With the annual Dance Eisteddfod coming up, I needed to replenish my supply of small LED flashlights.  Trying to read a program to see when the boys are dancing in a dark concert hall is a pain, you can’t use a light that’s too bright and these 22000mcd LED Keychain Lights from DealExtreme fit the bill perfectly. Gadgets don’t have to be expensive.  I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Dealextreme is perfect for quick and cheap gadget fixes, and these are certainly one of those.  Over the years, this is probably about the 4th pack of 10 of these I’ve ordered. I’ve given them to friends, put them in geocaches, put them in gadget bags, in cars, all over the place. ( Yes if you count the lights above there’s only 9 of them, one of the kids has already stolen one of them ).

They have a water-resistant case and weigh in at 0.26oz; they come fitted with 2 X  CR2016 batteries and a 22,000mcd LED. Of course you do have to take some specifications with a grain of salt when ordering from some of these Chinese sites, and I don’t have the equipment to measure how accurate their claims are.

Press down on the top, and the LCD lights up. As I say, I have no way to accurately measure the output, but here I am in a dark cupboard with the light about 2″ away from the door.  You can see that the light produced is MORE than enough to rummage in a gadget bag, search through a glovebox, or find that keyhole in the dark (or read a program in a Dance Eisteddfod :) ) By sliding the switch on the top, you can lock the light so it’s constantly on, handy when you need your hands free – though with some units it can be a bit hard to do this.

And the best thing, 10 of these little lights will only cost you $4.47, shipped.  Yep, less than 45 cents each.  Now I have had packets arrive where one of the lights hasn’t work, it’s probably been pressed down in the packaging all the way from China to Australia, but at the price I’m paying, I’m not overly concerned. You can also get them in other coloured casings as well, if black’s not your scene.

There’s not much else I can really write about these, but if you’re looking for that gadget fix, and need some cheap and cheery lights that are portable, light, and bright, then you certainly can’t go past these to fit all the criteria. The only real long-term downside is that when the batteries are dead, it’s cheaper to throw the light away and order new lights rather than replace the batteries. Not the most ecologically sound solution

Filed in categories: Pocket Gear, Reviews

Tagged: LED flashlight

Dealextreme 22000mcd LED Keychain Light Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 26, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Not every iPad user lives a cushy life and not every iPad has a soft function.  Sometimes iPad must be taken into dangerous, rugged or rustic situations and needs far more protection than any nylon fashion case can give it.  Pelican cases help you take your iPad where most people wouldn’t think to.  Let’s give a look at their i1075 iPad Case for iPad and iPad 2.

iPads aren’t for coffee houses or random surfing anymore.  iPads are now seen in every industry even those where life is not all emo music and soy lattes.  Construction, military, mining, sports, outdoor photography – pretty much any occupation or hobby or pastime that gives new meaning to the term “roughing it” – is now using technology like the iPad.  And black nylon cases from Big Box Stores are not going to keep this equipment safe from dirt, water, and the most punishing elements.

Pelican doesn’t just make cases to hold computer electronics.  You can find Pelican cases being used by professional photographers, marketing people who carry their gear from trade show to trade show.  Mike Rowe from the show “Dirty Jobs” has seen more than his share of Pelican cases as he profiles hard jobs from painting suspension bridges to cleaning out train cars.   Tools, gear, electronics, it all has to be transported somehow and Pelican appears to be the go-to case to carry it in.

Strong nylon strap attaches securely to the case allowing you to sling it across your body and do what it is you need to do.

Made of rugged, almost indestructible polycarbonate, good luck killing this thing.  It’s waterproof, dustproof, chemical resistant, corrosion resistant – you can’t kill.  I guess you COULD back over it in your SUV and see if it smashes your iPad inside, but I’ll forgo that part of the testing.

iPad fits nice and snug.

My iPad fits inside nice and comfy.  But I can also carry my wireless keyboard and my charger and cable all together nice and happy.  Nothing’s moving around, no rattling parts, no broken bits.

A few highlights:

• Watertight, airtight, dust proof, chemical resistant, and corrosion resistant.
• Custom molded for the ipad
• Easy to open latch
• O-ring seal
• Automatic Pressure Equalization Valve
• Lockable with small pad lock or Pelican TSA lock
• Custom molded liner protects your iPad from impact and will not scratch
• Integrated easel for hands-free viewing
• Storage for accessories such as power cords and headphones below keyboard
• Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee

Check out the seals...waterproof, dustproof...nothing's getting in.

iPad, wireless keyboard, charger...it all fits. Not seen: charging cable hidden snugly underneath the keyboard.

Hardcase closed. Pun intended.

As with everything else, whether or not this product is for you is dependent on what you hope to get out of it.  For me, this case serves quite a few purposes given that I take my iPad everywhere with me.  Maybe I don’t need this much protective power, but I like the fact that I have it.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: iPad case

Pelican i1075 Case for iPad and iPad 2 Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 25, 2012 at 11:53 am.

A lot of people worry about getting help if something happens to them away from a phone. Maybe they are aging or becoming confused or forgetful. Perhaps they have limited mobility or a disability. Maybe they are concerned family members worried about their loved ones.

One popular option is an emergency dialing system, like the Bay Alarm Medical Personal Alarm Response System, which allows you to push a button, then be connected to an emergency dispatcher who can determine what sort of help is needed and contact the right people.  Bay Alarm sent one of their systems to The Gadgeteer for review.

Bay Alarm’s system is a type of Personal Emergency Response System (PERS), which generally consist of three parts – a button that can be worn in several ways, a base station (the Linear Security PERS-2400), and the response team on the other end of the line.

Base station and cords, call button and optional mounts

The Bay Alarm system’s base station installs just like a cordless phone. You plug one cord from the wall socket to the station and another from the station to the base of your phone. Plug in the power cord (a large wall wart on a nice long cord), turn the unit on, and you are pretty much set to go. I set this up at my mother’s house for the test, and like many older homes, the phone outlet and power outlets are not conveniently located near each other. This is just a minor annoyance that we struggled with for answering machines and cordless phones too – no big deal, just something to think about. The service works on regular phone service, or cable, VOIP (with an adapter), etc. If you can use a regular phone, you should be able to use this service.

Base station bottom view

The 8″ long, 7.5″ wide and 2.5″ high station has few buttons or features that might confuse someone in an emergency. The big button labelled ‘EMERGENCY’ in red is hard to miss – visually or tactility. It even includes Braille on the buttons. Besides that, there is a ‘CLEAR’ button to cancel an accidental press, and ‘HOME’. There are also four status lights – POWER, TROUBLE, SENDING, and HOME. (Note: the HOME button and light are not used in this configuration. There is even a small self-adhesive square to cover the button if you wish.)  The station contains a rechargeable battery that can operate the system for 32 hours (be sure to remove the protective cover from the battery before use.)

The station has a very sensitive mic built-in so it can hear someone talking to it from some distance away. In my tests, the operator heard my mom’s soft voice from several rooms away – pretty much if I could hear her as I sat by the station, they could hear her as well. The station has a lot of volume to it, so whenever they could hear my mom, she could easily hear them. You will want to think about where you locate the station – where would it be most likely to hear the victim? In mom’s older two-story home, if the station was located to hear her in the upstairs bedroom with the door closed, it would not hear her from the laundry room. One nice touch is that it can be wall-mounted. You don’t need to cover the entire house – the operator will call 911 if they do not hear anyone after an activation.

The call button remote is pretty straight forward. It is small, light, unobtrusive, waterproof, and tough. It can be worn as a pendant or watch, or clipped to a belt or pocket. It has a 300′ range, but a ‘long-range’ version is available that reached 1,000′. As usual, the range is affected by doors, type of wall construction, etc. In my mom’s house with wooden construction but lots of doors and walls, it was generally only about 100-150′, and it did not reach from the farthest corner of the basement or the backyard.

Small call button in my giant hand

I had no issues with the call button, and appreciate that it is waterproof so it can be used while bathing, as so many accidents happen then. The button is light enough that it is easy to forget you are wearing it, but one could wish the plain grey unit was more attractive if it was going to be worn all the time. (That might be an interesting line of accessories- nice jewelery and accessories that could hide or function as the pendant.)

My experiences with the operators were uniformly very good. They were always cheerful and helpful, even when doing test after test. In the real world, what happens is you trigger a signal – either with the big button or the pendant, then the station exclaims ‘emergency’ for several seconds. This serves as both assurance that the unit ‘heard’ you, and to let you know when it may have been accidentally triggered. There is a bit of a lag until the operator comes on (very loudly, as noted above), usually about twenty to thirty seconds in my tests. This is about the same lag as the security company at my workplace, but can seem like a really long time in an emergency.

You fill out a contact form as part of the registration process with addresses, emergency contacts, and instructions on accessing your home in an emergency. When the unit triggers, it tells the operator who this is so they can communicate with you by name, and already have the key info handy. They can also update the info easily if you move or change numbers. Not every PERS has the flexibility to call a contact person instead of emergency services, and this comes in handy when you really need help, but not the type 911 offers.

One thing they thought of that you might not is how to gain access to the locked house in an emergency. They offer a lock box (that you can also get from most hardware stores) that securely holds a key somewhere outside and requires a combination to get into. Bay Medical will pass the location of the box and the code to emergency workers.

The station and service are portable – you can take it and use it anywhere you can hook up to a phone line and power. All you need to do is to call in and update the current contact information when you have it set up. It is also worthwhile to note that they will try to help anyone who hits the button – you can even purchase additional call buttons to cover other family members with no additional monthly fees!

If you are thinking about this for your loved ones, the company can bill you directly for it, and can provide a monthly report outlining how it was used.

Bay Alarm has been in business since 1946 and has a very good reputation. The contract is straightforward – the cheapest rate is their annual rate of $239.40, billed as $19.95/month. This gets you the equipment and service with no other fees or costs, or without signing any contracts. You can add fire and CO2 monitoring for an additional fee. The responses are available in 170 languages and they offer discounts to AAA or AARP members.

This is not a fun or sexy gadget, but it is a very valuable one. I had no problems setting the system up, even though I could not find any instructions in my box, and the paperwork (contact form, contract, cancellation form) was all emailed in advance so I could have had it ready even before the system arrived. It is a good system – well-made and well-supported. As my mom pointed out, it cannot cover every contingency, but nothing ever can.

Filed in categories: Health Related Gadgets, Home Tech, Reviews

Tagged: Medical alert, personal emergency response, Security

Bay Alarm Medical Personal Alarm Response System Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 23, 2012 at 11:00 am.

The last several years have seen an explosion of Bluetooth-enabled headsets and Jawbone has been among the leaders in this category, launching products that are increasingly sleek and innovative.  Today we take a look at the Jawbone ERA Bluetooth headset.  Onward!

NOTE: All images in this review have been enabled with clickable enlargeability for your viewing pleasure.

Options

The Jawbone ERA is available in four “sophisticated, architectural designs”, as seen on the Gallery page at the Jawbone ERA site:

• Midnight (reviewed here)
• Shadowbox
• Smokescreen
• Silver Lining

Specs

All of the ERA’s specs are listed at the Specs page of the ERA product site, but here are some of the main ones:

Audio

• NoiseAssassin® 3.0 with wind reduction
• 10mm wideband speaker (HD audio)
• Automatic volume control
• Voice announcements

Technology

• Built-in accelerometer (motion sensor)
• MotionX™ technology (including ShakeShake and TapTap)
• Dual micro-processors
• Serial flash

Power and Battery

• Up to 5.5 hours talk time
• Up to 10 days standby time
• Built-in rechargeable Li-ion polymer battery
• Jawbone battery meter automatically displays on iPhone® (BlackBerry® & others available at MyTALK)
• On/Off Switch
• Micro USB connector interface (charging and MyTALK)

Bluetooth

• Bluetooth V2.1 compliant
• Range up to 33 ft (10 m)
• Support Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Profiles Supported: Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) 1.2, Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.5, Headset Profile (HSP) 1.1
• Supports Simultaneous Multipoint (two live audio connections)

PC Compatibility (for MyTALK apps & software updates)

• Windows 7, Vista XP
• Mac OSX 10.5 and higher

Dimensions  & Weight

• Length – 2.02 inches (51.3 mm)
• Width – 0.57 inches (14.5 mm)
• Height – 0.95 inches (24.1 mm)
• Weight -10.2 grams

Packaging

The design of ERA’s packaging might be best summed up by the expression “a place for everything and everything in its place.”   The top of the package is a clear cube that prominently displays the ERA on a transparent display stand, giving curious potential buyers the ability to see the actual product from nearly any angle.

Below the transparent display cube at top is a paperboard sleeve that can be removed to reveal a portion of the accessories, each in their own little compartments.  Lifting a flap reveals the remaining accessories below it.  Also of note is that Jawbone bills this packaging as “eco-friendly” in that it is recyclable and made from only two materials, recycled paper and PET plastic.

Below is a closeup of the transparent display stand upon which the ERA sits atop the package.  It is attached with a small glob of rubber cement-type adhesive which sticks well but still allows easy removal of the device.

Package Contents

• Jawbone ERA headset
• Spout earbuds (4 sizes)
• Round earbuds (4) sizes
• Optional Binaural earloop
• USB to micro USB charging cable
• A/C wall adapter
• Carrying case
• User guide (English/Spanish)

Appearance

The first thing I noticed about the ERA is that it has a very sleek design.  From the overall size to the curves and blends to the textures of the materials, it has a nicely contoured shape, though I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Below a pic of the naked ERA, sans any earbuds or other accessories:

The outside of the ERA has a sort of grill texture.  This version of the product, the Midnight, has a black grill with a layer of deep red under it, so deep that it is difficult to determine that it is red except upon close inspection and in the correct lighting conditions.

Below an image showing one of the round-style earbuds, as well as the On-Off slider switch in the blue “On” indicator position.  Yep, blue.  Not green (?).  Also present is the Voice Activity Sensor (VAS), the little black nub near the end of the headset.  More on this later.  Around the VAS is an LED Ring that changes color to indicate various modes.  In the pic below, it is lit in white, which indicates that the headset is on.  The LED Ring alternates between flashing white and red when in pairing mode and flashed red when the battery life is low.

The pic below shows the Micro USB charging port and the Talk button.

Below another pic of the underside of the headset, with the Voice Activity Sensor nub on the left and the On-Off slider switch near the center.  The speaker grill can also be seen clearly in this pic.

Below, another pic of the pattern on the outside of the ERA.

The closeup below shows the Micro USB port and the Talk button.  Note two tiny indentations along the right edge of the port.  Best I can figure, these were caused by the first time I inserted the spring-assisted Micro USB end of the charging cable into the port.  More on this later.

Another pic from a slightly different view.

The closeup below shows the Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) nub.  The VAS is a small rubberish nub that must be in contact with your cheek and pointing toward your mouth, presumably to detect vibrations for feature activation.

The ERA includes two styles of earbuds, each in four different sizes, to aid in providing the best fit for the user.  On the left is the more round style, a slight variation on the type that is included with most other earbuds and headsets.  On the right is the Spout style, which includes, well, a “spout” feature which is  designed to “channel audio directly into your ear, providing the clearest sound.”  It also includes a partial ring of material off to one side, presumably to further aid in a tighter fit into the ear.

The binaural loop, shown below is an optional item.  Designed to give additional stability to the  ERA by looping over the ear, it attaches to the headset  with a  ”C”-shaped clip, which is mounted on a ball-and-socket swivel, giving the loop a relatively high degree of positional flexibility. The loop itself is simple to install, but I myself  didn’t find that I really needed the loop in order for the ERA to feel stable in my ear.

