Our current favorite Chromebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is down to an all time low of $270 right now on Amazon. We’ve seen it dip down to $300 before, but this is an exceptional low and a great time to pick up a lightweight but speedy Chromebook. When we tested it out for our Chromebook guide, we particularly liked the extra bright and sharp touchscreen paired with the responsive performance. In fact, we said the Flex 5i offers a “level of quality and performance that’s pretty rare to find at this price point.” That goes double on Black Friday. 

This configuration runs on Intel’s Core i3 chip and stocks 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. While that’s not a ton of storage, it’s more than enough for the way Chromebooks work best, which is as a browser-focused laptop working in harmony with all of Google’s apps. It’s got a 13.3-inch touchscreen and a good amount of ports, including USB-C and USB-A ports, a microSD card slot and a security lock. Though we found the keys a bit on the smaller side, we still think it’s the best Chromebook for most people.

The Flex 5i discount is part of a larger Chromebook sale Amazon is running for Black Friday, which includes laptops from Acer, HP and ASUS in addition to more Lenovo devices. The Acer Chromebook Spin 314 is $90 off, bringing it down to $290. It’s the lightweight cousin to the Acer pick from our guide, sharing the same convertible features that allows you to fold it backwards for a tablet-like experience.

Shop the Black Friday Chromebook sale at Amazon

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Source: Engadget – Lenovo’s IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook price hits an all-time low for Black Friday

You now have your chance to explore most of Charles Darwin’s personal writing. The University of Cambridge has published all of the evolutionary scientist’s surviving correspondence online, including 400 letters that have either surfaced or are newly “reinterpreted.” The searchable collection now covers over 15,000 letters written between 1822 and 1882, ranging from his influential time aboard the HMS Beagle to On the Origin of Species and end-of-life reflections.

The internet archive may even be the only way to see a fuller picture of Darwin’s life. The university notes that the final print edition, due in early 2023, doesn’t include letters that arrived too late to reach physical copies. Many writings include footnotes and bibliographies to put sayings in context.

This last batch of correspondence illustrates how attitudes toward evolution changed in the researcher’s lifetime. By 1882, Darwin observed that natural selection had largely been established as fact among younger scientists — a sharp contrast to the initial hostility to On the Origin of Species upon its initial release in 1859. The letters also illustrate how Darwin was still experimenting months before his death.

This won’t be the same as holding the physical letters in your hands. However, it’s a classic demonstration of the internet’s value to academics, not to mention anyone who’s curious. As with other archival projects, you can get a sense of history without traveling to an archive and putting on some cotton gloves.

Source: Engadget – Charles Darwin’s full correspondence is now available online

Black Friday isn’t just a great time to snatch up a laptop or pair of headphones. You’ll also find discounts on plenty of music gear. Buying a synth or a guitar pedal isn’t always the cheapest gift option. So if you’re looking for something special for a special someone, but want to make it as palatable as possible to your wallet, now is a good time to strike. Here are few of our favorite deals on music making hardware from around the web.

ASM Hydrasynth Explorer

When I reviewed the Hydrasynth Explorer last year I said it was probably “the most synth you can get for under $600.” Things haven’t changed in the roughly eleven months since. And now it’s on sale for just $500. For that price you get the same powerful digital engine inside the far more expensive standard Hydrasynth, as well as its unique keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch. It’s just shrunk down and with a slightly more crowded interface. The rest of ASM’s Hydrasynth family is also on sale, but when it comes to pure value it’s almost impossible to beat the Explorer.

Buy ASM Hydrasynth Explorer at Perfect Circuit – $499Buy ASM Hydrasynth Explorer at Amazon – $499

Elektron Syntakt

The latest entry in Elektron’s midrange groovebox series is a lot of things — an analog synth, a digital drum machine, an absurdly powerful sequencer. But one thing the Syntakt is not, is cheap. Sure, $999 isn’t crazy considering its everything and the kitchen sink approach, but if you’ve been hesitant to commit that much to the purchase, now might be the time to take the plunge. The Syntakt is down to $799 across a number of shops, including direct from Elektron. And while it’s definitely focused on percussion, a recent firmware update added two new “machines” that focus on more melodic sounds. 

