Product review: CYC® Motorcycle Winter Snowmobile Face Mask Windproof Outdoor Balaclava Hood

I got this balaclava because my husband is a cat person. I thought he would get a kick out of me wearing and it was a hit. It is well crafted, and the nose on the mask lines up very well with my nose - so the overall effect is quite good.



However to give this great visual effect the designers made one major change to a traditional balaclava design. Unlike a traditional balaclava, you cannot totally pull down the bottom part of mask that covers the nose and mouth. I can pull it down under my nose, but not all the way below my chin. If I put it under my chin my eyes are covered with fabric, the opening is too small.



Why does it matter? Anyone who has worn a balaclava knows that they get tremendously warm. Even in wearing this thin balaclava I felt I had to open my face every now and then to cool off. I could not do it without taking the entire thing off. And to put it back on I had to unbutton my coat.



I decided to wear it because we had a stretch with sub zero record cold temperatures (frostbite warnings in 10 minutes of skin exposure) so taking it on and off was unpleasant because I had to take off my hat and unbutton the coat to do so.



So it gets great marks for appearance and craftsmanship. However, it gets low marks for practicality. After one day of attempting to wear it how I would wear a real balaclava, now I think of it as a costume. A great looking costume and comfortable for a costume, but not a balaclava I would wear doing sports or walking around in a sub zero temperature.



I received a this balaclava for evaluation and review. Getting a free product does not effect what I say. I described both pluses and minuses of my experience exactly as I see them.



You can locate this Face Mask Balaclava on Amazon via this link.





AshopZones review

Product review: Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera with ZINK Zero Ink Printing Technology

Polaroid Snap camera is fun to have at a party. Instant prints are fun to share with friends. However, as a camera on its own right it is not the best. The prints you get are not as good if the ones I can take with my phone camera, for example, and print later. But that's the key "later" vs "now". I am including a few prints taken with the camera (indoors and outdoors) and they all have a blueish tint. The camera has a flash and the documentation says that the camera focuses and flashes automatically, but in all the pictures I have taken so far the flash has not triggered. The auto focus has been good in 99% of the photos.



The package does not include a manual or any documentation other than a small pictogram. I had to Google for documentation and then click "buy" on Polaroid web site to get to the place where I could download the documentation and download a firmware update. I have done both, the photos you see are using the latest firmware.



To turn on the camera you have to pop up the view finder, which looks like a retractable flash from the first glance. The pop-up opens easily, often accidentally when I just brushed my hand over the camera. The lens is covered with a magnetic cap. It is not attached in any other way to the camera and is fairly easy to loose if you remove it to take pictures.



The big red button on top of the camera is the shutter. When you press it there is no clear feedback that the photo has been taken until the printer starts making a whirling noise and the print comes out. From experienced I learned to press and wait a second in order not to waste paper by pressing twice because I did not think I made good contact the first time.



Zink paper is placed into the camera with the bar code facing down, shiny side up. The camera can hold only 10 pieces of paper at a time. Each paper sheet is 2" x 3". The images appears on paper by heating the Zink paper in different ways. The camera uses no ink which makes the print come out of the camera totally dry, you cannot smudge it. The print feels thick and very glossy. Unlike a regular glossy photo print Zink paper does not show finger prints.



The camera generates 5M images. The images can be saved as well as printed if you insert micro SD card into the camera. The camera supports micro SD cards up to capacity 32G. The micro SD is not included. In attached video I show both the scans of printed photos and the image saved to disk. You can see that the blue tint appears only on the paper print.



The camera runs on rechargeable 7.4V battery which is non-removable. This means at some point non-rechargeable battery will become a problem as it will hold less and less charge as the battery ages.



I received this camera for testing and review. Bottom line? A lot of fun at a party but not the best camera if you discount the ability to get instant prints. So how much weight does this unique feature have? For me taking in account all pluses and minuses it fell somewhere between 3 stars (ok) and 4 stars (good).



You can find Polaroid Snap on Amazon via this link.





