Product review: RecorderGear FD50 USB Flash Drive Voice Recorder 8GB

At the time I am writing this review the price of this recorder is around $90 and for the price I expected a better all purposes recorder. It did a reasonable job recording human voice, but did a very poor job recording music. The recorded music is clipped and sounds distorted. When I held the recorder in my hand the recording picked up a lot of crackling. I did not purposely do anything to generate that noise but as you hear in attached audio the difference between me holding the recorder and having it put down is dramatic.



The recorder looks like a regular flash memory stick. To make it discrete looking the interface that makes it work is not obvious. The recording switch looks like a loop for hanging the recorder on a key chain. The switch has three positions left, center, right. The center position is off, and left/right are the two modes. The two modes are "continuous recording" and "voice activated recording". They are indicated by a small dash and two small dots on the front of the recorder. The markings are black on black and are barely visible. The dash indicates continuous recording and the two dots indicate voice activated recording. The charge level indicator is barely visible as it points down when you plug the recorder to be charged. When it is charging you see an occasionally shadow of a red flash. I took about a dozen photos and on one of them I managed to time my photo and captured this flash of red light, so you would know where to look to see it.



To set the time and to see the recorded files you need to use a Windows computer. Normally fat32 flash drives can be read by Linux desktop, but this flash drive is not seen by my Linux computer so it is doing something non-standard. My Windows laptop has no problem accessing the memory stick.



I included several audio clips in my video so you can judge the quality of the recording for yourself.



My video includes four types of clips under different situations:

(1) Two clips with human voice

The recording has some echo, but not bad.

(2) Classical music

Clipped and distorted, not acceptable

(3) Pop song

Clipped and distorted, not acceptable



The recorder can be re-charged in any USB outlet. It runs on built-in 180mA rechargeable Lithium. Documentation states that battery lasts da day on stand-by. The recordings are produced in MP3 audio file format.



RecorderGear provided this voice recorder for an honest review be it good or bad. What is the bottom line? I thought it did a decent job for human voice in a quiet environment. The microphone is pretty sensitive so in a noisy environment it picks up a lot of surrounding sounds. It works for recording lectures and presentations where is one clear source of sound. It did a terrible job recording music. If it was priced in the $20-30 range I would have rated it as 3 star - ok for lecture recording. For $90 (the price at the time I am writing this review) I expected a more general purpose recorder which produced better results.



You can locate RecorderGear FD50 on Amazon via this link.





AshopZones review

Product review: Ausland Women's Casual Fox Fur Short Snow Boots 9251

These boot look adorable. They look like they would be warm. However, they have no zipper or any other closure and I was not able to get them past my ankle. I do not wide feet and this is not something that commonly happens to me. I normally wear size 7.5 and got 8.5 boots (because there was no size 8 which I normally get for boots so I can fit in a thick sock).



I waited a couple of weeks to write this review until we drove to visit my mother who wear size 6 shoes. She also was not able to pull them past her ankle. She also has what I would describe as an average width foot.



So based on my experience these boots are for ladies with extremely slender ankles. I received these boots for testing the size and fit for American market. I hope my review helps someone from the frustration I had looking at the cute boots I could get past my toes.



You find Ausland Women's Boots on Amazon via this link.



AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: USB 3.1 Type C Cable Tenswall - USB 3.1 spec compliant cable

Tenswall type-C cable is a thick braided cable - it feels and looks well made. It is 40 inches long and easily plugged into a phone with a silicone skin on.

I originally thought it was a 3.1 complaint cable, but in-depth tests by Benson Leung show that it is not.



