The next time you want to show the video from your iPhone or iPad on a large screen, grab the Scosche sneakPEEK II cable. It features both component & composite cable connections. Sorry, no HDMI though. The cables have 24k gold plated tips for enhanced durability and superior audio quality. It also features an integrated micro USB cable to allows users to charg their device during playback. The sneakPEEK II is available now at scosche.com for 59.99.

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

Tagged: Cable, iPad, iPhone, Spotlight Gadgets, TV

Scosche sneakPEEK II Cable Outputs iPad and iPhone Video to your TV originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 8, 2010 at 11:00 am.

This Universal Network Cable from ThinkGeek.com would be great for all the IT people out there that are constantly in need of different network cables.  The Universal Network Cable has a selector to convert it to 5 different cable types.  Cable options include rolled, crossover, straight-through, loopback, and T1.  Priced at $24.99, it seems reasonable for those in the IT field.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: Cable, Network, Spotlight Gadgets

Universal Network Cable originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 22, 2010 at 2:21 pm.

If you prefer your desktop to be as uncluttered as possible, one of Griffin’s
newest products can help you out. It is the Simplifi iPod / iPhone USB dock and
card reader. Let’s take a closer look…

One thing to be aware of, if you decide to purchase this product, is to check
for an iPhone 3G badge on the box. If the box doesn’t have this badge and you
happen to have an iPhone 3G, you’ll need to shell out $1.99 for the 3G dock
adapter.

Package Contents

Simplifi dock
6 dock adapters
USB cable
AC adapter
Instruction guide

The Simplifi dock looks very Apple-ish (is that a word?), with its brushed
Aluminum wrap around shell and White plastic body.

The bottom has a large rubber pad that helps to prevent the dock from sliding
around on your desk.

The front has two card slots that can accommodate the following card formats:
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, SD, SDHC, xD and CF (CompactFlash). I really
wish a MicroSD slot also included as I find it a hassle to use an adapter with
them.

On the back side, you’ll find two USB 2.0 ports, a power connector and a mini
USB connector. The addition of the two USB ports is a nice touch, but I would
prefer that they be located on the front of the device instead of on the back.
You don’t have to use the included AC adapter with the Simplifi, if you’re only
going to be using it to charge your iPod / iPhone and read memory cards. Just
plugging in the mini USB cable will suffice for those tasks. The only time you
need the AC adapter is if you use the two USB ports for devices that require a
powered hub.

For the last several years, I’ve been using a similar iPod dock / card reader
from Edge
Corp. (seen above on the Left). While that product works just fine for
charging my iPods and iPhone, it lacks one important feature that the Griffin
Simplifi offers – an SDHC compatible card slot. So as soon as the Simplifi
arrived, I unplugged the Edge dock and plugged in the Simplifi in its place.

I don’t like to use the little dock adapters that ship with iPod type devices
such as this one because I am always swapping between the new
iPod Nano,
the Touch and…

… the iPhone.
However, if you just have one iPod or iPhone device, it’s probably a good idea
to use one of the dock adapters because it will prevent you from putting undue
stress on the connector.

I tested this dock / card reader with the nano 4G, Touch and iPhone. It
charged all of them without issues and was recognized by iTunes as soon as I
plugged one into the dock. As for the card reader, I tested several different SD
and CF cards and again, I had no problems accessing and writing data to them. I
was even able to copy files back and forth between the two card slots while
charging a device in the dock.

I like the Griffin Simplifi’s design because it blends in well with my other
Apple products like my iMac. But, at $70, I think it’s definitely way
overpriced. You can find the Edge
Corp. dock / card reader that I was previously using for $9.95. It can’t
read SDHC cards, but for that price, that fact might not be important to you.
Atech sells a dock
/ reader that looks just like the one from Edge, but it DOES have SDHC
support and costs $19.99. If money is no object, I’d rather have the Griffin
Simplifi because it just looks snazzier. But in these tough economic times,
every little bit of savings can be a big deal.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, iPhone, iPad, iPod related

Tagged: Cable, iPod, Memory Card Reader

Griffin Simplifi USB Dock / Card Reader Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 30, 2008 at 1:00 pm.

The DOCKEY is a nicely engineered, small tech-accessory for those road-warriors with mini-USB devices. It replaces the ‘factory-supplied’ cable, allowing you to sync and charge a multitude of devices, including but not limited to the Blackberry, HTC, and many types of cellphones.

The DOCKEY is designed to connect mini-USB devices to the standard USB port on your laptop or computer. It is USB 2.0 compliant with a data rate up to 480Mbps.

There are two parts to the DOCKEY, the DOCKEY itself and the aluminum holder. When closed the system is 1.7" long and together weighs just 0.7oz.

The DOCKEY rotates out of the holder.

Allowing you to pull it from the holder. It then unfolds for use.

The DOCKEY incorporates a patented swivel that allows a wide range of angles. It can swivel up and down 180 degrees and rotate left and right 360 degrees.

If space and cable-clutter are an issue, the DOCKEY is a handy little accessory worthy of consideration. It is well made and will definitely withstand the test of time and many miles of travel.

Filed in categories: Gear

Tagged: Cable, USB

DOCKEY originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 23, 2007 at 6:38 pm.

It seems like we don’t see many people here in the states using hand straps on their mobile phones and digital audio players like they do in other countries. About the only small electronic devices where you do see hand straps used with, are digital cameras. That might change with this nifty hand strap from WirelessGround.

Arriving in simple packaging with no instructions, this little bauble doesn’t even look like it has the ability to charge anything at all.

Upon closer inspection, you’ll find that the hand strap is made of Black leather, with a smallish metal cube also wrapped in leather at one end. A thin cord is attached to the cube to allow you to attach the hand strap to your phone or other small device.

To reveal the connectors, you just pull out the end of the cube.

As you can see in the image above, the design of the holder is pretty ingenious.

The connector ends easily slip out of the holder revealing a standard mini USB connector and an odd looking standard sized USB connector. Don’t worry, the ‘odd’ looking connector fits just fine in any USB slot. It’s just missing the square shield that most USB connectors have.

To charge devices, you just slide the cube to the end of the folded strap. This gives you about 14 inches to work with. The main cube can not slide off the strap, so you won’t lose it. The cap end of the cube should be connected to your phone or other device, so losing shouldn’t be a problem either.

I tested the WirelessGround USB Leather Hand Strap with my HTC TyTn. It worked great for charging. The strap itself does add a bit of bulk though. The utility of this little accessory more than makes up for that fact though and would make a great little stocking stuffer idea. The design looks pretty asexual to me, but I’m curious to hear from all you manly gadgeteers out there. Would you use this hand strap?

Filed in categories: Gear

Tagged: Cable, USB

WirelessGround USB Leather Hand Strap originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 15, 2007 at 5:43 pm.

Here is a review of a product that doesn’t appear to be all that exciting until you really require a use for it. It’s the latest version of a USB 2.0 to IDE / SATA cable from Brando. The first such cable I reviewed was back in 2004. It would only allow you to connect a 3.5 inch IDE drive to your PC or Mac. One year later, the 2nd version of this cable added the ability to connect 2.5 inch drives. Earlier this Spring, yet another iteration of this cable added SATA drive capability. And now the latest version adds one touch backup and a new compact adapter design.

Hardware Specs

Complies with USB 2.0
Backwards compatible to USB 1.1
Supports 2.5″ and 3.5″ IDE/SATA drives
Supports 3.5″ SATA HDD up to 750GB
Supports IDE and enhanced IDE hard drives up to 500GB
SATA Interface: High speed data transfer rates up to 1500Mb/sec
ATA/ATAPI: Support 16-bits DMA and Ultra DMA mode interface (Ultra 33/66/100/133)
Dual Mode: Support bisynchronous mode, compatible to SATA and IDE device simultaneously

Package Contents

USB 2.0 To SATA/IDE Adapter With One Touch Backup
USB cable
AC power adapter
Universal power cable
4 pin convertor cable
Female to male IDE extended cable
Software installation Driver CD
User’s manual

This first thing I noticed when I opened the box, was the fact that there weren’t as many cables included with this version of the product. One look at the new design of the main adapter revealed a built in power connector for the SATA connection. Cool.

The new adapter is a 3.0 x 2.5 x 0.5 inch plastic box, that has 1 button, 3 status LEDs and 5 connectors. The button initiates the one touch backup feature (more about that in a bit). The status LEDs show Power, Read/Write activity and SATA connectivity.

