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Huawei MateBook 13, BlackBerry KEY2 LE, Honor View 20, and more: Reviews round-up

From Huawei's MacBook Air rival to the new Palm and a taxi cab dash cam, we take a look at the kit our reviewers sampled in January.
By ZDNET Editors, Contributor
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1 of 12 Huawei

Huawei MateBook 13

The Huawei MateBook 13, announced last month at CES, has the latest Intel Whiskey Lake processor, a FullView touch screen with 88 percent screen-to-body ratio, and weighs just 2.86 pounds. We have seen Huawei's computers priced significantly higher in the past, so it's great to see the company pushing hard to gain customers with the MateBook 13 starting at just $999.

For more see: Huawei MateBook 13 review: Gorgeous touchscreen laptop takes on Apple's MacBook Air at $400 less

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2 of 12 Dell

Dell Precision 5530 2-in-1

The Dell Precision 5530 2-in-1 workstation is a nicely engineered workstation-class laptop. It's heavy, but the chassis is tough and the 15.6-inch screen — at least at the 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution of our review sample — is a pleasure to work with. There's plenty of processing and graphics power available, but battery life may be an issue if you need to work on the move. And be prepared to carry the (sizeable) power brick.

For more see: Dell Precision 5530 2-in-1 review: A flexible workstation-class convertible

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3 of 12 Huawei

Huawei Mate 20 X

The 7.2-inch Huawei Mate 20 X is a beast to carry around, and it's tricky to use one-handed. But its big screen makes it well suited to media-rich tasks like video viewing and games playing, as well as reading documents and ebooks. Its long battery life is a real winner, too.

For more see: Huawei Mate 20 X review: A powerful giant-screen phone with long battery life

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4 of 12 BlackBerry

BlackBerry KEY2 LE

With today's high-end smartphones exceeding $1,000, it's useful to look around to see where you can save money while still having the functionality you need to get work done. BlackBerry continues to release solid performers in the mid-range zone.

For more see: BlackBerry KEY2 LE review: Retro productivity with modern security and an affordable price

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5 of 12 Honor

Honor View 20

Honor has responded to increased competition in the mid-range with a remarkable 6.4-inch handset whose features include a 48MP main camera, a minimal-bezel screen, a novel front camera design, a top-of-the-range AI-enabled processor and plenty of internal storage. There's a lot to like here, and the complete package stands comparison with today's flagship handsets.

For more see: Honor View 20 review: Large screen, innovative cameras, great value

Hands on with the Blackview 9600 Pro Certainly a smartphone for everyone ZDNet
6 of 12 Blackview

Blackview 9600 Pro

This phone gives you a lot for your money at under $500. This is a nice rugged phone, which would suit both corporate and consumer users. Its large battery gives a good amount of uptime for all of your regular activities with an added bonus that it will take the rough and tumble of active users.

For more see: Blackview BV9600 Pro hands-on: A smartphone for everyone

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7 of 12 Sandra Vogel/ZDNet

Palm

Palm's concept of a phone that you can carry when your larger main phone isn't practical probably sounded like a really good idea on the drawing board, but it isn't realised in the physical product. Yes, the 3.3-inch Palm device is small enough to fit into any pocket, but it's riddled with usability issues and isn't a compelling alternative to a regular handset.

For more see: Palm review: Interesting idea, poorly executed

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8 of 12 Epson

Epson EcoTank ET-M2140

Printer ink is often referred to as 'black gold' because of its high price, so it's good to see Epson taking a different approach to running costs with its EcoTank range. The high initial purchase price might deter smaller businesses on a more limited budget, but the EcoTank printers offer genuine savings to larger organisations that need to print hundreds or even thousands of pages every month.

For more see: Epson EcoTank ET-M2140, First Take: A 'low TCO' printer for businesses

Hands on with the Deebot 711 robot vacuum A super clever cleaner for the home or office zdnet
9 of 12 Ecovacs

Deebot 711

The Deebot 711 by Ecovacs is a smart robot that scans the floor area in your home or office, creates a map and ensures that it does not miss any segment of the floor. It can be activated by Alexa or Google Assistant, has a remote control, and an app to schedule cleaning and record time remaining before parts needs to be replaced. It seems to be the perfect robot for all your needs.

For more see: Hands on with the Deebot 711 robot vacuum: A super clever cleaner for the home or office

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10 of 12 palmsolo/ZDNet

TicWatch S2

The TicWatch S2 is probably the best Google Wear OS you can buy at the moment, which means there just isn't much competition. The $180 price is not bad, but you need to figure out what you want this wearable for. There are better Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung, and other wearables to consider if you are looking for fitness tracking.

For more see: TicWatch S2 review: Google Wear OS is pretty terrible and Mobvoi doesn't help the cause with this $180 smartwatch

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11 of 12 Denon

Denon AH-C820W

The Denon AH-C820W wireless in-ear headphones bring the neckband style of earphone into the Denon range. Overall, the AH-C820W scores well on sound quality and fit, and battery life is good. However, the usability of the all-important control buttons could be a bit better.

For more see: Denon AH-C820W wireless in-ear headphones, First Take: Quality audio, mixed ergonomics

Hands on with Auto Vox A1 dash cam rotating camera for in-car recording zdnet
12 of 12 Auto Vox

Auto Vox A1

The Auto Vox A1 dash cam is specifically aimed at taxi cab, Uber, and Lyft drivers who want to record the goings on in their vehicles. For under $200, this dash cam with its rotating camera can give drivers peace of mind. If you are fazed by the complexities of some dash cams, then the simplicity of the Auto Vox A1 dash cam will delight you.

For more see: Hands on with Auto Vox A1 dash cam: Rotating camera for in-car recording

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