A while back I posted a news item for the Wrist ID Sport by Road ID, which displays emergency contact information for fitness enthusiasts.  I thought it looked cool and was a great product idea.  At the time, I had been doing quite a bit of outdoor running, so I ordered one and tried it out.

Background

As I mentioned above, back in summer 2010 I had been running outdoors almost every day, sometimes on a paved trail near my home, but mostly on country back roads over my lunch hour at work.   Most of the roads were minimally traveled by motorized traffic, but a few were busier, with car, pickup truck and sometimes larger vehicles.  Occasionally one would fail to slow down, or to slide over to give me some room, and every time that happened it made me think, “What if I got tagged by one of these near-misses?”  On my person I carried my iPhone (which would be password locked) and my work ID badge (to get back into the building), but neither seemed sufficient in an emergency, especially if I wound up lying in a ditch or field alone and unconscious, or worse.  I didn’t really want to carry my wallet or some emergency information card, and a MedicAlert-style bracelet wasn’t really my style.  I wanted something that displayed information that would be vital for getting help to me in an emergency.  About a year prior, I’d seen a Road ID ad in a fitness magazine, so I checked out their website, then ordered their original Wrist ID Sport product.

Ordering Process

The Road ID web site, in addition to being the place where you order your Road ID product, also contains lots of other interesting information like an “our story” section, testimonials from users of Road ID products, an event calendar and sponsorship section.  When ordering any of the ID products at the Road ID site, the process begins with “building your ID.”  The site prompts you through a series of steps to choose the type, color and size of Road ID product you want,  and gather information to personalize your Road ID.  A cool thing here is that as you add or edit information that you want on your bracelet tag, it is displayed on the screen exactly the way it will look when you receive it.

Outside the Package

The shipping package is fairly straightforward, a simple bubble envelope.  However, is it customized with Road ID branding on front and back and it is worth noting that the back of the envelope has a short explanation about why the company was founded.  A nice touch.

Inside the Package

The contents of the bubble-envelope are:

• Road ID Wrist ID Sport bracelet on cardboard backing
• Story of Road ID, which includes some customer testimonials
• Order information sheet
• Road ID product catalog

The Product

I ordered Road ID’s original product, the Wrist ID Sport, which is $19.99 plus shipping.  I thought it was a pretty fair price when I ordered it, and this was confirmed once I’d received it.  Its design is relatively simple: it is a bracelet with an identification plate and a velcro closure.  It is available in three sizes: Small, Medium-Large and Extra-Large, so that you can find one that is closest to your wrist size and in black, blue, red, yellow, pink and purple colors.  But I have to admit that I was bummed to not find it in green.  I ordered a yellow with the idea that it would provide the highest level of visibility.

The main band is a nylon material that is comfortable against the skin and washable in case you get it full of exercise funk.  There are also two strips of 3M Scotchlite reflective material stitched into band to provide increased visibility in lower light situations.  The stainless steel ID plate has a silver satin finish which hides smudges and reduces glare, and the lettering is laser-engraved so it is sharp and will not wear off.  It has a curved shape so it fits the contour of the wearer’s wrist and is attached to the bracelet via a strip of elastic (see detail below).  Because the ID plate is stainless steel and due to its thickness, it is quite resistant to bending or denting that might occur during normal use.

During the ordering process, the Road ID site gave recommendations for what information to include on the ID plate.  I chose to have my full name, date of birth, city, state and country, my wife’s name and mobile number, my dad’s name and mobile number, my blood type, my drug allergy and that I am Catholic.

Road ID logos are generously placed throughout the product.  The fold-over velcro closure allows it to be adjusted to varying wrist sizes for comfort or wearer preference, and also features a rubber “tab” at the end.

In the image below you can see how the ID plate is attached.  It has two prongs on either end which hold onto a strip of elastic material.  The ID plate is held in place securely, but can be removed easily if the wearer needs to swap ID plates should your information change (replacement plates can be ordered from Road ID).

Actual Use

I ordered a Medium-Large sized Wrist ID Sport and it fits my wrist fine.  I like that it can be adjusted slightly, which allows me to wear it more loosely or tightly depending on my activity or preference.  I also noticed that as long as you don’t wear it sloppy loose, it will stay oriented on your wrist.  Meaning that if you position it with the ID plate outward (or vice versa), it will generally stay put.