Two of the 5 connectors are for IDE devices. One is a 40-pin connector for 1.8 and 2.5 inch notebook drives and the other is a 40-pin connector commonly used for 3.5 or 5.25 inch hard drives and optical drives (CDroms / DVDs). The other main connector is for 2.5 and 3.5 inch SATA drives. You can see it on the right side in the image above.

The other 2 connection points are for a mini sized USB cable and a 4-pin power cable.

Connecting the adapter to your drives is not rocket science, but there are a couple of important things to be aware of that the included instruction sheet fails to mention. The main thing you should remember, is to NOT connect power to an SATA’s 4-pin power connector AND the power connector on the adapter. That could result in bad bad things happening to your drive. Just plug the included power brick into the adapter and you’ll be fine. Another tidbit to remember is that 1.8 and 2.5 inch IDE drives can run by USB juice alone.

In the image above, you will see that I have an 80gb Hitachi SATA drive and a 80gb Western Digital IDE drive connected to the adapter at the same time. It may be hard to discern in the image, but I had to use the female to male IDE extended cable to connect the IDE drive to the adapter due to the fact that the SATA drive obstructed the 40-pin IDE connector. The Y power cable was also needed for this particular setup. Even though it looks sorta messy, both drives mounted and worked as expected. Files could be copied back and forth between the drives and back and forth between my desktop computer.

A much more tidy configuration is pictured here with the same SATA drive and a 40gb Toshiba IDE. Again, both drives worked fine when connected in this manner.

I should also mention at this point, that the power brick included with this adapter, has an ON/OFF switch built into the cable. It’s housed in the oval shaped blob in the middle of the cord leading to the adapter. This is a welcome update as it was lacking in previous versions of this product. The only bad thing about the power switch is the fact that the only way you really know if the drives are powered off, is by feeling them for vibrations, listening for whirling platter noise, or seeing if the drives are still mounted on your PC/Mac. The small Blue power light on the power brick remains lit even when it is not supplying power to the adapter. Maybe the next version of this adapter will have the power switch on the opposite side of the brick.

You might be wondering if it is possible to connect 2 IDE devices at the same time to this adapter. The answer is YES, you can connect them, but they won’t work. Only one IDE device at a time folks.

I had no problems copying files, moving files, running programs, watching videos or listening to audio files using this adapter and the test drives. Let’s see some test data. The test file that I used for all of the transfer tests was a 118.3mb .WMV video of the Napoleon Dynamite movie.

File copy from PC to Hitachi SATA 5 seconds
File copy from PC to 2.5 Toshiba IDE 32 seconds

File copy from Hitachi SATA to PC 7 seconds
File copy from Hitachi SATA to 2.5 Toshiba IDE 33 seconds

File copy from 2.5 Toshiba IDE to Mac 12 seconds
File copy from 2.5 Toshiba IDE to Hitachi SATA 6 seconds

I used a Windows XP PC for these tests. These numbers really don’t mean anything though, because everything depends on the speed of the drives and the speed of your computer. I also ran the same tests on my iMac, and received similar results. I was very happy with the performance during my tests.

Using this cable for copying files back and forth between 2 drives and your desktop PC/Mac is pretty much the same as using the previous version of this product. Where this new one differs is with the addition of the one touch backup button. To utilize this feature, you have to install an application called PCClone EX Lite which is included on the mini CD.

Once installed, a small icon appears in the task tray of your Win XP computer. Sorry, no Mac version of this software is currently available.

Pressing the oval button on the adapter will cause a popup to display on your screen. You can then either click Start or Cancel with your mouse, or press the one touch backup button a 2nd time to start the actual backup process.

The PCClone Lite software is just that, lite…on features. To configure which files you want to actually back up, you have to launch the application.

There are checkboxes next to the drives mounted on the computer that you have the adapter connected to. You can select the whole drive, or navigate down into the individual directories. You can then choose which drive you want the backed up files to be copied to.

Yes, you can select directories from multiple drives to back up on the source system.

As you can see in the screen capture included above, there are very little options available for configuration. No compression options, scheduling, etc.

I had mixed results backing up files. Sometimes the backup would terminate unexpectedly with a file in use error. I also learned that PCClone ignores the Windows directory and Program Files directory. So, the software doesn’t exactly clone your drive. Personally, I wouldn’t buy this adapter just for the one touch backup feature. There are better products out there that do the same thing and do it in a better way. This product is more suited for those times when you need to copy / move files off a drive due to a computer malfunction or for moving data from one drive to another. The USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Cable with One Touch Backup will remain in my arsenal of little used, but important tools that I never want to be without.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Cable

USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter with One Touch Backup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 7, 2006 at 5:37 pm.

If you are a geek, chances are that you have a gear bag or a gear closet / cabinet. If your geekiness is truly l33t, you may even have both. Yes, I am proud to say that I do have both! I carry a nice assortment of gear ‘stuff’ with me in my gear bag everyday, but I also have some indispensable tools that I keep at home. One of these tools has been the second version of Brando’s USB to IDE cable. These cables have proven to be very handy for computer upgrades and also for family members and friends that have encountered hard drive problems. Often, I’ll give away sample products to friends after my review is complete. Not so for these particular items. I kept the original cable until the 2nd version came out, and now that the 3rd version is here, I know I’ll be keeping it around until there is a 4th.

Package Contents

USB to SATA / IDE cable
SATA Cable
SATA Power cord
AC Power Adapter (100-240v, 50-60Hz)
AC Power cable (UK, Asia and US style cables included)
Driver CD
User’s Manual

The new USB 2.0 to SATA / IDE cable really kicks things up a notch this time around by adding support for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or SATA hard drives. Not to worry, the cable still works with 3.5 and 2.5 inch IDE hard drives too. And although I’ll only be testing this cable with hard drives, it can also be used with CD-ROM and DVD drives.

The main cable looks almost identical to the 2nd version of this product, except that an SATA connector has been added to the top surface.

The included SATA cable snaps into the keyed port easily and securely.

At this point you might be thinking that since this cable has 3 different connection points, that it might be possible to plug in 3 different devices at the same time. Ah, great minds think alike! But alas, 3 at once is not possible. Believe me, I tried. Two at once though, will work as long as it is an IDE and an SATA device. Two IDE devices at one time will not work. Sorry.

The test candidates for this review are shown above. I’ll be testing with a 3.5 inch Western Digital Caviar 80gb IDE drive, a 2.5 inch Toshiba 40gb IDE drive and a 3.5 inch Hitachi Deskstar 80gb SATA drive. Let the games begin!

Hooking up a single drive is a simple operation. Connect the SATA or IDE cable to the matching connector on the drive, plug in the power plug into the drive’s power port (if one exists), and then plug in the USB cable. That’s it. Once all connections are made, the drive should spin up, and then automatically mount as a removable drive on your PC or Mac computer (all my testing was conducted on a 20″ iMac G5).

My first test consisted of the Hitachi SATA drive and 2.5 in Toshiba IDE drive. The little Toshiba does not require power, so setup was a snap. Both drives spun up and appeared on my desktop.

The cool part about being able to connect 2 drives at once, is the fact that you can copy / move files between them.

My second test involved the Hitachi SATA drive and Western Digital Caviar IDE drive. Connecting the interface cable was not a problem, it was only when I went to connect power to both of them, that I realized that I only had one power connector and two devices needing power. A quick trip to Radio Shack and $5 resulted in a Y-adapter power cable. With this cable, I was able to connect power to both hard drives, without needing 2 AC adapters. Nice!

I had no problems copying files, moving files, running programs, watching videos or listening to audio files using this cable and the test drives. Yeah, I know, you want to see test data. The test file that I used for all of the transfer tests was a 118.3mb .WMV video of the Napoleon Dynamite movie.

File copy from Mac to Hitachi SATA 11.12 seconds
File copy from Mac to 2.5 Toshiba IDE 33.68 seconds
File copy from Mac to 3.5 Western Digital IDE 11.06 seconds

File copy from Hitachi SATA to Mac 10.22 seconds
File copy from Hitachi SATA to 2.5 Toshiba IDE 45.58 seconds
File copy from Hitachi SATA to 3.5 Western Digital IDE 20.91 seconds

File copy from 3.5 Western Digital IDE to Hitachi SATA 20.75 seconds
File copy from 3.5 Western Digital IDE to Mac 11.07 seconds

File copy from 2.5 Toshiba IDE to Mac 11.72 seconds
File copy from 2.5 Toshiba IDE to Hitachi SATA 22.25 seconds

This cable is easy to use, works great and is valuable tool for techie’s and geeks. It’s one of those items that doesn’t get a lot of use, but as soon as you need one, you’re thankful that you do.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Cable

Brando USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Cable originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 22, 2006 at 7:31 pm.

