Everybody’s raving about Brave, the new web browser. They say it’s three times faster than Google Chrome.

I like Brave on my phone and computer. It blocks ads and trackers, which means it makes websites load faster, saves data, and saves on battery life. But even if it only blocked ads, I’d like it better than an ad-blocking extension.  Every time I use AdBlock Plus, for example, I get bombarded with messages asking me to disable it. I haven’t seen those in Brave.

In Brave, you can opt in to get an occasional text ad in the corner of your screen. Viewing these earns points toward gift cards and allows you to give a tip to websites you like. So far, I’ve earned 38 cents for myself, and 59 cents for others. Oh boy!

You won’t see Brave’s new private search engine, still in the testing phase, unless you enable it in settings or go to search.brave.com. But if I were you, I’d leave Google as the default. For example, I searched on “how many reward points it takes to earn a trip on Southwest Airlines.” Brave’s links to the airline’s own pages contained a lot of gobbledygook. I have no patience for that. Using Google, I learned everything I wanted to know in a few sentences at the top of the screen. (It takes 70 points for every dollar of airfare.)

Getting a Grip on Your Phone

TripTech’s $20 “FlipSide” is a ring and a kickstand that sticks to the back of your phone.

On a flat surface, it’s remarkably steady. I watched the CEO pound on it in a demo over Zoom.  It didn’t tip over. It would be great on an airplane tray table.The double kickstand has clips on each leg so you can mount your phone to car vents.

The FlipSide makes your phone tilt at a good angle, so you don’t get a neck cramp looking down at it. When it’s not resting on a table, the ring on the back makes it easy to hold the phone in one hand while texting with the other. You’re much less likely to drop it that way, and you can spin it from horizontal to landscape mode without changing your grip. Neither the ring nor the kickstand interferes with wireless charging.

Of course, not everyone wants something stuck on the back of their phone. But it may be worth it if you watch a lot of videos, play a lot of games, or like to use a large keyboard with your phone and, like me, are always forgetting what you did with your phone stand. Incidentally, it won’t work if you use a silicone or ribbed phone case.

In Your Ear Translator

Suppose you’re in another country. Would you rather use the free GoogleTranslate app on your phone for live conversations in another language? Or would you pay $199 for two dedicated over-the-ear wireless earbuds, each weighing only an ounce?

The “Ambassador Interpreter” from WaverlyLabs is aimed at business people. It actively listens for anyone speaking within eight feet of you and puts their words in your ear in your native tongue. Up to four people can converse together, each hearing their own language, in one of 20 languages and 48 dialects. There’s even a lecture mode. Deliver a talk in English and the audience can hear it in their language through a wireless speaker. Check out the demo on YouTube.

A big advantage of Google Translate is the ability to work offline. When the app opens on your phone, it asks you to choose a language, which is downloaded immediately. To try it out, I imagined I was in Paris. After choosing French, I tapped the microphone in the Translate app and spoke a phrase in English. It showed up as text in French in the lower half of my screen. Next, I tapped the speaker icon so that the person I’m pretending to talk to could hear my words in their language. Meanwhile, they could do the same, in reverse. They’d speak French into their phone and tap the speaker icon so I’d hear it in English.  Besides French, I’ve tried Danish, Catalan, Chinese, Japanese, Afrikaans, and Arabic. Each translator is a different person, some men, some women. They all sound great.

Google Translate will translate 109 languages into text, but it doesn’t speak all of them aloud. It’s educational just to look at the list. For example, I didn’t know that in Malawi, they spoke Chichewa.

A Peloton for Little Tikes

Image courtesy of Toybook.com

When my 10-year-old neighbor comes over, she often uses my non-electric exercise rider while we watch a movie. Now there’s a kids’ version of the Peloton called the “Pelican Explore & Fit Cycle,” from Little Tikes.

While on this mini stationary bike, a child sees a landscape going by on a screen. For example, one video shows a snowy scene with constant chatter from a dinosaur, which I found irritating. If I had one, I’d put it on mute and use the TV instead. Though it wasn’t out at press time, Target will have it by the time you read this. Rival products include the Fisher-Price “Learn and Think Smart Cycle” for preschoolers, for $480. It connects to a TV for lessons.