The binaural loop’s “C”-clip attaches between the body of the headset and the earbud:

Functions

Talk button – The Talk button performs multiple functions.  When there is an incoming call, pressing it once will answer the call, pressing and holding it for two seconds will decline the call.  While on a call, press it once to switch to a new call; press twice to end one call and switch to another.  While not on a call, pressing and holding it activates your phone’s voice-dialing feature (in my case it took me directly to iOS’s Siri), pressing it twice performs a last number redial.  The Talk button has a good tactile “clicky” feel and it activates its intended functions as advertised.

NoiseAssassin 3.0 – The ERA is billed as “the only Bluetooth® headset equipped with military-grade NoiseAssassin® 3.0, the latest version of Jawbone’s industry-first noise and wind canceling technology.”  The volume is adjusted automatically based on the noise level of your surroundings.  More on this below.

HD Audio – The ERA boast a “10mm wideband speaker—our biggest, most powerful speaker yet (25% larger than previous models).”  Again, more on this below.

MotionX (includes ShakeShake to pair and TapTap to answer) – The ERA is also billed as “the first headset with a built-in accelerometer and patented MotionX technology”:

• ShakeShake – I found the ShakeShake function which utilizes the ERA’s onboard accelerometer, to work as advertised.  First, pairing.  When I paired the ERA with my iPhone 4S, I simply turned on the headset, shook it four times and it went into pairing mode.  With my iPhone’s Bluetooth mode turned on, it quickly identified the ERA, I selected it and was off and running.  Second, ShakeShake is also used to answer an incoming call when the ERA is on, but you are not wearing it.   Just pick it up, shake it twice, and it answers the call.  I found this to be an intriguing feature.  Unless I can see my iPhone’s display and identify the caller, I am not likely to just answer the call without putting the headset in my ear.  However, others may find this feature useful.
• TapTap – The TapTap function worked as advertised also.  While the ERA is on and you are wearing it, just tap the outside of it (the patterned surface) twice and it answers an incoming call.  Tap twice again and it ends the call.  Or, tap twice while on a call to switch to a different call.  The sensitivity of this feature seems fairly well adjusted for the most part: it was not often that I would do a double-tap and not have it register and perform the intended function.

MyTalk – MyTalk allows you to download customizations to and edit settings on your headset from the jawbone.com/mytalk site.  You start by creating an account, then installing an Updater to your computer.  The Updater software is the conduit between your headset and the site.  Using the USB cable (see below) I connected the ERA to the computer, it performed a sync and was ready for updates.  Available on the site are downloadable freebies ranging from the fun, like new voices (called AudioApps), to the useful, like THOUGHTS, a voice note app.  I wasn’t really sold on the ERA’s somewhat tinny, vaguely Asian-accented female default voice.  I was hoping for something like Optimus Prime, or Christian Bale’s Batman, but I settled for “Be Flirty,” a female voice which sounded more realistic, pleasant and fun to me than the default.

You can also adjust several settings on the ERA from this interface:

Performance

Sound Quality – Generally speaking, I found the sound quality of the ERA to be comparable to other Bluetooth headsets that I’ve evaluated.  As described above, the ERA boasts NoiseAssassin 3.0, billed as “military grade” technology.  While that has a definite air of impressiveness, I wasn’t quite so convinced, so I did my own little Farmer Jones Test on this.  (For those curious, a Farmer Jones Test is basically a quick, no-nonsense but reasonable evaluation of something before a more in-depth investigation is conducted.  You know, something the farmer down the road would do to get a “gut feel” of something, but it makes sense and gives you confidence as a good first step.)  The test involved using the Smart Recorder app for iOS to record myself, using the ERA, in several sets of conditions:

office with door closed – NoiseAssassin on

Taekwondo class – NoiseAssassin on

car traveling 60mph on interstate with all windows up – NoiseAssassin on

car traveling 60mph on interstate with all windows up – NoiseAssassin off

car traveling 60mph on interstate with driver’s window down – NoiseAssassin on

car traveling 60mph on interstate with driver’s window down – NoiseAssassin off

I think the ERA performs fairly well in conditions with high ambient noise levels.  However, I’m not so convinced that the NoiseAssassin 3.0 itself actually made much difference.  But again, my test was not particularly scientific.  Take it for what it’s worth.

On a related topic, the Jawbone ERA site describes using the headset to listen to “podcasts, Pandora® tunes, YouTube® videos, driving directions and more come vibrantly to life in full-spectrum, HD-quality sound.”  I tried this out of course and listed to some music and some podcasts with the ERA.  I’m not sure what “HD-quality sound” is supposed to sound like, but listening to music on the ERA is just not the same as listening to it on most any set of stereo earbuds.  I guess it’s OK in a pinch, but not something I’d do on a regular basis.

Battery Life – The ERA includes a battery meter that displays in the upper right of the iPhone’s  status bar right out of the box (you’ll have to download an app from MyTalk to get this feature for Android or BlackBerry). Press the Talk button and your ERA will announce the amount of remaining battery life in hours.  When battery life is running low, the ERA will remind you to charge it.

I found the battery life to be very good with the ERA.  The manual states one hour to charge to full capacity, 30 minutes to reach 80% capacity (presuming these figures are starting from zero charge), and I found this to be accurate.  With the ability to switch off the headset, it seemed to hold its charge quite well when I then tossed it in my gear bag for about a week and proceed to forget about it.  When I finally switched it back on and held the Talk button, the voice cheerfully informed me, “About 5 hours of talk time remaining.”  It seemed to hold its charge well in standby mode and in talk mode also.

Range – Although Jawbone reports the range of the ERA to be 33 feet (10 meters), I actually found it to exceed that by a bit, perhaps up to 50 feet, before significant signal degradation occurred.  Of course, line of sight helps, but it was even able to penetrate a few interior walls.

Accessories

The ERA’s main accessory is really two items for charging the headset: an AC wall adapter and a short USB to Micro USB cable.  Although the adapter’s prongs fold in for storage, it really isn’t all that small.  Relative to the small size of an Apple USB Power Adapter for the iPhone/iPod, I question why this one has to be so much larger.

The shorty USB to Micro USB cable has a cool feature: the cable portion is “bendy,” so it holds its position if you want to orient the ERA at a particular angle while charging.

The Micro USB end of the cable has a couple of tiny spring clips that help secure it into the headset while charging.  As mentioned above, I think these clips may have left two tiny indentations in the plastic at one edge of the USB port when I inserted the cable in the headset for the first time.  The clips seem like a bit of overkill to me, and actually seem to make it a bit more difficult to remove the plug from the ERA.

The other accessory included with the ERA is a small carrying case.  It is made from a synthetic suede-like material, thick enough to afford some protection from bump and dings.

The opening of the case has a nifty feature.  Squeeze it from the sides and it fishmouths open; release it and it closes.  Simple, yet secure.   Though it really only has enough room for the ERA itself, I was able to fit the bendy charging cable in it also, but it took some contorting.  One other thing to note is that the edges of this case are a lint magnet if you place it the pocket of your jeans.

In Action

I seem to have difficult to fit ears when it comes to earbuds, headsets and the like, but using the “spout” earloops made the ERA feel comfortable and stable in my ear and easy to insert and remove.

Conclusion

I really like the Jawbone ERA.  It has a relatively diminutive form factor, small but not delicate, and is relatively lightweight.  Easily paired with my iPhone 4S, it is also loaded with features (among which I like TapTap best), battery life is excellent, performs well with respect to sound and can be updated.  This is currently my favorite Bluetooth headset, and I’ll probably use it as part of my EDC (Everyday Carry) items for use when I’m in the car or otherwise multitasking.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: bluetooth headset

Jawbone ERA Bluetooth Headset Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 22, 2012 at 11:00 am.

The Stem Innovation iZON Remote Room Monitor is a WiFi based camera that has been designed to work specifically with iOS devices. The idea is to place the iZON camera in a desired location and then view it remotely using your iPhone or iPad. I’ve been trying one out for a couple of weeks now and am ready to share my opinion on its features and performance.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Package Contents

iZON camera & base
2 screws/wall anchors
Power supply
6ft USB cable
4in USB extension cable
Quick Start Guide

The iZON is a White tube shaped plastic camera with a microphone and status LED on the front.

On the back you’ll find a reset switch and USB connector.

A magnetic base allows you to position the camera on any flat surface either freestanding or by permanently attaching the base with the included screws. Since the base is magnetic, you can easily adjust the angle of the camera. It’s possible to attach the base to a wall, but it’s not easy to position the viewing angle. Attaching it to the ceiling is a better idea as there is an option to flip the video. I actually think that  Vue has a better design of this same domed magnetic base idea.

Setting up  the camera is simple. First connect the iZON camera with the included USB cable and AC adapter into a outlet. Make sure your WiFi network is operational and then download and install the free Stem:Connect app on your iPhone or iPad and follow the prompts.

Once setup, you will see a thumbnail view of your camera in the app. The icons next to the thumbnail allow you to toggle motion detection, audio detection and the LED status light on the front of the camera. Tapping the thumbnail takes you into the live view.

With the current app, the iZON captures QVGA resolution video at 10fps. QVGA is 320×240 resolution. A planned update to the app this summer is supposed to boost video to VGA (640×480) 30fps. While the video looks semi decent, the problem is that it’s EXTREMELY laggy. I’m not talking 1 or 5 seconds, which would be completely forgivable. I’m talking 20-30 seconds and even long at times. I’ve reviewed a few different WiFi cameras and this is the first one that I’ve tested that is that slow. Stem Innovation states that a 802.11n network with upload speeds of 2 Mbps (384Kbps required) is recommended. I have a T1 line, which is 1.5 Mbps up/down and have no trouble with the Dropcam, Dlink or Vue cams.

If you can deal with the streaming lag, there is still more that may disappoint you. First of all you can only watch live video on your iPhone or iPad. There’s no way to watch it on a webpage via your laptop, desktop computer or other non-iOS device. I guess this isn’t a huge deal, but what is annoying is that you can only watch video for 5 minutes at a time when you’re not watching it through the same network that the camera is connected to. They call the iZON a room monitor, but you can’t really do serious monitoring if you can only watch it for 5 minutes at a time. You only run into this limitation when you’re accessing the camera from your iPhone or iPad using 3G or another WiFi network.

The app has the ability to notify you when it detects motion, audio or if it goes offline. The notification is just a popup message on your iPhone or iPad.

The motion detection feature can be customized to detect motion in a specific area of the camera’s “vision”.

If you have a private YouTube account, you can have the motion alerts upload 30 seconds of video. Otherwise, the alerts are pretty useless because all they show you is the date and time the alert was detected. It doesn’t show you the actual video clip unless you have YouTube uploading configured. That said, I connected the iZON to my regular YouTube acct and couldn’t get it to upload video. I’ve even tried manually recording a clip by tapping the REC button on the streaming screen. Still nothing.

I finally decided to create a brand new YouTube account and try that, and it finally started working. But now I have another problem… I can’t turn off video uploading because it keeps telling me it can’t login to my YouTube account even though it’s continuing to upload video every time motion is detected.

Here’s an example of an uploaded video.

Watching the uploaded YouTube videos through the Stem:Connect app is painful as it continues to require me to type in my username and password each time I want to view a video. If that wasn’t bad enough, after I type that info in, it takes another 15 or so seconds to connect.

Just a note… The only settings that you can change remotely (when you’re not on the same network as the camera) is to toggle the audio, motion and power notifications. You can’t change any of the other settings, which is strange. And 7 times out of 10, I have problems  changing the other settings as the app crashes whenever I’d try to go into the advanced settings list.

The iZON has some potential, but as is, the iOS application is buggy and video is too way laggy. My advice is to skip the iZON for now and go for the Dropcam or Dlink, which have iOS, Android apps and can also be accessed through any web browser on any computer. My personal favorite is the Dropcam. See links for these other WiFi cameras below.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: Surveillance

Stem Innovation iZON Remote Room Monitor Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 21, 2012 at 8:23 pm.

With the availability of iPads, netbooks, tablets, and smartphones nowadays, it doesn’t leave much room for our older laptops. Everything has become smaller, thinner, lighter, has better battery life and virtually no heat output. However, if you are like me and still have an older laptop or notebook in your arsenal of electronics then you should know that the older laptops have a tendency to generate that unwelcoming bottom heat. Heat that can get hot enough on your lap that it feels like a piping hot cup of coffee without the protective cardboard sleeve.

This is where the Cryo E40 Laptop Cooler from NZXT comes in to play. The Cryo E40 is a lightweight and solid entry-level laptop cooler. But where it has a leg up over other coolers is its ability to place its two fans anywhere on the metal mesh cover giving your laptop the maximum cooling air flow it needs.

Heat is a killer for hard drives, causing them to become sluggish or unstable.  It’s just not good  for the overall laptop, since heat can destroy vital components nestled within, such as the motherboard, memory, processor, circuits, etc. This is where adding something as simple as a laptop cooler can help alleviate some of that unwanted heat. However, not all laptops are built alike. The air vents underneath are not always in the same location. The problem this raises is the one cooler may work well for a Dell notebook but may not work so well for an ASUS laptop. They could have air vents in different areas, so the cooler’s fans may not line up properly with the laptop’s vents, causing inadequate airflow.  The ideal solution would be to have the cooling fans line up perfectly with the laptop’s vents or hotspots.

The Cryo E40 has two 80mm fans that are equipped with low-powered magnets for easy placement and removal. Plus the low power magnet won’t harm any of your laptop’s components. The fans are powered with a coiled USB that plugs into your laptop.

A nice thing about the coiled cable is that it is not attached to the cooler’s frame so you can position it on either side of the cooler, depending on where your notebook’s USB port is. Some coolers have a USB that is dedicated to one side so if the USB cord isn’t long enough to reach the laptop’s USB port then you are forced to find a cooler that has he cord on the side you need it to be on. With the Cryo E40 you can literally position the cord  through a slotted opening on either side of the cooler. And since the cord is coiled, it isn’t hanging loose and cluttered inside the cooler.

The top metal mesh cover and the plastic base are held together along the edges by the same low-powered magnets. The magnets supply a really good hold and separate fairly easily. The plastic base appears to be durable and didn’t feel cheap. It is pretty solid as far as plastic goes. Not flimsy at all. Since the top part was metal, I was concerned about the bottom being just plastic.

The metal grid and bottom base basically form a shell that houses the 2 fans. I was concerned, that since the fans are inside the shell with the wires, there is a chance that the wires could hit the spinning fans if not stowed away properly. The danger there is the risk of the fan blades cutting a wire in half or slicing the rubber coating exposing a wire.  But as long as you put the wires in an area that won’t get in the way of the fans, then you should be alright.

The Cryo E40 ran pretty quiet, but in a completely quiet room you can probably tell that the fans were running. However,  if you were playing a game, watching a movie, or listening to music, you wouldn’t even notice it. These aren’t military-grade whisper-quiet fans, but they are pleasingly quiet so they not distracting at all. Unfortunately, I don’t have a noise/sound meter so I couldn’t tell you the exact decibels, but I can tell you that I have used other coolers and the E40 was unnoticeable compared to my other ones.

The Cryo E40 is made for laptops and notebooks up to 15″ inches, however, it looks that it can accommodate sizes a little bigger like a 17″ inch laptop. Anything bigger most likely would be pushing it.

Since the mesh cover is metal and could cause a laptop to slide around, there are two rubber strips on top for the laptop to sit on to prevent sliding.  The bottom base is slightly angled, allowing for a more ergonomic typing position unlike other laptop coolers in the market which are just flat. In comparison to other coolers, the one thing that is lacking on the E40 is a USB hub. It would have been nice to have at least one extra USB port since the E40 would be taking up an existing port. However, do keep in mind that this is an entry-level cooler.