If the Syntakt isn’t quite your cup of tea, but you’re still intrigued by Elektron’s unique workflow and sequencer, most of its higher-end instruments, like the Digitone and Octatrack are also 20% off this weekend.

Buy Elektron Syntakt at Perfect Circuit – $799Buy Elektron Syntakt at Reverb – $799

Korg Minilogue XD

When the Minilogue XD launched for just $650 it staked a pretty convincing claim to the best bang-for-your-buck synth. A few years later, and it’s no less impressive. But its price has crept upwards to $730, and competitors have started chipping away at grip on the affordable and approachable end of the market. That makes it’s Black Friday drop to just $600 even harder to pass up. Korg is offering a number of discounts across its range, but the clear stand out is this 18-percent off on an incredibly versatile synth. It combines four voices of true analog polyphony with a digital synth engine and effects. Plus, the Logue SDK opens the instrument to third party developers to build their own digital oscillators and effect. (Sinevibes in particular makes some great ones.)

Buy Korg Minilogue XD at Sweetwater – $600Buy Korg Minilogue XD at Perfect Circuit – $600

UA Volt audio interfaces

An audio interface is an essential for basically any budding musician. And while the market is saturated with plenty of excellent, affordable options, the Universal Audio Volt 76 series stands out from the pack. They’re undeniable stylish, offer low noise and latency, have large easy to use controls and vintage mode for additional warmth and character. But what sets the 76 apart, from even its cheaper Volt brethren is the all analog modeling of its legendary 1176 compressor. Sure you could run a plugin that tries to do the same thing — and arguably the results would be more versatile since you can always remove it in post if you want. But there’s something about the version builtin to the Volt 476, 276 and 176 that just has a touch more life. 

While the entire Volt lineup (save the 476p) is on sale, and all are solid values, it’s the Volt 476 and 276 that should be at the top of your shopping list. Especially now that they’re marked down to $329 and $269, respectively.

Buy Universal Audio Volt 476 at Reverb – $329Buy Universal Audio VOLT 476 at Perfect Circuit – $329Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Reverb – $269Buy Universal Audio Volt 276 at Perfect Circuit – $269

Poly Effects Beebo

The Beebo is a fascinating pedal. In fact, calling it a guitar pedal feels a bit dishonest. It’s really a digital modular synth and effects system with a large touchscreen, that just so happens to be crammed in a guitar pedal format. It can do basic guitar stuff like chorus and overdrive. It can be an amp modeler. It can also be a synth or a MIDI controller. In short, it refuses to be pigeon holed as any one thing. On of my favorite tricks is loading random audio recordings on it to create custom wacky reverbs. And it’s constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes. (It received about 50 firmware updates in 2020 alone.)

Considering the power contained within the regular $449 seems reasonable. But, right now you can pickup up a blue Beebo from Perfect Circuit for 12-percent off. (Unfortunately the bright pink color-way is still full price.) I’d move quick if you’re considering it, however. The blue units are already listed as being out of stock, and the shop might not continue to take discounted backorders for long. 

Buy Poly Effects Beebo (blue) at Perfect Circuit – $392.88

Bastl Instruments

We haven’t covered Bastl Instruments much on Engadget, but the company makes a range of strange and wonderful instruments. If you buy direct from the company right now they’re doing a 30-percent off sale on everything they make from Eurorack modules to desktop synthesizers. I’m a particularly big fan of the company’s smaller and more affordable oddities like the Kastl (potentially the world’s smallest modular synth), Kastl Drum (similar concept, but for percussion) and the Microgranny (a ultra-lofi granular sampler). They’re pretty great stocking stuffers even at full price, but at 30-percent off with the code “welcome2bshop” they’re a true steal. 