I wore the Wrist ID Sport for about a month while exercising, mostly outdoor running.  It performed well, was easy to use and felt quite comfortable on by wrist.  I then wore it non-stop for a period of about two weeks and again it performed well.  One drawback was that it absorbed quite a bit of water in the shower and took a while to dry.

Final Thoughts

The idea behind Road ID’s products is to display important emergency contact information about the wearer to first responders in the event that the wearer is involved in an emergency situation.  In this, it is similar to a MedicAlert bracelet or similar product, but where the MedicAlert products have more of a jewelry style overall, Road ID’s products have been designed for athletes and fitness enthusiasts, and their style reflects that.  The Wrist ID Sport displays important information to emergency responders, is durable, easy to use, affordable and looks sporty.

Filed in categories: Health Related Gadgets, Outdoor Gear

Tagged: ID, sports gear

Road ID Wrist ID Sport Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 19, 2010 at 2:00 pm.

I originally did a review for eWallet for the Palm OS about a year ago. I liked the program then, and I like eWallet v.6.1.4 for Blackberry well enough that I am tempted to just post the old review and stamp it ‘Ditto!”

The good news is that v.6.1.4 for Blackberry is so close to the Palm version that any migrating users will instantly be able to transfer everything over and get right to work. The bad news is that it is so close to the Palm version that the differences are hard to see.  Whatever you liked or did not like is probably still here. I reviewed the program with the desktop version at the same time.

eWallet is a security database for important numbers, passwords, etc. As the name suggests, it does this using a ‘wallets’ format, which are collections of what you might call ‘eCards’. Each ‘eCard’ is an e-version of some sort of real or imagined card you might have in your real wallet. Every one of your credit cards, library cards, ID cards, photographs, etc. can be easily turned into an ‘eCard’, but you can also make them for things like log-in information, family information, or any other data you want to protect. (I apologize for the images- my Blackberry screenshot program is not working the way I want. You can see screenshots on the website, but the cards themselves look very much like the desktop versions do.)

Desktop view

Sample card, showing other kinds of data

Since protection is the main thing, let’s look at the security first. As the site says “Trust your important information to eWallet’s strong 256-bit AES encryption – the same encryption method that US government agencies (FIPS*) require to protect their data”. Your information is locked behind a single password for rapid but secure access. Besides the encryption, eWallet adds other useful security elements as well-

• Password Generator lets you specify what sort of password you want- alphabet, numbers, symbols, capitals, length, etc. including whether you want it pronounceable or a mnemonic aid.
• An ‘auto-fill-in’ tool is included in the desktop version so you can save keystrokes when entering websites, and feel safe knowing that no other information is being traded or looked at.
• You can set the program to autolock at a set time, and/or to lock up after a set number of failed attempts.
• You can scan sensitive images (like your actual cards) and save them under the same password.
• eWallet can save over several computers- you can easily have multiple back-ups that can sync as you wish. Multiple backups have saved my neck a few times!

Password generator

eWallet is basically a database, which means at some point you have to gather the pertinent data in one place and in one format. It includes an Import Wizard to simplify this task, and can handle Excel, CSV format, and data from CodeWallet, SPBWallet, SplashID, and TurboPasswords (Cloak). Whether you import or add everything new, you will probably want to tweak everything so it looks sharp!

The database element

Newly imported information will be presented on plain white cards, which you then improve with built-in editing tools, free down-loadable icons and backgrounds, or your own images. While the tools rarely allow you to make eCards that are identical to the plastic version, you can still make them darn attractive. If you want ‘look alikes’, you can always scan the cards in and set them as backgrounds. The results will look almost identical on either the computer or the handheld.

One of the visual editing screens

The desktop version that adds a lot of value. Not only does the desktop version make it easier to edit or create cards, it offers a secondary storage site and helps coordinates other back-ups. It also offers the aforementioned fill-in tool. The sync works nicely and nearly invisibly.  My only beef here is that the Blackberry version syncs through the Blackberry Desktop Manager, which is not high on my favorite programs list.