In conclusion, the Cryo E40 from NZXT is a solid and light laptop cooler with moveable fans, making it a customizable cooler for any laptop or notebook  that you use with it. What it does lack in a feature or two clearly makes up for it in the features that it does offer.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop cooler

NZXT Cryo E40 Laptop Cooler Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 21, 2012 at 11:00 am.

I love cases, covers, and bags more than most people, but I require a lot from any case or cover.  They can’t just look nice and offer protection.  They have to also not detract from the looks of the gadget, and they need to either add no bulk or weight or have some fabulous feature that compensates for it.  I’ve been very picky about cases for my iPhone 4.  I’ve tried quite a few, but none of them compared to the Apple Bumper Case, which added a pop of color and some protection but not much else.  I thought it was my perfect case, until I saw the Retro iPhone 4/4S Case from Musubo.  I was very happy to be selected to review the case and find out if it was more than just a pretty face.

Click on any of the following images for an enlarged view.

I have strange tastes.  I like houses that look like they either grew out of the ground or were dropped here from outer space.  That carries over into design for other objects, too.  The Retro case falls into the “dropped here from outer space” category.  It reminds me of the Streamline designs from the 1930s and 1940s.  The Retro looks like it was inspired by the designs used for car radiator grills and even for microphones from the period.

The case is compatible with iPhone 4 and 4S.  It comes in black, blue, red, silver, white, and yellow.  The Retro is a two part case, with a hard shell covering a silicone cover.

The outer shell is made of polycarbonate.  It has an open bottom and top, and one side has round holes for the volume buttons and an opening for the mute slider.  The back has a opening for the camera lens and flash, and there’s a round hole in the middle that exposes the Apple logo on the back of the phone.

The silicone inner sleeve is the same dark gray for all shell colors.  Visible between the ribs of the polycarbonate shell is a dotted pattern.  There are openings for the camera and Apple logo on the back, and the bottom is open to expose the phone microphone, 30-pin connector, and the speaker.  The side has an opening for the mute slider, and the top has an opening for the headphone.  Both the volume buttons and the sleep/wake button have raised areas to cover them.

You’ll notice from the pictures that the silicone is a bit of a dust magnet.

The case weighs about 1.25 oz, compared to the 0.35 oz that my Apple Bumper weighs.  It measures about 2.35″ wide X 4.65″ tall X 0.5″ thick, compared to 2.15″ X 4.35″ X 0.35″ for the naked iPhone 4.  It does add noticeable bulk and weight to the iPhone.

But that added bulk is compensated for by the beauty of this case.  I absolutely love the way it looks.  I like how the exposed Apple design looks like the logo badge for an old car, or something.  And I love the rounded edges of the case; it feels comfortable in my hand.

I like the way the silicone case wraps over onto the front to keep the screen lifted off the tabletop if I should lay it face down.  It covers up almost all of the horizontal bezel (which is very narrow anyway), but leaves the Home button, phone speaker, ambient light/proximity sensor, and front facing camera fully exposed.  I find the three colors – red and gray of the case and the white bezel – very pleasing together.

The covered volume buttons are easy to find and use.  The mute button is recessed, but useable.  You won’t accidentally set your phone on mute while it’s wearing the Retro case.

I was easily able to use my headphones and my wired phone handset.  The power button is easy to use.

There is no opening for the top microphone.  I tried making a voice memo, and my voice didn’t seem too muffled by the silicone.

It’s easy to charge the phone using the charging cable, but I don’t think the Retro case will fit into most docks.  The phone microphone and the external speaker are completely exposed, and the case doesn’t interfere with them at all.  The one thing I don’t like is the bar of silicone that extends along the bottom of the screen.  With nothing along the bottom to support it, this bar is easily stretched away from the phone.  There’s no way the phone can fall out of the case, but the flimsiness bothers me.

The Retro case comes with a fold-away stand.  It’s made of black plastic, and it folds down to 2″ wide X 4.15″ long X 0.25″ thick. An oval opening on one end fits over one of the three hooks to fold the stand into an A-shape.  The three hooks allow you to adjust the viewing angle.  When in use, the flap (on the left, bottom photo) folds up to hold the iPhone on the stand.

The stand holds the iPhone in either the vertical or horizontal orientation.  You can see the front flap holding the phone in place in both of these photos.

I absolutely love the Musubo Retro case.  It’s been on my iPhone since I received it, and it has permanently replaced my Apple Bumper.  It’s attractive, protective, and comfortable to hold.  It adds some bulk and weight, but I don’t care because I love the way it looks.  It’s often “monkey see, monkey do” in the Cloninger household, and I had to purchase Retro cases for both Butch and Rachel – blue and silver, respectively.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: iPhone 4/4S, iPhone Case

Musubo Retro Case for iPhone 4/4S Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 20, 2012 at 10:00 am.

I love it when someone takes an item that we all use everyday and reinvents it to make it more convenient. For example, when was the last time you thought to yourself that you love the design of the everyday ordinary keychain split ring? Probably never… More likely, you swear under your breath every time you break a nail or pinch your fingers when you need to remove or add a key to your keychain. The FREEKEY is a reinvention of the split ring and it’s awesome. Trust me, I don’t say the word awesome very often.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

I’ve been using the FREEKEY for a few months now, but didn’t post a review because I was unable to find any stores that sell them here in the US (or anywhere else for that matter). I don’t like posting reviews of products that you can’t buy because that’s just mean… so I held off until today. Something told me to google FREEKEY and I happened to find out that this Swedish made product is now being carried by Fenix Outfitters. So here we go…

What is the FREEKEY? It’s a sandblasted finished stainless steel split ring key holder that has been redesigned to make it much easier to use. In the image above, you see the FREEKEY on the Left and a regular split ring that we all know and love on the Right. The regular split ring has been around for years and years and does its intended job well. The only problem is that to add and remove keys, you have to wedge something between the two pieces of the ring to lift one end. Usually the thing we use as a wedge is our fingernail, which often ends with pain and suffering as nails break or finger tips get pinched.

That’s where the redesigned FREEKEY shines. It’s still the familiar circular shape, but instead of the layers of metal being flat, there’s a curved layer that creates a spring effect.

Squeezing the FREEKEY in a specific spot on the ring causes one end to lift up.

The squeeze takes much less effort than using your nail to pry the two layers apart on a normal split ring.

Just squeeze…

…and slide a new key on or off the ring. Simple! No broken nails, pinched fingers or swear words needed.

Put all your keys on one FREEKEY…

Or use the included group rings to organize your keys. Keep all your house keys on one group ring and all your work keys on another.

I absolutely love the FREEKEY and plan to never use an old fashioned split ring for my keys ever again. The only problem with the FREEKEY right now is availability and price. One FREEKEY (with 3 smaller organizational group rings included) is about $9. I know that’s very pricey. But once you use a FREEKEY, I think you’ll be hooked. Here’s hoping that this product will take off in a big way and we’ll never have to deal with those old style rings again.

Filed in categories: Car Gear, Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Car, EDC, Keychain, Keyring

FREEKEY Press to Open Keyring Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 19, 2012 at 2:45 pm.

A while back, I told you about some beautiful embossed smart covers for iPad from an Etsy store called Handiwork by punkassjim.  Inspired by the cover of an old electrical handbook, Jim Thorpe set about creating a cover for his iPad that incorporated the cover design of the handbook.  Luckily for us, he realized his process lent itself to making more cases.  When I first found his Electric Library covers back in February this year, I was disappointed that he didn’t have a cover in the bright red that I love.  I kept looking, and I placed an order the moment I saw he had added a true red. 

Click the images in this review to enlarge.

The cover is hand-assembled for you when you place an order.  Jim says a cover is usually ready to ship in a couple of days, but circumstances can sometimes require a week or so.  Because of a shipping problem, it took a while longer than that to get my cover.  As you can tell from the top photo, it was worth the wait.

Jim has a YouTube video discussing his covers.  He also has a series of photos on Flickr that show his process.  The short story is that he found and purchased the old book, copied the cover design, and created an embossing plate by hand-carving the design into a linoleum block.  I don’t know if he still does it the same, but his photos show him using the weight of his car to emboss the leather.

In his early efforts, he bought some knock-off Smart Covers and used the hinges and magnets in his covers.  Jim quickly found a source of damaged or otherwise unsaleable official Apple Smart Covers and scavenges parts from them, now.

He builds the Electric Library covers with a backing board inside to give the cover structure.  He also buries the magnets from the Apple cover in his backing board, so his cover will sleep/wake the iPad.  There are other magnets to hold the cover closed.

Here’s a comparison of the Electric Library cover and the official Apple Smart Cover in red leather.  They have essentially the same measurements, so they both fit the iPad perfectly.  The Electric Library cover weighs 4.6 oz on my digital kitchen scale; the Apple leather cover weighed 4.8 oz.

The cover I received is nicely embossed, with all parts of the design clear and uniformly deep.  The leather has a slight grainy texture to it.  The red stain is evenly applied.  The website info says that the “red veg-tanned leather has no need for treatment or protectant. Color will not easily run or stain.”  I did experience some dry crocking, which is the transfer of the colorant to lighter surface when rubbed together.  I’ll probably be careful not to allow much contact between the cover and a white or light-colored clothing.

Despite weighing a bit less, the Electric Library cover is a bit thicker than the Apple cover.  Here I’m comparing it to a green polyurethane Smart Cover so it’s easier to see the differences.

The backing board is a solid piece, meaning this cover will not fold into a stand.  Because there are no channels where the cover folds, you won’t find any dirty stripes on your screen like you see with the official cover.

The description with most of the other colors specify a microfiber lining fabric, but the red cover has a real suede lining.  The suede wraps up over the front leather where it wraps around the magnetic hinge.

The leather in the hinge area is cut evenly and smoothly.  You can see the finished edge of the cover at the right.  The edges are “pinched” together.  In the video, Jim says he uses epoxy to bind the cover together.

Here’s the hinge attached to my new iPad.  It fits just like the official Smart Cover fits.

The Electric Library cover folds around to lay flat against the back of my iPad.  I removed it for these pictures, but I usually have a clear back cover on my iPad, and the cover still lays flat with that in place.  Because the cover doesn’t fold, it doesn’t flop around and fold down as you hold the iPad in the horizontal orientation.

The Electric Library cover sleeps and wakes my iPad flawlessly.  Jim notes that he’s always paid attention to the polarity of the magnets as he places them, so you shouldn’t experience a problem like some people have had with other iPad covers and cases.

The magnets also hold my new cover closed against the screen.  Between the magnets and the “attraction” of the suede to the glass, the cover holds closed better than the official Smart Covers.

I think the Electric Library cover is utterly beautiful.  It’s well made, and it works just like the official Smart Cover.  If you don’t use the stand function and you’d like something unique and retro, give the Electric Library cover a try.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: iPad cases and covers

“Electric Library” Embossed iPad 2 and new iPad Smart Cover Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 19, 2012 at 10:00 am.

I’ve reviewed the Drift HD and the Swann Freestyle HD action cameras (see related links), and while I haven’t been able to give you any extreme sports footage, hopefully the reviews have been useful to those considering a POV camera.  The GoPro range of POV cameras have become the de facto standard by which most other cameras of this genre have been measured. I was lucky enough to be sent their latest release, the HD HERO2 Outdoor Edition camera, from their Professional line.  Their slogan for the HD HERO2 is “2X More Powerful in Every Way”, and while I don’t have an older generation to measure this against, will the GoPro come out as the POV camera to have ?

The GoPro HERO2 HD comes in 3 different flavours to cater for different markets; Outdoor, Surf, and Motor Sports.  While the camera and housing remains the same, the mounting accessories you get with the kit differ to suit that sport.  GoPro sent me the Outdoor Edition, probably the most relevant for the sort of activities that I’ll be using this sort of camera for.

What’s in the box

The GoPro camera comes in a neat hard plastic display box on the top.  In the bottom comes the accessories in two smaller boxes. Note that once you remove the two stickers holding the plastic display lid on, you can’t easily put it back on again (yeah small and picky, I know)

 As mentioned above there’s three versions of the HERO2. The Outdoor edition comes with:

• 1 11MP HD HERO2 Camera
• 1 Waterproof Housing (197′ / 60m)
• 1 HD Skeleton Backdoor
• 1 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
• 1 USB Cable
• 1 Vented Helmet Strap
• 1 Head Strap
• 2 Curved Surface Adhesive Mounts
• 2 Flat Surface Adhesive Mounts
• 1 Three-Way Pivot Arm
• Assorted Mounting Hardware
• Instruction Manual (English and French)
• Stickers (everyone loves free stickers )

 Size

Pictured here with an iPod Shuffle 2G for size comparison, the GoPro is pretty small, measuring in at 3.9 x 3.9 x 9.6 inches and weighing in  at 27.2 ounces. On the front of the units is the power on/off/option button, an activity LED, a small LCD that gives displays your settings, and a lens.  The lens is a fixed-focus f/2.8 in front of a 1 /2.3” CMOS image sensor.  On the bottom, there’s an activity light; there’s 4 of these all together so that you can have multiple views of when you’re actually recording.  You can either have all 4 or only 2 (back and front) activities lights active. One thing that’s missing to me is a standard 1/4″ tripod mount on the bottom.  Sometimes when the weather’s good I’d like to use the naked camera on  a tripod to do, say, time-lapse.

Controls and ports

On the left hand side, we have an AV out port, a miniUSB port for charging and data transfer, and a stereo 3.5mm jack.  Again I’m going to be picky and wonder why they couldn’t replace the miniUSB port with a microUSB connector, a much more common connector these days.  On the top is a microphone.  You can see from the picture above the dome-shaped lens, which is left a bit “exposed”.

There’s not much on the back: just an activity light, a HERO BUS  port for connecting optional accessories, and the battery compartment.  The camera uses a 3.7V 1100mAH battery that GoPro states should last up to 2.5 hours.

On the right hand side, you’ll find a mini HDMI connector and an SD card slot.  The one neat thing about having an SD card slot is that I can use my Eye-Fi card in the GoPro, which reduces the amount of plugging in or SD card insertion and removal needed, or I can even backup my photos or videos directly to my Android Tablet while “on location”. Be aware that the Eye-Fi will suck more battery juice, and I haven’t yet done any extensive testing on how bad the extra power draw effects camera battery life or how badly the waterproof  housing will affect the range of the Eye-Fi .  On the top are another activity light and the shutter/select button.

Menu Settings

The LCD on the camera allows you to see and set menu options and there’s only two buttons that allow you to move around and select options.  Above you can see the camera’s set to video mode, resolution is 1080P @ 25 fps, there’s no SD card in the camera, and the battery is full.    The front power/option button turns on the camera and can be used to cycle through the modes and menu options.  The top shutter/select button is used to select an option.  The system is pretty straight forward, and anyone who’s played around with monitors will have no issues working it out – though it can be a bit “long-winded” to cycle through and select some of the more embedded options given you’ve only got two buttons.

Above are three examples of the screen:

• Video Mode, 1080p wide, 25 fps, 1 video recorded, 1 hour and 1 minute of video left, battery full, using the internal battery
• Photo mode, 11MP wide, 15 shots on the camera, space for 1093 more photos, full battery, using the internal battery
• Menu for choosing video mode, the front option button will toggle down the menu while the top select button will set that option.