Shop Bastl Instruments – 30% with code “WELCOME2BSHOP”

Moog Sound Studio bundles

Seven percent off isn’t exactly huge, but it’s pretty rare to see Moog stuff get a mark down. So seeing their Sound Studio bundles discounted at all is worth noting. The Sound Studio bundles comes with two or three of Moog’s semimodular instruments, namely the Mother 32, DFAM and Subharmonicon. They also come with a mixer, a bunch of patch cables, a stand and a card game and other educational materials to get you started. These are definitely not the cheapest way to introduce someone to synthesis, but definitely one of the more luxurious. 

The two synth bundles are down to $1,299 from $1,399. But you get a slightly larger discount if you spring for all three, which will set you back $1,899, down from $2,099.

Buy Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 + DFAM + Subharmonicon at Sweetwater – $1,899Moog Sound Studio: DFAM & Subharmonicon at Sweetwater – $1,299Buy Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM at Sweetwater – $1,299

Source: Engadget – The best Black Friday deals on music gear

Google has revealed some minor, albeit handy, updates for Workspace. Soon, when you join a Google Meet call or start presenting on one from a Docs, Sheets or Slides file, you’ll have an easier way to share that file with other attendees through the meeting’s chat panel. You can grant everyone on the call access to the file or limit it to select attendees. You’ll all be able to collaborate on the document, spreadsheet or presentation while you’re on the call.

Elsewhere, Google says it will take your recent Gmail search activity into account to improve search results when you use the email service on the web. The company says this will make your Gmail search results more relevant and contextual. Lastly for now, there’s a requested feature on the way to Sheets that will enable users to resize the pivot table editor side panel. This should come in useful when the names of some pivot table columns or fields are too long and you’d like to see all of the text.

Google says these updates will be available to all Workspace and G Suite users within the next 15 business days. The company recently announced a welcome upgrade to the Workspace individual plan by increasing the amount of storage from 15GB to 1TB at no extra cost to users.

Source: Engadget – Google Workspace’s latest updates include improved Gmail search

Black Friday is usually a good time to pick up some new gaming gear at lower-than-usual price, and generally speaking, that’s the case again this year. This year we’re seeing strong discounts on a number of the year’s highest-profile games, special offers for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series S and a wide range of discounts on gaming accessories we like. To help you figure out what’s worth your time, we’ve picked through the avalanche of offers at Amazon, Walmart, GameStop and other retailers and rounded up a few of the highlights below. Here are the best Black Friday gaming deals we could find.

Nintendo Switch + Mario Kart 8 Deluxe + Switch Online

Nintendo’s chief Black Friday deal bundles the standard Switch console with a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a three-month subscription to the company’s Switch Online service at no extra cost. Nintendo has offered this exact same promotion for the past few years, and given that the newer Switch OLED is a pretty firm upgrade over the base model, it’s hard to call this a great deal. Still, if you’re gifting someone their first Switch and you don’t think they’ll need the Switch OLED’s bigger and more vibrant display, there’s some value here. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still a great time and normally retails around $50, while three months of Switch Online typically cost another $8.

Buy Nintendo Switch bundle at Amazon – $300

Xbox Series S

The Xbox Series S is down to $250 with a $50 store gift card at Target, which is effectively a $100 discount. At Woot, the diminutive console is available for $220 outright, while Amazon has it for $240 and several other retailers have it for $250. Normally, the Series S retails for $300. Either way, this is a good value for PlayStation or Switch users who want a cheaper way into the Xbox ecosystem. We gave the Series S a review score of 85 at launch: It isn’t powerful enough for 4K gaming, lacks a disc drive and only has 512GB of built-in storage, but it can still play all the same games as the pricier Xbox Series X.

Buy Xbox Series S + $50 gift card at Target – $250Buy Xbox Series S at Woot – $220Buy Xbox Series S at Amazon – $240

Xbox Wireless Controller

If you need a spare gamepad for your Xbox or PC, Microsoft’s wireless Xbox Series X/S controller is currently available from $39 at several retailers. While that’s not the absolute lowest price we’ve seen, it’s still about $10 below the controller’s usual going rate. The sale applies to multiple finishes, though some colors are priced $5 higher. Just note that these pads still rely on AA batteries by default; if you want one rechargeable battery, that’ll cost you another $25.