AshopZones review

Product review: K&F Concept® Full HD 1080P Car Video Camera 2.0" Mini Car DVR Dash Cam

The video quality that KF concepts camera records is pretty decent especially at night, however I ran into several problems with it. First, the camera is shipped with the default language set to Chinese. The manual is not detailed and has no information on how to change the language. I had to manually select every option on the menus one by one remembering what I already looked at by position (I do not read Chinese) until I found a menu choice that allowed me to switch the menus to English. I show where that option is located in my video. The second problem was the mount does not stay on the windshield during cold weather. We had a cold stretch of weather (12°F in the morning) and the suction cup mount does not stay on the windshield at this temperature. In the afternoons when the weather warms up I am able to mount it and stays for as long as I need. So if you live in a cold weather this dash cam will not work well for you. The mount is custom made for this camera, so you cannot replace it with another better mount.



On the positive side I like that the dash cam's compact size (2.25" x 2.25" x 0.75"). It does not block much of the windshield. The video quality is fine. It is not as good as 4K cameras, but quite reasonable and it does quite well at night. My video includes snippets under various conditions - day and night. 170° wide angle lens gives a good view of the entire road.



It turns on as soon as it gets power so you don't have to remember to turn it on. It can be turned off manually if desired. It is powered by a regular mini USB cable. The package includes a 32GB Class 10 micro SD.



When the dash cam writes out files to disks it saves them every few minutes, this is good, because if there is a problem you lose just a small segment not the entire video. I have not had any corrupted files with camera, but from experience with other cameras I now it can happen. I should note that the camera does not write out files to a standard directories. It creates three directories: event, jpg, and video. It uses JPG directory instead of DCIM for photos.



I received this camera for testing and review as part of a new product introduction. Overall, the camera has its pros and con. Hopefully, the manufacturer will fix the default language in the future versions of the camera, and I provided some help in how to do it now. So the only serious issue here is for the folks in the cold climates is the issue with the mount.



YOu can find K&F Concept Dash Cam on Amazon via this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: FLEXIMOUNTS 4'x4' or2'x8' Ceiling Storage Rack

This mount is meant for plywood or concrete ceilings. It is not designed for a joist ceiling which is common in a typical American house. The Fleximount storage can be mounted two ways as a 4" x 4" square, or as 2" x 8" long storage. The problem with the Fleximount is that it does not offer any flexibility on how far apart the supports can be mounted on the ceiling, they have to located exactly at ends of the metal shelf - either 2" or 4" apart. Neither matches the geometry of the joists. For comparison, in a system like HyLoft ceiling storage the ceiling supports do not attach directly to the metal grid shelve, instead they attach to the support cross bars which hold the shelf. This means the ceiling supports can be positioned as needed to match the joist, and the grid shelve rests on the cross bars.



I could not mount Fleximount storage system as it was designed. I was able to mount Fleximout storage after purchasing additional bars and hardware at HomeDepot at an additional cost of $40 dollars. In attached photos you can see what the final results look like. I was able to reuse the Fleximount's vertical support bars by mounting them on the joists and then attached them to the cross bars I purchased. Once the supports were installed I put the shelving on top of the support bars and secured the shelves to the support bars with a large number of cable ties.



The shelves and the brackets are well built, but to make it work in a typical American house construction took some thinking to figure out how to make it work and extra purchases.



I was provided Fleximount storage for testing and review. This is well made system but aimed at plywood or concrete ceilings. If you are looking to a system to attach to joist I recommend Hyloft storage instead.



YOu can locate FLEXIMOUNTS ceiling storage on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: OFIYOU Electric Fly Swatter

I have used an old fashioned rubber fly swatter and I thought this one will be just as easy to use, but turns out it is not so. The old style swatter has a smaller flexible surface and it is easier to generate high speed to squash the insect. This swatter is the size of a tennis racket and is made out of a harder material (plastic) so it takes more effort to generate high speed to make contact with an insect. To generate the shock the insect has to make contact with two metal wires to close a circuit. It is not enough to hit the insect you have to hit it right. This swatter has multiple layers of metal mesh which helps, but still there were times when I would make contact and the insect would fly away because it did not close to circuit which is necessary to generate an electric shock.



When I was fast and had good aim it worked. If I hit straight down towards the floor I could see the victim's body and could clean up. If I whacked side to side.... I knocked the body somewhere out of sight. I was not able to find the corpse or be sure the insect did not recover and fly away.



The swatter comes with all documentation entirely in Chinese. The labels on the switches are in Chinese (the label on the handle say "on/off"). The swatter is rechargeable and has an American electric plug. The label said 220V (it is made in China and aimed at different electrical system) but modern appliances are able to properly adapt to the different voltages and I was able safely to recharge the swatter's battery.