Video

Resolutions

• 1080p: 16:9 1920×1080, 30FPS narrow, medium, wide*
• 960p: 4:3 1280×960, 48FPS + 30FPS wide*
• 720p: 16:9  1280×720, 60FPS + 30FPS wide*
• WVGA: 16:9 848×480, 120FPS + 60FPS wide*

The GoPro HD HERO2 covers a lot of different options for resolution for both video and still shots  .The higher frame rates are great for slow motion, and the 120FPS on the WVGA can give you super slow motion. Video is filmed in H.264 codec, .mp4 File format. Each different resolution has it’s own advantages and disadvantages in terms of vertical and horizontal view, field of view, and ultimately, the end file size.

Stills

Other options worth mentioning are the ability to record upside down for when you have to mount the camera in unusual positions or locations  and a spot meter mode for glarey scenarios.

Waterproof Housing

The waterproof housing is rated to 60m and has two buttons so that all the functions are accessible within the housing.  A removable lens cover means that if the most exposed part gets scratched, it can easily be replaced rather than having to replace the entire housing. It’s worth noting that the lens is curved. It does leave the lens a bit “exposed” to damage, however the curved lens assists in “shedding” water or mud when the camera is used where it is  being splashed or sprayed. This is great when using the camera above water; however, it leads to blurred video when used underwater.  Because the lens is replaceable, there are a number of third-party options to change the lens to a flat lens for underwater use, and because of the nature of the lens assembly, it can all be done by the end-user.   Seems a bit strange that a company would release a product that boasts 60m waterproof and yet the lens they supply leads to blurred pictures and they don’t offer an OEM alternative.  Edit – GoPro has released a flat lense dive housing.

Adding a third party lense option can also allow you to run filters like a circular polariser, on your Hero2.

There’s no tripod mount on the waterproof housing, though an additional accessory will allow you to mount it.

Skeleton Back

The housing comes with two different backs. The full back completely waterproofs the camera to 60m, the disadvantage being that because the camera is enclosed, the microphones won’t work as well. For “milder” conditions where full waterproofing isn’t required, a skeleton back allows for better heat disbursement and better sound recording. You can see on the back that they even give you recommendations for which back to use based on your speed.

Mounting System

Harking back to my childhood days of Meccano sets, using the rods and screws supplied, you can set the camera into all sorts of strange angles.  Additional joiners and mountings are available from both GoPro and third-party suppliers.

One thing that might save some people a bit of time is if I explain the mysterious white rubber thing that comes supplied with the accessories.  This is used to secure the mounting clip to the mounting bracket, not only to stop it coming loose, but also to reduce the amount of movement in the bracket.

Photos

11MP Wide 170° FOV

8MP Medium 127° FOV

Here are two pictures taken in two of the different Field of View modes (click to get them in their full resolution) . In both pictures, the colours are nice and vibrant and clear. You can see that the medium FOV gives less vignetting, so worth keeping in mind if you want “straighter” pictures. While the photo quality won’t match a “standard” P&S camera (heck, I suspect even the iPhone 4S will give a “better” photo ), you won’t get the nice wide angles without having to add some sort of attachment (which will most likely degrade your picture).

It’s worth noting that as standard the Hero2 HD doesn’t have any sort of viewfinder to help you frame your pictures or video.  While the wide angle lense means that it’s not overly important, if you want to frame something exactly in the middle it’s a bit hit and miss, especially given the off centre lense.

Time Lapse

Taken in 11MP mode at 2 second bursts, 931 images stitched with Images to Video at 10fps. Reduced to SD in Moviemaker to take it down from 1.24GB to 33MB. The camera handles the extreme and changing brightness extremely well. If you look closely, you’ll see the dog, the cat, and the kid

Video Quality

Taken at 960 Wide at 25fps, the video presented is clear and crisp. The camera handles the dark to light transition extremely well with no excessive white blow out. If I had to criticise, the colours are quite vibrant – maybe too vibrant.

Low Light Quality

For such a small sensor, the GoPro handles low light extremely well. While there is some noise, the video is still quite clear and crisp, and the video quality doesn’t change substantially when going from the dark to light.

Accessories

GoPro produces a large number of accessories to go with their camera lines.  There are all sorts of mounts for different uses, different housings, and harnesses.  They also have 3 currently available premium accessories:

• LCD BacPac – gives you the ability to be able to frame your pictures and also play back photos and videos immediately as well as providing an easier menu interface
• Battery BacPac – doubles the battery life
• 3D System – using 2 Hero2s you can produce 3D pictures

One way you can define the popularity of a product is by the amount of third-party accessories available for that product. There are numerous third-party options available on the market for the GoPro – from alternative mounts and lenses to silicon cases and more.

Final Thoughts

Based on my (limited) exposure to other POV cameras, I can see why the GoPro is so popular out there in the market. The wide range of options for resolution for both video and stills means you have a mode for almost any situation.  The picture quality, even in low light, is extremely good for what you’d expect from such a small sensor. GoPro is actively developing firmware and software releases for their units and the additional accessories available from both GoPro and third parties combined with the high level of support from the user community makes this a fantastic little unit.

Even though I won’t be using this for extreme sports, I’ll be keeping this in my camera bag to compliment my “normal” cameras.  Its size, waterproof abilities, and its wide angle lens make this a great little companion. I’ve even purchased the LCD panel for the unit so that I can frame my video and photos better.

The GoPro HD HERO2  does come at a higher price than some POV cameras on the market, and you do have to buy accessories that come standard with other cameras, but IMHO you are getting a premium product in terms of hardware, video and still quality and “support”.

Move over Spielberg and Cameron….I’ma coming !

Filed in categories: Digital Cameras and Gear, Outdoor Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Camera

GoPro HD HERO2 Outdoor Edition POV Camera Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2012 at 11:00 am.

I have been trying out another stylus with my iPad. This one is the BoxWave EverTouch Capacitive stylus with a new type of tip that I’ve not seen before called FiberMesh. Is the BoxWave EverTouch stylus just another clone of the Targus stylus or is it a step up? Let’s take a look.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

The BoxWave certainly looks very similar to the Targus stylus. Side by side you can see that the BoxWave is slightly longer and has a slightly wider diameter. Other than the size differences, my first impression of the BoxWave is that it is very light weight. Almost too light weight in my opinion. On my digital scale, the BoxWave comes in at .4 ounces, while the Targus comes in at .6 ounces. .2 ounces doesn’t sound like much, but in hand, it’s noticeable. Although I prefer a stylus with a little bit more weight to it, the fact that the BoxWave is feather light isn’t really a deal breaker.

Both have a pocket clip and a loop on the top for a lanyard.

Included with the BoxWave are 3 different lanyards. A 2 inch lanyard that has a small plastic plug that can be inserted into the headphone jack of your device, a 12 inch lanyard with an elastic coil and a plastic plug for the headphone jack and a charm ring for attaching to key chains. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wouldn’t use any of these lanyard thingies…

The biggest difference between the BoxWave EverTouch stylus and the Targus stylus is the stylus tip itself. The Targus has a very familiar hollow Black rubber tip and the BoxWave has a FiberMesh tip.  The FiberMesh tip is still hollow like the Targus rubber tip. I think it’s just a rubber tip with a capacitive knit material covering it. After switching back and forth between the BoxWave and a Targus stylus in various drawing and note taking apps, I found only a slight difference in the way this stylus feels on the iPad compared to the Targus. The rubber tip of the Targus has a slight drag to it that I never really noticed till I compared it with the BoxWave. The BoxWave stylus glides a little smoother across the screen. It’s a very subtle difference that really doesn’t make me want to run out and buy several of these styluses for future use.

Bottom line… the BoxWave EverTouch stylus is fine for playing drawing games, making quick sketches and notes. But I would not recommend it for extended note taking and detailed drawings because the tip is too large to see what you’re writing/drawing.

Filed in categories: Android related, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews, Tablet Computers and Gear

Tagged:

BoxWave EverTouch Capacitive Stylus Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 17, 2012 at 6:12 pm.

Most every phone, tablet, MP3 player, and computer these days have built-in speakers so you can hear audio without having to use headphones.  Most of those built-in speakers are woefully inadequate for anything but listening while you’re within a couple of feet of your device.  There are a plethora of external speakers available to boost the audio of your portable devices.  There are cheap little mono speakers that are hardly better than the built-in speakers to expensive, hi-fidelity speaker systems.  There are wired, USB, and Bluetooth speakers.  G-PROJECT contacted The Gadgeteer to see if we wanted to review their mono, Bluetooth speaker, the G-GO.  I was happy to be selected to give the G-GO speaker a try.

The G-GO speaker has a ruggedized body, so you can take it along without worrying about damage.  It’s water-resistant, so it was designed for use “in kitchen, bathroom, beach, pool, patio and other environments with potential exposure to water.”  It’s not submersible, nor is it designed for prolonged or high-pressure exposure to water, but it is safe from splashing on all sides.

It has a plastic body, two speakers on the front, and locking doors on the back (for connectors) and on the bottom (for batteries).  The speakers don’t have a grill to protect them, but there are two clear plastic bars that run along the front of them.  The G-GO is available in blue, black, or white.  I received the blue.

Specifications

• Class 2 Bluetooth Range:  33ft (10m)
• Supported Bluetooth profile: A2DP
• Power: 2 X 3W <10% THD
• Approximate battery life: 8 hours, but varies with volume level and audio content
• Power adapter AC input:  100-240V 50-60Hz
• Power adapter DC output: 9V 1.8A
• Batteries: 4 AA (not included)
• USB jack DC power: 5V 1A
• Water resistance level: IPX4

There are no specifications about music reproduction that I could find.

According to Wikipedia, the water resistance IPX4 rating indicates “Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.”  The testing parameters are defined to be:

• Test duration: 5 minutes
• Water volume: 10 litres per minute
• Pressure: 80–100 kN/m²

The G-GO speaker comes with an AC power supply, a user’s guide, and a warranty sheet.

This side of the G-GO is plain, but you can see the built-in handle.  The body of the speaker is a colored plastic, blue in this case.  The dark gray areas have a rubberized coating.

All the controls for the speaker are located on this side.  From the top, they are:  power on/off, volume up, volume down, EQ selection, play/pause, skip to next track, skip to last track, and Bluetooth pairing (breaks the current pairing and puts the speaker back in pairing mode).  The buttons are all sealed with a rubbery coating for water resistance.

Because it connects via Bluetooth and has no device-specific docks, you should be able to use this with most any device that supports the Bluetooth A2DP profile.

The back has some speaker grills and a locking door, seen at the bottom, below the built-in handle.

When opened, you’ll find the DC power-in port and an audio-in port so you can use the speakers with non-Bluetooth devices.  The 3.5mm audio-in cable is not provided.  The USB port can be used to charge your mobile device.  You cannot sync with this USB port.

There’s a rubber gasket around these connectors that obviously seals this area when the lid is locked down.  I’m not sure how the water resistance is impacted when this is open to connect the power line or a non-Bluetooth device.  I would imagine that water resistance on the back would be negatively impacted with this door open.

Another locking door is found on the bottom of the G-GO speaker.

Open this panel to insert 4 AA batteries.  The batteries allow you to carry the G-GO along with you when you go outdoors.  I would imagine that operating on batteries (and with a Bluetooth connection) would give you the greatest water resistance.  You should get about 8 hours of playback on a set of batteries, depending on the volume level and with the audio content.

These batteries won’t be charged by the AC power supply.

Pairing the G-GO speaker to my MacBook Pro was easy.  I simply turned on the speaker, and it entered pairing mode and was quickly found by my MBP.  I opened up the Bluetooth controls on my MBP, and selected the G-GO from the list of detected devices.  The G-GO beeped to indicate pairing, but the blue LED on the front didn’t stop blinking until I had selected the G-GO speakers as my audio output device.  Once paired, the G-GO connected up automatically with my MBP each time I powered the speaker back on.

As you might expect from a relatively inexpensive, mono speaker, it did not produce high-fidelity sound.  Without a subwoofer, there wasn’t a lot of bottom end, and the bass was lacking.  However, the sound was better and much louder than my MBP could produce.  When I maxed out the volume, the sound did distort.  Turning it down a bit took care of the distortion, though.

I tried listening to a variety of song of various styles.  The G-GO sounded good with all types of music.  I tried the EQ button on the side, and I found that the sound did improve, depending on the selection.  The manual describes the presets as 1=flat, 2=rock, 3= pop, and 4=jazz..  The white status light on the front will blink quickly to show which preset is being selected – 1, 2, 3, or 4 blinks to match the EQ setting.  I didn’t pay attention to the preset, just pressed the button until I thought it sounded good.

When your device is connected via Bluetooth, you can use the buttons on the side to control playback.  There are play/pause, skip to next track, and skip to previous track buttons.  These buttons will not control devices connected via the audio-in connector.

To test the water-resistance, I set the G-Go speaker on my porch while it was raining.  The location was shielded, but not completely protected from the rain.  I left it out there for about 10 minutes.  When I brought it in, there were water drops over the body of the G-GO speaker.  I put a set of batteries in, and the speaker connected to my computer and played songs with no problems.

The G-GO speaker connected just as easily to my iPad (3rd generation).  It took a couple of seconds to discover the speaker and a couple more to pair.  Playback controls worked with the iPad just as they had worked with my MBP.   I had an email come in while I was listening to music with the speaker, and I heard the notification sound.

I connected it to my iPhone 4, and it worked just as with my iPad.  When a call came in, the sound from the G-GO was muted, then my phone rang.  I answered the call from my phone, as the speaker has no speakerphone capabilities.  When I hung up the call, the song continued on the speaker.

The specifications promised a 30-ft range when connected with Bluetooth.  While running on battery power, I connected the speaker to my computer via Bluetooth and carried it around my house.  I have a small, one-story house, but I have incredibly thick plaster, lathe, and metal mesh walls.  I found that I experienced cutouts of the sound in every room of the house, other than the living room where my computer was.

The G-Project G-GO speaker doesn’t sound like you’re at Carnegie Hall, but you can’t expect that for $70.  It’s a great solution for adding sound in rooms where you might hesitate to put other speakers because of possible exposure to water.  It would be great to take outside while you’re gardening or washing the car or to use near the pool.  The sound is good, although lacking in the bass range.  The volume is much louder than the built-in speakers of any of my devices.  And if you are using it with your phone, at least an iPhone, you won’t have to worry about missed calls.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speakers, water-resistant

G-PROJECT G-GO Portable Wireless Speaker Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 17, 2012 at 11:00 am.

I recently spent two weeks with the Droid RAZR MAXX by Motorola. This phone runs on Verizon’s 4G LTE and its claim to fame is battery life. It is very similar to the recently released RAZR, just thicker to accommodate the larger battery. I can’t tell you how excited I am that someone finally designed a phone with battery life in mind.

I always approach every phone review with trepidation. Will this be the phone that makes me disappointed with my current everyday phone, the Droid X? Let’s see.

First off, in theory, you sacrifice some thickness for the increased battery life. I managed to talk a RAZR owner into letting me get a shot of the two phones together:

As you can see, not a big sacrifice. They smooth out the bump a little. Frankly, I can’t even bring myself to see this is a disadvantage. The size difference is almost indistinguishable, and the increased battery life is very welcome.

The Specs:

• 4G LTE
• Dual-core 1.2 GHz processor
• 8 MP rear-facing camera 1080p HD video capture
• 1.3 MP front facing camera with 720 HD video capture
• 130.7 x 68.9 x 8.99 mm
• 4.3-in., Super AMOLED Advanced qHD(540 x 960)
• 145 grams
• Made with Dupont™ KEVLAR® fiber and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass
• MicroUSB, HDMI Micro and 3.5mm headphone jack

The power and volume buttons are on the right side of the phone. I did not care for the buttons. Part of it was adjusting to having the power button on the side, rather than the top, but the bigger issue was the size and feel of the buttons. It does not feel like a lot of thought was put into the functionality of these buttons.