Buy Xbox Wireless Controller at Amazon – $39Buy Xbox Wireless Controller at Microsoft – $40

PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller

Sony’s DualSense controllers for the PlayStation 5, meanwhile, are down to $49 in several finishes. That matches the lowest price we’ve seen, and depending on what color you choose, comes in either $20 or $25 below the pad’s usual price. In general, the DualSense is harder to hook up with a PC than its Xbox counterpart, but its D-pad isn’t as clicky, it doesn’t rely on AA batteries and its haptic feedback system is much more nuanced.  

Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at Amazon – $49Buy PS5 DualSense Controller at Walmart – $49

Elden Ring

One of the most acclaimed and popular games of 2022, Elden Ring is a mammoth, haunting and challenging open-world game from the developers behind the Souls series of action-RPGs. It’s currently on sale for $35, which is the lowest price we’ve tracked and $15 below its usual going rate. Like its spiritual predecessors, Elden Ring can sometimes feel punishing, overwhelming and overly cryptic, but its dark-fantasy world is refreshingly honest, letting you discover — or completely miss — its many secrets at your own pace.

Buy Elden Ring at Walmart – $35

Splatoon 3 and other Nintendo Switch exclusives

If you’re need something new to play on your Switch, a handful of well-regarded first-party Nintendo games are discounted deeper than usual. The colorful multiplayer shooter Splatoon 3, for one, is down to a new low of $45, and the tense adventure game Metroid Dread is available for a new low of $40. The cutesy strategy game Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is still priced at $60, meanwhile, but it includes a $10 store gift card at various retailers.

The platformer combo package Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is within $2 of its all-time low at $42, while the all-time great The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is about $10 cheaper than usual at $29. Finally, the over-the-top hack-and-slasher Bayonetta 3 was available for $45 earlier in the week, but at its current price of $50, you’re still getting $10 off a game that launched less than a month ago.

Most of these deals are only available at third-party retailers like Amazon — and some aren’t visible until checkout — but if you’re not interested, Nintendo has several other titles discounted at its online eShop.

Shop Nintendo Switch game deals at Amazon

Horizon Forbidden West and other PS5 exclusives

If you’re looking to build out your PS5 library, meanwhile, several exclusives for Sony’s console are also down to new lows. There are no discounts on God of War: Ragnarok, sadly, but one of our other favorite sequels of the year, the robot-fighting open-world game Horizon Forbidden West, is down to a new low of $35 (or $29 for PS4).

Beyond that, a few recommended exclusives are down to $30, including the atmospheric roguelike Returnal, the samurai drama Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, the accessible shooter-platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and the gorgeous Demon’s Souls remake. Other picks like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection ($20), Death Stranding: Director’s Cut ($20), Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales ($35) and The Last of Us Part II ($10) are at or near their respective best prices as well.

Outside of the realm of exclusives, a smattering of popular 2022 games are discounted for the first time as well, including A Plague Tale: Requiem ($39), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II ($55) and, yes, Sonic Frontiers ($35).

Buy Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) at Walmart – $35Buy Horizon Forbidden West (PS4) at GameStop – $29

PlayStation Plus

If you need to top up your PlayStation Plus subscription, Sony has dropped the price of 12-month memberships to that service by 25 percent. The deal applies to all three PS Plus tiers, so the basic “Essential” tier is down to $45, the “Extra” tier is down to $75, and the “Premium” tier is down to $90. 

As a refresher, the Essential tier should be enough for most: It gets you broad access to online multiplayer, an allotment of cloud storage for backing up game saves and a handful of free game downloads each month. The Extra tier adds an on-demand library with a few hundred games, while the Premium tier provides cloud game streaming and an additional selection of “classic” PlayStation games on top of that.

Buy PS Plus at PlayStation Store – 25 percent off

Backbone One

The Backbone One is a clever and well-built mobile game controller that we’ve recommend in previous buying guides. The PlayStation-branded, iPhone version of the device is currently down to a new low of $64, which is $36 off its normal going rate. If you don’t like the look of that model, the standard version is also down to $75, though the two are functionally identical. 