This is not a toy: touching the mesh with fingers will cause a mild electrical shock (not fatal but painful). Swinging the plastic "racket" could damage the furniture or whatever else you might hit in pursuit of the insect. The racket is made of hard plastic, it is not flexible.



I was provided a sample swatter for testing and review. Before I tried it I was hoping to use it on hornets, but because the kill rate is not 100% I don't think I will try it on insect that can fight back.



You can find this " Electric Fly Swatter" on Amazon via this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: VonHaus Vacuum Bags (12 pack) - 12 x Space Saver Bags

Let me start by correcting the description. This bag does not contain 12 vacuum bags of the same kind. 3 smaller bags are compression style bags (which you roll to push out air), and 8 bags are the kind you use with a vacuum cleaner (which sucks out air from a special valve). In my experience compression style bags do not work as well, although they could be useful when traveling and one does not have access to a vaccum clearner. However, the Amazon description should have clearly spelled out that the package contains different type of vacuum bags.



I use vacuum bags to store seasonal clothing. I have used a number of vacuum bags in the past and some of them have stayed compressed for years. The most critical part of the process is to seal the big opening really well. Some vacuum bags come with a clip which you can move back and forth to make sure the bags is closed well quickly. My package was missing these clips. It is possible to seal the bags without the clips by using your fingers and listening for the clicks. When you hear no clicks it means the grooves fit perfectly together. It works, but it takes more time than a sealing clip.



The second step is evacuate air with the hose and then seal the opening. The tricky part comes when you remove the hose and close the clip. Some vacuum bags have a seal which does not let the air escape, this bag does not have such a seal and I heard a hiss of escaping air until I closed the opening and pressed it a few times.



I used several of the bags so far and I would say that I get about 50% compression. How much compression you get depends on how fluffy the things you are compressing are.



I received these bags for testing and review. Getting a free product does not prevent me from speaking honestly about pluses and minuses of the product. These bags work but the product and description of the product have several short comings that I described.



YOu can find "VonHaus Vacuum Bags" on Amazon by following this link





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: FD10 8GB USB Flash Drive Voice Recorder

his is a very simple voice recorder. It looks like a flash drive (2.5" x 0.80" x 0.25"). It has just one button on and off switch. 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) Speaking right into the recorder

The sound it records has a bit of an echo, but not too bad.

(2) A noisy party

This is a challenging situation. The microphone picks up a lot of ambient noise, many voices, it is hard to understand.

(3) A lecture

During this lecture I was sitting in the first row, about 10 feet away from the speaker. The hall capacity is 330 seats. The voice is recorded at low volume but clear.

(4) The lecture is about music and included musical passages. The recorder is not capable of recording music. The clipping and distortions are severe. The recorder is not suited to recording music.



For simplicity of use this recorder is hard to beat. To start recording flip the switch to ON position, to stop recording push the button into OFF position. To copy the files to the computer insert it into computer just like you would insert a flash drive. The records in are in RECORD directory.



The recorder can be re-charged in any USB outlet. The red light will remain on while the FD10 is charging, and will turn off when charging is completed. It cannot record while recharging or connected to the computer. It runs on built-in 11OMAH Rechargeable Lithium. Full recharge from empty took about 3 hours. The recordings are produced in wav audio file format.



If the battery runs out of juice in the middle of the record the file is automatically saved before it stops. If memory is full before recording is completed it will save what recorded so far.



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.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Balichun White Goose Down and Goose Feather Pillow

I have been sleeping on 100% down/goose pillows all my life, so I know exactly how they feel. This pillow is a bit different. It has a spongy center that I can feel. It has a core that feels like foam and goose/down envelope on the outside of the core. What I like about down pillows is that they are not spongy, this pillow has a lot of resilience while a 100% goose/down pillows do not. This is a high loft pillow.



This is not a bad pillow, I like it more than a pure polyester foam pillow, but if are looking for a down pillow that is made totally of goose feathers and down (like The Company Store pillows, for example) this is not it.



I ordered a standard size and the size was spot on - all my standard pillow cases fit perfectly.

Cleaning instructions from the label: do not wash in water, do not dry clean, tumble dry



I received this pillow for testing and review, as part of a new product introduction.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: ZHPUAT Portable Bluetooth Alarm Clock Radio with FM Radio

This is an okay clock. It works but how it works has some issues in my experience.