One of the things I like best about many of the latest Windows Mobile devices
is that they are now using mini USB connectors to accomplish syncing and
charging. This means that the same set of cables used for my

HTC Apache / PPC-6700 will work with the
HTC Universal I am
currently testing, and I think that is pretty cool!

When traveling with a mobile device, keeping its battery charged is always a
concern. That’s why I like to pack a charging solution that will adapt to
whatever source of power is available, whether it be a wall outlet, car charger,
or a internet cafe computer’s USB port. With those scenarios in mind, BoxWave
is offering a group of products that are compatible with their popular
miniSync
retractable USB sync and charge cable.

I have been using various incarnations of BoxWave’s miniSync since 2002, and
I have nothing but praise for the product. However, it is not always convenient
to hook into a USB port to rev up my Windows Mobile Phone Edition. That’s all
right though, because BoxWave offers everything I should ever need in order to
charge my devices battery when away from my desk. i have previously talked about
the

BoxWave Battery Adapter which works with the miniSync, but today I will take
a look at a couple more power adapters which will connect to the miniSync via
its USB adapter end.

Let’s start with the
miniSync
itself, which has been improved to now support USB 2.0 data transfer. This
miniscule device measures just 4" long x 1′ wide when retracted, but stretches
to 35" long to connect to even the hardest to reach USB ports. This is an
indispensable gear bag item – one that no PDA or mobile phone user should be
without.

Since these Windows Mobile devices can be notoriously power hungry, it was
imperative that the miniSync work properly when either device was turned on and
had both WiFi and Bluetooth running. When plugged directly into a USB port, I
found that the miniSync did charge the battery on both the PPC-6700 and
the Universal with all wireless functions running and the device’s screen turned
on. Mission accomplished.

By itself, the miniSync costs $14.95.

The next item is the Car Charger.
Since almost every automobile, boat and decent airplane seat will have a
compatible port available, the Car Charger adapter is a great item to use during
any excursion. According to the BoxWave site, "the charger’s adaptive circuitry
works with North American and International voltage standards."

Measuring 3.5" long x 1.25" wide, the Car Charger is pocketable and will take
up hardly any room in the user’s gear bag or glovebox. When is is receiving
power, the charger has a small LED which will glow green. My testing of the Car
Charger’s ability to power both devices with all wireless options found that
both the PPC-6700 and HTC Universal were able to charge with BT, WiFi and the
screen turned on.

The Car Charger is available separately for $9.95.

When indoors wall sockets are usually the preferred method of charging, so
there is a Wall Charger
adapter. According to the BoxWave site, the wall charger is "equipped with surge protection for safety"
and its "adaptive circuitry works with North American power
standards and international power standards (both frequencies and standards)".

Measuring 3" long x 2" wide at the prongs, the Wall Charger is compact, but
would be even more so if the prongs had been designed to fold or swivel into the
device. When is is receiving power, the charger has an LED which will glow red.
Testing of the Wall Charger’s ability to power both devices with all wireless
options running went well; both devices charged with WiFi, BT and their screens
on at the same time.

The Wall Charger is available separately for $14.95

If you are interested in combining products and saving money, then be sure to

check out the various product bundles BoxWave offers.

Filed in categories: Gear, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable

BoxWave miniSync with Wall and Car Chargers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 15, 2006 at 2:42 pm.

Right around the corner from my office is a closet which acts as the
receptacle for all of the gadgets’ boxes and accessories currently being used in
our household – well, the ones that will fit, anyway. Inside this closet sits a large cardboard box which holds nothing but power
cords, adapters, odd cables and vehicle chargers for PDAs, digital music
players, mobile phones, and other devices that we may or may not still own and
which we may or may not still be using. I have to clean the box out at least
every two years, otherwise the cables will begin to spill over and chaos will
rule.

You know what? It really strikes me as a complete waste of money that almost every time I
change PDA’s I have to also get new travel or vehicle cables to go along with
the device. I mean, these cables are all essentially the same. Well, with
the exception of their tips, of course.

That’s why I was so interested when I was given the opportunity to review
Gomadic‘s Charger Cables with
Tip Exchange Technology.
I was intrigued by the idea that the same power cable which charges my
PPC-6700 could also charge my iPAQ 4700 as well as my iPod. I was especially
impressed by the idea that the same cable could also power almost every current or
future portable device. Suddenly, I can see an end to the need for the box in my
closet. This is a good thing!

Gomadic sells what they call their

Essential Power Kit, which includes both their
Rapid
Car Charger and
Rapid
Wall Charger as well as two tips for the same device. I was sent a kit that
included two mini
USB tips to use with my PPC-6700, and I was also sent tips which would fit my
iPod and iPAQ 4700. Additional
tips for many devices may be ordered at the same time as the initial order,
or later on as the owner acquires new devices. All it takes is the swapping out
of a simple plug-in tip…

Each tip securely snaps into the Gomadic cable; they
will not accidentally fall out

The wall charger is available with either a US or European style plug, and
there is a red LED to indicate when it is receiving power. Its cable is a
generous 5 1/2 feet long, which should be enough to allow one to sit in a chair
and comfortably use the device while it is charging in a nearby outlet. 

The car charger has a tightly coiled cable, which measures approximately 16"
when retracted and roughly double that when stretched. It also has a red LED
located at its base to
indicate power.

What makes either charger qualify as "rapid"? According to Gomadic, "Rapid
power circuitry is used in our car and travel (wall) chargers. Car chargers are
rated at 850ma and wall chargers at 1000ma resulting in charging times that are
over twice as fast as standard chargers." Also according to the site, "Products
are designed to support wide range of input voltages (ie. 100-240v AC for wall
chargers and 12-24v DC for car chargers) enabling customers to use products
anywhere in the world."

Now in case that makes potential buyers worry about whether these chargers
might be producing too much juice, the site also says that their chargers
are "carefully engineered using additional custom enhancements to protect
your mobile device including current limiting protection, circuit breaking
fuses, reverse voltage protection diodes and more." Unlike cheaply made
chargers that may only have the protection of a single fuse.

The first thing that I wanted to verify after receiving the kit was that
both chargers would
actually charge my phone and iPAQ when WiFi was turned on…

The PPC-6700 charging with the WiFi on

This has turned out to be an issue in the past with other replacement power cords, but in
this case it was no problem.

The iPAQ charging with WiFi on

On our recent trip to Houston, I was able to pack one power cord and
three tips for the three devices that I like to travel with. The
freedom of being able to pack even more lightly than usual was quite nice!
Both the car and wall chargers never failed to charge my devices, and they never
got hot or caused my devices to get any warmer than when used with their factory
chargers, which is to say that they did not grow noticeably warm at all.

The Gomadic Essential Power Kit has earned a permanent place both in my gear
bag and in my glovebox. I really had to think long and hard about what, if
anything, might constitute as a con with this system, but I just couldn’t
find one. Instead, I was only able to come up with a future design request: that
the prongs fold into the body of the wall charger for even more compact
packing. Otherwise, this really is the perfect solution for those that
carry more than one device or for those that upgrade devices on a regular basis.

Gomadic even offers a
AA
Battery Emergency Backup Charger that uses their Tip Exchange Technology. I did not receive
one of these for the review, but it looks to be similar to the USB version I
have reviewed in the past. This would be a very handy item to have for longer flights or other
times when a power outlet is not available.

Gomadic offers a
Lifetime warranty on all parts, and you should
be sure to take a look at this page.

Additional tips can be ordered for $4.95 each.
 

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Gomadic Charger Cables with Tip Exchange Technology originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 23, 2005 at 11:23 am.

When Brando sent me the USB 2.0 to IDE Cable a year ago, I didn’t think I’d ever have the opportunity to actually put it to use. However, I was wrong and was able to eventually put it through its paces for a review. But after that one use and review, this cable has stayed at the bottom of a drawer in my basement computer lair. That’s why a month or so ago, USBGeek.com asked if I would review version 2 of this same product, I was somewhat reluctant. But, being the push over that I am, I said ok. Joe sent the cable and it has sat on my desk until about a week ago when as luck (or non-luck depending on who you ask) would have it, I had the opportunity to give it a try.

For those of you that might recall the first review, this is a cable that allows you to connect an IDE device to your computer via a USB port. Version 2 has the same features as the original version, but adds one important feature to the mix. The first version only allowed for connections to devices using a full-sized IDE connector. This new version has a double sided connector. One side is for 3.5 inch drives and the other is for 2.5 inch (notebook) drives. That’s really the only difference with this newer version and the older version.