Either way, the One should make playing gamepad-compatible iOS games — or cloud-streamed console and PC games — feel much more natural a touchscreen. The main complaints are that its face buttons are on the clicky side and that you’ll need an adapter to get it to work with certain iPhones.

Buy Backbone One at Amazon – $64

Meta Quest 2 + Resident Evil 4 + Beat Saber

Meta’s Quest 2 headset is a couple years old at this point, but its standalone design, competent performance and relative comfort have kept it the best option for most people looking to give virtual reality a try. For Black Friday, Meta is selling a bundle that pairs the 128GB Quest 2 with two of its better games, the classic horror game Resident Evil 4 and the energetic rhythm game Beat Saber, for $350. That’s a roughly $50 discount. If you need more storage, a bundle with the 256GB variant is on sale for $429.

Now, we’re using the term “discount” with some caveats here, since the Quest 2 used to start at $299 until Meta jacked the price up by another $100 earlier this year. Still, this is the best deal we’ve seen since that price hike — and if nothing else, it’s a much better value than the Meta Quest Pro. We gave the device formerly known as the Oculus Quest 2 a review score of 89 when it launched back in 2020. 

Buy Meta Quest 2 bundle at Amazon – $350

HyperX Cloud Alpha 

The HyperX Cloud Alpha is down to $55 at Amazon, which is about $15 below its usual going rate and one of the best prices we’ve tracked. This is a sturdy, no-frills gaming headset that’s comfortable to wear for hours at a time. A good set of non-gaming headphones will sound better for the price, but what’s here is still relatively well-balanced, and the included mic is perfectly fine for everyday party chats.  

Buy HyperX Cloud Alpha at Amazon – $55

Logitech G Pro X Superlight, plus more gaming accessories

Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight is a high-performing gaming mouse we like for both work and play, and right now it’s back down to its all-time low of $110, or about $25 off its usual street price. That’s still not cheap, but G Pro X Superlight stands out for being exceptionally light (at about 63 grams), quick to glide, and consistently responsive in faster-paced games. Just note that you only get a couple of customizable shortcut buttons, and that the whole thing only connects over a USB dongle, not Bluetooth.

This is just one of a plethora of low or near-low prices on gaming accessories we like, though. If you want a high-performing gaming mouse for less and don’t mind going wired, Razer’s Viper 8KHz is a good value at its current deal price of $40, which is an all-time low. We’ve previously recommendedRazer’s Huntsman Mini for those who want a fast gaming keyboard in an ultracompact form factor; it’s currently within $5 of its all-time low at $70. Corsair’s Scimitar RGB Elite is a great buy for MMO gaming at $50, while Logitech’s G29 remains a fine value for those looking to get their first racing wheel at $200. 8BitDo’s excellent Pro 2 gamepad for Switch and PC, meanwhile, is currently down to a joint-low of $40, but only in a limited-time Lightning sale.

Shop Logitech gaming accessories sale at AmazonShop Razer gaming accessories sale at AmazonShop Corsair gaming accessories sale at Amazon

Razer Blade 14

A configuration of Razer’s Blade 14 with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an RTX 3080 GPU is currently down to $2,000 at Amazon. That’s about $300 off its typical street price and tied for the best price we’ve tracked. We gave the Blade 14 a review score of 84 last year, and we’ve recommended the similar Blade 15 in recent buying guides and gift guides. It can run a bit hot, and you can still get similarly powerful gaming laptops for less, but it still puts enough power to play demanding games at higher settings in a slim and slick-feeling design that weighs less than four pounds.

Buy Razer Blade 14 at Amazon – $2,000

Your Cyber Week Shopping Guide: Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter. Also, shop the top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Yahoo Life. Learn about Black Friday trends on In the Know, and our car experts at Autoblog are covering must-shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday auto deals.

Source: Engadget – The best Black Friday 2022 gaming deals on video games, headsets, laptops and more