First, the clock has a lot of long voice prompts. The voice has a heavy accent and some words are hard to understand. I prefer short beeps to long voice phrases as they interrupt the music for a long time and when I hear it over and over it gets repetitive and annoying. I wish there was an option for beeps or voice.



Its speaker is fairly weak. The sound cannot be made very loud. It sounds best when I stream music from SD card and bluetooth. FM radio is okay for voice but some music stations are distorted.



The clock numbers are made out of small dots, and I thought they were harder to see when a solid lines on my oher clocks. People with a perfect vision probably will not mind, but if you are nearsighted this might be a problem.



In my video I show how the clock operates in its various functions, I hope this will give you a better idea of what to expect.



Overall, the alarm clock works but I can't say I love it. It is just okay.



I received this clock for testing and review as part of the new product introduction and sharing my honest experience with it.





ZHPUAT Portable Bluetooth Alarm Clock Radio with FM Radio, Wireless Speaker, Aux-In and TF Card Music, USB Charging, Phone Call, Easy Setting, Convenience for Travel, Fashion Home, Idea Gift (White)





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: IPC Telephone Call Blocker

The good news is that device really does work and solves a much needed problem. However the interface is so non-intuitive that my mother, for example, is not able to use it. The feedback generates weird long numbers which she finds confusing. I will describe the interface and the issue with the caller id so you can decide if the draw backs out weight the ability to deal with the annoying marketing calls.



I saw two main issues. First that if you hook this device to the phone that has Caller ID capability you will lose the caller id display on that phone. To solve this problem I dedicate a separate phone to this device. This phone is not used for calls just for blocking. The caller id is shown on other phones, just not the one hooked to the blocking unit.



The second issue has to do with the user interface and the feedback displayed on the screen.



When the number is blocked, there is no clear indication that it happened. It just displays a long string of numbers (not the phone number). When I press various buttons, for example, blacklist to see which numbers were blacklisted it shows another long sequence of numbers (some diagnostic information?) when my list is empty, and includes these long strings after the blocked numbers if my list is not empty. The last time I blocked the number and it was saved to the blacklist the confirmation that the number has been saved is the display as a number '2012'. Very strange design!



The manual (which is written in broken English and is hard to understand) does mention that when you press various button the screen displays '1234567' as a confirmation but does not explain the long number sequences. This appliance has the most unfriendly user interface I have ever encountered.



During the initial set up to set the time you need to hit "set" on the unit, then pick up the phone and dial "1" (the phone will give an error that it is an invalid number, but the blocking unit will enter time setting mode). Once it is in the setting mode you need to press set button to change value, but the values you see are not sequential they appear what seems to be in a random order. To to set the time to 10:12 pm I had to see random numbers for the year, month, day, hours and minutes. I just had to keep pressing up or down button until I saw the number I wanted and then had to press "set" and it advanced to the next number. I managed to set the year, month, date and time. However, it displayed the wrong day of the week and I was not able to correct it. On Sunday it displays Thursday.



IPC documentation states that the unit can block 1500 numbers. This number is actually comprised of 1000 individual numbers and 500 other number achieved by blocking set of prefixes, which are too general for my personal use.



On the positive side, the blocking does work. I have called my home number on my cell phone and was able to successfully block it, observe it being disconnected when I called, and then I was able to remove the blocked number from the list. When I block a real telemarketer and they call again I hear one ring and then the call is disconnected.



There are two ways to block calls. One is to push Blacklist button as the marking call is coming in another one is to enter the phone number by hand and save it. The number displayed on the unit does not show the caller id, so it is not easy to identify a marking call without picking up the phone or looking at another phone which shows the caller id.



I have been using IPC for a couple of weeks. Now when I get a marking call I am not annoyed, I think "Gotcha!" and block it.



This call blocking device is provided by IPC for testing and review. If you can deal with the bizarre user interface the unit does work and not only blocks the calls but makes me feel more empowered that I have a way to fight back the annoying marketing calls.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: OMEGA 3 FISH OIL by Hamilton Group comparison with Natue Made Triple Omega

I have been taking Nature Made Triple Omega since 2011 on the recommendation of my eye doc for dry eyes. He told me to take two Triple Omega capsules daily (about 1800 mg of omega oil daily). The change has been measurable, my eyes feel much better. When I first started taking Omega three to aid dry eyes I was a sceptic about its effects, but I am not a sceptic any more!



