Articles by Tim Ellis

Tim Ellis is a data junkie, economist, and game geek. He is the creator and co-host of the improvised comedy sci-fi podcast Dispatches from the Multiverse. Tim has been tracking the local real estate market since 2005 at Seattle Bubble, and is currently employed at Redfin as a senior housing market analyst. You can read his occasional thoughts on other topics at Ellis.FYI, or follow him on Twitter at @The_Tim.

Spotted: Amazon robot maps sidewalks north of Seattle, laden with cameras and sensors

Latest from Tim Ellis

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Xbox One X vs. Nintendo Switch: 2017’s new gaming consoles couldn’t be more different

by Tim Ellis on June 13, 2017June 13, 2017 at 10:44 am

What’s the key to the gaming crown, pushing more pixels or enabling unique experiences? With Sunday’s unveiling of the Xbox One X, Microsoft is placing its bet on intense graphics.… Read More

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Chevrolet Bolt EV Review: At 200+ miles with juice to spare, this is the affordable electric car to beat

by Tim Ellis on May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 at 7:04 am

For years I have been waiting for automakers to come out with an all-electric car that can travel over 200 miles on a charge and costs less than $40,000. While… Read More

Amazon stock vs. Seattle real estate: Which was the better investment over the past 20 years?

by Tim Ellis on May 15, 2017May 15, 2017 at 12:54 pm

Today is the 20th anniversary of Amazon’s IPO. In case you haven’t noticed, Amazon has been on quite the hot streak. Investors are cheering as the stock hits new a… Read More

Shane Chen of Inventist at his workbench with the Solowheel Iota prototype

Undeterred by copycats, Hovertrax inventor Shane Chen pushes boundaries of personal transport

by Tim Ellis on February 21, 2017February 21, 2017 at 7:21 am

You may not have heard of Inventist, but if you’ve spent much time walking the streets of downtown Seattle lately, you’ve probably seen Shane Chen’s inventions. I had a chance… Read More

PAX Unplugged: Penny Arcade’s new tabletop-only convention debuts this November in Philadelphia

by Tim Ellis on January 29, 2017January 29, 2017 at 10:44 am

At PAX South on Friday in San Antonio, Penny Arcade creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik announced PAX Unplugged, a new convention focused purely on tabletop gaming that will take… Read More

Social robot Jibo delayed yet again as Amazon Echo continues to define smart speaker market

by Tim Ellis on November 21, 2016November 21, 2016 at 1:10 pm

Backers of the “social robot” Jibo received disappointing news last week as Jibo CEO Steve Chambers announced another shipping delay for customers who backed the project on Indiegogo in 2014.… Read More

Stitches Creators Doug Brinbury and Jason Rankin

‘Stitches’ card game features monsters, an abomination, and … vocabulary?

by Tim Ellis on November 14, 2016November 14, 2016 at 4:08 pm

Q: What do robots, polar bears, lobsters, tigers, a giant monster abomination, and vocabulary have in common? A: The new card game Stiches, now in its final days on Kickstarter.… Read More

Nintendo’s new NES Classic mini-console sells out instantly everywhere

by Tim Ellis on November 11, 2016November 11, 2016 at 2:28 pm

Hoping to get your hands on Nintendo’s latest “new” gaming system, the NES Classic Edition? Good luck.

This morning the system was released to retail and sold out nearly instantly everywhere…… Read More

PAX West concludes with a real-life version of ‘The Wizard’ in Seattle

by Tim Ellis on September 6, 2016September 12, 2016 at 2:13 pm

It’s going to be tough for the organizers of PAX to out-do themselves after this. For the big finale of the thirteenth annual PAX West (and twenty-fifth PAX overall) Penny… Read More

Great indie games you missed while standing in line at PAX West 2016

by Tim Ellis on September 5, 2016December 3, 2016 at 9:21 am

Even with four days to take it all in, it’s impossible to experience everything that PAX West has to offer. That’s especially true if you spend hours at a time… Read More

Jibo ‘social robot’ cancels overseas orders, as Amazon Echo redefines the category

by Tim Ellis on August 15, 2016August 15, 2016 at 9:37 am

Jibo is having trouble. The round, cute “social robot,” which raised more than $3.7 million on Indiegogo, was originally scheduled to be released “Holiday 2015.” Jibo still has not yet shipped. Now,… Read More

Artist's rendering of the proposed WSCC Expansion, looking northeast up Pine Street at the intersection of Ninth Avenue.

