Better Offline – Radio Better Offline: Kyle Barr, Alex Cranz & Michael Fisher

Podcast: Better Offline (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)
Episode: Radio Better Offline: Kyle Barr, Alex Cranz & Michael Fisher
Date: August 27, 2025
Host: Ed Zitron
Guests: Michael Fisher (Mr. Mobile), Alex Cranz, Kyle Barr (Gizmodo)

Overview

This lively episode of Better Offline brings together a “gizmos and doodads” roundtable with tech journalists and reviewers Michael Fisher (Mr. Mobile), Alex Cranz, and Kyle Barr to dig deep into what’s actually exciting, weird, and fun in gadget land right now—beyond the usual noise about AI.

Host Ed Zitron sets the tone: he’s tired of AI buzz and wants to celebrate the oddball corners of consumer technology—foldables, experimental hardware, wacky new laptops, VR, AR, and the “dorky joy” found in hands-on innovation, not just corporate-dominated platforms.

The conversation is playful, opinionated, sometimes nostalgic, and always rooting for devices that do something different—even if they’re impractical, expensive, or utterly niche. The group dishes on foldable phones, “ambient” gadgets, immersive drones, AR/VR headsets, customizable hardware, repairability, crowdfunded risks, and, of course, their complaints about the status quo from Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Gadget Culture: Where’s All the Fun?

(Starts ~02:57)

• Ed details the inspiration for the episode: searching “gadgets” on Amazon returns only mainstream tech—not the quirky oddities he craves.
• Everything feels dominated by “fucking AI” stories, pushing weird and fun devices out of the spotlight.

2. Foldables and the Limits of Mainstream Phones

(03:50 – 05:32)

• Michael Fisher introduces the Honor Magic V5—“world’s thinnest foldable,” not yet available in the US.
• Panel laments Apple’s absence in foldables; all agree foldables offer needed variety versus “maxed out” standard phone interfaces.
  • Michael Fisher: “I think [the camera bump] gives it all kinds of character.” (04:28)
  • Ed Zitron: “We’re approaching the limits of the current interfaces we have. The current tablet phone interfaces are just kind of maxed out.” (05:14)

3. Meta’s Shifting Tech Bets: Wristbands and Smart Glasses

(05:32 – 07:47)

• Zuckerberg’s move from “metaverse” to AI and hand-tracking wrist gadgets—still mostly in the VR context.
• Praise for Meta’s Ray-Bans: surprisingly good at calls, music, and quick photography—despite Meta’s refusal to market them for those strengths.
  • Michael Fisher: “The tragedy is, those are practical benefits... but Meta wants to market them as an AI tool.” (07:32)
  • Ed Zitron: “I don’t walk around being like, what the fuck is that? What is that?” (07:47)

4. Immersive & Experimental Hardware

a. Insta360 Drone & VR Drones

(08:12 – 10:07)

• Kyle reviews Insta360’s drone: adds 360-camera and immersive “Kamen Rider” goggles, allowing pilots to truly “look around.”
  • “You’re a big floating head in a glass jar high above the ground.” (09:13, Kyle Barr)
• Despite flaws (clunky flying, uncertain launch date), everyone agrees: “Glad someone’s doing something different.” (Ed Zitron, 10:00)

b. Terminal – E-Ink Dashboard for the Home

(10:29 – 12:59)

• Michael explains “Terminal”: $150, E-Ink screen for ambient updates like weather, transit, etc., but setup is “very hackery.”
  • “It’s fun if you want to nerd out.” (11:52, Michael Fisher)
• Alex: Too much work/tweaking for casual use, but “maybe if I was a YouTuber...”

c. GPD Win Series – Wild Handheld PCs

(13:18 – 15:10)

• Discussion of Win 5 (and Win 4): ultra-niche Windows “handheld PCs” in PSP form factors.
  • “I love it and I fucking hate it. It is so large... but it scratches that itch, doesn’t it?” (Ed Zitron, 14:05)
• Panel debates the utility/silliness of external batteries—everyone seems OK with the jerry-rigged approach for extra playtime.