For the past few weeks I have switched from One Nature Made Triple Omega to Hamilton Healthcare Omega.

Here is side by side comparison



One Nature Made Triple Omega softgel contains

' Omega-3 434 mg

' Omega-6 276 mg

' Omega-9 170 mg

total 880 mg

Each capsule is 1200 mg, which means Omega-3 content is 73%



One Hamilton Healthcare recommended daily dose is three softgels, and the labels info is provided for daily dose of three capsules. To make it easier to compare with Triple Omega I am dividing the labels info given for three capsules by three:

' EPA 300 mg (EPA is Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids Eicosapentaenoic acid)

' DHA 200 mg (DHA docosahexaenoic acid)

' Other Omega 50

total 550 mg

Each capsule is 1000 mg, which means Omega-3 content is 55% and the filler ingredient are 45%. This is the reason why the recommended dose is three capsules rather than two capsules.



At the time I write this review Nature Made Triple Omega contains 180 gel caps and is priced at $23.50 (0.13 cents per capsule) with a daily dose cost of 0.25 cents. Hamilton Healthcare Omega contains 180 softgels is priced $29.97 (0.16 cents per capsule) and a daily dose 0.48 cents. The size of the one softgel of Nature Made Triple Omega is the same as one softgel of Hamilton Healthcare Omega.



The need for three capsules puts it below Nature Made Triple Omega for me.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: AmorTek Original Car Dash Cam

When this dash cam works and the video file is saved successfully and can be displayed the quality of the video is quite good. However I ran into a number of technical issues which detract from what could have been a nice dash cam.



The first unit I received could not advance past the "welcome" page. The return and replacement was easy as anything on Amazon.

The second unit records without problems, however many of the files on the micro sd are not viewable. The error reads "The format of xxx.mov cannot be detected." This is a serious problem because unlike many cameras that save small files often this camera saves large files, so if something goes wrong when it saves the entire recording sessions is lost.



By trial and error I determined the video files are not saved correctly related to how the dash cam is stopped. It appears that if I disconnect USB power and let it run for a few minutes on internal battery until it runs out of juice it saves the file the file is saved fine and they can be played back. However if I stop recording by just turning off ignition in the car (which is what I have always done with the other dash cams) the file is not saved properly and is corrupted. I also was not able to read the file when I used on/off button to turn off the unit itself prior to turning off ignition.



On the positive side:



✔ Video quality of the dash cam is quite good as you can see in attached video.

✔ This camera has an excellent suction cup mount, stayed on even on rough roads.

✔ The dash cam uses standard micro USB cables.

✔ The cam has an LED display so I can tell that the cam is aimed correctly. The display flashes a bit as you drive, I have not seen this with the older dash cams we own.

✔ Recording starts as soon as it gets power so you don't have to remember to turn it on.



The AmorTek package includes the camera, two mini USB cables, and cigarette lighter USB adapter.



The user interface is straightforward and even though the manual does not contain details for each button and each option, it contains a picture where each button's function is labelled. I found the manual sufficient to configure my video cam. All defaults are reasonable.



Overall, this dash cam has good potential but appears to be an early version which still has some technical issues to iron out especially with reliable saving of files.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Vacuum Head with Turbo Cleaning Brush for the VonHaus 600W 2-in-1 Upright Stick & Handheld Vacuum Cleaner

I love VonHaus stick vacuum. I have been using it for almost a year on weekly basis. It works great on tile and hardwood and weighs under 3 pounds. However its vacuum head does not have a brush so it does not work well on carpets which I noted in my review of the vacuum. The folks at VonHaus decided to address this issue by introducing a new vacuum head with a brush and asked me to give it a try to see if it works better,



Kudos to VonHaus for trying to address the issue, unfortunately, the answer is that the new head is only marginally better. Even on the carpet with a very short nab it took several passes to pick up small pieces of debri. It performed similarly on the carpet with higher nap. When I tried the new head on tile it did not work as well as the original brush because the opening is smaller and some of the hair got tangled on the brush instead of being sucked into the vacuum. I also did not think it was as good on hardwood as I was worried about the brush scratching the wood finish.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Sheet Stays - Set of 2 Criss Cross Fitted Sheet Fasteners

Whether you like these straps or not depends on whether it is easy for you to lift the entire mattress to run the straps from one corner of the sheet to another corner of the sheet in a criss-cross manner. If you can do it, the straps hold well and provide a good tight hold. However, I found it very difficult and it took two people to do it. It is not something I see myself doing every time I change the sheets. I should note that I do use sheet straps all the time but the one that only need lifting each corner one a time and hold the sheet at each corner.