Hardware Spec

Fully supports USB 2.0
480Mbps high speed data transfer rate
Supports 3.5, 2.5 Hard Disks, CD-ROM(max. 52x), CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, Combo device
AC Power Adapter input : 100 ~ 240V, 50/60HZ, 0.5A
AC Power Adapter output : 12V/2A, 5V/2A

My first test of this product, was to I pull the drive cage out of an old 800MHz Athlon desktop that I had laying around. I hadn’t booted up the computer in ages and didn’t even recall if I had copied all the files off the two 3.5 inch drives before retiring the computer.

If you look closely at the picture above, you can see that the IDE connectors on the drives are keyed. There is a notch in the middle of plastic surrounding the pins. This notch is supposed to keep you from plugging in the IDE cable incorrectly, as the connector has a matching ‘key’ to the notch. Unfortunately, even with the ‘key’, you can still plug the connector in upside down. At least this was something that I was able to do with the 2 drives I tested it with. So, just make sure you pay attention to what you’re doing. You’ll also notice that there are little plastic jumpers to the right side of the IDE connector, and then to the right of the jumpers there is the power connector.

According to the very terse one page user manual (sheet) included with this cable, you are supposed to make sure the drive is in Master mode. That’s what the jumpers are for. The drive on the bottom in the picture above has a sticker that shows how to arrange the jumpers for Master or Slave mode. The drive on top doesn’t have any information for setting the jumpers. Was this a problem? Nope. I don’t think it really matters if the drive is set to Master or Slave, it worked fine for me either way.

Here you see the connector plugged into one of the drives, and the included power adapter plugged into the power port on the same drive. The correct way to connect the drive to your computer is to plug in the IDE cable to the drive, plug in the power to the drive and then plug the USB connector into the computer. This product is compatible with PCs and Macs. Another area where the user manual is wrong is where it tells you to install a driver if you want to use this product with a Mac. I tried it with my G5 iMac without installing this driver and it worked just fine.

After you plug the USB connector into your computer, the drive should show up automatically either under My Computer on your PC, or as a newly mounted drive on your Mac desktop. From there you can treat it like any other drive by dragging and dropping files.

I haven’t included any file transfer speed info in this review, because the results of such tests are dependent on the speed of the drive, speed of your computer, etc. I tried transferring several large files back and forth from drive to computer and visa versa, I had no real issues with speed.

After testing the 3.5 inch side of the cable, I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to test the 2.5 inch connector on this product, but one Saturday afternoon I received a frantic phone call from my friend Bill of iPhotoSports.com. The conversation went something like this:

Julie: Hello?
Bill: My Sony card reader died while I was shooting a baseball game today!
Julie: Bummer.
Bill: I need to get the pictures off so I can post them on my site [sniff].
Julie: And this effects me how?
Bill: I was hoping that you had a way to copy the files off [whimper].
Julie: Do I look like a CompUSA?
Bill: But you’re The Gadgeteer! You can do anything!
Julie: This is true…
Bill: Well??? [whine]
Julie: Well what?
Bill: Do you have SOMETHING to copy the files from this 2.5 inch drive?!
Julie: Maybe I do gah!
Bill: Can I come over? Puhleeeeese?
Julie: I’m busy.
Bill: What are you doing?
Julie: I’m watching reruns of Xena Warrior Princess.
Bill: I hate you.
Julie: Ok, bye. [click]

Actually only the first 2 sentences of that conversation really happened. Bill does have a tendency to whine though… Anyway, he did bring over the defective Sony HDPS-M1, which we ended up destroying in the process of removing the drive.

This isn’t the Sony drive, this is the drive out of Bill’s notebook computer that also died that same week… do we see a pattern here?

The smaller connector on this cable isn’t keyed in the same way that the 3.5 inch connector is. Instead of having a plastic ridge to mate with the channel in the IDE connector on the drive, the smaller connector has one pin opening closed. In the picture above, if you look at the pins on the drive and the holes in the connector, you’ll see what I’m talking about. At least you can’t plug this connector in upside down.

Once you plug it in, you’ll notice that there isn’t a place to plug in the power adapter. No worries though, the drive will receive power from the USB 2.0 port that you plug it into. Like the 3.5 inch drives, the new drive will show up under My Computer or on your Mac desktop. You gotta love plug and play products!

Price: $35.00

Pros:
Plug and play
Now works with both 3.5 and 2.5 inch drives

Cons:
Possible to plug the 3.5 inch connector in upside down

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Cable

USB 2.0 to IDE Cable Version 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 21, 2005 at 3:15 pm.

When I first got my
Samsung SPH-i550,
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cradle from its predecessor, the

Samsung SPH-i500, could be used for the new model’s syncing and charging.
Obviously unlike some Palm OS devices, Samsung had kept the same connector port.
This was good news because it meant that technically, anything that would work
with the i500′s port should also work with the i550′s…well, at least in
theory.

One night as I was doing a search for i550 accessories, I found that
BoxWave not only had my rare
phone listed, they actually had a few accessories available. It wasn’t long
before I had their

MiniSync for the Samsung i550 in my hot little hands, and I was ready to
ditch the cradle to free up some desk space. I was also looking forward to using
this MiniSync with the
BoxWave
VersaCharger when I traveled, instead of having to bring along its full
cable with plug.

Like other BoxWave MiniSyncs that we have reviewed in the past, the device
measures a compact 4.5" long x 1.1" wide x 0.5" when it is in its retracted
state. Pulling on both ends of the device unleashes a generous 43" of cable.

As expected, the connector fit right into the sync and charge port on the
i550, but then I got a shock: the MiniSync would not charge the Samsung
i550. Instead of seeing the battery with a lightning bolt through it that I
should have seen, the exterior battery display remained unchanged when the
MiniSync was plugged in, as did the interior display.

Even though the MiniSync would not charge my i550, it did allow perfect
synchronization.

Thinking that maybe I had a defective MiniSync I tried it on Steve’s i500,
and found that it synced and charged perfectly. Hmmmmm…

I am not sure why, but if I had to make a guess it would be that the MiniSync
is not able to draw enough power from my computer’s USB port to power the i550,
but it does draw enough for the i500. Bummer.

If you have a Samsung i500, you are in luck. This is a great way to sync and
charge your PDA phone without having to lose valuable desk real estate to a
cradle. If you are one of the few people with an i550, then you will just have
to continue using the cradle. Even though BoxWave has this MiniSync designated
as being able to sync and charge the i550, and even though it technically
should be able to, it will not.

Price: $15.50

Pros:
Compact and easily transportable
Works perfectly with the Samsung i500
Syncs the Samsung i550

Cons:
Does not charge the Samsung i550

Product Requirements:
Device:
A free USB port & a Samsung i500, it will not charge
the i550

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

BoxWave MiniSync for the Samsung i500/i550 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 12, 2005 at 3:18 pm.

Does it bug the bajeezus out of anyone besides myself that it seems to have become a trend for PDA manufacturers not to include a desktop cradle with their PDAs any longer? We as consumers spend hundreds of dollars on these devices only to be given a cheapo charging cable instead of a charging cradle. Such was the case when I spent around $600 for my PalmOne Treo 650 earlier this year. It only came with a cable. A clunky two piece cable to be exact. For charging, you are required to plug in the AC adapter cable into the docking connector. Not the most elegant solution, that’s for certain. Since PalmOne’s Treo cradle kit costs $60 and comes with a bunch of international power adapters that I’ll never use, I opted not to purchase it. Then when Seidio contacted me asking if I might like to review their cradle I was happy to say yes.

Cable / AC adapter that ships with Treo 650

The INNODock Desktop Cradle is a small plastic dome shaped cradle that comes in 3 colors (White, Blue and Silver). I was sent the Blue version which matches the color of my Sprint Treo 650 perfectly. Without the included USB cable, the cradle weighs in at 3.7 ounces and has a footprint of a 3 inch diameter circle.

This accessory is pretty simple. On the front there is the docking connector set into the base of the cradle, a charge LED on the front that glows green when the connected to a USB port on your computer and a hotsync button. The button is actually a contact that is under a rectangular flat plastic membrane sticker. The adhesive on this sticker must not be the best, because I often notice the corner popping up, thus requiring me to press it back down again. This type of button also lacks good tactile feedback.