What is 3.1 compliant cable? USB 3.1 spec specifies that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current should be set at 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. Benson Leung has a series of excellent reviews of Type C cables. Benson works for Google's Pixel group and has pointed out that many type-C cables violate the USB 3.1 specification that states that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current has been set incorrectly at 10K which advertises 3A of current rather than the correct value of 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. The non-compliant cable could be harmful to devices that are not limited to 2.5A-2.6A such as the ones that Benson evaluated in his reviews. I had an interesting discussion with Benson about my observations of turning this bug into a feature for rapid charging with Nexus 6p, and in general he does not approve of non-compliant cables and said that at minimum people should label them to be sure they are not used as general purposes type-C cables for all devices. I have been using these non-compliant cable with my Nexus 6p with no ill effects with 2.4A car chargers but as they say "use at your own risk". If you do plug in the car charger side of the cable first and the phone second as Benson reported differences based on the order what side of the cable is plugged in first.



All test were done keeping all conditions the same: same level of charge for the phone, same apps running, keeping the screen on so I can see the results.



1) Using a car charger on a port rated 2.5A

Nexus 6p battery is at 39%, at this level it will use rapid charging if possible (i.e. up to 2.5A)

** Tenswall Type C to Type A cable (non 3.1 compliant) -- 1.3A

** Another Type C to Taype A cable (non 3.1 compliant) -- 2.5A



2) Using a wall charger on a port rated 2.4A

Nexus 6p battery is at 37%, at this level it will use rapid charging if possible (i.e. Nexus 6p is cable of drawing up to 2.5A, the port is cable of providing up to 2.4A)

** Tenswall cable ------ 1.27A



Attached are images from my tests that show the results with both cables.



I received this cable from Tenswall for testing and review.  It did not perform as well as other non-compliant cables.



YOu can find this "USB 3.1 Type C Cable" on Amazon via this link





AshopZones review ★★

Product review: Campark ACT70 WIFI HD 2560X1080 Action camera

My initial impression of CamPark was very good. Day time video is very good, it does well even in the very sunny situations and does not overexpose. The video during the night under very low light conditions was acceptable. Live video works well. Menu-based interface is well organized and easy to use. The documention is quite good and has a lot of details. The camera comes with a large variety of accessories, including a suction window mount, waterproof camera, and a remote control. I was very pleased for several days.



However, after a few days of usage the camera crashed and was stuck on the first screen (I could not turn it off or proceed to the next screen). I "fixed" it by removing and then reinserting the battery. Initially, I thought this fixed the problem as the camera recorded for another 30-40 minutes. But when I got home I saw that after the crash all recordings were in slow motion. I fully recharged the batteries and tried a few more recordings. They were all in slow motions. I went through all the menus and contacted the manufacturer. The manufacturer was responsive and provided me a software update to install on the camera. However the download is very large and needs to be downloaded from a Chinese site. I have attempted to do this download many times, some of the downloads failed others reported success but unzip utility failed reporting a corrupted zip file. I have not been able to test if the upgrade resolved the problem or not.



In attached video you see examples from the videos before and after the crash. Note that Amazon compresses video so this degrade the video quality in the clip.



Here are my notes from set up:



1. The name of the camera hot spot is "amba-boss".

The password you need to enter to connect to the hot spot is included in documentation.

To put the camera into WIFI mode you need to press the right most button on the top of the camera.



2. The name of the app is "LinkinEyes". This app shows live action from the camera, as well as allows to change camera configuration.



In my video I show live video. It looks good! The delay between the action and display is minimal, it is better than another small camera I have with live video capability.



CamPark supports micro SD cards up to 32GB, Class 10 is recommended (the micro SD card is not included).



It runs on 900mAH and I get slightly over an hour on one charge. To recharge the camera takes about 2 hours from empty. For the fastest charging the camera should be turned off when charging, however it can record while charging if desired.



I received this camera for evaluation and review as part of a new product introduction. Getting a free product does not effect what I say. My reviews reflect only my experience with the product and reviews are good or bad only based on how well the product works. If you have questions on something I did not cover post a comment and I'll do my best to answer it.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Estilo Stainless Steel Toilet Brush and Holder

If this toilet brush did not have a crack in the bottom I would have liked it. It is made out thin stainless sheet body and cap, however the bottom is made out of very thin plastic which arrived with two cracks. Even though the cracks are not visible, given how it mean to be used something very unpleasant is going to leak through the crack and so it is really not usable with the crack. The fact that it cracked in shipping (the package itself was not crushed) indicates that the quality of this plastic is fragile and that it can break under regular use as well.