After the first week of using the straps in a cross-cross manner. I tried strapping them side to side, so I have to lift only half of the mattress. I managed to do that by myself however it was harder than doing corners and did not provide a tighter hold than doing the corners. Going criss-cross provided a better result than side to side straps. So it boils down to if you can lift the mattress every time you need to remove or put the sheet on.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Toddy Gear 5 x 7 Inch Premium Microfiber Smart Cloth Touch Screen Cleaning

This cleaning cloth is generously sized 6 7/8" on one side and 5" on the other side. You get one cleaning cloth in the package. One side is terri-cloth like micro fiber, the other side is satiny cloth. It is machine washable.



Toddy cleaning cloths comes in many colorful designs. The design appears only on the satiny slipery side, the micro fiber side has a solid color.



I am attaching a photo collage which shows both sides, as well as in use cleaning glasses for relative size. The photo can be located by following 'customer photo' link under the main photo.



I received a sample cleaning cloth from the manufacture to share my opinion with it whether positive or negative.



Is it better than other less expensive micro-fiber cleaning cloth? No. But one side has a colorful print and you are paying premium price for the colorful design.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

iFlash 5600mAh Backup External Battery Charger

I tested iFlash® 5600mAh External Battery Pack with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (running ICS 4.0.4) and iPad Mini.



I received this power bank from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. Top reviewers are often asked to review new battery packs and one of the benefits of being asked to test different power banks is that it gives me an opportunity to compare them to each other using the same charging test, so I can compare them using "apples to apples" comparison. This set of tests allows me to provide unbiased results as the numbers speak for the performance of each unit.



I received two identical units black and blue, having two of them allows me to test for consistency in manufacturing. Ideally I want to see the same performance numbers for both units when testing the same device, and this was the case with these two units.



My methodology is to charge each mobile device on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. In addition I tested charging two mobile devices at the same time. Each line in the table below represents a separate 10 minute test. I use Battery App by Elvison to determine how each device recognized the charging source. 'AC' status means the charging is at full charging rate. 'USB' status indicates charging at a lower charging rate. 'Discharging' status means that the charging rate is below the power that the device is consuming so it slows down the discharge rate but does not re-charge.



➨ General features:

======================



iFlash® 5600mAh external battery weighs 4.4 oz. Its size is 3.75" x1.75" x 0.875". The pack has one USB output port. It comes with a pouch which fits the power pack, cables and tips. It has a built-in flashlight.



The external battery comes with a charging cable and 5 tips - micro USB, mini USB and iPad (and two others I don't recognize). It did not have tips for Samsung Galaxy Tab or lightening connector for iPad Mini and I used my own charging cables during the tests. I am attaching a photo of Flash® 5600mAh during one of the test next to my tablet for size reference. You can find this photo by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo in this listing.



➨ Test Results:

======================



✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet (using my own Galaxy tab connector cable)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blue unit: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ iPad Mini tablet (using my own lightening connector cable)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blue unit: AC ~~~~~~ -1% change in charge in 10 minutes (discharged)

Black unit: AC ~~~~~ -1% change in charge in 10 minutes (discharged)



➨ Key finding:

======================

✔ It works well with the Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, although charging rate is not the fastest I have tested. This power pack does not work with iPad Mini. I observed the same performance for both the black and blue model, which is good and reflects consistency in the manufacturing process. Overall rating: OK.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Satechi Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Trigger

The Satechi Smart Trigger is a type of a remote control. Remote controls have many benefits from artistic to practical - from taking long exposure photos without a shake to including the photographer in the photo. So what is different about this remote control from a standard infra-red remote control? It provides you a bit more control over the timing, gives you a timer on the screen of your mobile device, and you don't need to remember to bring another gadget along on your trip. In addition it has a mode that allows you to take photos with an interval giving you an ability to take time lapse photos.



So overall this is a useful device. However the current version of the mobile app has many problems, it often gets into an invalid state which requires several corrective steps and the user interface of the device is not intuitive. I made a video where I demonstrate the corrective steps, I hope it will save people time of figuring it out on their own.