On the back of the cradle there is a full sized female USB connector that you use to connect the included 41 inch black plastic USB cable. Next to the USB connector is a 3.5mm audio-out connector that can be used to connect headphones or external speakers for listening to music through your Treo. This is a cool feature given the fact that the Treo itself has a mini 2.5mm headphone jack built into it instead of the standard 3.5 mm size. Sound quality and volume through the audio-out jack are very good.

The bottom of the cradle has rubber feet so that the cradle pretty much stays put on your desk. That said, the cradle isn’t heavy enough that you can detach the Treo without holding on to the base.

Besides the audio out jack, the best feature of this cradle is spring loaded hotsync connector. This connector can pivot to allow you to connect the Treo even when housed in a wide variety of cases. I tried the cradle while the Treo was in the Brando leather flip case, Innopocket Metal Deluxe case, Innopocket Magnum case and Vaja iVolution case. With the exception of the Vaja case, all the others worked great with this cradle. Unfortunately, the leather on the bottom of the Vaja case was formed in such a way that it did not allow for the connectors to mate properly. Too bad as this is my favorite case to use with my Treo (

Treo without a case, Treo in the Brando leather flip case

Treo in the Innopocket Magnum, Treo in the Innopocket Metal Deluxe case

During my review period, I’ve had no issues whatsoever with charging and/or syncing my Treo 650 using this cradle with both my PC and my iMac G5. I like the fact that it looks good and only requires a USB port to both charge and sync. If you were annoyed that a cradle wasn’t included with your Treo, you will probably enjoy using the Seidio INNODock Desktop Cradle too.

Price: $39.95

Pros:
Plug and play charging and syncing
Doesn’t require an AC adapter
Able to dock Treo while in a case
Audio out

Cons:
Hard to plug in or remove Treo with one hand
Hotsync button doesn’t have very good tactile feedback

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Seidio INNODock Desktop Cradle for Treo 650 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 28, 2005 at 7:17 pm.

Product Requirements:
Device:
PalmOne Treo 650

I have been happily using the

USB Retractable SyncCharger Cable from Brando’s Workshop
with my
PalmOne Treo 650 for several weeks now.
I haven’t had a reason to switch to another syncing and charging solution until
Seidio contacted me to let me know
about their cable.

Their cable looks very similar to Brando’s cable. It has the same overall
shape and length when retracted and extended. The cable extends to 29in (74cm) and retracts back down to 4.5in (11cm).
Extending and retracting is accomplished by pulling both ends of the cable at
the same time. When you do so, you will hear a ratcheting sound as the cable
stops at various lengths. As long as you remember to pull both ends at the same
time, you won’t need to worry about the cable getting jammed around the holding
spool.

The only difference between the Brando cable and the Seidio cable is the
addition of a Hotsync button. This is a big deal in my opinion. With the button,
you no longer need to navigate to the Hotsync application on the PDA. You just
press the button and syncing begins.

The only thing I can think of to complain about with this accessory is that
it is easy to accidentally press the sync button when you are inserting or
detaching the cable from the Hotsync port. That said, I really like this cable
and am using full time on my desktop at home. I haven’t ditched the Brando cable
though, I still keep it in my gear bag for my day job.

Price: $15.95

Pros:
Syncs and charges without needing a AC adapter
Cable retracts

Cons:
None

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Seidio Treo 650 Retractable Sync & Charger USB Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 3, 2005 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
A USB sync/charger for your electronic
device

Buying a PDA that comes with a cradle is just wonderful for those who sit at
a desk day in and day out. Viewing that PDA’s screen when it is sitting propped
up at an appropriate angle is quite convenient. However, the first time the
owner needs to travel with that PDA, the desktop charger is suddenly revealed
for what it is – a clunky item to lug around.

This has led to a proliferation of USB driven compact sync and charge cables
for frequent travelers. While these cables are fabulous to use when the owner is
bringing along a Laptop to connect to, they are useless if that person is trying
to eliminate the laptop and travel light – with just their PDA.

BoxWave is offering the
perfect solution for those that don’t want to travel with their PDA’s cradle or
with their laptops: the
VersaCharger.

Measuring 4.5" long by 1.5" wide, the VersaCharger is the perfect size to
chuck into a gearbag or keep in the glovebox of the car. Comprised of smoky
translucent plastic, the charger can be used both in a wall socket or in the
cigar lighter of a vehicle. All you have to add is the USB sync and charge cable
that works with your particular device.

   

Photos courtesy of BoxWave

There is a USB port on the end to receive the plug from the cable, and under
the clear plastic cap on the opposite end is the cigar adapter.

   

Photos courtesy of BoxWave

An LED light on the top side glows red when the attached electronic device is
charging,  and it glows green once charging is complete. The underside of
the charger houses the electrical prongs which fold down for wall-socket
charging.

When used in conjunction with a USB cable charger, such as BoxWave’s
miniSync, the
VersaCharger is a compact and complete charging solution.

I have been very impressed with the set. I travel quite a bit and in the last
year have been trying to carry my laptop less and less. Being able to power my
charging cable either in the car, on planes equipped with outlets, or from a
wall outlet from such a compact device is the epitome of convenience. With the
holidays coming up and gift lists being made, this might be the perfect item for
your favorite road warrior.

Updated 03/10/05: Thuan Truong, one of our readers,
wrote to say that if you are trying to charge the HP iPAQ 4700 while running the
wireless, the VersaCharger will not produce enough power. I have
tested it with mine, and found his observation to be correct. Obviously, this is
not something I had needed before, so I hadn’t run into a problem, but I’ll know
to test for it next time! If that is the scenario in which you might be thinking
about using the VersaCharger, then you will not be satisfied. Thanks Thuan for
pointing out this problem. Hopefully BoxWave will fix it ASAP.

Price: $24.95
Add $14.95 for the miniSync

Pros:
Compact charger that draws power from either wall socket or power port in car
Can be used in conjunction with the USB sync/charge cable you may already own

Cons:
None

Filed in categories: Gear, Miscellaneous, Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related, Power

BoxWave VersaCharger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 7, 2004 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Windows 98SE or higher
Mac OS 8.6 or higher

When I found a USB 2.0 to IDE cable in a package of other review items that I had received from Brando’s Workshop, I had to wonder when and if I’d ever be able to actually review it. According to the packaging, this product would allow a person to connect an IDE device to a computer via USB. At the time I wasn’t in the market for a new hard drive, CD-Rom, CD-RW, DVD-Rom or DVD-RW, which are what this device is compatible with. I didn’t relish the thought of cracking open my homebrew Athlon desktop to test with one of my current drives, and I didn’t feel like going out and buying a new device just for a review. So, I put the box in my pile-o-stuff and hoped an opportunity would present itself. Wouldn’t you know it, about 2 months later I would be thanking Brando for sending me this product…

I had been promising my sister that I would upgrade her ancient 400mhz Pentium desktop to something nicer, for a long while. Since I had just purchased an Apple 15" G4 Powerbook, I decided that my Fujistu Lifebook (a.k.a. Mini-me) was no longer needed and decided to make it a gift to her.

Of course, she was thrilled, but at the same time, she asked how we could transfer her emails, pictures, documents, etc. from the old computer, to the new computer. I said "no problem…" and packed a gear bag with several tools before heading over to her apartment.

The tools I took along with me were:
CR-T3-U26 USB 2.0 6-in-1 Memory Card Reader
VICTORINOX CyberTool 34
USB 2.0 Data Link Cable (another product that Brando sent… review to be posted soon)
USB 2.0 to IDE Cable

It had been awhile since I worked on her computer, and once I got there, I remembered why I hated working on it. For one thing the CD-Rom didn’t work. If that wasn’t bad enough, it was running Windows 98. ACK! No SE here folks… That means, no USB. My idea of just plugging in the card reader and copying the necessary files to it for transfer was blown out of the water quickly. So was the idea to use the USB 2.0 Data Link cable between the two PCs. Luckily I had the USB 2.0 to IDE cable to try out!

Using the CyberTool, I opened her computer case, unscrewed the first hard drive (she had 2 of them) from the mounting bracket, and then took a closer look at the USB 2.0 to IDE cable instructions. Since the Fujistu notebook was running Windows XP, no driver installation was required. A mini CD is included in the box if you happen to be running and older version of Windows or Mac OS.

Basically the cable has a female 40 pin IDE connector on one end and a standard sized USB connector on the opposite end. The total length of the cable is 39 inches. Here are the specs.