The toilet brush is 11" tall. It weighs 11.2 oz.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Wireless Motion Sensor Spotlight by Hallomall

I test each product I review for at least a couple of weeks before publishing a review. My opinion of this spotlight change after 10 dasy. Initially, I liked it because it is produces a good amount of light and I can aim it in many ways. However, in 10 days four "D" batteries ran out of juice. The spot light is motion activated and light sensitive so it only was turned on briefly every day. I have a similar spot light I purchased a few years ago and it goes on the same set of batteries for more than 6 months. Both spot lights were mounted near each other as I thought the new one might be a replacement for the old one. But I don't want to replace 4 "D" batteries once a week.



The light has waterproof rating of IP65, which means it can withstand rain but not submersion if water. It has all plastic construction.



The light produces a reasonable amount of light. The lux meter reading at a distance of 12 inches shows 220 lux. It produces good light but it is not as bright as a 60 fluorescent watt light. For comparison, a 60 watt fluorescent bulb at the same distance produces 1119 lux.



There are things about this spotlight that I like, but the battery life is a deal breaker.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆



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Product review: ECALOO Kitchen Tool Stainless Steel Shovel-shaped Food Grater

This attractive looking shredder did not work as well as I hoped. First issue I had with it that a short handle made it inconvenient to hold. Its short stature also made it a bit hard to find a dish that would well supporting it to provide stability during shredding. Finally, this shredder has a solid back and metal teeth on the front. This made it harder to work then a traditional thread where shreds can fall through.



I tried zesting an orange, shredding an apple and a cinnamon stick. All were hard to do. I had very little results to show for quite a bit of work. It doesn't work nearly as well as a zesting tool. It produces very fine particles which mostly stick to the tool and it's hard to get them off into the batter. I don't see using this shredder on a regular basis.



I received this shredder with a request for a brutally honest review. And here it is.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Hipe 7" Digital 5 Day Wireless Internet Weather Forecast Station

I like the concept of this weather station, but encountered several flaws in its current behaviour.



HIPE weather station is not your typical weather station which has a probe that measures the weather conditions right outside your house. Instead it gets information from the internet and then broadcasts the information, using a USB wireless dongle, to the display unit somewhere in your house. The weather station can only operate when the wireless dongle is plugged into the computer and computer is turned on and connected to the internet. In the current version (6/6/2013) the information is updated and broadcast every 55 seconds.



To configure the unit you select a city for which information is available that is the closest to your location. I check two states that I am close to and each had 9 cities to select from. My closest choices were 10-15 miles away, so I noticed slight variation in the forecast and the conditions near my house. I have one of those old-fashioned weather stations with a temperature probe that I was comparing this unit with.



The weather station comes with software for Windows and Mac. I installed it on the Windows machine. The installation was very easy, the display immediately received the broadcast. However the install did not follow Windows standards and normal good software practices of (1) asking the user where to install the software and installed the package at root level on C: drive (2) asking the user whether he/she want to add an icon to the system tray (3) giving the user an option to suppress system tray pop-ups that are generated every 55 seconds when the software broadcasts the weather (which need to be dismissed manually).



I received this product for testing and review from the manufacture and the first unit I received had a problem with displaying the information: it showed the full forecast for the current day, but did not show high and low temperatures for next 4 days. The manufacture suggested trying fresh batteries and taking out batteries and then re-inserting them, but this did not correct the problem. He mailed me a second unit for testing and it worked perfectly. I am attaching an image of both units so you can see the difference between working and faulty unit.



I asked the manufacture about the warranty. I wanted to know if the display issue is covered and would a consumer need to return the unit to get the replacement or would supplying a photograph demonstrating the issue would enough. He told me that the display issue would be covered under 1 year warranty and the a photograph proof of the damage would sufficient, the broken unit does not have to be returned. This is a consumer friendly return policy that gets high marks in my book.