In addition to the rear-facing camera, this phone comes with a 1.3 MP front-facing camera. You can see it just below the A in Motorola:

The back side has the 8MP camera and an LED light for taking pictures. I am never impressed by the LED-enhanced pictures, but I always like having it for the shots that just won’t work without the light, and for the convenience of turning your phone into a flashlight. The camera quality is OK. I would not mind seeing a phone that did not obsess on MP and focused on image quality instead, but I think the camera is in line with other phones in its class.

Performance

I’m not a big benchmark fan, but I did find the phone noticeably more responsive than my Droid X. In addition, you will definitely tell the difference with 4G speeds if you live in a 4G area. Like I said, I noticed the increased performance, but was not blown away by it while using the phone. However, I think I learned something about myself: I am less sensitive to increased performance than decreased performance. It took me about one day back with my Droid X for the performance boost to hit home. I really miss this phone.

Battery Life

Did I mention battery life? They pack a nice sized battery in this phone, and it shows. After over 14 hours with the phone, using it a lot, I still had 20% battery life. Not mind-blowing, but significant for a 4G phone under heavy use. That will get me through an entire day easy.

In fact, later in my time using the phone, I was well into day 2 before the battery got low.

Keep in mind, this is dual-core processor and 4G network. I feel guilty saying just over a day is great, but, well… just over a day IS great with a high-powered smartphone on a 4G network. In fact, if I had to pick just one pro for this phone, it would be the battery. I truly hope this phone represents a turn of the corner for phone manufacturers.  We don’t want thin phones that last half a day, we want phones that have some battery life.

Conclusion

This is the first phone since I got my Droid X that has been hard to return. I like the looks, the use of Gorilla glass, and, oh yeah, the battery life. This is the first 4G phone I would consider owning. I don’t like that the battery is not user-replaceable, and many won’t consider it because of Motorola’s use of a boot-loader to prevent rooting, but I am OK with these compromises. I love the concept of rooting an Android phone, but I have owned an Android since the G1, and have never actually considered rooting that much. If that is important to you, though, look for a different phone. Me, I’d take this in a heartbeat. Now to check when I qualify for my next phone upgrade.

Filed in categories: Android related, Reviews

Tagged: Android smartphone

Droid RAZR MAXX by Mototrola Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 16, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Vendors are beginning to accept the idea that women like, need, and use gadgets, too.  While we can use the same gadgets that men do, sometimes we’d like our bags and accessories to be a bit different – perhaps smaller, maybe a bit more colorful.  knomo London makes “perfect urban accessories to carry your devices,” like this Aurora Zip Tote.  While they make gear for both men and women, this bag is definitely designed for women to carry a laptop, papers, even a small purse in.  Let’s give it a look.

The Aurora has a lightweight quilted nylon exterior with black Saffiano (faux leather) trim.  The quilted fabric has a silky feel and a sheen.  The bag is available in black or berry quilted fabric.  I obviously received the berry.  The front has a zippered pocket that can hold cards or a cellphone (see top photo).  A silver-toned metal badge in the middle of this pocket displays the knomo name.

There are two carry handles that are attached to the bag with large, silver-toned metal buttons.  These straps have a 4.25″ drop to the top of the bag.  They’re made of the faux leather, and they are rounded and cushioned.

The back of the bag is plain, with no pockets.  The bag measures about 15.5″ wide X 12″ tall.  It weighed about 2 pounds 6 ounces on my digital kitchen scale.

In addition to the attached handles, the Aurora has a removable shoulder strap.  It’s made of 1.5″ wide belting.  There are two, large, lobster-claw clips to attach the strap to the silver metal D-rings on the bag.  The strap is adjustable with the metal buckle, seen in the photo, above.  It adjusts from to 29.5″ to 52″, including the clips.  You can carry the bag as a shoulder or crossbody bag.  The strap has no padding, but it’s wide enough to spread out the weight of the bag a bit on your shoulder.

The sides and bottom of the Aurora have a black, breakaway zipper that allows the bag to be expanded when you need to carry a larger load.  The zipper has plastic teeth and a metal pull.  When closed the bag is about 1.5″ thick.

The bag unzips to about 5″ deep.  The zipper breaks open at the top to allow for full expansion.  The sides and bottom of the expanded bag seem to be made of the same material used for the exterior, but it is thinner and not quilted.

There’s a zippered top, shown pull out of the top of the collapsed bag.  It also has a breakaway zipper with plastic teeth and a metal pull, so the top can be completely opened.  The panel pushes down into the collapsed bag, and it keeps the contents of your bag secure.  It doesn’t completely close the length of the bag, so small items could fall out.

The zipper panel is designed to work when the bag is expanded, too.  You can see here that the panel doesn’t completely close off the top.

There’s a stiff panel at the bottom of the bag that flips up out of the way when the bag is collapsed, as seen here.  You push it down into the bottom of the bag to form a sturdy, stable bottom when the bag is expanded.

The interior of the bag I received is a mushroom color.  Its texture is like that of a microfiber cleaning cloth.  The interior fabric has a stain-resistant coating.

The back wall of the bag has a laptop compartment with a snap tab (made from the faux leather) closure.  The front of the compartment is made of a thinly-padded, quilted piece of the interior fabric.  The back of the compartment has no padding other than what’s offered by the exterior wall of the bag.

The compartment will accommodate up to a 15″ laptop.  My husband’s 15″ MacBook Pro work computer fit into the compartment.  My 13″ MBP fit with room to spare.  You can see there are two snaps on the front of the compartment to adjust for the thickness of the computer.  A piece of the faux leather covers the backs of the snaps to protect your laptop from scratches.

There’s a large zippered pocket on the inside front wall.  It’s big enough to hold your wallet, keys, cables, or the like.  You’ll notice a white label inside.  This label is the knomo TRACKER.  The label has a unique ID number (obscured with a blue bar in this photo) and both UK and USA phone numbers.  If you misplace your bag, the finder can call one of these numbers and knomo will be able to trace the bag back to you.  (If you’ve first registered your bag with knomo.)

The knomo London Aurora Zip Tote is a stylish bag without being too trendy.  It’s business-like without being severe.  I like that it’s expandable, so you can zip it down when you need to carry only a laptop and a couple of small accessories.  Or you can expand it to a large tote when you need to throw other things – shoes, a lunch, a big stack of books or papers – in with your laptop.  I wish it had a couple more organizer pockets inside, and maybe a couple of pen loops.  The front faux leather pocket could use a couple of changes, too.  It’s not quite big enough to hold an iPhone in a case, and I fear that the metal zipper, while attractive, could scratch my phone’s screen.  Because you can wear it as a crossbody bag to spread out the weight of the loaded bag across your back, the Aurora is pretty comfortable to carry.  All in all, the knomo Aurora is an attractive, useful laptop bag for women.

Filed in categories: Bags, Backpacks, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag for Women

knomo London Aurora Zip Tote Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 15, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Creating a collection of every day carry (EDC) items is obviously a personal thing. What is an indispensable item for one person, may be completely useless to another. However, one item that almost all of us will agree is useful, is a pen. Even though the majority of people reading this review carry a smartphone and may use it to take quick notes, a ballpoint pen is infinitely faster and easier. If I would look in your pocket or gear bag, my bet is that you have a pen in there some where. Pens come in all shapes and sizes, but the Mini Pen from Sunshine Products USA that I am going to show you today, has been designed specifically for EDC fans.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Sunshine Products USA is father and daughter company based out of California. Frank and Ahmy Rossini started out using a metal lathe and drill press and have been offering quality products since 1976.

The Mini Pen is just that… mini. From end to end (with the cap on), the Mini Pen measures approximately 2.75 inches long. It’s available in a variety of materials that include Stainless Steel, Brass, Aluminum, Stainless Steel with Carbon Fiber, Brass  with Carbon Fiber, and Aluminum with Carbon Fiber. The Mini Pen you see pictured above is Aluminum with Carbon Fiber. You can even get a Titanium version of this pen if the $225 price tag doesn’t scare you away.

Another popular EDC pen is the TEC Accessories PicoPen. Here you can see it next to the Mini Pen to give you a comparison. The Mini Pen is the diameter of a normal sized pen (about .25), but just with a shorter overall length.

The pen disassembles into 4 pieces: Body, Lamy ink cartridge (available in Blue or Black), end cap and top cap. If you click the picture above to zoom in, you’ll notice the two rubber O’rings on the end cap. There is an additional O’ring at the base of the end cap where it meets the pen body and there’s another O’ring on the writing tip end, where the cap meets the body. These rings help protect the pen and components from moisture.

The great thing about the Mini Pen is that you can mix and match the components. If you want a Brass body with a Stainless Steel end cap and an Aluminum top cap, you can. You can also choose between a keychain cap and a pocket cap.

One thing to note… the top cap screws on to the writing end of the pen, but does not screw on to the opposite end of the pen. The O’rings perform as pseudo threads though and hold the cap in place while you’re writing.

With the cap on the end, the Mini Pen grows to about 3 7/16 inches long. Although it’s short and very light weight, it is still comfortable to write with. I find it to be more comfortable than the TEC PicoPen, which sometimes causes my hand to cramp.

The workmanship on this pen is excellent. I have no complaints at all about how it’s made. The Carbon Fiber is definitely a head turner. When people see me use it, they almost always ask me where I got the pen.

If I could change anything about the Mini Pen, it would probably be the ink cartridge. The Lamy cartridge writes fine, but I think the ink cartridges in the Uniball Jetstream pens that I reviewed not long ago have completely spoiled me for other pens because the ink is so smooth and fine. That said, I really like the Mini Pen. It’s a keeper and has replaced the TEC PicoPen as my EDC.

Do you EDC a pen? If so, let us know your favorite.

Filed in categories: Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Writing Instruments

Sunshine Products USA Mini Pen Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 14, 2012 at 6:46 pm.

I am an old U.S. Air Force guy from back in the day…like my father, grand father and many uncles before me. I often think that I missed my time in history. I hate to say it, but I soooo would trade all of today’s tech/gadgets to be a P-51 or B-17 pilot. I grant you, it’s was a perilous, life in your hands occupation, but the adrenaline rush must have been like few in modern history. Well, when I first saw the No. 1943 Navigator Bag from Col. Littleton, it made me smile and think ‘now that is cool’. The designers and artisans at Col. Littleton have not only captured the look and feel of an old World War II navigator bag but added a few modern day tweaks for your iPad and other tech as well. I’ll be honest, I was jazzed to hear they were going to send me one to try/see in person.

True to form, the Col. Littleton Navigator Bag is exquisitely done: soft supple leather, solid brass hardware, Old World styling, fine stitching, and edge finishing. Like many of the other Col. Littleton bags I have reviewed, the craftsmanship and materials are truly second to none. However, I have to say, the Navigator bag takes it to the next level….this is what I call a ‘legacy item‘. It is an item passed down through the generations forever looking good and coveted by a majority who see it. I fully expect, when I am dead and gone, the Gadgeteer Kid will use this bag and perhaps even one of his kids after him.

Specifications:

Inside Dimensions: 10.5”H x 15.5”W x 4”D (expanded).

Empty Weight: 3lbs 13oz (w/o strap) / 4lbs 6oz (w/strap)

Weight w/my Gear: Just under 8 pounds with 11″ MBAir, iPad and a bunch of misc bits and pieces. With just my iPad and basic tech-gear, the bag ensemble weighs a little less than 6 pounds.

Without a doubt, the Col. Littleton Navigator Bag is the best bag I have ever used, extremely well built and incredibly finished. Silly as it sounds, I was literally giddy when it arrived on my doorstep….and in regards to tech-gear accessories, that does not happen often.

The materials, construction and design of this bag are ‘perfect‘. I could find no flaws and have no suggestion for quality or design improvements. The stitching is meticulously straight and even.  The hardware is all solid brass and the leather edges line up and are sealed/finished perfectly. Both the brass and leather are proudly stamped with the Col. Littleton logo throughout the bag, but not in a over-the-top/in-your-face manner.

Not only does the Navigator bag look good, but it is made to last a lifetime of use. As you can see, the Col. Littleton designers have added many brass rivets for greater strength throughout the bag….like the handle and brass shoulder strap points of attachment to name a few.

The back of the Navigator bag has leather reinforcements for the snap/closure straps. In addition to those, Col. Littleton rivets a small brass shield with their moniker and individual serial number on it (my bag is number 058).

The No. 1943 Navigator Bag can be compressed or expanded (up to 4 inches) with the buckled straps that go around the top/bottom and sides.

Over the entirety of the bag, the brass hardware is very well done. The words “heavy”, “bold”, and “strong” come to mind when I think of the best way to describe them.

The Navigator bag is held shut by two straps that snap closed on the front, allowing for easy access. Each strap wraps around the bag and has a workable buckle for a bit of expandability. In addition to the straps, there is a specially designed, solid brass lockable, keyhole-peg type of mechanism for better securing the Navigator bag closed.

In addition to the Col. Littleton logo, bag name, warranty stamped into the leather, you also have the option of a small brass plate with your initials to be added…..making this bag truly your own.

The inside dimensions of the Navigator bag is 10.5”H x 15.5”W x 4”D (expanded). There are two leather dividers that create three large pockets within the bag. The rear and middle pockets can hold a medium sized laptop (aka 15″ MacBook Pro) or a decent amount of paperwork. My 11″ MacBook Air easily slides into the center pocket of the bag. The front pocket not only has small pockets for business cards, pens, etc but a slot for your iPad as well. Unlike the Col. Littleton No. 42 Courier Bag I reviewed last year, all of the pockets are completely separated from each other so your tech-gear does not rub upon each other. The iPad is suspended within the bag, giving it greater protection from drops and bumps.

Even though it weighs nearly 8 pounds when I fill it full of my gear, I found the Navigator bag very comfortable to carry around. The handle is soft and nicely sized.

The shoulder strap is not only well made and good looking….

…..but feels great over your shoulder as well. It was not a burden at all.

I have to agree with Col. Littleton’s commentary on this bag:

‘My office is inundated with relics from the past, and I’m probably chief among them. Military artifacts especially seem to find a home with me. I’ve been looking at an old, official Army-issue World War II Navigator’s Bag (circa 1943) in my office for years. The design seemed timeless; and with all the compartments inside, I thought it would be a perfect fit for today’s busy executive.’

The Navigator bag’s design is timeless…. iPad, laptop, chargers, pens, business cards, cords, etc are all well taken care of in this classic satchel. There is zero doubt in my mind, the old-timers I work with (among others) are jealous.

This level of quality and handmade craftsmanship does come at a cost. At nearly $900, this bag is not inexpensive. A majority of people would say that is down right expensive. I would argue, that while $875 is a great deal of money for most, you are definitely getting what you paid for in this case. Lets say you use/own this bag for 20 years….that is approx. $0.12 per day (3-4% the cost of a latte/day) to own such an excellent, handmade, piece of Americana. Plus that cost/time fraction of a dollar continues to diminish the more years & generations it is used.

Filed in categories: Bags, Backpacks, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Leather

Col. Littleton No. 1943 Navigator Briefcase Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 14, 2012 at 11:12 am.

Although it’s the middle of May here in Indiana, we are still having a few 40 degree mornings. Instead of dragging out my winter coat, I’ve been enjoying the comfort and gadget storage of the SCOTTEVEST Lola Jacket. Wearing this jacket allows me to hide all my gear in the jacket and leave my shoulder bag at home. Let’s take a closer look.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

The Lola jacket is made of 100% quilted nylon with DuPont Teflon fabric protection that repels both water and oil based spills, while remaining machine washable. It is available three colors: Rhapsody, Sparkle and Fluff. The jacket is sized for women and comes in X-Small up to XX-Large. Guys don’t need to feel left out. SCOTTEVEST has a men’s version of this jacket called the Puffer which is available in Red and Black and sized from Small – XXX-Large.

