and a volume rocker. And at the bottom, a USB-C port for charging and a lanyard loop.

Operating the T1 is very simple – after all, it’s functionally a touchscreen mobile device running Android 10. Even without reading the instructions, I had no difficulty figuring out all the necessary swipes and taps as I made my way around the handset, opening up apps, and testing out what was on offer.

Everything runs relatively smoothly, I didn’t experience any noticeable slowdowns and translations were about as quick as Timekettle suggests.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: In use

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(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )

The T1 AI translator is absolutely loaded with tools, and I really liked how useful they all are, in a range of settings.

First, I switched the ‘to’ and ‘from’ languages – it’s the main action, centrally placed, on the home screen, and very to sort. From there, I was also able to download language packs for use during offline translations. There’s a little blue download button next to each, and although I wouldn’t say I have sausage fingers, I still found it tricky to punch the button to begin the download first time. It took a couple of attempts for each one I tried. Once installed, however, they worked well.

After that, I could begin translations. I started with the One Click translation. This opens up a new screen where pressing the top red button lets you speak in your native tongue or the lower blue button for the foreign language. There’s also a dual drop-down menu at the top of the screen for changing to new languages. Once you press the button and begin talking, the device will begin translating, delivering both on-screen text and audio. I found it notably slower using offline language translation than online, but the results are the same.

Next, I tried Photo Translation. Here, select the appropriate language, then simply point the rear camera at foreign language text and take the photo. Usefully, images can be taken in portrait and landscape mode. During my tests, it took around two seconds to fully process the translation of a text document, but accuracy was spot-on.

Swipe left on the home screen and you’ll see a few more options, like Voice Memo (which can’t be translated) and Listen Mode. This recording option is aimed at those in foreign language meetings, events, webinars, that sort of thing, where you want live text translations as you listen to the speaker. Again, it works well – it’s quick and precise – but I would’ve liked to see the option to actually save these recordings or even just the transcripts.

My favorite feature on the T1 AI handset, though, is Chat Translation. Place the handset in between two people, and with languages set, it will automatically listen to both speakers and translate, bisecting the screen so both users can read and hear what’s being said by the other. The microphones admittedly struggled to hear what was being said when the handset was too far from a speaker, but again, I couldn’t fault the execution here. It’s a clever way of letting two people conversing in a fairly natural way – or, at least, as natural as can be with a small handset sitting between them.

Swipe right, and you have a host of useful tools for travelers. This includes two clocks, which can be set for different time-zones, a currency converter, and an SOS app that displays the numbers of emergency services in your chosen location.

There are also two translation apps here, too. Ask for Directions lets you set custom questions – for example, ‘wo ist der Flughafen? – and display them on screen for those you’re asking. If you’re asking a lot of people the same question, it’s handy. However, I found it a lot easier to just use the One Click Translation here.

Finally, there’s Common Expressions, which serves up a list of – you guessed it – common expressions, ordered by categories like Bank, Restaurant, and Shopping. Click into these and you’ll see a longer list of translations that can be played over the speakers or, by pressing a separate button, fill the screen for easy reading.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: Final verdict

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(Image credit: Timekettle )(Image credit: Timekettle )

I really like the Timekettle T1 AI translator – it’s a super-portable device that’s light, feels good in the hand, and its translations are accurate and fast. It may not be a significant upgrade to the older T1 – it’s fundamentally identical in design – but the inclusion of on-board AI will be welcomed by those who want slight improvements on translation speeds.

What I particularly like, though, is how useful it is in a range of settings, thanks to the inclusion of photo translation, a listening mode, and two-way conversations.

Operationally, the Android 10 OS isn’t the quickest, and I did have some issues tapping the right area to download offline language packs. Nor is it a budget pick, with a $300 price-tag, and I would’ve liked to see more transparency over eSIM contract prices once the two years’ free data plan ends.

But in terms of function, it’s easily one of the best around and whether you’re a global business professional or an irrepressible holidaymaker, this is going to be a life-saver.

Should I buy the Timekettle T1 AI translator?

Buy it if…

✅ You travel a lot
I really like the size and design of this translator – it feels incredibly lightweight and small in the hand. So, it’s ideal for travelers and business professionals working on the go. The lanyard is a welcome addition for those who want easy access any time.

✅ You want translations in a variety of settings
There are loads of translation options on-board, like photo translations, conversational tools, and listening mode when attending meetings. That these translations can be conducted offline is the icing on the cake for me.

Don’t buy it if…

❌ You want a budget translator
With the price-point set at $300, this is on the upper-end of translators, costing about $100 more than others on the market. I still think it’s arguably the best of its class around, especially given its feature-set, but it’s in no way a budget pick.

❌ You only occasionally need translations
Given the cost, it’s a pretty expensive device for those who don’t need extensive translation options. If your translation needs are modest, a cheaper alternative or even your phone will be more than adequate.

For more language solutions, we’ve rounded up the best translation software you can download right now.

Timekettle T1 AI translator: Price Comparison



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JDM: Japanese Drift Master Review - Spinning Out
Game Reviews

JDM: Japanese Drift Master Review – Spinning Out

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If there are two things that have been missing from the modern slate of racing games, it’s a focus on drifting and Japanese settings. Yes, arcade racers like Forza Horizon have travelled across the world, from Australia to Mexico and everything in between, but have yet to visit the bustling streets of Tokyo or the rich countryside across Kyoto. That series also doesn’t dabble in the kind of street-racing culture popularised by games like Need for Speed or films such as the earlier Fast and the Furious entries, sticking closely to flashy but strictly stock configurations of popular cars. With that said, it’s easy to see the gap JDM: Japanese Drift Master is trying to fill, carving out its own niche with a driving model heavily tuned towards challenging and satisfying drifting, set against a condensed and well-realised slice of Japan. It’s such a shame then that the sum of all of its disparate parts don’t come together in a cohesive way.

Drifting is primarily what Japanese Drift Master is all about, and it’s easily the strongest aspect of the game. Whipping a rear-wheel-drive, torque-filled machine into a controlled slide is simple, but it’s maintaining a good angle and adequate speed that make it engaging. A balance meter, similar to one you’d find during a grind in Tony Hawk Pro Skater, helps you gauge the angle of your drift and deftly balance it, steering into the direction the back of your car is facing while gently applying the accelerator to power through the slide. It feels good to figure out how to expertly control a drift, and even better when you can use the handbrake to quickly change angles or drop the clutch to provide a little more torque through a corner.

Drift events let you showcase your understanding of Japanese Drift Master’s driving model the best, but they’re also some of the easiest events the game has to offer. Racking up a high enough score to pass was rarely an issue for me in most events, but also came down to some frustrating luck in some instances. The longer and more aggressively you drift, the higher your score multiplier climbs, resetting if you spin out or suffer a collision. The issue isn’t that this happens at all, but rather how inconsistently it does. Japanese Drift Master feels overly punishing with the angle at which it judges a spin, sometimes resetting your score unfairly if you enter a drift at an angle it isn’t anticipating. Similarly, it isn’t clear which collisions reset your multiplier and which don’t. I had instances where I hit road barriers hard without seeing my score disappear, and others where the lightest touch by traffic would end a particularly long one. Without being able to depend on knowing the limitations of what I could get away with in a drift, it became frustrating trying to find the absolute limit that I could push myself without wasting time in the process.

Japanese Drift Master is still, at its core, an arcade racer, although it does demand a higher level of patience when it comes to drifting compared to its peers. It offers two modes, namely simcade and arcade, which are meant to alter the difficulty in this regard. In practice, however, I struggled to feel much of a difference between the two, and it was only when toggling on a specific assist to help correct a spin that I felt a distinctive change. That had the knock-on effect of making drifting far more challenging, since the car would actively fight getting into a spin, which explains why the option is disabled by default in both modes. So you’re ultimately given little wiggle room to customize Japanese Drift Master’s approach to racing, which can leave you wanting if you find it either too forgiving or too challenging to get comfortable with.