COMPATIBILITY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



To be happy with this gadget you need to own the supported camera and the supported mobile device. My Canon camera was one of the supported models, my Galaxy 7.7 Tablet was not compatible, but my iPad Mini did work. Note that I included a photo showing a screen shot of the Google Play with incompatible message in case you want to check if your device is compatible prior to purchase. The photo collage can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.



The Satechi Smart Trigger is not compatible with all devices because it uses Bluetooth 4.0, requiring your smart phone or tablet to also use Bluetooth 4.0. The compatible devices using Bluetooth 4.0 are: iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad Mini, iPad 3, Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, and Samsung Galaxy Note 2.



The Android store would not let me install the app as it flagged my device incompatible. iTunes App store did not find the application under iPad apps, but the app I found under iPhone apps worked on my iPad Mini.



PAIRING TROUBLESHOOTING

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



The difficulty comes with pairing the device to the tablet. It is possible to get the app into a wedged state in a number of way with several different errors. I show several of the error conditions I encountered in the video. The solution to all problems is the following three step process, which I also include in my video.



✔ 1. You need to make your mobile device forget the bluetooth profile associated with Smart Trigger (under settings)

✔ 2. You need to delete the Bluetooth profile tag from within the app itself

✔ 3. You need to stop the app from running. This is accomplished by touching the home button twice, selecting Smart Trigger from the list of running apps and holding down the icon for a few seconds until the red minus sign appears, then selecting the red minus to stop the app.



These three steps clean up whatever went wrong in the previous attempt, and you can start again



✔ 4. Open the Smart Trigger App with the Smart Trigger receiver turned off.

✔ 5. Click on the scan menu of the Smart Trigger App, press the button on the receiver once. Sometimes scan starts automatically.

✔ 6. When the prompt to pair come up, select 'pair'

✔ 7. Now the *key* and yet not obvious step is that you are not done pairing when you select 'pair' button, you need to touch 'Smart Trigger' label that is displayed on the screen. Note that this text does not look like a button, it just text. On the left you will see 'Smart Trigger' text, on the right you will see a trash can. Do NOT touch the trash can, touch the 'Smart Trigger' text.

The 'Smart Trigger' label does not always appear on the screen, sometimes you just see a pictogram of the camera. If you don't see 'Smart trigger' label and you cannot touch it, the pairing will fail and you will need to start again with step 1.

✔ 8. When you touch the label the grey Connection Status icon turns red confirming that you have paired the device

✔ 9. Once you see the red indicator you can attach the cable that goes from the Satechi unit to your camera's remote control port.

Satechi recommends that the camera be set to Bulb mode and Manual Exposure. You can use Start Trigger when the camera is set 'P' mode and 'Timed shot mode' but the camera does not allow the use of Bulb Mode while in 'P', so you will not be able to use all of the features of Smart Trigger. You can only set BULB in the Smart Trigger App to the maximum exposure length allowed by your camera in 'P'. The same limitation applies to 'AV' mode. 'TV' mode is not compatible with the Smart Trigger.



Once the pairing occurs the app works fairly well until the next time you need to do the bluetooth pairing.



I should note that Satechi has some nice troubleshooting videos on YouTube, however each of the corrective steps is in several separate videos so it takes quite a bit of research to find all the relevant steps. I hope my video which has all the steps together will save you some research time.



FUTURE APPP UPDATES:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have reported the issues I encountered to the manufacture. They told me that there is work in progress on the next version of the app (as of May 23 2013):

Upcoming app updates will include fixing the issue with Bluetooth connectivity (the pairing process) and allowing users to select shutter speeds of less than 1 second.



Note that the Smart Trigger device mounts in the camera's shot shoe, so with the smart trigger mounted you will not be able to use the hot shoe for your on camera flash. Smart Trigger does not communicate with the camera, it uses the hot shoe for convenience, so in a pinch you can let Smart Trigger tangle and use the hot shoe for your flash.



WISH LIST:

~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a future enhancement that I would love to see in the Smart Trigger (after the connectivity issues are addressed). I would like to have an ability to see through the app on the phone what the camera sees. This way I can adjust the composition when the camera is mounted in a way that does not allow me to see the viewfinder or LCD screen of the camera itself. With the availability of SD cards with WI FI capability this sounds like a real possibility.