I was sent a medium sized Lola in Rhapsody, which is a stylish Purple/Blue color with bright Yellow trim.

SCOTTEVEST products are famous for their pockets, so the Lola jacket lives up to that tradition. This jacket offers 16 pockets that allow for great gear organization.

With the jacket zipped (btw: I love the long metal zipper pulls), you have access to two zippered hand warmer pockets.

Inside the Right pocket is a removable extendable key holder, a wide elastic bottle holder and a lipstick / chapstick pocket.

In the Left pocket you’ll find a small change pocket.

The cuffs have a narrow elastic band to keep them from shimmying up your arm.

Like other SeV jackets, the Lola has a built in PAN – Personal Area Network that you can use to route your earbud cables. In the inside collar area, a flap of the quilted material is held in place with Velcro. Opening this channel will allow you to place your earbud cables so that you can easily access your music while on the go. Small rubber holders add additional cable management. This system works fine, but I did notice that if you don’t arrange the flap correctly, that the Velcro in the collar might scratch your neck. For this fact, I’d prefer just having a hole that I could fish the wires into, instead of a flap. I like the SeV Chloe jacket PAN system design a little better than the Lola’s design.

The pockets on the Left side of the jacket include a Cellphone / MP3 player pocket at the top, with a pen pocket next to it near the zipper. This pocket is large enough to comfortably hold an iPhone 4S or Motorola Droid X with room to spare. There’s a conduit in the pocket to route the connector from your earphones.

A little lower is a zipper that opens into a large 8.5 x 8.5 inch pocket that extends to the bottom of that side. This pocket can hold a small tablet or ebook reader like the Amazon Kindle Fire.

Another zipper allows access to a smaller 8.5 x 4 inch pocket on top of the 8.5 x 8.5 inch pocket. This pocket is meant to hold your passport and your ID (in the small pocket on the outer layer). The pocket works great for holding a Field Notes notebook or Moleskine Cahier notebook too.

On the Right side, you’ll find two large zippered pockets.

The upper pocket, which is accessed with a vertical zipper holds your sunglasses and includes a handy chamois cloth that is attached to an elastic cord.

A horizontally zippered pocket below the sunglasses pocket is meant to hold your digital camera. There’s even a smaller pocket inside which you can use to hold extra SD flash cards. It’s possible to place a CF sized card in that slot, but you won’t be able to Velcro the top closed.

I should note that all the interior pocket zippers have nice hard plastic pulls on them, while the exterior zippers have metal pulls.

You’ll also notice that there’s an adjustable bottom cinch cord that will help keep the wind and cold from blowing up your back.

Speaking of the back, that’s where the largest pocket of this jacket is located. It’s an open topped stretchy mesh pocket that is large enough to hold an iPad. I don’t think I’d want to walk around with an iPad bouncing against my back, but it also works great for holding a standard sized magazine.

I love the Lola jacket. It allows me to carry quite a bit of gear without having it all stuffed into two side pockets, which is what I usually end up doing with non-SCOTTEVEST jackets. I don’t carry tons of gear, but it’s nice to have my keys, wallet, phone, earbuds, lip baum, sunglasses clip, pen and a Field Notes notebook all stowed in the jacket so I don’t have to carry a bag. I also like that the jacket doesn’t have a lot of SeV branding. What it does have is subtle… the SeV logo on the interior lining and then a rubber SeV logo sewn into the back of the collar.

I was very surprised by how comfortable and light weight this jacket is, while still providing adequate protection from cool weather. It’s so cozy that I keep hoping for more cool mornings so I can wear it to work. It seems like the perfect weight for Fall and Spring weather, but not quite heavy enough for the dead of Winter… unless of course the winters in your area are not too cold.

The Lola jacket is made very well. I could not find any defects in the material or construction. I’m a fan of this jacket and expect it to hold up to everyday wear and tear for many cold seasons to come.

Filed in categories: Gear, Outdoor Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Clothing, Gear

SCOTTEVEST Lola Women’s Jacket Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm.

If you love music and are less than satisfied with the quality of what you’re hearing, you might consider adding a digital audio convertor (DAC) to your system or computer. DACs are slowly becoming popular among serious music listeners with many companies are now making them for every budget. Let’s look at a new entry from an established speaker company, Audioengine. They are known for their excellent, but affordable speakers (If you haven’t heard their monster-sounding A5 speakers, you are missing something). Will the new D1 Premium 24-Bit DAC/Headphone amp help you rediscover your music? In a word: Yes.

For almost 2 years, I have been using various DACs when reviewing headphones or earphones. I consider DACs essential and I tell everyone who will listen why I think so. But it’s not lost on me that most people will never buy a DAC because their music sounds just fine and hey, they don’t really need one. I feel sorry for these people.

Before we get into the review, let’s look at why you might want a DAC at all. When you listen to music that comes from a digital source, eventually it will be converted to an analog signal (soundwaves). You can’t hear digital. A DAC is what performs this conversion. So your iPod, computer soundcard, iPhone or whatever you plug your earbuds into has a DAC. OK, then why would you want to spend extra money on a DAC if you already have one in your digital device? That’s easy: Quality.

Music sounds better using an external DAC, period. The DACs used in iPods, sound cards, etc., are relatively cheap. They get the job done and if your music collection consists of lower resolution – 128kb or less – MP3s, save your money. If you have higher resolution files in other formats, such as FLAC, AAC or WAV, then a good DAC can bring out more information. Cymbals can shimmer, bass notes will be crisp instead of muddy, emotion from vocals will sound intimate and involving. DACs take what’s there and make it “more.”

With so many companies making DACs, what makes Audioengine’s special? Not a whole lot, except that the build quality is really good, it sounds great and the price is affordable. It’s unusual to have all that in one product. That’s what makes the D1 special.

Setting up the D1 couldn’t be much easier. There is no external power supply. USB does it all. Connect the USB cord, change your sound output setting (if necessary) and you are good to go. There are 3 input options: Standard RCA (red/white) for external speakers, Optical (toslink) and the already mentioned USB. It can be paired with a TV, Apple TV, DVD/BluRay player or CD player. To be honest, I only use the D1 as a desktop device connected to my MacPro using headphones. The front of the D1 has a lighted on/off button, headphone jack and volume knob. It’s all very simple and efficient.

The deck-of-cards sized D1 is solid with its rounded aluminum housing capped by hard, rubberized front and back panels. The aluminum keeps the weight down. It also comes with a 2ft USB cable and a microfiber draw-string bag which comes in handy for commuting.

Even though I’m concentrating on the DAC, the D1 also houses a powerful and loud headphone amp. The volume button has never been set beyond the 10 o’clock position. I want to note that I used Grado GR10 and Atomic Floyd SuperDarts earphones along with Decibel, a high resolution audio player for Mac while using the D1.

What’s interesting about the D1 is that when you hear it, you won’t be jumping up and down with excitement about dramatic audio improvements. The D1 excels in subtleness, meaning that you begin to notice things you may have missed before. Instruments sound more distinct from one another and take on more character. It’s like the music comes alive. It’s only when you disconnect the D1 that you notice how lifeless everything suddenly sounds. The D1 has an effortless quality that sounds relaxed and smooth. You can easily be spoiled by it.

The D1 will process digital audio at any bit depth up to 24 bits and any sample rate to 192KHz. What this means in English is that the D1 can handle anything a human ear can actually hear.

I spent some time listening to an Apple Lossless rip of This Mortal Coil’s 80s gothic classic album,”Filigree and Shadow.” This recording is full of aural light and shadow. Listening with headphones is a completely different experience than with speakers. With headphones, the D1 reveals all kinds of lost detail. There’s so more much going on that it sounded re-recorded. I just heard things I had never heard before. Again, it’s the subtle aspects that are highlighted by the D1.

The piano in Simon and Garfunkel’s remastered “Bridge Over Troubles Waters” sounds as if it’s being played live in your head. Each sounded note from a struck key has a reverb that doesn’t intrude into the next note. For the first time, I enjoyed the piano even more than Garfunkel’s angelic vocals.

The Audioengine D1 DAC/Amp is relatively inexpensive as DACs go. Even so, at $169, it’s not an impulse buy. You have to decide if the improvement the D1 offers is worth it to you. Audioengine does offer a 30-day audition with full refund if you aren’t satisfied. But I have to say that I can’t imagine anyone who loves music taking Audioengine’s return offer. The D1 is an addictive audio upgrade.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Amp, digital audio convertor, toslink

Audioengine D1 Premium 24-Bit DAC/Headphone Amp Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2012 at 11:00 am.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I love my iPad, and I use it for everything.  As each new generation arrives, I’ve passed along our old iPads to family members.  Those family members are usually college students who can hopefully use the iPad to help them with their school work and with taking notes in class.  To make taking notes easier, I always give them a keyboard case.  I really don’t like using the iPad’s on-screen keyboard, and external Bluetooth keyboards are usually a bit easier to type on.  The problem I have with most keyboard cases is that they add a lot of bulk to the svelte iPad.  They’re often large folio-style cases that make the iPad hard to hold when you just want to interact with the iPad.  I was interested to try the Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case for New iPad and iPad 2 from Cirago.  (You’ll notice the review unit I received arrived in packaging that hadn’t been updated to show the new iPad, but the item number on the box matches the new item number.)  This keyboard can just be popped off when you don’t need to type.  Let’s give it a closer look.

The Cirago comes with an instruction booklet and a microUSB charging cable.

The Cirago case measures about 9.5″ X 7.35″ X 0.35″.  It weighed 14.5 ounces on my digital kitchen scale.

The Cirago Bluetooth keyboard case is different from all the other keyboard cases I’ve tried.  It’s not a folio case that stays on the iPad; it’s an aluminum cover that snaps over the front of the iPad 2 or new iPad.  It protects the screen while you’re carrying the iPad in your bag, but it pops off so you use the iPad without a cover – the way Steve Jobs intended.  To fit into the Cirago, the iPad must be caseless.  You can’t use a Smart Cover or a back shield.  The iPad 2 used in this review did have a ZAGG invisibleShield skin on the back.

Click on the above picture, and you’ll see that the front of the Cirago keyboard has a cutout, where your wrists will fit as you type.  The keys are made of black plastic, and they have a nice, springy feel when pressed.  Operation is quiet and smooth.

There’s also a cutout at the location for the 30-pin connector.  You’ll be able to charge the iPad while it’s in the Cirago keyboard case.

Also visible in this photo are strips of high-density foam padding that will cushion and protect the iPad’s screen.  There’s a strip right at the wrist cutout, another along the top of the keyboard, and one at the back, where the iPad stand folds away for storage.

The Cirago has an internal battery that’s charged with the included microUSB cable.  (I didn’t find anything on Cirago’s website or on the packaging to specify the type of battery used.) I couldn’t find any information about how many hours of typing you can expect from a charge, but the keyboard will go into sleep mode if it’s left idle for a while.

I plugged the Cirago case to a USB port on my laptop and left it charging while I worked for a few hours.  The status lights near the power button turned off when the internal battery was fully charged.

The case is made of “precision cut, aircraft-grade aluminum.”  The back of the keyboard is engraved with the Cirago logo.  The booklet says the keyboard comes with four optional rubber feet that can be adhered to this side of the case, but I didn’t find any in my package.  The rubber feet are to prevent scratching the matte finish, but they might also make the case a bit less likely to slide around while you’re using it.  I didn’t find that the keyboard case moved around while I was using it, though.

You can see that there are cutouts in the Cirago keyboard case that leave all ports and controls on the iPad available.  You’ll be able to charge the iPad without removing it from the case.  The headphone jack and volume rocker are accessible, so you’ll be able to start up the Music app, put the iPad in the Cirago, stow it in your bag, and listen to music while you’re on the move.

There’s a built-in, adjustable stand that folds away when it’s not needed. There are three sets of slots that the hinged stand fits into, so you’ll have three viewing angles for the iPad.  The bottom of the iPad fits into a channel between the hinged stand and the bar holding the power button.

The iPad is in the horizontal orientation in this picture, but the stand will also support the iPad in the vertical orientation.  I always use my iPad in landscape (horizontal) mode, but I tried out the case with the iPad in the portrait orientation, too.  I found both to be very stable.  I didn’t feel like my iPad was about to tip over in either orientation.

Because of the adjustable hinge, both my husband and I were able to find a comfortable viewing angle for using the Cirago Bluetooth keyboard.

Pairing up the Cirago keyboard with my iPad was as easy as anything I’ve tried to connect with my iPad via Bluetooth.  My iPad found the keyboard as soon as I turned it on.  Pairing was completed by entering a 4 digit code on the keyboard.  I didn’t have any trouble reconnecting the keyboard and iPad.  Whether I simply slept the iPad or turned Bluetooth off (and back on, of course), they connected as soon as both were turned on.

The keyboard has a QWERTY layout, and the left side has all the keys that my MacBook Pro’s keyboard has.  The right side is a bit different, though.  Just like every other iPad keyboard, the right side has a non-standard arrangement to fit all the keys into the smaller space.

As I mentioned earlier, the movement of the keys was smooth and had a good feedback.  Even though the keyboard isn’t full sized, I had a surprisingly easy time typing.  I didn’t feel that my wrists were twisted into the wrong angle, and I didn’t hit the wrong key because of spacing.  I could touch type surprisingly fast, so long as I was using only the letter keys.  I was slowed down by the position of the return, delete, and right-side shift key.

Even though the keys were sunken into the bottom of the “pan”, the large cutout along the front gave me plenty of room for my wrists.  The biggest problem I had with this keyboard was the padded bar (to support and protect the iPad when it is in the case) along the wrist cutout interfered with using the spacebar.  Every time I tried to type a space, my thumb hit the padded bar, and I couldn’t quite depress the spacebar far enough.

Like most Bluetooth keyboards for iPad, the Cirago has special function keys for the iPad.  There are keys to adjust the screen brightness, volume, and a home key that works just like the Home button on the iPad.  Another key sleeps/wakes the iPad, another will pop up the on-screen keyboard, and there’s even one to start a photo slideshow.  Other keys perform editing functions, like select, copy, paste, and cut, and arrow keys will move the cursor around the screen.  I found these keys worked well with my iPad.

I tried the Cirago keyboard case with my new iPad and with an iPad 2 I haven’t yet passed along.  It worked equally well with both iPads.  It also fit both iPads very snugly, since both have exactly the same footprint dimensions.  The slightly different thickness of the new iPad doesn’t matter;  most of the back of the iPad extends out of the Cirago anyway.

I find that the Cirago Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case for New iPad and iPad 2 works extremely well.  The Bluetooth keyboard pairs like a dream.  The keyboard is surprisingly easy to type on, considering it’s undersized to fit into the iPad case. and the special iPad-specific function keys make it easy to control the iPad.  I especially like that the iPad just lifts out of the Cirago, so you can use it without having a heavy, cumbersome case always attached to your iPad – even when you don’t need the keyboard.  If you are looking for a keyboard case for your iPad, you can’t go wrong with the Cirago.

Filed in categories: Bluetooth Gear, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth keyboard and case for iPad

Cirago Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case for New iPad and iPad 2 Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 12, 2012 at 10:00 am.

One of my all-time favorite adult toys is the Plantraco Desktop Rover (I have the ‘pre-laser tag’ version, and sadly, they do not seem to sell this anymore. I liked it because it was a device I could play with on a desktop (hence the clever name) and imagine it being a Mars rover, or an alien scout vehicle, or whatever.