Where Japanese Drift Master and its brand of driving further struggles is in any event not to do with drifting exclusively. There are some missions where drifting and traditional racing are blended together, challenging you to both finish in a specific time but also to do so while generating a high drift score. These two ideas clash instantly, provoking some ugly drifting by wagging the tail end of your car back and forth as you race forward in a straight line as a means to satisfy both requirements. Racing-first events are worse still, with nothing but a few front-wheel-driving cars even viable in the events. Anything slightly tuned for drifting will be impossible to compete with in a field of drivers that either race off into the distance or, infuriatingly, never try to avoid collisions, resulting in far more race restarts than you’d be amused by. It’s easy enough to swap cars at the nearest garage that you can fast-travel to, but it’s annoying to have time wasted by mislabelled events that don’t accurately convey what type of race you’ll be in, or multi-staged ones that hop between different racing principles without letting you swap cars in between.

It’s also impossible to get the most out of Japanese Drift Master without engaging with events that aren’t that fun. The campaign is a lightly story-driven one, with the events playing out across manga pages that bookend most story events. The story itself is largely forgettable and varies wildly in tone, ranging from mildly entertaining to cringeworthy in just a handful of pages. It’s largely just a vessel to usher you from one event to the next. It loosely provides context for why you might be using your drifting skills to entertain a passenger as you drive them home, or deliver orders of sushi to help fund your races around a track. Outside of the campaign, however, there’s not all that much to do. You can do side quests that mimic events you’ve already completed in the campaign or partake in underground drifting events where you place bets on your performance, but after the roughly 12 hours it takes to complete the story, there’s little reason to stick around.

The open world should provide some degree of entertainment in itself, and it can if you’re mostly looking for a means to escape into the most eye-catching elements of the country’s culture. This condensation of the most eye-catching aspects of both suburban and city life is a treat to take in. Neon lighting illuminating the streets at night or tight, twisting mountain roads littered with the soft pink hues of cherry blossom trees beside them make exploring the different corners of the open world a treat, with a surprising amount of variety for a map size that is noticeably smaller than games like Forza Horizon or The Crew. But for as much as it looks good, Japanese Drift Master’s world also feels barren.

There’s traffic that always seems too dense in the narrow streets of small towns, making it difficult to enjoy drifting around hairpins without disabling traffic entirely in the options menu. Traffic is also oddly absent in the wider highways of the main city, making what should be a bustling hive of activity feel mostly dead. Navigating this world is also undone by unpredictable physics, making it difficult to judge which objects are destructible and which will send you flying ridiculously through the air if you touch them. For each moment that you’re spellbound by the idea of racing through this version of Japan, you’re rapidly brought down to earth by the reality of it not being an engaging map to actively drive through most of the time.

Customization is another facet of street racing that Japanese Drift Master fully embraces, with a dizzying number of options for both performance and visual enhancements. There are upgrades that let you tweak the angles at which your front and back wheels face to alter the flexibility of your drift, for example, and more straightforward ones that just add a bunch of horsepower to your engine to power through slides more effectively. These options do, however, feel like they’re meant to service a simulation experience that Japanese Drift Master isn’t able to provide, making a lot of the complex options feel superfluous. Visual customization is a different story, with body kits, rims, spoilers, paint jobs, underglows, and even gear-shift heads available for purchase. You can get lost in the number of ways you can style Japanese Drift Master’s otherwise meagre 22-car offering, kitting your favourite Mazda, Subaru, or Nissan in ways that not many other racers offer anymore. Earning the required money to finance all of these purchases can feel like a grind, especially when some parts are tied to individual car levels, but it can make each new part you attach to your favourite ride feel hard-earned.

There were so many aspects of Japanese Drift Master that I desperately wanted to love, especially given that so few racing games hone in on drifting as a mechanic anymore like it attempts to. But in focusing so heavily on getting drifts to feel great (as they often do), all its other parts have been left to the wayside. The scale of its ambition is clear, but in trying to cater for a variety of event types, it undermines its most compelling mechanic, and continually reminds you how inadequate it is at supporting racing styles outside of that narrow focus. It’s a racer that, more often than not, doesn’t bring about the joy of tearing through the streets in a blazing-fast car, wasting its otherwise captivating setting with roads that don’t support that fantasy. JDM: Japanese Drift Master can look good in small snippets, but it’s sorely lacking as a complete package.



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Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller review: pro enough for me
Gaming Gear

Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller review: pro enough for me

by admin


The new $84.99 Pro Controller for the Switch 2 may not be your idea of a pro-grade controller — perhaps not by a long shot. But it’s certainly more of one than Nintendo’s $69.99 last-gen controller. It has two extra buttons embedded into its grips (one on each side), which can be programmed on a per-game basis, a 3.5mm headphone jack for listening to games or GameChat chatter, and a more premium look and feel. It’s no DualSense Edge, but it’s pro enough for me.

I like that Nintendo kept almost everything the same from its predecessor, except the semi-transparent smoke black shell that hid a secret message: the Fisher Price-sized face buttons, the snappy directional pad, and the compact form factor are all here. I don’t want to generalize, but its size might be perfect for the same crowd who yearns for small phones, those who typically experience hand pain from using the controllers that Sony or Microsoft put out. It has the other trappings that made the last-gen Pro controller worth buying, like Amiibo NFC support and motion controls.

In terms of what’s new in the Switch 2-edition of the Pro Controller, I hope you weren’t holding your breath for eight years waiting for Hall effect or TMR joysticks because they aren’t here. Instead, we have drift-prone potentiometer joysticks again, albeit some of the smoothest and quietest ones that I’ve ever used. There’s so little resistance required to move them, yet they don’t easily register unintentional inputs. We’ll see how well they fare over time. For what it’s worth, my original Pro Controller from 2017 is still kicking.

$84

The Good

  • Small and comfortable to use
  • Great rear button implementation
  • Audio via 3.5mm jack…finally

The Bad

  • Expensive
  • No drift-proof joysticks

This controller, like the Switch 2’s right Joy-Con, features a dedicated GameChat button. This button launches the namesake feature, which is free for all Switch 2 owners to use through March 31st, 2026, when it will be gated behind the Nintendo Switch Online paywall. The good news for this controller is, whether you want to use GameChat now or ever, you can reprogram the “C” button to do whatever you’d like it to do. You won’t lose out on GameChat functionality, as there’s a dedicated home menu option for the feature.

The new controller offers some conveniences not found in the predecessor, which may tempt you into upgrading. As mentioned, the Switch 2 Pro Controller has a 3.5mm headphone jack, from which it can output game and GameChat audio to wired headphones or a headset. The ability to stream audio wirelessly from the console to the controller is a big deal for Nintendo, even though it already figured it out in the Wii U Gamepad. Note: the LED player indicator has been moved to the top of the Switch 2 Pro Controller to make room for the 3.5mm jack.

Another, albeit smaller, feature is the ability to wake up the Switch 2 console from sleep with the new Pro Controller. This seems like a sneaky way for Nintendo to bait players into upgrading their last-gen controllers. Wake from sleep is a basic feature, one that shouldn’t be limited to this controller. It’s handy if you typically play your Switch while it’s docked to your TV. Wake from sleep wasn’t utilized in most third-party controllers during the original Switch era, but 8BitDo figured out a way to enable it by shaking some of its controllers. So, it’s always possible that there will soon be cheaper solutions that figure a way around this annoying issue.

Yes, your DualSense can work on a Switch 2

If you buy the 8BitDo USB Adapter 2, update it via the company’s app, and plug it into your Switch 2, you can wirelessly connect a DualSense, a new Xbox controller, or a number of older models to it. It’s a cheaper alternative to buying a new controller that gets you 75 percent of the functionality of a Switch Pro controller. There’s rumble, gyroscopic controls in games that support it (on DualSense, not the Xbox controller), and remappable controls. You’ll only be missing out on Amiibo support, 3.5mm audio passthrough, and the wake to sleep feature.