Hardware Specs:

Fully supports USB 2.0
480Mbps high speed data transfer rate
Supports Hard Disk, CD-ROM(max. 52x), CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, Combo device
AC Power Adapter input : 100 ~ 240V, 50/60HZ, 2A
AC Power Adapter output : 12V/3A, 5V/2A

The only important step in the included instructions (a small folded piece of paper) is to make sure that you set the hard drive to Master mode instead of Slave mode. By default, hard drives tend to be set to Master mode. This is especially true if you remove one from a system with only one drive. In this case, I had two drives to contend with, so I had to pay attention to the jumper settings on the drives.

Once I made sure I had the mode set correctly, I attached the cable to the IDE port, attached the included AC adapter to the hard drive, plugged in the AC adapter to a power outlet, and then plugged the USB connector into the Fujistu notebook. I was a little worried since I knew that the Fuji didn’t have USB 2.0 ports. I didn’t know if that would make a major difference or not… A few seconds later, the notebook detected the new hardware and the drives appeared under the My Computer drives list. Cool!

The drives show up in the Hard Disk Drives list. Here they show up as E: and F:

From there, I was able to copy all of her files files from the hard drive to the notebook via a simple drag and drop operation. She was pretty impressed!

After I finished copying the files from the first hard drive, I put it back into her system and then removed the 2nd hard drive. I repeated the same hook-up steps, but this time the drive was never recognized by the notebook. I could hear it spin up, so that wasn’t the problem. I could put it back into her computer system and it worked fine…

I ended up bringing the drive home to try out with my Athlon desktop since it does have USB 2.0 ports. Unfortunately, when I connected it to the desktop, it was never detected either. I tried it on my Powerbook and had the same results. However, when I plugged the drive directly into my desktop’s IDE cable and power cables, then rebooted the system, it showed up just fine. At this point I was pretty sure there was a problem with the cable. But then when I went to take pictures for the review, I plugged in the cable and noticed that that the power plug was a really tight fit. Then I saw that I had the cable plugged in so that one end of the connector was not in contact with one set of the pins on the hard drive. OOPS! After I took the pictures, I plugged it into my PC and badda boom badda bing! It worked perfect! The moral of this story is to pay close attention to what you’re doing… ;o)

This product is handy for the purpose outlined here, as well as for system expansion. Using the USB 2.0 to IDE cable, you can easily add extra storage or capabilities to a desktop or notebook system without the hassles of opening cases and futzing around cables. I’ll be keeping it around just in case…

Price: $32.00

Pros:

Easy to use

Inexpensive way to add storage to an existing PC

Cons:

None

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Cable

Brando USB 2.0 to IDE Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2004 at 12:00 am.

Anytime Julie or I get a new PDA, we immediately begin the search for
accessories that will enhance its use. Not long after I ordered the Sony TH55,
we received an email from
JavoEdge
about their range of products. Thinking of my upcoming

4Corners trip, I knew it would be much more convenient to have a travel
charger for the TH than to bring along the huge contraption that Sony passes off
as a charging cord.

Well, as most of you know, the TH55 was sent back to Sony two days before I
left on vacation because of a serious digitizer issue. Luckily, the products
that I was sent also worked with my Sony NZ90, so I was still able to try them
out while on the road.

Once I returned, I thought that my TH55 would be back from Sony any day. I
went ahead and listed the NZ90 on eBay, and started using my Tapwave Zodiac2
again. This was a bad move on my part, at least as far as this review is
concerned. My NZ90 sold, and when Sony sent me a refurbished TH55 to replace my
brand new "paid full retail" unit, I sent it back for a refund. What this means,
in terms of this review, is that I don’t have a picture of the JAVOEdge products
actually attached to a Sony PDA, and for that I apologize.

However, I do feel confident talking about their performance and so – without
any further ado…

JAVOSync  

Product Requirements:
Available for devices listed

here

Retractable sync and charge cables have been available for different models
of PDAs for some time. They offer the convenience of a portable cable that will
both sync and charge a PDA through the USB port on a computer. JAVOEdge offers a
version that comes in either black or silver. The device measures 5.5" long x
1.25" wide x 0.5" thick and it weighs 0.9 ounces. It is definitely designed to
take up very little room in even the stingiest of gearbags.

I was sent the

Sony T Series version in Silver. For those of you that haven’t been keeping
track, this same model will also fit the following CLIÉ device series: NR, NX,
NZ, SJ, SL, T, TG, TH and TJ. Needless to say, Sony has been kind in keeping
their sync / charge ports the same over all of these model lines. The chances
are fair that if you get this model and upgrade to a different CLIÉ in the
future, that this same cable will be able to make the transition.

   

Pictures courtesy of JAVOEdge

The device feels solid, and the retractable action is smooth – so long as you
always remember to pull the cable from both ends at the same time. Pulling one
end without the other can result in a snarl or a unit that will not want to
fully retract in the future. Once pulled to its limit, the cable is a full 35"
long. This is plenty of length for charging a PDA from any port on a laptop
computer while keeping the PDA in an easily viewable position.

Absent from the cable is a dedicated hot-sync button. Now, I can’t honestly
say that any other retractable available offers this, but it would be a welcome
addition if one would. As it is, you will have to initiate hot-syncs from the
screen of the PDA. That is the only con I can see to this cable,
whatsoever.

This cable will charge your PDA anytime it is hooked up to a computer’s USB
port – or when used in conjunction with the JAVOChargers. This makes the cable
doubly valuable, since it can be used without a computer.

The JAVOSync cable is available in black or silver. You can purchase it

here.

Price: $14.95

Pros:
Compact and portable
Syncs and charges

Cons:
No built-in hot-sync initiation button

JAVOCharger 

Product Requirements:
A USB sync / Charge cable

When you are traveling by car, especially if you are lucky enough to be the
passenger, a great way to pass the time is by playing games or reading eBooks on
your PDA. The problem is that if the trip is over a couple of hours long, you
will eventually deplete the PDA’s battery. Enter the JAVOEdge

USB Car Charger.

The charger measures 4" long x 1.5" wide x 1" thick, and it weighs 1.2
ounces. There is a handy red LED that indicates when the charger is receiving
juice form the vehicle.

When used in conjunction with the JAVOSync cable, you have a portable charger
that works from the power port in a car, airplane or boat. The entire package
can be conveniently stored in an auto’s glovebox or in your gearbag.

If you already own a USB driven power cable, then you have the option of
using it in conjunction with the JAVOCharger. If you buy this charger and change
PDAs in the future, then you will still be able to use it with whatever cable
you purchase at that time.

The JAVOSync cable is available in black. You can purchase it

here.

Price: $9.95

Pros:
Compact and portable
Allows any USB sync/charge cable to be used as a car charger

Cons:
None

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

JAVOSync and USB Car Charger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 10, 2004 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Palm m500 series. Palm Tungsten T
series, Palm Zire 71, CLIÉ T/NR/SL/SJ/NX/NZ/TG/TJ series, CLIÉ N/S series, iPAQ
1910/221x/38xx/39xx/54xx/55xx series, ASUS A620, MiTAC Mio 338/528, Viewsonic
V35, O2xda/xda2

One of the first things many people do when they get a new PDA is buy an
extra cradle so that they can sync and charge when at work. Of course, the
average cradle can cost upwards of $50, plus there is the fact that they take up
so much room!

If gearbag, or even your desktop space is at a premium, then you might want
to take a look at two new sync and charge cables available from
Brando Workshop and
Surplus PDA. From end to end, the Brando cable is 56.5" long (143.5cm), and
the Surplus PDA cable is 65" (163cm). Otherwise, there are no differences
between the two.

The beauty of these sync cables is that they operate in a fashion quite
similar to a cradle. Just as a cradle will light up when a PDA is charging, and
just as some will light up when syncing, these sync cables have glowing LED
lights to let you know what functions the cable is performing. A red light will
glow for battery charging, and a blue light will glow when data is being
synchronized.

The Palm OS versions of these sync cables include a hot-sync button which
corrects a major design flaw of other lesser cables. When there is no hot-sync
button, the user has to enter the function from the screen, which depending on
their set up can involve multiple layers of taps.

This isn’t really an issue with a Pocket PC’s sync cable, since Active Sync
will generally start on it’s own (depending on your settings) as new data is
added.

One last feature of these cables is that there is a slider which can be
adjusted to turn the battery charging capability on or off. I am almost
obsessive/compulsive about keeping my PDAs charged, so this isn’t really a
function that I will use.

For those of you that need the portability of a cable, or that don’t want the
expense of a second cradle, these USB Sync Cables are a perfect solution.

This USB Sync Cable is avaiable from
Brando Workshop and

Surplus PDA.