I was excited to try the Desk Pets Tankbot as a potential replacement that actually did more and cost less, and used my smartphone as the remote!

The $40 MSRP toy comes with the actual TankBot itself (available in 4 colors, each with its own frequency), a remote-control dongle for the earphone jack of your smartphone, and that’s about it. There are some instructions on the packaging, and some on-line if you need more assistance. The TankBot does amazingly well on the Gadgeteer Creak Test overall.

Front view and control dongle

The actual tank is about 2.5″ tall, 2″ wide, and about 2.25″ long and very light. A small folding ‘ramp’ in the rear is the USB charging plug, and it has LEDs inside the front windshield that act like a combination of eyes and headlights. They do not actually project light but have several brightness levels. What looks like two headlights seem to be the sensors. The overall design is simple and kind of cute. It is even cuter since it has a bit of a personality programmed in – it cries, honks, snores, beeps, and makes other noises.

The tank unit charges through the USB plug built into its back (see image below). On my laptop, it blocked the other USB port and was held at an odd angle. It takes about 40 minutes to get 15 minutes of play. The remote control dongle has an ‘off’ switch (that I always forget about) and uses 3 L1154F (AG13, LR44) batteries.

Back view showing charging plug, and the dongle again

Press the button for two seconds to turn it on, then press again to change between the three modes:

1. Obstacle Avoidance Mode – uses sensors to avoid barriers in front of it over a couple inches tall. In this mode it can run mazes, etc. It does not, however, sense drop-offs or things in front if it that can flip it over.
2. Autonomous Personality Mode – it runs around flashing the lights and making noises. When it gets stuck, it usually either snores or cries.
3. Smartphone Control – uses a dongle in the earphone jack and a downloaded free app to control the unit. The controller uses two simple sliders to control each track independently. Note that the receivers are in the front of the unit so it does not respond as well when controlled from behind.

It does the cries and so on in all modes, which rather detracts from imagining it is a Mars Rover or spy device – a ‘noises off’ switch would be nice. The unit is also a bit top-heavy, with a very small wheelbase and a very steep angle in the front treads, so it really does not take much to make it flip over. It is definitely not designed as an ‘all-terrain’ device.  In ‘remote control’ mode, I find I have to reset the connection pretty much every time, but that may be something I am doing wrong somehow (possibly forgetting to turn off the dongle!)

The above aside, it is kind of fun to play with. In mode 1, it will avoid your hands and almost any kind of barrier that is tall enough for it to ‘see’. You can make a neat maze with just pieces of paper folded to stand up on their own, and the website has a cool video of it running a maze. Mode 2 has more limited play potential but it still kind of fun to watch.

TankBot with eyes aglow, and the smartphone app

Mode 3, ‘Smartphone Control’, is what I had the most hope for! Like my old Desktop Rover, there are two joysticks – forward and back for each tread. The problems I keep seeing are a delay in responsiveness, and an inconsistent tendency to not return to neutral. Much of the time I needed to reverse whatever the previous command was to get that tread to stop moving. These two issues really made it tough to enjoy the unit on smaller play areas – it just rarely felt like it was under my control.

Seeing this in action will be worth a thousand more words, so…

Filed in categories: Geek Toys, Reviews

Tagged: desk toys, Remote Control, Toy

Desk Pets Tankbot Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 11, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Swann  is an Australian company who for the last 25 years have specialised in wireless connectivity, professional quality CCTV cameras with infrared night vision, digital video recording with motion detection and networkability, web surveillance and remote notification products, globally. We first reported on the Freestyle HD when it was announced in November 2011. This is a new entry into what seems to be an ever growing Action Point of View (POV) camera market.  Popular with outdoor and extreme sports enthusiasts, these cameras allow videos and stills from unique perspectives not available using “standard” cameras.  Their small size, wide-angle views, and mounting options really allow these cameras to be used very differently. Swann Australia was good enough to supply a unit for review.

Read on if you dare, extreme sports fans.  I mean, after my review of the  Drift HD (and please note this isn’t going to be a comparison review between the alternatives like the Drift HD or GoPro Hero2 HD) I’m not sure how I’m going to top my Spade Cam action.

For such a small little camera, the Freestyle comes in a big box. The top is taken up with the camera and an attached mount (removed in this picture ), and the bottom half has a box with all the accessories in it.

What’s in the box ?

And there are quite a few accessories included as standard.  From left to right:  camera mount, remote control, waterproof case, L mount bracket, curved adhesive bracket, flat adhesive bracket (2), camera, low profile mounting bracket, and LCD screen.  Also included in the pack, but not pictured, are another mount, a carry bag, AV cable, mini USB cable, instruction manual (in French, Spanish and English), CD with PDF versions of the manuals, some double-sided Velcro, a couple of spare tripod mount rubber grommets, and an AC  power adapter. More than enough accessories to get you started.

Size 

Here’s the camera with an Apple Shuffle 2G for size comparison.  The camera is 2.9oz/82g without the LCD screen and measures  2.36″ x 2″ x 1.6″ / 60mm x 51mm x 42mm. On the right front of the camera is the video record/snapshot indicator, and on the left-hand side is the laser transmitter (more information later). On the bottom is a standard 1/4″ tripod mount.

Controls and ports

On the left-hand side of the camera, you’ll find an AV out connector and mini HDMI connector under a rubber boot and a laser warning sticker  On the top left are the on/off switch and video record button. The middle has a LCD panel that displays mode, battery level, and SD memory level with a microphone located below it.

On the right-hand side are a micro SD slot (supports up to 32GB ), a miniUSB connector for charging and data transfer under a rubber boot, microphone, and a lanyard hole.  It might be picky, but it would be nice if the charge port was microUSB as most of my equipment these days uses micro, but then it’s just one more cable. A VOX switch, which allows you to set the camera to start recording if a noise over 65dB is heard, and a snapshot (photo) button are on the top.  The snapshot button is a nice touch, as on most POV cameras to change between video and photo you have to go into the menu system to change the mode.  If you take a mix of video and photos, it’s nice to have a dedicated button for each.  On the back is an LED (left) to indicate recording is on and a power LED (right).

The back cover pulls down to allow installation of the 3.7V 1000mAh battery, which Swann rates at 2.5 hours of operation.

The size of the buttons is going to make it very hard to operate in any activity where you have  gloves on, but given the size of the camera itself, it’s not surprising that the buttons are quite small.

LCD Back 

The camera comes standard with an LCD back.  The connector is protected by a rubber boot when the LCD isn’t being used; however, the boot isn’t attached in any way.  I assume this is so it doesn’t get in the way when the LCD is installed; I suspect that the boot is going to be the first thing I lose.   The screen is only 1.5″ in size, and I can’t find any indication of the resolution. It’s fine for using the menus, framing a shot or video, or reviewing what you’ve already captured. The LCD adds minimal weight (1oz/26g)  and size to the unit.

Menu Settings 

The LCD back has to be installed to get into the menu and change settings.  Swann’s website seems to be a bit behind in specifications for this camera, and the camera’s settings vary from the website specifications, which differ again from the instruction booklet.  So straight from the camera, here’s the options:

Video resolution:

• 1080P @ 30 fps (1920 X 1080) @ 135 degree angle view
• 720P @ 30 fps (1280X720) @ 170 degree angle view
• 720P @ 60fps ( good for slow motion )
• WXGA @ (848X280) @ 170 degree angle view

Camera Modes:

• Resolution 3, 5, and 8 MP
• Single shot
• Triple shot (3 shots per shutter press )
• Continuous mode ( for time-lapse ) (2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60 sec )
• Self Timer (5, 10 sec )

When installed, the LCD can be used to frame video and photos and also to review your videos or photos. The LCD is by no means a high-resolution display, but it’s more than sufficient to make sure you got the shot you wanted. In video playback, sound is supplied by the speaker on the bottom right.  You can delete or protect recorded sessions. In photo preview mode, you can zoom and move around using the cursor keys on the right-hand side. Photos can also be deleted, protected, played in a slide show, or set up for Digital Print Order Format (DPOF).

Laser targeting 

A nifty function (though I’m not really sure how much I’ll use it) is the laser targeting mode.  When turned on in the menu system, if you press the video record button on the camera or the snapshot button on the remote for more than 3 seconds, then a 1MW laser beam is emitted to allow you to see where the camera is being focused and indicates the centre of the frame. This is useful when you don’t have the LCD back installed to frame your shot or when you’ve got it mounted on say a helmet and want to check if it’s aligned correctly.

Remote Control 

The camera is supplied with a handy large and rugged remote control. The remote has both strap holes and a spring clip on the back for flexibility to mount it in a convenient place.  The buttons are nice and large and can be used with gloves on.  You can again control both video and photo mode separately, and if your camera goes into sleep mode from not being used, pressing either of the release buttons will wake your camera back up. The remote can operate the camera from up to 2m/6ft away.

Waterproof Housing 

The included waterproof housing meets Ingress Protection Rating IP68, and it is rated for use 20m underwater. The housing is very well made and sturdy, and while it  does add some additional bulk and weight ( approx 105g), you’ll definitely want to use it when you’re recording in more rugged or wet conditions. You don’t have any control of the menu or settings when the unit is in the housing – in fact there’s not even the option to turn the camera on or off.  There are two buttons on top to control the camera, one for the video and one for photo shutter release.  To use, you need to turn your camera on before you place it into the housing, and if the  camera goes to sleep due to inactivity, you just have to press one of the releases to bring it back to life.

The biggest issue I have with the housing is that it’s not made to fit the camera with the LCD back installed.  This means that there’s no way to frame your pictures accurately while in the housing. Loss of use of the menu system isn’t such a big deal because of the separate shutter buttons.  Whether this has to do with condensation,  battery life, or is just a design consideration I’m not sure, but it would be nice to have the LCD installed in the housing. Other limitations with the case on are that sound will be affected given that your camera is totally enclosed, the range of the remote control will be affected, and you can’t use the laser sight.  Another issue for me  is that there’s no attachment hole on the housing to attach any sort of lanyard to, not even the included wrist lanyard.  If I was going to take this say snorkelling then I’d want to attach the camera to me some how.  The only possible mount point is the pivot pin on the hinge on the closure.

It’s worth noting that on the Swann website and in several of the reviews on the internet, a different housing is shown.  The one on the website and reviews appears to be a one piece design, but as you can see above the housing I have includes a replaceable front lens.  This is definitely a plus, as the lens cover is going to be the area exposed to rocks, mud, sticks  and debris, and if it does get broken or scratched, you really don’t want to have replace the entire housing.

Mounting System 

Using the included mounting system reminds me of playing with my Meccano set when I was a child.  Using a combination of the different joiners and tightening of the bolts allows you to manipulate the height and angle of your camera.  You can see how, once secured, this can give you access to some unique and quirky camera angles.

Photos 

Panasonic FT1 (TS1) 12 MP 28mm

Swann Freestyle HD 170 degree 8MP

Above are two shots (you can click on to get full resolution) taken seconds apart using a “standard” point-and-shoot camera and the Freestyle.  You can see the difference the 170 degree wide-angle lens makes to the picture.  From EXIF information, it would appear that the Freestyle ISO ranges from 100 to 400.  Like all cameras, as the ISO increases depending on light conditions, more noise is introduced into the picture.  It’s not a camera you’d be using for holiday or everyday snapshots, but then that’s not the market this camera is aimed at.  Note too the variation in the colour rendering.

Timelapse

Timelapse photography is pretty cool, and the Freestyle makes it easy to do.  The Freestyle was set on a tripod and set to continuous mode of 30 sec snaps.  In regards to processing, the 200 shots were loaded into Images to Video at 10 fps then uploaded to YouTube. Neat, quick and easy.

One thing to note here is that if you set the camera to continuous mode then turn the camera off and on again, it will NOT remember this setting and reset back to single shot.  This was an issue where I wanted to do continuous mode with the camera in the waterproof housing.  I had to set the mode with the LCD and then basically remove the LCD back with power still on.  The same holds for triple-shot mode.  There’s no indication in the manual if the LCD back is supposed to be hot pluggable, but so far, removing the LCD back with power on hasn’t appeared to have had any adverse effect on the unit.

Video Quality

Sorry folks, no extreme sports here. Instead, here’s part of my trip to work in the morning. Video was originally taken in 1080p, trimmed with Movie Maker, and converted to 1080p .WMV via Moviemaker.   The trip takes in a load of different light situations, and you can see that the Freestyle handles them pretty well.  There’s no major white blowout when there’s lots of sky and clouds, which is good.   Sound capture is good, the radio’s not that loud, but it’s easily picked up by the multiple microphones on the unit (Note that this is taken without the waterproof housing.)  Personally, I find the quality  a bit “soft’ and the colours a bit ‘muted”, and while this is taken on an overcast day, the same can also be said for video’s taken on much brighter days as well. Not a big issue, but enough for me to mention.

Low light performance

How well does the Freestyle handle low light?  Here’s a comparison going from a (semi) dark car park into the daylight.  You can see that in the beginning, there’s quite a lot of noise but as you get towards the light the picture cleans itself up as more light is available. Footage in low light certainly isn’t crisp and clear, but it is usable, and you can’t expect too much from such a small sensor.

“Noisy” Audio ?

In the interest of full disclosure, the Freestyle at this point of time has one ongoing issue.  When I received the review unit, video was perfect, but all recordings had very high pitch and annoying electronic beeping, screeching, popping, and static noises over the top of the audio channel. (It may be the aliens trying to communicate, but I was too scared to take off my aluminum foil hat off. ) Further research on the Net found several users complaining about exactly the same issue. I rang Swann, and after some extensive testing and diagnosis, they decided I had a dodgy unit and replaced it.

The second unit also had the same problem, and after discussions with Swann and some testing on my part, I finally narrowed it down to certain microSD cards being “incompatible” with the Freestyle.  I have multiple microSDs that work and others that give the annoying noise problem (including cards that have been used in other cameras to take video).  With the card I’m using now, I have no issues whatsoever.  It’s not transfer-speed related and I’m not sure if it’s a mechanical problem or can be fixed in firmware and the testing is still ongoing. I’ve made Swann aware of my findings so it’s pretty much in their hands at this time. If you have a Freestyle with this issue, I’d suggest trying a different card.

I’d read on several reviews that people have tried to email Swann about similar issues and had no response from them.  However, I had excellent service from them, with quick responses from friendly and helpful people.  I mentioned these reports of bad response to the people I talked to and was advised that they have increased their support personnel recently and that phone or their web-based live chat option was the best way to get a rapid response.  A list of  contact times and toll free numbers for the US, New Zealand and UK/Europe can be found here.

Final thoughts

All up, I’m really happy with the Freestyle HD (once I worked through the noisy audio issue) . For the price, you get a really good set of accessories out of the box with no optional extras required to get you started. This is good, because at this point in time, there are no optional accessories from Swann.  They advise that they are about to release a range of straps, mounts, and accessories like spare batteries. It would be nice if you could use the LCD panel inside the waterproof case, but because of the wide angle lens, it’s not all that necessary. Video quality is very good, though quality does drop off in lower light, but this is to be expected. The mounting system definitely allows you to mount the camera in quirky and unusual places, which just aren’t possible with a traditional camera.

If you’re in the market for a POV camera and you’re on a budget, the Freestyle HD is definitely worthy of consideration.

Filed in categories: Digital Cameras and Gear, Outdoor Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Digital Video Camera, Waterproof

Swann Freestyle HD Wearable Action POV Video Camera Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 10, 2012 at 11:00 am.