Both this controller and the new Joy-Con 2 feature what Nintendo calls HD Rumble 2, an improved version of the tactile rumble introduced with the original Switch. I already thought HD Rumble was nifty in some use cases, and my opinion hasn’t changed as I’ve played Mario Kart World and Switch 2 Edition of Tears of the Kingdom. HD Rumble seemed novel, if not a bit gimmicky, until the introduction of the DualSense and its brilliant haptics in Astro’s Playroom and in several other titles since. The new Switch 2 haptics aren’t on the same level, at least in the launch games.

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1/2Image: Cameron Faulkner/The Verge

The GL and GR buttons are arguably my favorite implementation of rear paddles in a controller. While most companies put them on the backside of the gamepad, a place where I rarely rest my fingers, these are curved, wrapping around the grips where my middle fingers naturally rest. Pressing them requires essentially no effort — you don’t even need to arch your fingers to tap the buttons. It’s easy enough to press them in with the meat of my second knuckle by applying some downward pressure. It rules.

If any of the aforementioned additions sound appealing to you, the Switch 2 Pro Controller is probably worth its cost. Yes, I wish it had more futureproof joysticks, and perhaps another feature or two to justify its tariff-boosted price (it was originally $79.99). It’s very likely that third-party controller manufacturers like 8BitDo, GameSir, GuliKit, and others will make options with most, if not all, of the same features at a lower price – so while the Switch 2 Pro Controller is the best option right now, that might not always be the case.





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Where's our MindsEye review? | Eurogamer.net
Game Updates

Where’s our MindsEye review? | Eurogamer.net

by admin


It’s that time again! You might have noticed that MindsEye, the new game from former Rockstar North studio head and GTA producer Lezlie Benzies and his studio Build a Rocket Boy, is out in the world and available to buy, while we don’t yet have a review.

This one isn’t a case of any of the more cheeky picking-and-choosing shenanigans, mind, as it seems as though the issue is pretty universal: like seemingly every other outlet, Eurogamer doesn’t have any pre-release review code for MindsEye to work from.

The usual, genuine disclaimers apply here as always. We are not entitled to review code, and developers and publishers can distribute it however they wish. Access to games is a privilege we benefit from here in the games media and never a right.

That said, with MindsEye as with any big-budget game that doesn’t provide any review access before it goes on sale to the world, it is possibly just worth exercising a little caution before you go ahead and buy it for yourself. The extra context of MindsEye’s particularly odd launch period is also probably worth running through here as well.

In late May, for instance, Build a Rocket Boy’s co-CEO, Mark Gerhard, alleged on the game’s Discord server that some negative preview sentiment amongst members of the public with early access was “100 percent” financed by some kind of mysterious third party. That third party, of course, was heavily implied to be Rockstar and/or 2K – “doesn’t take much to guess who” responded Gerhard to other comments there, with a crying laughing emoji. For context here: Benzies left Rockstar under highly acrimonious circumstances in 2016.

Build a Rocket Boy didn’t respond to our requests for comment, but when pushed on that by another Discord member at the time, Gerhard added, “I just said that there is a concerted effort by some people that don’t want to see Leslie or Build A Rocket Boy to be successful that are making a concerted effort to trash the game and the studio. It’s pretty easy to see the bots and the repeated replies to any content that we put out.”

Then just last week, Eurogamer revealed that Build a Rocket Boy’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Riley Graebner and Paul Bland, had left the studio, only days before the game’s launch. Out here at Summer Game Fest, meanwhile, Leslie Benzies has pulled out of at least one appearance at the last minute, in the closing fireside chat at The Game Business Live. In a minor but maybe somewhat illustrative snafu today, MindsEye briefly appeared on Steam with two “Buy” buttons showing the same game at two different prices, as spotted by industry analyst Mat Piscatella, before that was fixed to show the second, higher price as the Deluxe Edition. And already here on launch day, full video walkthroughs of the game’s seemingly 6-hour story are live on YouTube.

All this comes amongst the still, frankly, quite hard-to-understand promise of MindsEye slotting into Everywhere, the nebulous metaverse-style project Build a Rocket Boy has been making at the same time, which focuses on allowing players to build and customise levels and gameplay aspects as they wish. Speaking to our friends at GamesIndustry.biz recently, Benzies explained it like this:

“Everywhere is going to show up again pretty soon. Everything we’re working on, there’s a story behind it – a big overarching story. So Everywhere will come back, and it fits into this story somewhere. I can’t tell you [where], because it would be a spoiler. But that’s going to reappear soon, and it will all be a part of the same product.

“… The bigger story will become obvious, once you’ve played through all of MindsEye. Then you might start to see how it all connects together, to the Everywhere world.”

We look forward to doing just that, and letting you know how it all comes together very soon.



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Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour Review - Homework The Video Game
Game Reviews

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour Review – Homework The Video Game

by admin


At reveal, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour seemed like a charming way to learn about the tech of the Switch 2. A lovely journey through the hardware that would feature some fun tech demos and minigames to show you what your new system could do. And then, like many others, I was shocked to learn that it would not be installed on every Switch 2, but would instead be sold as a separate game. After spending a substantial amount of time with it, I understand why Nintendo is treating it as a premium product, but I couldn’t help but feel I was sold a packet of school assignments.

 

The package offers an impressive deep dive into what makes the Switch 2 interesting, and Nintendo didn’t spare any production values. It looks great, features a substantial amount of writing, and a surprising amount of character. For all its quality, however, it hasn’t erased that initial surprise when I learned it would cost $10. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour feels like an extended tutorial, and I would have enjoyed it much more if it were just part of the experience of booting up my Switch 2 for the first time.

This should come as no surprise, but Nintendo has a track record of making good video games that run well and have inviting art styles. Welcome Tour looks amazing, and getting to play as a little avatar to walk on top of a Switch 2 is adorable. Playing the game, however, isn’t particularly fun. Making your way through the experience feels like homework. The homework assignments are for a class you enjoy and want to learn more about, but you’re doing homework nonetheless.

Welcome Tour is primarily made of four elements: quizzes, stamps, tech demos, and minigames. Quizzes are the most academic of the activities as you read about how the Switch 2 works and how it was made and then take quizzes on what you learned. The facts are interesting, especially if you want to know more about Switch 2 (which I do), but they can be exhausting as there are many and they will sometimes repeat similar topics.

Stamps are hidden throughout and usually correspond to specific elements like buttons. Finding these is the primary way to advance to new areas and I mostly found the activity unobtrusive at best and a little annoying at worst. On a few occasions, I got stuck trying to find the last one so I could move to a new area.

 

Minigames are often self-explanatory. They showcase the Switch 2’s new mechanics with little games that are frequently surprisingly challenging. I was usually satisfied with defeating the lowest tier of these games, then would be shocked at how difficult the next tier would be, and walk away. These games are primarily used to show off the new mouse controls, and there were none that stood out to me as games that I would want to revisit, but as a portent of the potential future games that might come to Switch 2 one day, I mostly appreciated them.

The tech demos are highlights and Welcome Tour sets expectations well by explaining they are not meant to be high-score chasing minigames. These are low-stakes, interactive boxes that best show off the Switch 2. I was particularly impressed by the demos designed to show off the Switch 2’s built-in speakers and HD Rumble 2.

Welcome Tour’s efforts to make you consider the work and thought that went into creating the Switch 2 is effective. I absolutely have a greater appreciation for the Switch 2 and its myriad little details, like that one of the tiny legs on Switch 2 dock is shaped differently to prevent it from tipping forward if you tug on it from the HDMI or power cable. When the game goes into great detail to tell you how many things the designers thought of, you can’t help but feel like they truly did think of everything.