Will Convention Center expansion alleviate the PAX West ticket crunch?

by Tim Ellis on June 8, 2016June 8, 2016 at 7:35 am

Tickets to this year’s PAX West (formerly known as PAX Prime) went on sale Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. sharp, instantly triggering a feeding frenzy as hordes of geeks rushed… Read More

Nintendo fans ‘leak’ fake NX controllers, follow up with making-of videos a few days later

by Tim Ellis on March 25, 2016March 25, 2016 at 2:04 pm

Nintendo fans on Reddit were in an uproar last week when a user going by the name “Idriss2Dev” posted the blurry photo below, which allegedly showed a dev kit version… Read More

Analysis: Wii U has twice as many top-rated exclusive games as PS4 and Xbox One combined

by Tim Ellis on March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 at 11:22 pm

It is clear that Sony has run away with the “win” in the current video game console generation in terms of raw console sales numbers, but as it turns out,… Read More

Seattle startup Propella launched their lightweight, single-speed ebike on Indiegogo today.

Seattle electric bike startup Propella debuts affordable e-bike, taking cues from Tesla and Apple

by Tim Ellis on February 2, 2016February 2, 2016 at 6:07 pm

A few years ago, 2011 UW graduate Ben Tarassoli was looking for an electrically-assisted bicycle (e-bike). Although there were plenty of makes and models to choose from, he couldn’t find… Read More

Custom ‘Super Mario Maker’ level punishes Omegathon finalists at PAX

by Tim Ellis on September 1, 2015September 2, 2015 at 8:48 am

The twelfth annual PAX Prime gaming convention drew to a close Monday night in Seattle with the top two Omeganauts “Mighty” (Charles Middleton) and “Lysander” (Ryan Anderson) racing to be the… Read More

What it’s like to compete in the PAX Omegathon: A 3-time Omeganaut tells all

by Tim Ellis on August 30, 2015August 30, 2015 at 4:44 pm

One of PAX’s central attractions is the Omegathon, a tradition dating back to the very first PAX in 2004. Twenty attendees are randomly selected before the show to compete in… Read More

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Everything is Huge at PAX

by Tim Ellis on August 28, 2015August 29, 2015 at 6:52 am

As the twelfth annual PAX Prime gaming convention kicks off its four-day takeover of downtown Seattle, you might be seeing some strange sights around town. Like a 20-foot tall monster snapping light poles and smashing a police car on Pike. It’s all part of the increasingly extravagant displays that companies are putting together to attract gamers at Seattle’s largest convention…… Read More

Pebble Time with the Star Trek LCARS-inspired "TrekV3" watchface

Review: Does the Pebble Time smartwatch live up to its Kickstarter hype?

by Tim Ellis on June 15, 2015June 17, 2015 at 3:57 pm

Back in March, the Pebble Time smartwatch raised a record-shattering $20 million on Kickstarter. I decided it was finally time to upgrade from my 21-year-old smartwatch (read my Timex Datalink review),… Read More

How Penny Arcade manages PAX ticket sales — and why your crazy idea to fix them won’t work

by Tim Ellis on May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 at 7:55 pm

Tickets to PAX Prime are becoming increasingly hard to come by. Two years ago, the Seattle event sold out in six hours. Last year, it took about an hour and… Read More

PAX Prime prices hit a record high as organizers eliminate all-weekend passes

by Tim Ellis on May 7, 2015May 11, 2015 at 12:02 pm

Many hopeful PAX attendees were surprised by a missing option today when they made it through the virtual queue to purchase their tickets today: No all-weekend passes were made available.

For PAX fans that do want to attend all weekend long this year, the change means a big spike in the ticket price… Read More

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