Price: $16.99 – 19.90

Pros:
Fair price
Portable
LED lights tell you what function is running
Hot Sync button on Palm OS models
You can turn off the power charging feature

Cons:
None

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

USB Sync Cable with On/OFF Charging Control Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 11, 2003 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Palm PDAs with a universal connector
Windows 98SE and higher

So, you’ve got a Palm with a universal connector and an SD (Secure Digital)
memory expansion slot. How would you like a hotsync / charge cable for your PDA
that also included a card reader? Intrigued? I was too when I heard about the
SyncGear 3-in-1 Cable being sold by
Innopocket.

Great for PDA owners on the go, this little gem allows you to sync and charge
with ease. Since the cable is USB, it does not require an AC adapter to charge
your PDA. Instead, it uses the power from the desktop or notebook computer that
you plug it into. Drivers are not necessary for Windows ME and higher users,
making this cable completely PLUG & PLAY.

But the coolest thing about the SyncGear is the included SD card slot in the
back plate of the connector.

When in SD mode, inserting a card will automatically mount a drive on your PC
allowing you to read and write files to it just as you would any other drive.
Being able to write directly to the SD card, is faster than copying files to it
using the hotsync application. Not to mention the fact that you can use the card
reader for digital cameras and other devices that may use SD storage.

There is one gotcha with this product though… you can not access the SD
card and hotsync/charge at the same time. A slide switch on the front of the
cable allows you to switch between the two functions.

When in SD mode, the LED on the front of the cable will glow red. When in PDA
mode, the LED will not glow.

The cable also includes a hotsync button that you can press to initiate a
hotsync with the PDA and desktop. This is more convenient that having to
navigate to the hotsync application on the PDA itself.

I think the SyncGear is a great solution for mobile users that like to pack
as light as possible. It gives them three tools in one small package. They can
hotsync, charge and access SD memory cards easily. If you need a cable for your
PDA and don’t yet have an SD card reader, this product might be perfect for you.

Price: $24.90

Pros:
Integrated PDA cable and SD reader

Cons:
Can’t use the SD slot while syncing or charging

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

SyncGear 3-in-1 Palm Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 2, 2003 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Compaq iPAQ 3800/3900 series PDA
 

There are days when I feel like the Joker was talking about us (instead of
Batman) when he said, "Where does [The Gadgeteer] get those wonderful toys?" I
mean, it seems like hardly a week will go by when Julie and I don’t find a
product that we never knew existed, but that looks like one that we could really
use! Whether it be a new software title, an accessory of some kind, or a new
piece of hardware, we keep finding new products that make us wonder how we ever
got along without them.

Take, for instance, the
Seidio 2-in-1 charger for the Compaq iPAQ. This is a
product so simple, yet so brilliant, that I am surprised this was the first time
I had ever seen one like it before.

You know how when you are using a particular PDA and you aren’t always in
your office where you can keep it in a charger? If you are like me, then you
will most likely wind up buying a travel charger for the car and an extra power
cord for the wall, so that you never have to worry about your battery dying
while you are out and about. Well, right there you have just added two cords to
your gear bag.

The Seidio manages to put both an AC and DC charger into one handy combo…

When you are in the car, you can just swing out the car charger portion of the charger. It ratchets into various positions, allowing you to pick the best angle for plugging it into your power supply.

When you are in the hotel, you can swing out the wall potion of the charger.

Pretty nifty, huh?

The Seidio’s coiled cord compacts into itself to make an easy to pack bundle
(say that part five times fast!); but when you need it to, it can stretch out to
over five feet. The guts of the charger are housed in a box that measures
roughly 3′ long x 2" wide x 1" thick, not counting the cord.

While you won’t be able to perform an active-sync with this cord, it is
after-all a charger only, I think that being able to charge your PDA while on
the run is definitely worth the price of this accessory.

Now I just need to get one for every other PDA I use on a regular basis,
since there are so many different ones available!

Price: $29.95
Also available for the following models: Audiovox Maestro/Casio
E125/E200/BE300, IPAQ 3100/3600/3700, Sharp Zaurus SL-5500d, Toshiba
e310/e550/e570, Handspring Visor Prism/Pro/Platinum, Handspring Treo 90/180/270,
HP Jornada 520/540/560, IPAQ 3800/3900, Palm V/Vx/WorkPad, Palm
M130/M500/M505/M515/i705 Samsung I300, Sony CLIÉ
S300/N600/N700/T415/T615/NR70/NR70V,
T Mobile Pocket PC
Phone

Pros:

Compact charging for both AC & DC outlets
Inexpensive

Cons:

None

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable

Seidio 2-in-1 iPAQ Charger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 18, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Sony CLIÉ T & NR Series
 

I believe that a cradle definitely has its benefits, but there are times when
a cable is the preferable mode for your information’s transportation. Not only
are cables more portable than a cradle, but they are also much less expensive.

I was sent several models specifically for the CLIÉ T & NR series. The only
difference between these cables is either their lengths or their connectors.

So, without further ado, lets take a look at how they tested out…

USB HotSync Recharge Travel Cable

Picture courtesy of Innopocket website

The USB HotSync recharge travel cable is incredibly compact at 6 inches. It performs a flawless hot-sync while charging my CLIÉ. The only downside that I can find to its short length is that not all laptops have their USB ports on the side. While my monster-sized Gateway has conveniently placed ports on its side, I rarely if ever travel with that beast. Instead, I take my Fujitsu P2110 (also known as mini-mói, to compliment Julie’s mini-me), which has both of its ports on the back. This makes viewing the screen while charging slightly inconvenient, but still do-able. There is a small round button on the top of the portion that plugs into your CLIE that will begin the hot-sync. If your PDA is turned off when you decide to initiate a sync, then you will have to press the button twice. The first press will turn on the CLIE, while the second will start the sync. This little doodad has earned a permanent spot in my gear collection.

Price: $12.90

Pros:

Extremely compact
Inexpensive
Works like a charm, every time

Cons:

If USB port is on the back of your laptop, it is not easy to see PDA screen
due to the short length
 

USB HotSync
Recharge Cable

Picture courtesy of Innopocket website

I suppose this version isn’t billed for "travel" because it is five feet long, but don’t let that fool you. This cable is still easy to pack, and if you have a laptop with USB ports on the back it might be the cable you would rather use. Otherwise, it is exactly the same as the travel version I just told you about.

Price: $18.90

Pros:

Compact
Inexpensive
Works like a charm, every time

Cons:

None
 

Serial HotSync
Cable

Picture courtesy of Innopocket website

Once again, this is a cable that isn’t billed for travel – presumably because of its length. And once again, you shouldn’t let that stop you from giving this cable a try if you need a serial connection. While it may feel like the entire world has moved to USB, those that use NT will appreciate the serial port end. Buying this cable should definitely be preferable to putting out the cash for a serial cradle.

Price: $22.90

Pros:

Compact
Inexpensive
Works like a charm, every time

Cons:

None

Every one of these cables is well made and should do the job for you, if and
when you are ready to go without a cradle.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Innopocket Sync / Charge Cables for the Sony CLIÉ T & NR Series Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 17, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Sony CLIÉ T400,
T415, T425, T600C, T615C, T625C, NR70, NR70V

Here are two accessories from Brando
for Sony CLIÉ T and NR series owners that want an easy and compact way to sync
and
charge while on the go. These items are great for travelers, people with
laptops, or people that don’t have a lot of space on their desktop for a cradle.

CLIÉ T Series USB Hotsync / Charge Cable
[Judie]

I recently reviewed the Brando
Sync & Charge cable for the Compaq iPAQ. After seeing how easy and efficient
that product was, I wanted the same for my new CLIÉ NR70V. Well, here it is.

As promised, this Brando cable will sync my CLIÉ to my laptop and will also
allow it to charge, all directly from the USB port. This model has a hotsync
button, which is quite convenient.

The Brando Sync & Charge cable for the CLIÉ T & NR series has earned a permanent
place in my gear bag, and I won’t be traveling without it.

CLIÉ T Series Serial Hotsync Cable
[Julie]

I wanted this cable so that I could sync my CLIÉ NR70V with my Windows NT
desktop at work. Unfortunately, NT 4.0 can not use USB devices like the CLIÉ
NR70V cradle.

When the cable arrived, I verified that it could plug into both my Sony CLIÉ
NR70V as well as my T615C. The hotsync connector snaps in securely on both PDAs.
To remove it, there are two spring loaded buttons on either side of the
connector that you squeeze together. The other end of the cable is your typical
9 pin serial cable. It plugged right into the back of the PC.

The only bad thing about this cable is the fact that it doesn’t have a
hotsync button that you can press to initiate the sync. You have to turn on the
PDA and navigate to the hotsync application manually. This isn’t a make or break
it point for me considering that the cable is inexpensive and an easy way to
gain syncing ability at work.