The minigames may have been generally underwhelming, and there are some tech demos that feel magical… but it’s just not particularly fun to play. It all feels like after-school study when you just want to be entertained. All the hallmarks of a first-party Nintendo release – overflowing charm and impressive technical aptitude – are here. A lot of thoughtful work went into Welcome Tour to make me understand and acknowledge its $10 price tag, but it’s just not a tour I would recommend taking.



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The Earfun Tune Pro atop a bronze table.
Product Reviews

Earfun Tune Pro review: budget cans with an amazing battery that sadly don’t sound good

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Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Earfun Tune Pro: Two minute review

Budget audio brand Earfun has continued its foray into the over-ear headphone game with the Earfun Tune Pro, an affordable pair of over-ears which unfortunately don’t live up to Earfun’s usually-impressive track record. Some of the best cheap headphones I’ve tested, they are not.

Earfun’s first over-ears, the Wave Pro, were some of our top-rated affordable headphones, easily earning (for a while, at least) a place on our list of the best headphones you can buy. And they were always going to be a tough act to follow. The fact that they’re still available to buy now also makes them a big (and honestly, more viable) rival to the Tune Pro.

I won’t beat around the bush: the big problem with the headphones is that they just don’t sound good. Earfun’s typical ability to punch well above its weight somehow didn’t grace the new and rather ironically-named Tune Pro. The cans lack serious bass, endure frequent peaking that ruins percussion, and don’t offer much in the way of an organised, layered soundstage to let you appreciate the separation and detail of instruments.


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You can’t expect Bose- or Sony-tier audio in cans that cost under $/£100 but there are plenty of budget headphones for the same price that outstrip the Tune Pro. So as you’ll see as we get into the meat of this review, it’s hard to recommend the cans.

I also found the Earfuns pretty uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. The pressure they exerted on my head grew noticeable after only a few hours of use. It’s not great and neither of these are concerns was something I experienced with the Wave Pro.

Why not go lower than 3 stars? Well, the Earfun magic is present in a few other areas. Take, for example, the battery life: these headphones will last a monumental 120 hours (with ANC turned off) before you’ll need to charge them. That’s five straight days of music before they need powering up and I don’t need to tell you how important a long battery life can be for certain subsets of users. There are very few headphones on the market that come even close to this score.

Earfun has also included its usual range of features on its app: multiple ANC modes (perhaps too many – more on this later), an in-depth equalizer and a feature that’s all too uncommon on headphones: a listening test to automatically create your own sound mix. This latter is a lovely little extra that lots of rivals don’t have.

While the audio quality lets things down big-time, I can see the admirable battery life and listening test drawing in some users who prefer functionality over sound quality. It’s just that those are more caveats than I usually have to add in an Earfun review – a brand I usually champion in the ‘cheap and cheerful’ stakes.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Value

Water resistant

N/A

Battery life (quoted)

120 hours (ANC off) 80 hours (ANC on)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Weight

289g

Driver

40mm + 10mm

Earfun Tune Pro review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

  • Released in May 2025
  • RRP of $89.99 / £79.99 (roughly AU$160)
  • Already available at $69.99 / £59.99 (no AU sales)

The Earfun Tune Pro were announced in May 2025 for a retail price of $89.99 / £79.99 (roughly AU$160 though they’re not on sale in Australia at the time of writing, unlike many other products from the company).

Don’t tell Amazon that though, because the retailer lists in multiple regions that the cans were released in September 2024. It offers them for the discounted price of $69.99 / £59.99 (at the time of writing) despite them being new.

However much you pay for them, the Earfun Tune Pro are clearly budget headphones. They’re the middle of Earfun’s three over-ear options, sitting equally between the more expensive Wave Pro and cheaper Wave Life.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

  • Chunky cans with 3.5mm jack and physical buttons
  • Uncomfortable for long play sessions
  • No IP rating for waterproofing

As you can see from pictures, Earfun has kept things simple with the Tune Pro, playing close to the formula for over-ear headphones.

The cans weigh 289g and are made from plastic, so they don’t feel too heavy when you’re wearing them. That doesn’t mean they’re exactly comfortable though, and I could only listen for a few hours before needing to give my head a break.

The ear cups are quite thick, sticking from your head about 50% more than your average pair of over-ears (judging by the few pairs I had on hand). I don’t imagine this is to blame for the comfort issues but it does make the cans look imposing when you wear them.

Evidence of how easily-bendable the hook is. (Image credit: Future)

Earfun has ensured that the Tune Pro have some versatility in size as the band can be extended or retracted quite a distance (if you do have a larger head, check out our roundup feature of headphones with longer extendable arms) while the cups can be rotated around 100 degrees – and they also fold up if you want to put them in a bag.

Onto the buttons. On the right cup you’ve got a volume rocker, power button and 3.5mm headphone jack – yes, the Tune Pro supports wired audio – while the left earpiece has an ANC button and the USB-C charging port.

The buttons don’t stick out that far from the casework and so, despite little knobs to make them a bit more prominent, I still found them pretty hard to locate just with my fingers. Instead, I generally relied on my phone to change volume and ANC.

Earfun’s website makes no mention of any kind of IP rating for the Tune Pro so I’d recommend keeping them high and dry.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

  • Incredbly battery life
  • Range of ANC modes, all fine
  • Equalizer with listening test

Earfun headphones always out-rep the competition in the features department and things are no different for the Tune Pro. The real highlight of these cans is the battery life, which according to Earfun stretches to an incredible 120 hours with ANC turned off and a still-admirable 80 hours with it turned on.

I can count on one hand the number of sets of headphones that beat or match that battery life, and it’s a vital figure for people who rarely get time to charge up their headphones for one reason or another. I would’ve loved cans like these when I last went travelling.

Next up, ANC is… present, I’ll say that much. It’s fine, but far from best-in-class and about what you’d expect for the price. It’s useful for covering up certain annoying background noises like a dishwasher in another room or distant traffic going past your house, but it won’t make your commute near-silent or ensure you can hear your music when vacuuming at home.

A few different ANC presets are available in the Earfun app. Default, which I take to be ‘off’, is Normal but there’s Ambient Sound to allow nearby noises through, Wind noise cancellation which is just designed for the infuriating sound of wind that always baffles headphone ANC, and lastly Comfort ANC and Strong ANC. I take these latter to be ‘medium’ and ‘high’ strengths to Normal’s ‘off’, but this is based purely on the icons in the app and nothing else.

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve complained in past reviews about Earfun’s array of ANC modes being a bit overwhelming. Why? Because it’s hard to know which mode you should be using at any one time, and it’s also a chore to open up the Earfun app to switch if you decide you want to (the ANC button on the cans only cycles through the first three options, not the two full-blooded ANC ones).

A few more features available through the the Earfun app include the ability to toggle low-latency modes for gaming or a wide-soundstage mode for movies and TV, and a way to change what the buttons on the ear cups do. However, the major one to note is an equalizer.

As with past Earfuns, the Tune Pro offers a wide range of EQ modes based on different genres of music or increasing or decreasing bass or treble. There are plenty of options and it’s worth playing around to find your perfect preset, though a 10-band custom EQ mode lets you create your own mix too. A brief test also creates a bespoke equalizer mix for you and I was pretty happy with the mix it created for me.

For call handling, the Earfun Tune Pro feature five mics (presumably per earpiece, although Earfun doesn’t express this as such. But anything else would be odd) as well as an algorithm to clear up your voice when others hear you.

Earfun Tune Pro review: Sound performance

(Image credit: Future)

  • 40mm + 10mm drivers
  • Distorting sound, lacking bass
  • Limited sound stage

Given the price you’re paying for the Tune Pro, you’re probably not expecting the most ear-pleasing audio in the world, and it’s a good thing to set your expectations low because these Earfun headphones don’t sound great, even for the money.

Specs-wise, the headphones pack both a 40mm and 10mm driver in each can which should ostensibly provide extra oomph in the bass department, but theory is a far cry from fact.

