Eliana Willis

Technology has always been expensive, but a great tablet doesn’t have to be. Our experts have thoroughly tested and reviewed the best affordable tablets on the market right now. These can handle everything you need for work, entertainment, and productivity without breaking the bank. From the 9th generation iPad to the Lenovo Tab P11 Plus, there’s an affordable tablet for you. Also: Best drawing tabletsWhat is the best cheap tablet right now?Whether you need a new tablet for school or work or are looking to upgrade without spending a fortune, we’ve rounded up the best cheap tablets based on our hands-on experience and testing. Our top pick is the Apple iPad (9th generation) More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Anker Solix C300 DC is available from Amazon for $199. This fantastic portable power station can charge pretty much everything you have, and you can recharge it quickly using both the 140W USB-C ports. I wish the 12V port had a rubber cover to prevent dirt and metallic items from […] More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETJanuary hasn’t even ended yet and it feels like we’ve already seen the best Android phones of 2025. With the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra More

Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography/Getty Images Some days, you really need to run a Windows-only program, even if you’re a die-hard Linux user  — like yours truly.  For those times, I often turn to Wine (formerly an acronym for “Wine Is Not an Emulator”). Wine provides a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications […] More

Sometimes, it is easier to quickly jot down a note by hand. There is no need to open an app, and studies show that physically writing things down helps to remember them more than typing does. To-do lists, class notes, and random reminders are just a few of the things you might want to write in a notebook. A digital notebook is the perfect tool to bridge the gap between a traditional notebook and a notetaking app. Also: Best Windows tablet in 2025A smart notebook is a hybrid option for those who want the best of both worlds. It offers a nostalgic pen-to-paper feel while integrating cloud storage for note accessibility. The best digital notebooks have ample storage, access to a cloud or app for all your handwritten documents, handy high-tech features like handwriting-to-text conversion, and more. Plus, most options have a paper-like feel to the screen, so you can forget it’s a smart device altogether. What is the best digital notebook right now? To help you decide which smart notebooks are worth the investment, we tested and researched the best ones on the market, considering notebook feel, storage capabilities and options, special features, and price. Based on our hands-on experience, our pick for the best smart notebook overall is the Boox Note Air 4 C More

Tablets have come a long way since the first iPad was released in 2010. Once designed simply for watching videos and playing games, they have, for many, become a full-fledged computer replacement, allowing them to get real work done in a more portable device. A good tablet should have a long battery life, a respectable selection of apps and services, and more functionality than just a screen to watch YouTube videos. Also: The best cheap tablets you can buyWith so many tablets on the market today from brands like Apple, Samsung, Google, Amazon, and more, it can take time to choose one. There are tablets that exist within the low range, like the Amazon Fire Max 11 More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Asus’ ProArt PA27 is on sale at Amazon for $800. This 5K monitor delivers stunning visual quality and color reproduction on par with Apple’s monitors. Power users, however, may be frustrated with the display’s limited array of ports and low refresh rate. more buying choices High-quality 5K monitors have been around […] More

ZDNETI sometimes used the Smart Lookup feature in Microsoft Word to look up words and phrases in a document. It was a helpful way to view dictionary definitions, synonyms, web searches, and Wikipedia articles on a subject. Well, what Microsoft giveth, they now taketh away, for Smart Lookup is no more.Microsoft retires a helpful featureIn a support document on Smart Lookup spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft reveals that the feature has been retired as of Jan. 1, 2025. In the past, right-clicking on certain words in Microsoft Word displayed a “Search” command in the menu. Selecting that command would run an online search to help you learn more about the word you selected.Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 in 2025The “Search” option still exists, and selecting it still opens the Search pane on the right. But instead of running an actual search, Word just tells you that something went wrong and advises you to please try again. Of course, trying again just results in the same error. It seems Microsoft can’t even properly remove a feature like this without creating confusion. More