I am in a never ending battle to keep my hectic life less cluttered. This fact spans all aspects of my world…from my office space, to my desk at home, to our garage, and everything in between.  Kurt Kay & John Kurcheski of K Concepts have designed an interesting device for mounting some of your sports equipment (aka balls) to your wall, hoop, fence, goalpost, trunk of your car, etc. The Ball Claw is engineered to securely hold your basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, and footballs out from underfoot.

The Ball Claw comes in three sizes: large for regulation sized basketballs (29.5″ and 28.5″), medium for #4, #5 soccer balls, volleyballs, and youth basketballs, and small for youth, high school, college and professional footballs.

The Ball Claw is well constructed of a high-quality injection-molded ABS plastic that feels very sturdy when flexed. It can be used indoors and outside.

Sadly, this is one of several ways the Gadgeteer Kid and I store our sports balls. Definitely not he best way to keep/take care of your sports gear and equipment.

Installation was a breeze. The Ball Claw comes with basic installation bits and pieces (aka screws and molly bolts). Using the Bosch impact wrench I reviewed a few years ago, it took the Gadgeteer Kid and me less than five minutes to install all three of the ball mounts to a pillar in our garage.

The Ball Claws definitely work as advertised. They are well thought out, designed to last and at $12, relatively inexpensive. Truly a great way to keep your sport balls organized and out of the way. I do like the Ball Claw and have ordered another to hold a second basketball…..probably should get a second football one too .

Filed in categories: Do-It-Yourself, Fitness, Sports, Reviews

Tagged: sports gear, Storage

The Ball Claw Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 9, 2012 at 11:00 am.

In my X-mini KAI Capsule Speaker review I mentioned two things that I considered might be worth pointing out.  The first was the price. When I reviewed the KAI  I showed it around to a lot of my mates. The universal opinion was ” Oooh I love the size! Oooh I love the sound! Oooh, the price….I don’t love it that much!”. Second was the fact that the mono speaker might not be enough for stereo “purists”. When X-mini saw this they offered to send me review units of two others of their speakers, the II Capsule Speaker and the MAX II Capsule Speaker from their range that addressed these concerns.  Will they meet the grade ? Read on…….

A quick comparison

KAI, II Capsule, MAX II

Above you can see the differences in size between the three models.  The II Capsule  is slightly smaller than the KAI while each MAX II is the largest in the series.

X-mini II Capsule Speaker

The X-mini II Capsule Speaker is the predecessor of the Kai without the Bluetooth connectivity. The same 40mm speaker, the same 2.5W of power and the same Bass Xpansion System.  It’s slightly lighter at 83.5g , and smaller at 60 mm×44mm (closed resonator), and is rated at a higher 12 hours of music, though from my experience if running “conservatively”,  the built in battery lasts quite a bit longer. And the price……..well it’s SGD$49.90 ($29.90US), compared with SGD$139 ($99US) – so over 2/3rds less than the KAI. And for all you fashionistas out there, it’s available in 9 different colours so you can accessorize (black, blue, orange, pink, purple, red, green, silver and white).

Just like the KAI, it has the integrated (albeit short 11.5cm) 3.5mm stereo connector, Buddyjack port (more on that later), and a USB port for charging, and the longer stereo cable (58cm),  but other than that, there’s only an on/off switch and a rotary volume dial. The II Capsule is made of a painted plastic whereas the KAI is has a much nicer matte rubberised finish.

Once again running this from a variety of devices, with many different genres of music, the II Capsule demonstrated the same aural qualities as the KAI.  Crisp and clear with a bass that certainly exceeds what you expect from something this small. If you don’t need Bluetooth connectivity (which in the X-mini range certainly comes at a price) and want a tiny and portable mono sound solution, then the II Capsule is definitely worth considering.

The only concern I have is the open driver unit like with the Kai.  I’m still really scared that something’s going to get in and pierce the cone even when it’s stored in its supplied pouch.

X-Mini MAX II Capsule Speaker

For those stereo “purists”, the MAX II Capsule may be the answer. One of the trade-offs you’ll have with stereo is having to carry two speakers with you so you’ll have additional size and weight and also the associated cables. The neat thing about the MAX II is that the speakers connect together for storage and transport via a couple of small magnets in the bottom.  Available in black, red or white, at 65.8mm×53.4 mm (closed resonator) and weighing in at 178g, they’re not going to take up too much space or add too much weight in your gadget bag. Like the capsule speaker above , each speaker independently puts out 2.5W and is rated for 12 hours of music (again  conservative as I’ve been running these 9 hours a day for the last week). Pricing is SGD$74.90 (approx $50US).

A single cable gives you all the connectors you’ll need: 1 X USB, 2 X miniUSB, and a 3.5mm audio. The cable is around 75cm in length and includes a rotary volume knob built in. The cable itself might be the “weak point” of the MAX II. It’s a fairly specific cable and while you can get replacement cables from X-mini, if it dies on  you there’s not a lot you can do to jury rig up a replacement. Note too that there’s a left and right plug on the multi-cable and I’ve actually rigged them up incorrectly above.   The cable is easy to set up but a bit unwielding and messy, though in the picture above I have everything pretty close together, something you’re not going to do if you separate everything out for stereo sound. Also supplied is a soft pouch to fit all this equipment into when you’re on the move.

Rather than a “flat” speaker like the two mono offerings, the MAX IIs have an angled driver in them.  It’s not a big angle and is designed to assist in directing the sound out towards the listener. Not surprisingly, each speaker in the stereo pair performs very similarly to an individual II Capsule speaker or KAI.  So you can expect clear, bright, and distinct mids and highs with sufficient bass for most genres of music or movie soundtracks.  If you crank it up enough, you can get those speakers “dancing”. Low’s appeared to be deeper than the II Capsule; however, this may be because you’re getting double the bass with two speakers. The stereo sounds fatter and fuller than the mono offerings, but I suppose this is really to be expected running in stereo.

Once again, and perhaps it’s just me as I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere else, but the MAX IIs have even less (no) protection of the speaker – the cones are completely exposed. A ripped or torn cone can’t be a good thing, can it?

Buddy Jack

Buddy Jacking is the capability to connect one X-mini speaker to another whether it be a mono or stereo speaker.  Connecting two mono speakers  still gives you two mono signals, but it’s amazing how much difference it makes to the volume and fullness of the sound.  In the above example, I can still use Bluetooth to remotely control my music player via the KAI.

Similarly I can connect the MAX IIs to the KAI.  Buddy Jacking this way results in the  MAX IIs outputting stereo but the KAI was still putting out mono sound.  If you want true stereo sound you don’t really want a mixed mono sound in the middle to “muddy” the separation.  Again though, the addition of two sets of speakers made the output volume substantially fuller. This function can also be used to connect your Bluetooth device to a home stereo or something similar.

Stereo separation aside (especially given that it’s not really what this function is about), if you had multiple X-minis and want to pump up the volume at a gathering, this feature is very handy to fill that space with a “bigger” and “fuller” sound.

The last option is to connect them all together for 4 X the sound and because the MAX IIs are the master I’m getting full stereo sound.

In summary

Both sets of speakers met my expectations built from my review of the KAI.  Clear and crisp mids and highs, sufficient bass to let you know it’s there, and certainly more prominent than you’d expect from such a small driver.  My mates are all blown away (not quite literally ) by the sound quality that comes out of all the X-mini range. Okay, they’re not going to satisfy a high-fidelity fanatic, and the bass isn’t going to rattle your teeth or burst your eardrums, but if that’s what you’re after you won’t be looking at these anyway. They’re aimed at the on the move sound enthusiast who wants a good balance between size, weight, and sound. If you need to share some tunes, or need to pump out more volume than the built-in speaker in your player, phone, or tablet currently puts out, then they certainly fit the bill.  If you’re in the market for this sort of speaker, either of these speakers is a really good option. If  Bluetooth isn’t important to you, they definitely come at a better price point than the KAI but with the same great quality and sound. If you need to fill a space with sound and you (or your mates) have multiple units, the Buddy Jack system works extremely well to further pump up the volume and “enhance” the sound.

Be warned though, like all market-leading and “trendy” products, there  are many reports of pirated and counterfeit versions of these out there with varying build and sound quality. Ensure you purchase either directly from X-mini or from an authorised distributor/reseller.

“Sound beyond size”…….you betcha.

Both speakers are available from the X-mini Estore

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Speakers

X-mini II Capsule and MAX II Capsule Speaker Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 8, 2012 at 11:12 am.

Let’s face it, working out is not fun. Those of you that think it is, are just crazy because working out has fried your brain. For us normal (aka lazy) folks, we know the real truth. Working out is never going to be as much fun as sitting on our LazyBoy recliner watching The Game of Thrones on TV while stuffing our face with chocolate chip cookies. Not that I ever do that mind you… Seriously, we all realize that even though working out isn’t pleasurable, it is necessary. Being a couch potato is great – for awhile. Then your arteries clog up and you can’t even walk into Walmart without needing a motorized cart. None of us wants that for our future.  Luckily Gadgeteers like you and I can use gadgets to help motiviate us to be more active. The latest fitness gadget to come my way is the Striiv Smart Pedometer. Trust me, it’s not just the same old boring step counter…

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

Package Contents

Striiv pedometer
Keychain attachment
Belt clip holster
Drawstring pouch
USB charging cable
AC adapter
First Steps getting started guide

What is it?

Striiv is a matchbox sized pedometer that you use to count your steps, which in turn will earn energy points that can be redeemed  in the MyLand game for coins and for charity at no cost to you. I’ll go into more detail about this later.

The device itself has a color touch screen and 3 buttons. One power button on the top edge and two buttons below the touch screen.

To begin using the Striiv, you first must charge it via the included USB cable and then stick it in your pocket or on your belt and get busy walking, running or climbing stairs. You don’t have to calibrate it to your stride length or anything like that. I’ve found that it isn’t perfect when it comes to counting steps and stairs, but it comes very close.

After you’ve walked a few steps, click the Home or Power button to see your accumulated steps for the day. Pressing the Lock button will take you to the main screen.

The main screen gives you another quick look at how many steps you’ve walked for the day, your average steps, battery status, time and three main apps. Swiping the top part of the screen or pressing the Left arrow will cycle through your steps, stairs, calories, miles and minutes of activity.

When you click the menu button (4 black squares), you’ll see a scrolling list of all the Striiv features.

The MyLand game turns the Striiv into a Tamagotchi style game where the object is to repopulate an island. As you walk, run, and climb steps, you will earn energy points that you can spend on coins to buy plants, trees and buildings. The items you add to the island generates coins and there are also quests that you can do to earn more coins. The game is simple, but fun. There are 2 areas that are locked until you earn enough energy/coins to build certain features to unlock them. This keeps you motivated to accumulate more steps to earn more energy.

You can also spend your energy points on challenges which earn you even more energy points. Sometimes when you turn on the Striiv, a new challenge is waiting for you like the one shown above. If you accept the challenge, it will cost you 300 energy points, but when you complete the challenge, you’ll earn back those 300 points along with even more. The challenges are usually so many steps, stairs or miles in a certain amount of time. The challenges aren’t too difficult, so that you can even do them while you’re at work.

The Walkathon app is where you go to choose which of the 3 charities you want to redeem energy points for. You can choose between:

Clean Water – For every 10000 steps you walk, you provide a day’s worth of clean water for one child in South America
Fight Polio – For every 25000 steps you walk, you will be providing immunization for one child in the world-wide fight against polio
Rain Forest –  For every 10000 steps you walk, you will be conserving a parking space sized area of the Tanzanian rain forest for 1yr

To encourage you to walk more, you can also redeem your energy points to reach your donation level quicker. You can only choose one charity at a time, but you pause one charity while you work on another, without losing the accumulated donation.

Trophies is the screen where you can see your accumulated bonuses / accomplishments, along with the energy points that they earned.

The stats app will show you your… stats. Surprise It’s just another way to check your your steps, stairs, miles, calories and activity for the day, week or month.

Although I wasn’t able to test this feature, if you have friends that also have a Striiv, the pedometer is supposed to be able to detect one nearby so that you can challenge each other. If you don’t have any Striiv toting friends around, you can accept a race from a computer opponent. You can choose walking or stair climbing races. It’s just another amusing way to earn points. I just did one where I earned 6000 energy points for climbing 40 stairs.

Although a computer is not required to use the Striiv, if you don’t have one with a connection to the internet, you’ll not be able to sync your donations and upgrade your device to the latest firmware. When you’re logged in to your free Striiv account, you’ll be presented with a dashboard that shows your current and accumulated activity.

I’ve been using the Striiv for several weeks and have found it to be a lot of fun. I just slip it in my pocket on the way out the door in the morning and pull it out every so often to see if there is an easy way for me to earn some extra energy points. It lasts for a couple days per charge, has an easy to use interface that requires no learning curve to understand.

The Striiv takes a very healthy activity  like running, walking and stair climbing and turns it into a motivation tool for donating to worthy charities and earning points to play cute games. It’s making me walk more and skip the elevator, so I think it’s a winner. I’d pick the Striiv over the Fitbit any day.

Filed in categories: Health Related Gadgets, Reviews

Tagged: Health, pedometer

Striiv Smart Pedometer Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 7, 2012 at 3:41 pm.

As a follow on to Andy’s review of the Wahoo Run/Gym Pack, I decided to order (and review) the Armband for iPhone  to get the most out of my Wahoo running pack.  I 100% agreed with Andy’s assessment that a compatible armband is a must to best utilize Wahoo’s running fitness gear for the iPhone….

I found when I ran with my iPhone/Wahoo ANT+ dongle in my pocket, the GPS/speed/distance/tracking did not work well at all. Holding it in my hand was a hassle as well, with the potential of being damaged due to sweat/moisture or being dropped.

The Wahoo Armband is well made. Constructed of neoprene and PVC, engineered to safely and securely hold your iPhone while you workout. It is weather and sweat-proof and form-fitted for the iPod Touch 3 & 4, iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4 and iPhone 4S with the Wahoo Key attached. I have used it a half dozen or so times while running, and while the armband gets sweaty, the iPhone has yet to be damp/impacted.

Inserting the iPhone takes a bit of effort due to the tight form-fitted design of the armband. Once the iPhone is within the armband, the neoprene flap flips over the top of the case, sealing the smartphone inside.

There is a side access port where your headphone cabling slides in. This port is supposed to keep sweat/rain from getting on your iPhone. While a straight plug goes in easily, the L-shaped plug of my Monster iSport Immersion In-Ear Headphones took some convincing to get it in place.

Even though you have to press a bit harder, the clear plastic front of the armband allows for more than adequate control of your iOS device.

Another nice feature of the Wahoo Armband is the Velcro tab meant to hold the extra earbud/headphone cabling out of the way so it is not flopping around while you run/walk.

Admittedly there are MANY iPhone-fitted fitness armbands currently on the market, but few, if any, have the additional space to accommodate an ANT+ dongle.

The relatively thick neoprene band and body of the armband snugly holds everything to your arm. I really liked how firmly the armband was held in place. I have experienced little bouncing and zero chaffing. The Wahoo armband fits up to 14 inch arm (not that I have to worry about that anytime soon :-I).

The Wahoo armband is well designed and an ideal accessory for their Run/Gym Fitness Pack. In my opinion, Wahoo should include the armband with their heart rate monitor and ANT+ dongle. That not withstanding, the weather/sweat-proof armband is nicely made and designed to use and protect your iPhone while exercising. At $30, it is on the high-end of fitness/exercise iPhone armbands, but not by much and definitely gets the job done well.

Filed in categories: Fitness, Sports, iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Reviews

Tagged: iPhone accessory

Wahoo Armband Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 7, 2012 at 11:00 am.