Perhaps the biggest issue, noticeable constantly, is the audio peaking through the treble, which crushes hi-hats into mere hisses and devolves powerful guitar lines into crunchy oblivion. At the other end of the frequency scale, the tuning here boosts the bass drum so much that it frequently overrides vocals. It’s hard to enjoy songs without percussion and detail through the mids to provide rhythm, and the Tune Pro don’t offer much of that.

You’re not getting much expansion or detail through the soundstage here either, with music presented as a somewhat homogenous mush instead of a collection of separate, distinct and layered instruments given enough room to be impactful. The confusing mix here also masks the detail and dynamic nuance in my music, while also sapping some of the charm and emotion from vocals. If you care about the musicality within your favorite songs, these sadly aren’t the cans for you.

If there’s anything to be said for the Earfun Tune Pro’s audio quality, it’s that the max volume goes pretty loud, so you’re never going to struggle to hear songs even if you turn ANC off.

  • Sound performance score: 2.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro: Value

(Image credit: Future)

Usually when qualifying the value of cheap headphones, I simply point to the price and say “yes”, but it’s not quite as easy as that for the Tune Pro.

While the headphones are admittedly very affordable, they’re not the only cheap headphones in existence, and others will get you more bang for your buck. That’s literal, with many other low-cost options getting you better audio quality.

The only other important factor is the feature set, which admittedly is pretty competitive on the Earfun Tune Pro. So if you aren’t that bothered about the sound and care more about longevity and the presence of an equalizer, these claw back some value points.

Earfun Tune Pro review: scorecard

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Category

Comment

Score

Value

You get what you pay for, but you’re not too far out of pocket for the Earfuns.

3.5/5

Design

The Tune Pro is a bit too big and bulky to be fully comfortable to wear, but it has 3.5mm.

3.5/5

Features

For budget cans, the feature set is solid. The battery life is laudable and the EQ (and its test) are too.

4/5

Sound

A range of issues with the audio quality makes it hard to award many points in this department.

2.5/5

Earfun Tune Pro: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Earfun Tune Pro

1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51

Earfun Wave Pro

Water resistant

NA

NA

NA

Battery life

120 hours (ANC off) 80 hours (ANC on)

100 hours (ANC off) 65 hours (ANC on)

80 hours (ANC off) 55 hours (ANC on)

Bluetooth type

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.4

Bluetooth 5.3

Weight

289g

246g

268g

Driver

40mm + 10mm

40mm

40mm

How I tested

(Image credit: Future)

I used the Earfun Tune Pro for three weeks in order to write this review, and some extra time during the writing process itself.

During testing I used the Earfun alongside a few devices, most frequently my Android smartphone via Bluetooth but sometimes an iPod Classic via 3.5mm. Listening was generally music but I also listened to some some spoken-word, games and TV shows too. Testing was done at home and around my neighborhood.

I’ve been testing audio products for TechRadar for over 6 years and currently test several headphones or earbuds each month. This has included many past Earfun products – including the slightly older Wave Pro.

Read more about how we test

  • First reviewed: June 2025



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Side view of Contour Design Unimouse on plinth with pink background
Product Reviews

Contour Design Unimouse review: a comfortable and versatile ergonomic mouse that might be a bit too large for some

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Contour Design Unimouse: Two-minute review

The Contour Design Unimouse is an ergonomic mouse with an adjustable design, allowing users to get the right fit to match their personal preferences.

It has a functional appearance, although it’s sleek and inoffensive enough to fit in any environment, whether that’s the office of the home. The materials also feel premium, from the plastic chassis to the texturized padding on outside edge.

The form factor is large: bigger than many of the best mouse options around. This means those with smaller hands may struggle to use it, although I can say that I found it to be the right size for me, and my hands aren’t particularly large.


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The split-folding design of the Unimouse means you can adjust the angle of the contact surface between 35 and 70 degrees, which I found to be enough for providing meaningful differences in grip style. However, those looking for a flatter, more traditional position might not find this to their liking; although it might be argued that such users wouldn’t be in the market for an ergonomic mouse in the first place.

The hinge mechanism for adjusting this angle can be quite stiff, meaning it doesn’t operate all that smoothly. Still, it remains completely stable while in place, and I experienced no wobbling at all while using it.

(Image credit: Future)

These two points can also be made of the thumb grip. It rotates on a ball to allow for multiple planes of adjustment, resulting in a wide range of available positions. It also allows you to hold the Unimouse loosely – a feature all the best ergonomic mice share, and results in a more relaxed, strain-free experience.

The mouse buttons are large, and are easy to use as a result. There are three of them, with the one in the center acting as a middle click (the scroll wheel also has this function), although this default binding can be changed in the customization software.

The Unimouse also features two side buttons, although these are placed too far back, which means you can’t easily and quickly navigate between web pages, for example. The placement of the DPI button is also inconvenient, being inaccessible while your hand is on the mouse, since it’s tucked away on the bottom portion of the body.

The Unimouse can be customized using the Contour Design’s software tool, available for Windows and macOS, which allows for a pleasing number of productivity-based tweaks. You can change the DPI setting from here as well, in addition to the cursor acceleration and scroll speed.

There are a generous amount of remapping options too, with a few media and system functions available for assignment, including the ability to run applications of your choosing. You can also create application-specific profiles for your rebinds.

Additionally, keystrokes are assignable, with the option to map multiple keys in combination with modifiers to a single button. Unfortunately, though, the scroll function of the wheel can only be reassigned to control volume.

There are other issues with the software, too. I experienced crashes on a few occasions, and the firmware update for the wireless dongle was plagued with failed attempts and frustrating pop-up notifications.

(Image credit: Future)

Thankfully, the overall performance of the Unimouse is much more pleasant. It glides smoothly despite its relative heft, as it’s lighter than it appears. The buttons are easy to actuate and provide enough feedback, although scrolling is a little too notched for my liking, lacking the precision and effortless action of other mouse wheels I’ve experienced.

It also lacks a free-spin function, so you’re locked in at the rate its notches provide. Even though, as previously mentioned, the software does allow you to alter the scrolling speed, this still doesn’t make it any smoother.

Setting up a wireless connection wasn’t the most seamless experience, either. Having tested it on two separate devices, one Windows 10 and the other Windows 11, the Unimouse failed to connect on first attempt.

To get it working, I had to toggle the power button underneath off and on. I’ll admit this is a minor issue, but it’s more bothersome if you plan on using the Unimouse with multiple devices.

On that note, it’s also a shame that there’s no Bluetooth option, which would have made hot-switching between devices all the more amenable. However, I have to say that once I established a connection between the Unimouse and my devices I didn’t experience any lag or issues with responsiveness.

After a full day of use, the Unimouse dropped a single LED on its battery life indicator, meaning it had between 61-80% left (I suspect it was much closer to the latter figure). Losing 20% after a day isn’t terribly impressive, but at least the Unimouse comes with a USB cable for wired connectivity, allowing you to charge and work simultaneously.

At £87, the Unimouse is more expensive than many other ergonomic mice. They may have higher list prices, but can often be found with discounts, so here’s hoping that will also be the case with the Unimouse.

But the ace up the Unimouse’s sleeve is its physical adjustability, which even the best ergonomic mice lack, such as the Lift and the MX Master 3S, for instance. Combined with its software customizations, this elevates the Unimouse to a better value proposition than it otherwise would be, and may make sense for those craving an adjustable mouse. Just make sure you can fit your hand around it.

(Image credit: Future)

Contour Design Unimouse review: Price & availability

  • £87 (about $100 / AU$170)
  • Available now for left and right-handers
  • Expensive compared to rivals

In the UK the Unimouse is available now direct from Contour Design for £87, although we have seen it slightly cheaper on Amazon. In the US and Australia it’s available from Amazon for around $100 / AU$170. There are right and left-handed variants, and a wired model also exists, but this is only marginally less expensive.