The only other thing I should mention is that this is not a charging cable…
it’s only for syncing. So, you’ll still need to plop the CLIÉ into your cradle
when you need to top off the battery.

Price: $22.00 each

Pros:
Both are easy to use…plug it in and sync
Compact
USB version totally replaces the cradle
Serial cable allows NT users the ability to sync

Cons:
Serial cable doesn’t have a hotsync button
Still need the cradle to charge the CLIÉ’s batteries when using the serial cable

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Brando Sony CLIÉ T & NR Series USB and Serial Cables Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 6, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Compaq iPAQ 3800 series
 

This is going to be one of the shortest reviews I have ever written, but as
you will see this is a product that doesn’t need much fan-fare.

The Brando Compaq
iPAQ 3800 Sync and Charge Cable does exactly as the name implies – it allows
you to sync and charge your iPAQ with the same cable directly from the USB port
on either your laptop or Desktop computer.

Here’s what you get…

This is a true "plug and play" product, and if you are someone that doesn’t
like using a cradle or that is on the road quite often, you will LOVE this item.

Mine has a permanent place in my gear bag…I just wish I could get one for
every PDA I own!

Price: $22.00

Pros:

Perfect for the road warrior, or the person that doesn’t like a cradle on
their desk.

Cons:

None

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable

Brando Compaq iPAQ 3800 Sync and Charge Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Compaq iPAQ 3600 series Pocket PC

It’s a sad fact of life that Pocket PCs are notorious for sucking batteries
dry faster than I can spend money on gadgets! And let me tell you, that’s pretty
darned fast! ;o) So what’s a gadgeteer to do when their iPAQ suddenly starts crying for power
when they are out and about?

If they are smart, the have a 12Volt charger which is available at StylusCentral and other fine stores. Available for the Palm III series, V series, m500 series, Handspring Visor, Sony CLIÉ and Compaq iPAQ 3600, 3800 series, this charger works great in a car or boat. Made of black plastic, the charger has a large connector and LED on one end, and a flexible stretchy cord that extends approximately 4 feet with a power connector on the other end. The large connector plugs into a free 12Volt (cigarette lighter) outlet, and the other end plugs into the power outlet on the bottom of your iPAQ. An LED is located on the base of the large connector and glows green indicating power when plugged in. This LED on the charger does not turn off when the iPAQ reaches a full charge. But you’ll be able to tell the charging status by the orange LED on the iPAQ itself. While charging, it blinks yellow (as it does in the cradle) and will glow steady when fully charged. This is an easy to use accessory that can be conveniently stowed in a glove compartment for ready use when needed. Priced reasonably, this item is a must have for all mobile iPAQ users.

Price: $19.99

Pros:
Convenient
Charge while you’re on the go

Cons:
None

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Cable

12Volt iPAQ 3600 series Charger Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 11, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:

Device:

Clié S300 / S320 / S500 / N600C
/ N610C / N700C / N710C / N750C / N760C / N770C

Desktop:

Windows 95/98/2000, Mac

If you just upgraded to one of the newer Sony Clié PDAs, you may
be in the market for a second cradle to use at work or at home. If you
are like me, I hate taking the cradle with me, especially when I have to
dis-assemble the charger plug as well. Well thanks to Brando,
(maker of the Palm
V USB hotsync + charger cable), we now have a USB hotsync + charger
cable just for the Clié!

The major difference between this and the Palm cable is that since the
Clié syncs with USB, no additional drivers were required to use
the cable to sync. You simply plug it in, push the glowing green button,
and sync. I found it to be a great alternative to purchasing another cradle,
and looking for an empty electrical outlet to plug the charger into. The
cable draws power from the USB port, and a green LED on the button lets
you know that it’s working. It doesn’t flash like the Palm cable, but I
prefer that.

The connector is the same as the one that comes with the Clié
charger cable, (which plugs into either the back of the cradle or directly
into the Clié). This has good points and bad points, none of which
are the fault of Brando. On the plus side, you get the exact connector
that Sony uses. On the minus side, I have found this connector to be somewhat
loose at times, so much so that when I use the stock Sony charger alone,
without the cradle, it will not stay secure enough to keep the electronic
connection. I can only use the Sony charger with the cradle. So when I
plugged the Brando hotsync + charger cable into my Clié for the
first time, it was also a bit loose. I was able to gently place it on the
desk top, making sure the connector stayed in place, to sync.

The cable is about 5 feet long, and is somewhat stiff. It’s not as flexible
as the cables on the cradle or charger that come with the Clié,
but it’s flexible enough to stay where you put it on the desktop.

So, how does this cable work as a charger? I’m not so sure that it will
work as good as the charger that came with the Clie. I don’t know how
much power is drawn through the USB port, but leaving my Clie connected
to the computer for 30 minutes only increased the battery strength 4%. It
would take a long time to charge up the batteries at that rate. If I
wasn’t going anywhere, it wouldn’t matter. But since you have to leave
the computer on to charge, it may be an issue for some folks. Although
there was is no indicator light on the cable that it is charging,
(there’s a LED on the Clie cradle that lights up when charging), you can
turn on the Clie and look for the “lightning bolt” going through the
battery icon in the application screen to see if it is charging while
using the cable.

Regardless, I think this is a great product. The charging issue may
not really be an issue for most. And the cable is much smaller than carrying
around the Sony charger and cradle.  It’s too bad that Sony didn’t
put a better connector on their product, but then again, we don’t want
to start suggesting they change their connectors with every model of PDA
like some OTHER companies do

 

Price: $25.00 (US)

Pros:

Portable

No drivers required

Sync and charge through one USB connection

Cons:

The connector is a bit loose, but that’s a Sony issue.

No indication the Clié is charging.

 

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Brando Clié USB Hotsync + Charger Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 27, 2002 at 12:00 am.

Product Requirements:
Device:
Palm V/Vx
Desktop:

Windows 95/98/2000, Mac

Do you know what I hate…? Running out of serial ports and AC outlets. Yeah,
I know, that’s a crazy thing to hate. But when you have as many PDAs, gadgets
and doohickeys as I do, it’s a major feat to find a free serial port and a free
power outlet
for them. I’m constantly crawling under my computer desk to pull out the charger
for gadget A so that I can charge gadget B. So, when I found the Palm V USB
hotsync + charger cable in my mailbox from Brando,
I was happy as a clam.

This cable solves two of my main problems. Number one, I don’t need a serial
port to plug it into. It uses USB. And number two, it draws power from the USB
port thus not needing a AC outlet. Totally convenient. 

The first thing that you have to do before using this cable is to install the
driver software which comes on a mini CD. Once the driver is installed, you can
go into the hotsync setup preferences on your desktop and switch the Serial port to the newly enabled COM3
port. So, if you haven’t already guessed, this cable won’t give you true USB
fast syncing… It gives you a new serial port that is accessed thru USB, but
doesn’t require a separate IRQ.

Installation was simple. I did run into a problem with my PC though. When I
have the cable connected, my PC won’t boot up. It gets stuck on the Windows 98
logo screen. If I unplug the cable, booting resumes. This is probably something
specific to my setup though as I have had other USB wackiness in the past. 

The cable is about 5.4 feet (1.7 meters) long with a USB connector on one end
and a Palm V clip-on connector on the other end. A few inches below the Palm V
connector is an oval shaped module. This module has the hotsync button / charger
LED and separate TX and RX LEDs.

The hotsync button is green and has a green LED in the middle of it. It
remains on at all times regardless if a PDA is attached or not. I think it
would be better if it remained on only while charging and turned off once a full
charged was reached.

The TX and RX LEDs are red and blink during hotsync to indicate data
transfer. This is cute but I don’t think it is necessary or makes the product
any better.

What about syncing speed? Well, I did a few tests comparing the speed of
syncing with this USB cable as opposed to a regular serial cable and a Visor
Prism via USB. Here are my results:

As you can see, the syncing times for serial and this USB cable were the
same. So, don’t buy this cable thinking it will speed up your hotsyncs. Buy this
cable if you want a easier way to connect to your PC and don’t have an extra AC
adapter. It is also a nice travel option for people that already have a notebook
PC with a USB port. 

Price: $36.00

Pros:
Portable
Sync and charge thru one USB connection

Cons:

Charge LED doesn’t turn off when done charging

Filed in categories: Gear

Tagged: Cable, Palm OS related

Palm V USB Hotsync + Charger Cable Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 24, 2001 at 12:00 am.