I admit to not being a big fan of security products like this. Even with wizards, there seems to be a lot of work getting everything set up, and on my Palm, I preferred the simplicity of a password-protected notepad replacement program, then I just kept all of my important stuff there. However, I do like eWallet- it works nicely without getting in my way too much and with a little effort you can make the cards very attractive and interesting.  I certainly like it better than the clunky ‘Password Manager’ bundled with my Blackberry!

Filed in categories: Blackberry related

Tagged: Blackberry, ID, Password, Security

Ilium Software’s eWallet for Blackberry originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 21, 2009 at 9:48 pm.

OK, for everyone who remembers Part 1 of this review from way back last year, you should recall that SplashData’s SplashWallet is a package of four great utilities for $59.95- SplashMoney and SplashShopper, reviewed last time, and SplashID and SplashPhoto, which we will look at today.

These two applications really live up the idea of a ‘digital wallet’ in that they bring to your Palm functions that your wallet usually does, but better. For example, SplashID not only holds your private info but it encrypts it and SplashPhoto can show photos as slide shows.

SplashID

SplashID Password Screen

SplashID Data Screen

SplashID is basically an encrypted database. While not as visual as the previously reviewed eWallet from Illium, it is very user friendly and flexible. Like other parts of the SplashWallet, SplashID has a desktop element that really simplifies everything.

SplashID Record View

Using SplashID is so easy even a cavem… well, maybe not quite THAT simple. It IS simple enough to master in a couple minutes. Choose a category, enter the data in the proper fields, and done. A few minutes of fidgeting on the settings and everything is secure.

SpashID Record Form

A nice added feature is a password generator with lots of options, so if you tend to use a few passwords over and over like some people do (stop looking at me!), you can finally use secure keys and have them safely recorded.

I also appreciate that the system is easy enough to use that you can store clothing sizes, gift ideas, and more- stuff you don’t really need to be secure, but want in a safe, central location.

SplashID Pros:

• Easy to use
• Secure without being annoying
• Password generator included

SplashID Cons:

• None

SplashPhoto

SplashPhoto Thumbnail View

I have had one photo manager or another on my PDA since they had color screens (yeah Handspring Prism!). There is not much remarkable about photo managers- most allow you to view the photos on the Palm and memory cards, and do some simple editing- often resizing, captioning, etc. However, the newest version 5.03 of SplashPhoto has a couple twists up its sleeve!

SplashPhoto Info View

OK, a view of each photo with basic info about it nothing new, nor are thumbnail views, list views, etc. Tree View, shown below, is new and does a good job of showing files in relationship to each other.

SplashPhoto Tree View

The basic job of the photo manager is to show photos. SplashPhoto does this nicely, as you can see with one of my daughter’s recent wedding photos- normal, and zoomed…

Regular-sized photo

I’ll refrain from typical fatherly ‘isn’t she gorgeous’ comments- after all, I am showing off the software, not my kids! I will point out another great feature of SplashPhoto here though- the desktop editor.

Imagine you have just had a wonderful, photo-filled event in your life that you want to remember and share. The SplashPhoto desktop editor is there for you. With new, powerful features it can grab photos from Flickr, Picassa, and FaceBook as well as from your camera and desktop. With a few keystrokes, you can zoom, crop, resize, rotate, caption, and categorize your photos and they will be put on your Palm on the next sync. You can even do some of the web operations directly from your Smartphone!

New feature- Web integration

The SplashPhotos desktop element empowers your Palm to be a wonderful tool for storing and managing memories, not just a digital photo frame.

SplashPhoto Pros:

• Great desktop editor
• Web integration
• Easy to use editing tools

SplashPhoto Cons:

• None

SplashWallet

As I said in the first half of the review, the cost of Wallet is such that if you buy two of the programs, you may as well spend the nickle and get all four. I am always surprised by how often I use one of them that I think of as one of my ‘free ones’! Overall, solid, easy to use and easy to master programs that I heartily recommend.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: ID, Palm OS related, Photos, Software

SplashData’s SplashWallet – Palm OS Utility Review Part 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 3, 2009 at 4:49 pm.