This makes the Unimouse quite expensive relative to other ergonomic mice. It faces plenty of competition, chiefly from Logitech’s various lines of ergonomic mice, such as the MX and the Lift.

While some of these may have a higher list price, they can often be found with strong discounts. However, these lack the physical adjustability of the Unimouse, which might swing it for you depending on how much you value this quality.

Contour Design Unimouse review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Interface

Wireless (2.4GHz), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Ergonomics

Right or left-handed asymmetrical

Buttons

7

DPI

Up to 4,000

Switches

Not stated

Weight

5oz / 141g

Should I buy the Razer Contour Design Unimouse?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The Unimouse is expensive compared to other ergonomic mice, although its various adjustments set it apart from the competition.

3.5 / 5

Design

The Unimouse is well made, although a few design choices let the side down. The software is useful, but this also has its sticking points.

3.5 / 5

Performance

The Unimouse does its job admirably and without fuss. The adjustments cater to individual grip styles quite well, too.

4 / 5

Overall

The Unimouse is a capable and comfortable ergonomic mouse. It may be pricey, but its malleability makes a strong case itself – you’ll just have to decide how much this means to you, and whether its size will be a fit for your hand.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Contour Design Unimouse review: Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Contour Design Unimouse

Logitech MX Master 3S

Logitech Lift

Price

Wireless (2.4GHz), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Interface

Right or left-handed asymmetrical

Right-handed asymmetrical

Right or left-handed asymmetrical

Buttons

7

7

6

DPI

4,000

8,000

4,000

Switches

Not stated

Not stated

Not stated

Weight

1.9oz / 55g

5oz / 141g

4.4oz / 125g

How I tested the Contour Design Unimouse

  • Tested for a full day
  • Used for work and general browsing
  • Plentiful mouse reviewing experience

I tested the Unimouse for a full day, during which time I used it for working and for general browsing. I made sure to try out all of its available adjustments, and also used as many functions and features present in its customization software.

I have experience reviewing mice, ranging in size, purpose, and price point. I have used all kinds of mice throughout my life, for work as well as play.



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Razer Basilisk Mobile on plinth with pink background
Product Reviews

Razer Basilisk Mobile review: a small gaming mouse with a premium feel and performance

by admin



Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Razer Basilisk Mobile: Two-minute review

The Basilisk Mobile is a wireless gaming mouse in Razer’s line of ergonomically focused peripherals, but with a smaller form factor than usual. Its looks stay true to the brand’s current design language, with minimal gamer stylings, appearing more understated than its past peripherals. There’s a small and subtle logo at the back that allows the RGB lighting to shine through, which is quite inconspicuous compared to other examples.

It has a sleek form that is aided by the matte finish of its soft-touch material, which also makes it pleasant to hold, thanks to the slightly grainy texture it provides. There’s a more prominent texture on the sides, although this doesn’t provide as much traction as some of the best gaming mouse grips.

Although it’s quite short, the Basilisk Mobile is still reasonably wide and tall, especially at the rear, which makes it more of a satisfying handful than I was expecting. This somewhat calls into question its portability credentials, as in reality I didn’t find it any easier to transport than your typical gaming mouse. Still, its smaller profile may well be a boon for those with smaller hands.


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It also features a fairly sharp hump at the rear end, which forces a V-shaped grip from your hand, as the mouse buttons rake downwards at a steep angle as well. This may or may not be to your liking; personally, I found it comfortable for my play style.

The Basilisk Mobile can be customized using Razer’s Synapse 4 software. Here you’ll find plenty of tweaks and options to play around with, from RGB settings to button remapping, the latter of which contains an inordinate selection of shortcut functions and features. Unfortunately, there’s little in the way of performance-related settings, which will disappoint those after elite-level tinkering.

(Image credit: Future)

  • Razer Basilisk Mobile (Black) at Amazon for $89.99

In action, though, the Basilisk Mobile performs with aplomb. It glides effortlessly and smoothly, while clicks are snappy and precise, offering plenty of speed and feedback. They’re also slightly more damped than your typical gaming mouse, resulting in a more satisfying thud when you hammer down on them.

The Basilisk Mobile also has three side buttons, all of which have a surprising amount of dampening and travel to them, which makes them more tactile and therefore better to use than those adorning other gaming mice.

The scroll wheel is similarly proficient. The notching is smooth, which makes it easy to use, although it might be a little too loose for those after more controlled flicks. It also features a button to release the notching altogether and allow for unimpeded spinning, useful when navigating large menus and the like. There’s also a scroll tilt function, but this is a little awkward to use given the minimal protrusion of the wheel itself between the two mouse buttons.

(Image credit: Future)

However, it has an excellent middle click, offering plenty of depth and dampening, while at the same time being quick and effortless to actuate. It’s also stable enough to prevent misscrolling.

Connecting via both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz proved easy, and hot-switching between them is quick thanks to the underside selector. I had no issues in terms of responsiveness or lag in either mode.

The battery dropped to 70% after two days of varied use between 2.4GHz and Bluetooth modes, which isn’t a particularly impressive figure, and seems to undermine Razer’s claimed figure of 105 hours. Still, it’s enough to make wireless play practical.

With a sub-$100 price tag, the Basilisk Mobile is well-priced when stacked up next to its rivals, many of which exceed this threshold. It’s about the same as the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, which arguably has better gaming performance, but lacks features and Bluetooth capability.

Considering its button selection, build quality, customization options, performance and wireless connectivity modes, the Basilisk Mobile makes a compelling argument for your next pointer. Just ignore the portability aspect and it makes more sense.

(Image credit: Future)

Razer Basilisk Mobile review: Price & availability

  • $89.99 / £89.99 / AU$169.95
  • Available now in black only
  • Cheaper than rivals

The Basilisk Mobile costs $89.99 / £89.99 / AU$169.95 and is available now in black only. It comes with a 2.4GHz USB dongle and a USB cable, but no spare skates.

This is cheaper than many other gaming mice with multiple wireless options. It’s close to the same price as the Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed, which is a full-size mouse that’s more basic and focused on gaming performance rather than features, but in the former department, it excels.

If you’re looking for a considerably more budget offering, though, the Cooler Master MM311 is just about the best wireless gaming mouse in this category. It doesn’t have a rechargeable battery or Bluetooth, but in all other regards it’s an incredible pointer for the money.

Razer Basilisk Mobile review: Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Interface

Wired (USB-C-to-A), wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth)

Ergonomics

Right-handed asymmetrical

Buttons

10

DPI

Up to 18,000

Switches

Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3

Weight

2.68 oz (76g)

Should I buy the Razer Basilisk Mobile?

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The Basilisk Mobile is cheaper than quite a few rivals with similar specs, making it good value in comparison.

4 / 5

Design

The Basilisk Mobile is built to Razer’s typically high standards, and the soft-touch finish is great in the hand – but I’m not sure it’s any more portable than a standard gaming mouse.

4 / 5

Performance

The Basilisk Mobile glides as smooth as silk, and all the buttons are responsive and very satisfying. Some performance-enhancing features are missing, though.

4 / 5

Overall

The Basilisk Mobile is a good value gaming mouse compared to its rivals, and its terrific build quality and enjoyable performance make it a great choice for any gamer, whether you’re on the go or not.

4 / 5

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Razer Basilisk Mobile review: Also consider

Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0

Razer Basilisk Mobile

Razer DeathAdder V3 Hyperspeed

Cooler Master MM311

Price

$89.99 / £89.99 / AU$169.95

$99.99 / £99.99 / AU$179.95

$39 (about £31 / AU$59)

Interface

Wired (USB-C-to-A), wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth)

Wireless (2.4GHz), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Wireless (2.4GHz), wired (USB-C-to-A)

Ergonomics

Right-handed asymmetrical

Right-handed asymmetrical

Right-handed symmetrical

Buttons

10

6

6

DPI

18,000

26,000

10,000

Switches

Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3

Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3

Mechanical switches

Weight

2.68 oz (76g)

1.9oz (55g)

2.7oz (77g)

How I tested the Razer Basilisk Mobile

  • Tested for several days
  • Used for gaming and working
  • Extensive gaming mouse experience

I tested the Basilisk Mobile for several days, during which time I used it for gaming, working, and general browsing.