I am attaching a collage of 5 photos which can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.



✔ The first photo the display for two units, the top unit is the faulty one where you can see temperature shows up only for today.



✔ The second photo shows the back of the unit, including the stand that turns this unit into a table top unit. The other option is to hang the unit on the wall using the keyhole mount.



✔ The third photo shows the wireless dongle, the light is green when it is broadcasting. The dongle is fairly large and I had to use a USB hub to fit it comfortably into my computer.



✔ The fourth photo shows a nice forecast display that comes up if you click on the icon on the tray.



✔ The fifth photo shows a pop that is generated every time the software does a broadcast.



I found the pop-up that was generated every 55 seconds annoying, all it tells you is that weather forecast has been updated. By convention such intrusive pop-ups are only generated for critical issues not trivial information. I contacted the manufacture again regarding this software issue. He told me that the developers are working on an upgrade which reduces the frequency of pop-ups. He provided me with a download of this future version, which I liked better because it generated a pop up less frequently by getting updates less frequently. However, it still generates a pop-up that needs to be dismissed. It would have been better if the app operated in a silent mode and only gave the time of the last update if one were to click on the icon in the tray.



As I mentioned earlier the installation gave me no options. It did not give me an option to add or not add this app to my system tray. I guard that space very carefully and only allow some applications to be visible all the time, this app did not give a choice when it added itself to the system tray. And I would have liked an option which would allow me to select whether it generates any pop-ups or not. The application installation did not give me an option of selecting a directory where I wanted to install the app. The app installed its directory at the top level of c: drive, not under Program Files which is a Windows convention. Imagine if every application installed itself at the root level?



I really liked the concept of this device, I like seeing the forecast right on my night table. The screen display problem of the first unit was remedied by an excellent warranty which does not require the return of the unit. However the application itself, even the updated version I received from the manufacture, did not make the weather software a well behaved Windows application. I gave my feedback to the manufacture and I hope they will continue to improve this product because it has good potential.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Toddy Gear WIY-W03 Universal Wedge Stand and Screen Cleaning Cloth

As a stand for a phone or a tablet it is bulky and cannot be adjusted. It can hold a phone, although it does not provide it good stability like a rigid stand. It cannot be used with a tablet, the lip is slippery and too shallow to hold the weight of a tablet. Both my Galaxy 7.7 and iPad Mini just slipped out. Just about any other stand works better.



The bottom is microfiber cloth which was intended to be use for cleaning, but it is the part that rests on the surface and thus will pick up dirt and grit because microfiber grips dirt so well.  This is not what I want to apply to my screen.  It is also cumbersome to hold. Just about any other cleaning cloth works better.



The wedge is 3.5" tall, 5" wide. The sides are 5.5", 5.5" and 4" wide.  I am attaching a photo collage which shows the wedge on 1 inch gridded mat for size reference. 



I received a sample wedge from the manufacturer to share my experience with it whether positive or negative.



I try to be balanced in my reviews and try to include both positives and negatives.  I can say this item is well made, the stitching is even and did NOT have a bad smell (some cloth items pick up warehouse scent, but this is not the case here).  I cannot recommend it however, based on functionality either as a stand or as a cleaning cloth.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

Gurin Precision Digital Bathroom Scale with Ultra Wide Platform and Auto-on Technology, 440-Pounds

Update: After 1 month of use I am down grading the scale to 2 stars. The problem with the scale is that if you move it you get different readings. If it stays in one spot the readings don't vary too much, but if you move it there are variations in results. Even if you don't move the scale when you weight yourself, you might need to move it while cleaning.

 Original review follows:



Gurin precision digital bathroom scale is made out of tempered glass. The glass is lined with a silver lining and gives it a modern look.



I am attaching a collage of 4 photos, photo #1 shows the top of the scale. The glass platform is 14" by 12" and is raised 1" from the floor.