5. Handheld Gaming: Microsoft and Power Management Nightmares

(15:34 – 18:13)

• Extended discussion of ROG Ally, Xbox handhelds, and Windows’ notorious power-management failures.
  • “Windows will always be the most inconsistent handling of power.” (Alex Cranz, 16:11)
• Microsoft’s belated attempts to make a handheld mode for Windows—“they laid off everyone who did that.” (16:16, Ed Zitron)

6. Game Streaming and Universal Desktop Modes

(18:13 – 21:06)

• Nvidia’s GeForce Now moves closer to “remote shadow PC” experience.
• Michael spotlights the rise (again) of “Dex”-like Android desktop modes—plug your phone in, get a pseudo-laptop interface.
  • “Atrix promised us this... 15 years ago.” (20:52, Alex Cranz)

7. Wearables: Style, Utility, and (Un)Comfort

• Panel riffs on the (un)appeal of Alcantara and velour finishes for Razer phones—Gross or stylish? You decide!
• Universal wish: Apple needs to make a foldable.

8. XR, AR Glasses, and the Search for Useful Interfaces

(23:01 – 33:41)

• Candid takes on Vision Pro: moments of magic, but “works 4% of the time” (Ed Zitron, 23:37), heavy, hyper-finicky.
• Viture/Xreal glasses: love for “secondary screens,” but “attached to my fucking face” (Ed) limits real-world utility.
• Even’s “G1” glasses—simple, notification-focused AR, not “trying too hard,” ideal for notification dashboards.
  • Michael Fisher: “They look like they have no tech in them... they do very few things, but they do them all pretty damn well.” (32:13)

9. Voice/A.I. Interfaces: Disappointing and Overhyped

• Ongoing discussion on the unsuitability of voice as “the next UI,” particularly for non-standard accents and non-linear task flows.
  • Ed Zitron: “I think people need to accept that voice is not a good interface.” (42:23)
  • Michael Fisher: “Unlimited use cases... but beyond that, to be usable by such a wide swath of humans, almost impossible.” (42:52)
• LLMs (like Gemini) can guess your intent better for search “but will be 20% wrong.” (44:15, Michael Fisher)

10. Bookmarks, Browsers, and Ownership Fatigue

• Wry complaints about bookmarks, browser switching, and the ephemeral nature of digital memory.
• Longing for real device customization, not just software tweaks (see Framework laptops and Cyberdeck projects).

11. American vs. Chinese Device Innovation

(51:50 – 54:25)

• Admiration for Lenovo, Huawei, and other Chinese brands pushing boundaries with foldables and wild computing devices.
  • Alex Cranz: “American gadgets are about disconnecting. [Elsewhere,] it’s: ‘what could it do for me next?’” (66:11)

12. Crowdfunding & Niche Hardware: Risks and Rewards

• Advocacy for using Kickstarter/Crowdfunding—with caveats. Large brands use it as PR/market validation now rather than genuine risk.
  • Michael Fisher: “Hardware is really difficult. Can confirm.” (59:13)

13. Retro and DIY Gadgets: From Moon Watches to Cyberdecks

• “DSKY Moon Watch”—a functional recreation of the Apollo guidance computer as a wristwatch (59:30–61:03).
• Pebble E Ink smartwatches are back, small-batch, with loyal tinkerers (61:31).
• Fairphone, minimal phones, mesh networks, cyberdeck DIY projects ("build your own Neuromancer!") all celebrated for making users feel more connected to their devices as owners.

14. Disconnection Devices & Digital Minimalism

(66:00–69:10)

• “Light Phone” and “Minimal Phone” favor ultra-stripped-down use—texts, calls, GPS, little else.
  • Michael Fisher: “It lets you do phone calls, text messages, and a handful of apps... meant to keep you as disconnected as possible.” (64:07)
• Minimal Phone: E Ink, QWERTY, all apps—but so slow/unpleasant people won’t linger.