I played games such as Counter-Strike 2, which provides the ideal environment for putting peripherals through their paces, as it reveals just how fast and accurate they truly are in battle.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade, and during that time I’ve gained experience of using a great number of mice. I’ve also reviewed many across a broad spectrum of brands, form factors, features, and price points.

Razer Basilisk Mobile: Price Comparison



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Mario Kart World Review - A Worthy Marquee Launch Game
Game Reviews

Mario Kart World Review – A Worthy Marquee Launch Game

by admin



Nintendo seemed slow to react to the evergreen status of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a humble Switch port of a Wii U game that surpassed all expectations by becoming the top-selling game on one of its most successful platforms. Mario Kart World, the banner game for the launch of the Switch 2, carries with it the expectation that of course this will be one of the games most associated with the system for its entire lifespan. The challenge was crafting a new game that felt sufficiently suited to carry those expectations. Due to its blend of skillful mechanical tweaks, lovely aesthetics, and a general design philosophy built around delightful surprises, this one will go the distance.

The biggest standout feature of Mario Kart World–the one that its name, identity, and many of its mechanics revolve around–is the world itself. For the first time in the series history the races aren’t built as standalone tracks, but rather as part of a large contiguous map. Iconic locations like Bowser’s Castle or Moo Moo Meadows are physical locations connected to each other through a series of highways and byways. The Grand Prix cups, the ostensible story campaign of a Mario Kart game, are just routes through this world the same way a real street race will block off a specific route.

Within that context, though, the races themselves are more dynamic than ever. Nintendo has started licensing its properties out for theme park attractions since the release of the last Mario Kart, and it’s hard not to notice the roller coaster-like approach to these tracks. Like a well-designed ride, you’re consistently confronted with surprises and obstacles that keep things visually interesting and mechanically exciting. A race along the savannah will feature adorably plump animals like a herd of zebra, while a desert area surprises you with the Easter Island-like Tokotoko enemies from Super Mario Land, and another track may fling you into the air or have you navigate choppy waters. It’s a treat for longtime Nintendo fans, especially, as the wealth of references goes much deeper than it has before.

Mario Kart World mixes new and old MK playable characters

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That goes doubly for the character selection. After venturing outside of the Mushroom Kingdom with inclusions like Link and Isabella in Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart World sticks strictly inside the confines of Mario–and then expands its scope exponentially. You have series regulars like Mario, Bowser, and Toad alongside such random pulls as Swoop the bat, Para-Biddybud the insect, and the frog-like Coin Coffer. And of course there’s Cow, already a breakout star of the game’s promotion, who seems to tickle players with her very presence.

Then on top of that, the core Mario characters all have a variety of costume changes to unlock. Grab a sacked “Dash Snack” lunch as Toad and he may don a racing helmet modeled after his iconic mushroom head, or presto-chango into a train engineer. Alongside the variety of surprises on the tracks and the massively expanded roster, the impressive volume of costumes is just another way that Mario Kart World aims to constantly surprise you.

The methods of unlocking characters and costumes can be a little patchwork, and Mario Kart World seems intentionally opaque about exactly how it works. You might pick up the same costume several times in a row through Dash Snacks, and then find a new character or costume unlocked when someone uses a Magikoopa item. I’m sure completionists rushing to get a full roster complete with all of the associated costumes may find this frustrating or work to unlock the exact rhyme and reason, but I’m rather enjoying taking the game on its own terms. It’s aimed at long-term play, wishing to dole these out seemingly randomly and slowly, and I’m happy to let it do so. The less-engaging collectibles are stickers, which you receive for completing various in-game challenges. Those serve as the kart customization for Mario Kart World, which is less robust than the mix-and-match kart creation of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, especially since you can only equip one at a time.

An outfit change for Peach in Mario Kart World

I am mildly disappointed that much of the expanded roster doesn’t get its own costume changes. It makes the creature characters feel like they’re B-tier, and actually dissuades me from playing as them when I know there are more costumes to unlock if I pick someone from the core cast. I would love to be racing as Para-Biddybud more, but it just feels like I’m missing out if I do. By that same token, though, this unlock system does encourage me to play as characters I ordinarily wouldn’t. I’ve never been a fan of heavier characters, but I’m actually taking the time to play more as Wario or Bowser because I want to unlock all of their fashionable duds.

All of this is especially appealing because Mario Kart World looks gorgeous and serves as a nice showpiece for the increased power of the Switch 2. Nintendo excels at art direction, to the point that even older games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe have a playful animated look that still doesn’t feel dated. But Mario Kart World shows what Nintendo can do with both its knack for visual flair and increased horsepower, and the result is stunning. It’s a living cartoon, complete with lovely little touches like facial expressions that you’ll never even see unless you venture into Photo Mode.

The entire world being connected means that courses bleed into each other, which I find mostly amusing and only occasionally distracting. Sometimes when you’re racing from one track to another in the middle of a Grand Prix, a stage will start with a completely different visual style than it finishes with. It’s a neat way to see the transition, but I do sometimes miss when a course would have its very own visual language and identity that’s distinct from anything else.

Rainbow Road, the ultimate conclusion of the Grand Prix campaign, is the sole example of a standalone course that’s disconnected from the world, and it stands apart from the rest due to it. Mario Kart has offered lots of different Rainbow Roads, but this one may be my new favorite of all time. It’s a sprawling triumph–a visual feast, a playful celebration of the sights and sounds of the game up to that point, and an incredibly diverse and lengthy marathon of a race on its own.

Mario Kart World’s new hammer

Naturally, it wouldn’t be a new Mario Kart without giving you new tools and skills to master. The series has always excelled at having a low skill floor and a high skill ceiling. Anyone can pick up a game of Mario Kart World, but real karting pros can show off like never before. There are new items to master like the Feather and Hammer alongside old favorites. MKW makes a subtle change by automatically dragging certain items like Green Shells behind you, rather than letting you drag them on command, which both gives newer players one less thing to track, and increases the risk of losing an item if you’re targeted by a Blue Shell or Lightning Bolt.

The biggest new skill to master, though, is the Charge Jump. It essentially gives veterans a new tool to use on straightaways, charging up like they would with a power-slide on a turn. The jump is smaller than a ramp or Feather, but big enough to dodge an attack or hop over an obstacle if you time it just right. It also pairs well with the new stunting system, which lets you grind on rails and cruise off walls, which also gives you a speed boost. The off-road aspect also sometimes means you go into the water, where it transitions automatically to an aquatic vehicle and handles with choppy wave mechanics that give me fond memories of Wave Race.

And crucially, Nintendo has taken this new suite of mechanics and level of polish and applied it to a blend of modes and methods of play that offer more ways to kart than in the series’ long history. You can still take on Grand Prix, VS, and time trials like always, and the newly revised Battle Mode no longer feels like an afterthought. The arenas for Battle are familiar locales from the map like always, but roped off as closed loops to force confrontations. It’s a much more aggressive style of play, and little stunts like a quick-180 reward high-level play.

Then there’s the highlight of the new additions–Knockout Tour. The presence of a single contiguous world means that you can draw long routes throughout it, serving as the basis of Knockout Tour. The new mode takes full advantage of the larger 24-player count by slowly winnowing down the players across each checkpoint, which creates some naturally tense moments as you continuously fight to qualify for the next round. It feels like the ideal middle-ground for a session–not so insubstantial as a quick VS race, but not the time commitment of a Grand Prix.