The display is 2" inches in size and lights up when you step on the scale. My old scale did not light up, so I had to move it into the light to see the reading. The scale allowed me to hop on the corner right in the dark corner of the bathroom where I store it since the display is clearly visible even in the dark. The display is shown in photo #2. The display stays on a couple of seconds after you step off the scale and then automatically turns off.



The third photo shows the scale upside down. You can see the scale has feet with traction pads so it does not slide on my tile. The feet also contain the sensor which turns on the display. You also see the "unit" buttons which allows you to change the units you want your weight to be displayed on the scale: kg, lb, or st.



The forth photo shows the battery compartment, the scale runs on four AAA batteries (included).



The glass top makes it look pretty but has some down sides. The glass is slippery if it gets wet. The surface also gets pretty cold in the winter. To address both issues I usually keep my socks on when I weigh myself.



The glass platform is fairly large - big enough to accommodate 4 paws of a cat - and we got our cat to stand on it for a few seconds, however the scale did not show any readout so the kitty must be under the minimum weight the scale registers.



This is an attractive scale with an easy to read numbers.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

i-Ecko 'Ecko Stylz' Aqua Zen Mousepad with Gel Wrist Rest

This mousepad is very bright and pretty. The mousepad is 10" top to bottom, 8.5" wide. The area above the wrist rest is 7", the wrist rest is 3" wide and 1" high. The wrist rest is made out of gel, which is firm yet has some give so it fits the wrist well.

I am attaching a photo collage of three photos for reference. Photo #3 has the mousepad on 1" gridded mat if you are interested in dimensions I have not mentioned. Photo #1 shows it on my desk. Photo #2 shows how my hand fits the mousepad. I found the mousepad to be comfortable, and it fits my hand well.



However, the mousepad straight out of the package had a very strong ordor. It was so strong that after using the mousepad for several hours the odor transferred to my hand and it took several washings to remove the scent from my wrist.



I really liked how the mousepad felt and looked so I decided to air it out in the basement.  I am writing this review after airing  out the mousepad for 2 months.  The ordor became lighter, but I can still smell it and it still transfers to my wrist when I attempted to use it for a short period of time.  It went back to the basement, I am not quite ready to toss it but I can't recommend it.



I received this mousepad from the manufacturer for testing and a fair and honest review.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.









AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆

i-Ecko Eco-Friendly Speakers for mobile devies, wired

At the price point of i-Ecko speakers I did not expect them to be great speakers, but I hoped that they would be better than the built-in speakers of my tablet. They fell somewhat short of that expectation. I made a video where the same music is being played by my tablet with these speakers, my tablet using built-in speakers, and finally the same song played by a fairly inexpensive bluetooth speaker of a similar size. In the video the i-Ecko speakers are pointing right into the camera, where the tablet speaker is pointing to the side, despite this advantage the built-in speaker at times sounds louder than external speakers. The final segment of the video with the bluetooth speaker (the best overall sound) provides another reference point.







i-Ecko speakers have no volume control of their own, they are controlled by the volume settings on the device. As you see in my video I put the volume control to the max.  The speakers do not have the battery or AC cord and run from the power from your device.

 

The case for these speakers is made out of cardboard. You can create a triangular shaped case for each speaker by folding cardboard tabs. Folding the tabs are important for creating a reasonace chamber. I tested the speakers with and without tucking in the tabs, and the sound was weaker without the folded tabs.

   

I am attaching a couple of photos which show the folding process.   This process is a little fussy, I found that doing all bottom tabs and then all the top tabs was the easiest way to keep tabs from popping out.



For travel purposes in a tightly stuffed luggage the cardboard should be disassembled to avoid tearing the cardboard tabs by something pushing on them. The cardboard case is unlikely to hold up for a long time, but given the price this is not a big issue.



I really wanted to like these speakers: inexpensive and eco-friendly is a good combination. However, I was disappointed. The main issue I had with them that I did not think the sound was better than the built-in speakers. I hope the video will help you decide for yourself.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







I was provided a sample unit for evaluation and unbiased review.



AshopZones review ★★☆☆☆