15. Ownership, Repairability, and Modularity

• Framework laptops and Fairphone as rare examples where the user can actually swap/repair parts (and feel like their device is their own).
• Riff on the nostalgic fun of Cyberdecks, Netbooks, personalizing form factor.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“I want something weird and stupid. And I genuinely was like, wait, why is it so hard to find these? ... You go on a tech site these days, it’s all about fucking AI.”
—Ed Zitron (02:57)

"The tragedy of it is, those are practical benefits [of Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses] that we all love... but Meta refuses to market them as such because they want to market them as an AI tool."
—Michael Fisher (07:32)

“You're a big floating head in a glass jar high above the ground.”
—Kyle Barr on immersive VR drones (09:13)

"I love it and I fucking hate it. [GPD Win 4] ... It scratches that itch, doesn't it?"
—Ed Zitron (14:05)

“Windows will always be the most inconsistent handling of power.”
—Alex Cranz (16:11)

“I want Apple to do foldables so bad.”
—Ed Zitron (22:08)

“You have to keep this thing on your fucking head while you update it.”
—Ed Zitron on Apple Vision Pro (24:11)

“There’s so much more here than generative AI. Like with generative AI, I’ve not had a goddamn moment of peace in two years. But also not a goddamn moment where I’ve been like, okay, I kind of see it. And there were moments with the Vision, there’s moments with the Quest where I’ve been like, okay...”
—Ed Zitron (30:27)

“I think people need to accept that voice is not a good interface. Just in general. I don't think it needs to be perfect. I don't want to be trained. I want to use the thingy.”
—Ed Zitron (42:23, 42:47)

“I want to own the thing by controlling what goes into it. ... Imagine if every laptop had that ability.”
—Kyle Barr (71:09)

"[Cyberdeck] is just to be cool. The idea is that you're doing it yourself and it's your own and you're making it."
—Alex Cranz & Kyle Barr (73:24)

Section Timestamps

• Intro & Premise – 02:37
• Foldable Phones & Camera Bump Rant – 03:50–05:32
• Meta Wrist Devices & Hand Tracking – 05:32–07:47
• Smart Glasses and Ray-Ban Use Case – 07:47–08:12
• Immersive Drones & VR Headsets – 08:12–10:07
• E-Ink Home Dashboards (Terminal) – 10:29–12:59
• GPD Win Handheld PCs & Portable Gaming – 13:15–15:34
• Microsoft's Power Issues & Gaming Handhelds – 15:34–18:13
• Nvidia GeForce Now & Dex Desktop Revival – 18:13–21:06
• AR/XR Interfaces, Vision Pro, Xreal, Viture – 23:01–33:41
• Voice & AI UI Fatigue, LLMs in Search – 42:23–45:20
• Bookmarks, Browsers & Ownership – 45:38–47:32
• US vs. China: Innovation – 51:50–54:25
• Kickstarter & Crowdfunding Hardware – 58:22–61:14
• Pebble & Light Phone Revival – 61:31–66:00
• Digital Minimalism Hardware – 66:00–69:10
• Framework, Repairability, Cyberdeck – 69:16–74:28
• Closing Thoughts: Joy in Tech Culture – 74:28–75:51

Conclusion

The episode closes with Ed pointing to Steve Burke at Gamers Nexus as "one of the best out there," and a gentle reminder: the tech industry isn’t all grift or gloom. There's still community, DIY culture, and companies small and large making weird, delightful things—but it's usually outside the spotlight, and often outside the borders of American corporate tech.

For Further Exploration:

• Michael Fisher: YouTube: TheMrMobile
• Alex Cranz: “alexhcranz” on most platforms
• Kyle Barr: Gizmodo’s Reviews Section
• Ed Zitron: BetterOffline.com

This summary captures the episode's lively tone, the hosts’ genuine enthusiasm (and frequent curses!), and the panelists’ deep expertise, while offering clear structure and key timestamps for listeners who want to jump in on a particular topic or discussion.