Mario Kart World’s Cow

Knockout Tour is an especially great showcase for the increased player count in online multiplayer. While I found the 24-player aspect a bit insubstantial in single-player–the last dozen or so racers trailed far enough behind that they didn’t really matter–playing with a full horde of players online is a totally different experience. It makes the classic kart racer into a raucously chaotic party game. Even with track sizes and item distribution seemingly tuned to fit the greater player count, against other humans you’re bound to bump shoulders with them often, and that seems by design.

The increased player count for online does mean you can sit waiting for a full match for quite a while. It’s nice that the game lets you free roam while you wait for the matchmaking to complete, but the wait times have been inconsistent. Sometimes it’s snappy and quick; other times I’m roaming for several minutes waiting for a full lobby. So far it seems as if searching for a regular race takes significantly longer than a Knockout Tour, but your mileage may vary. It is nice, though, that once matched with other players for a race you remain grouped with them voting for the next race, rather than needing to search all over again.

Speaking of free roaming, you can do it at any time through the main menu, not just as a lobby waiting room. Nintendo seems to have envisioned this mostly as a way to meet up with friends and cruise around, but the open-world aspect feels sparse. There are things to do exclusive to the free roaming mode, like driving into an 18-wheeler and taking over it for a short time. There are also P-Switch challenges that give you a quick task to complete, like reaching a high vantage point or avoiding falling boulders to reach a goal line. These are nice little diversions, but the prizes for completing them–even more stickers–ultimately feel pretty insubstantial.

Nearly nothing else does, though. Mario Kart World is a massive, sprawling sequel that playfully expands and iterates on the qualities that made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe such an enduring success. It’s an incredibly fun and rewarding kart racing experience that’s easy to understand, with enough mechanical nuance to reward veteran kart racers, all presented beautifully as a Switch 2 showpiece. It will be shocking if this game doesn’t enjoy the same long-term success of its predecessor, because it’s among the best in the series and a worthy marquee title for the launch of a new Nintendo console.



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A review of the Switch 2 as much as you can review a new console after a weekend in its company
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A review of the Switch 2 as much as you can review a new console after a weekend in its company

by admin


For years, the rule in Hollywood was pretty simple: familiarity but with a twist. Cheers, but it’s in a coffee shop, and everyone’s in their twenties. Lost, but it’s in LA with Joseph Fiennes. Sure, this didn’t always work – I still think fondly of you, FlashForward – but it worked a lot of the time. Crucially, it was easy to grasp why it should work. We love formulas, and we love gentle variations on the formula to keep us guessing, to keep us nimble. But at the heart of it there’s familiarity, and familiarity is a very, very lovely thing in the right circumstances.

This is Switch 2, then. And it’s also my experience of having the new console for a weekend. There are lots of things I am deeply, pleasantly familiar with, and lots of little tweaks within that familiarity – some of them surprisingly consequential. Top line: I love this console a little bit. I’m glad it’s here.

And it’s a lovely thing in the hands – larger and, it feels, slightly sleeker than the Switch. And that beautiful glossy screen makes its older sibling look a bit pokey, just as the Switch once made me return to the Vita and say, really? It was that small? And with the border? Just as the Vita once made me go back to the PSP and say…

Here’s the launch trailer for Switch 2.Watch on YouTube

You get what I mean. But it’s still dazzling. So bright and sharp and large, such colours and such lovely smoothness. The same but slightly different, ditto the Joy-Con, which now snap into place with a lovely magnetic thunk, and which are now removed with a bumpy trigger thing that still feels a little nerve-wracking each time I do it.

(Breaking sequence here to talk a little more about those Joy-Con, because they can now have their buttons remapped with layouts saved for individual games. You’ll find this under Accessibility on the System Settings menu, alongside a bunch of other welcome additions, like the ability to change text size, bold text, switch to high contrast mode, zoom in, change display colours, switch to mono audio, and enable text-to-speech.)

Remapping Joy-Con buttons. | Image credit: NIntendo

Once the machine is on – system transfer has definitely taken cues from Apple; I’ve done it for two Switch 2s now and it worked fine both times – the UI is very familiar, the pops and clicks and squeaks and pips as you strobe through the options are as pleasant as ever, and the meager on-board storage space proved to be slightly less meager than I thought. I got quite a bunch of games downloaded on it, and the only awkward moment was when I was then prying the astonishingly thin Micro SD Express I’d bought out of its plastic wrapper, certain that I had just bent something that cost me fifty quid. (This said, I now realise I had filled up the on-board memory in about thirty minutes, so maybe I’m being a bit generous with how chirpy I am here.)

With that out of the way, I spent a surprisingly long time just playing games I was already familiar with, because I had carried them across from the original Switch. A few thoughts here. The first is that, for whatever reason, the Switch has become home to a bunch of games that I’m never really finished with – Into the Breach, Outer Wilds, various Marios. I can’t get to the bottom of these games, and so it’s lovely to see them ported across painlessly so the fun can continue.

Image credit: Adamgryu

Image credit: Nintendo
A Short Hike and Tetris DX.

Secondly, the Nintendo Online offering has quietly become an absolutely stellar offer. Within minutes of firing the Switch 2 up I had played Tetris DX and ESWAT – I know, the heart wants what it wants. And I had experienced an absolute flood of melancholy nostalgia once I fired up The Wind Waker. It is wild to me that the GameCube is now a retro console of the kind that comes bundled in the Nintendo Online sub. Surely it was only two years ago that my friend Stu and I queued up on Oxford Street to see Miyamoto at the big HMV. Actually, no it was 22 years ago. But it doesn’t matter. The Wind Waker has not aged a day. I could spend a month with my new console just poking around these familiar islands and I’d be very happy.

As for new games, it’s not exactly a SNES-beating line-up, but the stuff I have played over the last two days is pretty lovely. For one thing, the two recent blockbuster Zeldas feel all but new again thanks to upgrades that can either be bought outright or are included in the premium Online sub. I have a proper piece on this on the way, but a quick dive into the Depths on Tears of the Kingdom revealed a game that was quietly transformed. The graininess had gone. The edges were sharp. I’m very happy to be finishing this generally unfinishable game with such a lovely refreshed version.

Elsewhere – and there’s a piece coming on this too – Cyberpunk feels like both a marvel and something that’s slightly – just slightly – shaky once you get into firefights. I’ve missed out on this game completely until now, and I’m looking forward to properly getting into it, even though it will always feel slightly out of place on Nintendo.

Image credit: Nintendo

Image credit: CD Project Red
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Cyberpunk 2077.

Onto the biggie. Mario Kart World. I’ve, perhaps foolishly, shared my thoughts on why I absolutely shouldn’t be sharing my thoughts on a new Mario Kart, but here in the context of the system itself the real winner in Mario Kart World is GameChat – which isn’t really Mario Kart’s win but Nintendo’s. Switch 2’s big launch game is a perfect match for Nintendo’s new social tool, in ways that I hadn’t anticipated. Free Roam is key, a mode devoid of any real direction and also semi-hidden on the game’s main menu. Hang out with friends here, though, and it’s the perfect backdrop to a much-needed catch-up. “How is the family? And did you see that P button next to the buffalo that’s just headbutted you into a central reservation?”

Image credit: Nintendo

I didn’t expect this. And I appreciate that the Switch 2 is already pricey, and to hide this stuff behind a paywall (GameChat is free until 31st March 2026, but online play outside of F2P games does require a paid sub) is a bit naff and money-grabbing. Just as I appreciate that the launch line-up is thin outside of Mario Kart and that the basics of how the console works are pretty much known. I appreciate the battery life could be a lot better – it can work its way down very quickly. Even the stuff like the new mouse mode can feel a bit weird and undercooked. (Certainly don’t operate it by using it on your leg like I do if you have a fondness for wearing corduroy jeans like I also do.)

All of that, and yet I’m two days in and I’m still very excited. A new Nintendo console, with a bunch of games I already love, and a bunch of little things that may change the way I play and connect with old friends. And the promise, of course, of new things to come.

A Switch 2 console, launch games, and a smattering of peripherals were provided by Nintendo.



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