I received Satechi Smart Trigger for testing, evaluation and review. I noted the positives and negatives of my experience, and I hope you will find the video and troubleshooting tips useful. I gave Smart Trigger 3 stars - I thought the mobile app rated 2 stars at this time and the device itself 4 stars. I will monitor the updates to this mobile app and once the pairing issues are fixed will re-evaluate.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

FRiEQ® T2 Premium Universal Dashboard Windshield Car Mount Holder

The best feature of this cradle is that the jaws of this phone holder open up with just a push of a button. I am fairly short so it is always take extra contortions for me to reach the windshield mount, and if it does not open easily it takes me extra time to mount the phone. This windshield mount is quick and easy to use. The vacuum mount is a lever which is also easy to use. It sticks well not only to the windshield. Unfortunately when I attach it to my dash it falls off easily, just the movement of the car is enough to dislodge it.



The width of the holder adjusts from 1.5" to 3" (note that the description says 3.9", when I measured with a measuring tape the distance between inside jaws is 3"). The depth of the holder is 0.75". The depth of the holder works with a regular slim phone (with or without a gel skin) and even with extended battery which makes the phone significantly fatter than a standard battery.



The cradle can be rotated 360 degrees and adjusted in many different ways very easily. The suction is strong when the surface is perfectly smooth and is easy to operate by a lever on the base. The gel pad is washable, so when it picks up dirt all you need to do is wash it rather than replace it.



I received this phone holder from the manufacture for evaluation, testing and review. Based on my experience I recommend this phone for any smart phone with or without extended battery if you need to mount your devices on the windshield. If you need a dash mount, this is not the right holder to get. I give it 5 stars as a windshield mount and 1 star as a dash mount.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★☆☆

Bolse® 3.1A 15W Dual USB Port High Output Wall/Travel/AC Charger

I tested Bolse 3.1A 15W Dual USB Port Wall Charger with Nexus 7 Tablet (JellyBean 4.2.2), Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (ICS 4.0.4), and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone (JellyBean 4.2.2), and iPad Mini.



I own several wall chargers and power bricks and run the same set on tests on each of them, so they can be compared to each other using "apples to apples" comparison. This set of tests allows me to provide unbiased results as the numbers speak for the performance of each unit. These comparison tests reveal that this charger does not work as well as other chargers I have tested, including other Bolse wall chargers. The charger works, but does not charge as fast as other chargers. I am giving it OK rating of 3 stars.



My methodology is to charge each mobile device on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Each line in the table below represents a separate 10 minute test, 16 tests in total.



I use Battery App by Elvison to determine how each device recognized the charging source. 'AC' status means the charging is at full charging rate. 'USB' status indicates charging at a lower charging rate. 'Discharging' status means that the charging rate is below the power that the device is consuming so it slows down the discharge rate but does not re-charge.



I am attaching a collage with 3 photos that to illustrate this review.  They show the charger during the test with various devices. In the photos can also see a close up of the charger itself. It is 2 3/5" long, 1 1/2" tall, and 1 1/4" wide. If you use it on the old fashioned power strips this charger would cover 2 slots. Bolse wall charger has re-tractable prongs which is very handy for travel.



The two ports of the charger are marked as 1.0A and 2.1A and this is how I will refer to them in the tables below.



The table below shows the results of my tests. The manufacture offers the identical USB chargers in two colors "white" and "black". I received both for testing and evaluation. I tested both and both chargers performed similarly. I am including the results for both chargers, as seeing consistency in results increases the likelihood that others chargers will behave in a similar way.



✔ Nexus 7 Tablet (black charger)

--------------

2.1A -- AC ............. -1% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- AC ............. 0% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Nexus 7 Tablet (white charger)

--------------

2.1A -- AC ............. 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- AC ............. 0% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (black charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- USB ............. 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- USB ............. 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (white charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- USB ............. 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- USB ............. 1% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (black charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- AC ............. 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- discharging .... 0% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (white charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- AC ............. 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- discharging .... -1% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ iPad Mini (black charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- AC ............. 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- AC ............. 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ iPad Mini (white charger)

--------------------------

2.1A -- AC ............. 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

1.0A -- AC ............. 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



➨ Key findings:

------------------

This charger works, but does not charge as fast as other wall chargers, including other Bolse wall chargers, for example (ASIN: B00BFQ9R0W) Bolse® 4 Port Premium High Output USB Wall/Travel/AC Rapid Charger) For iPhone, iPad, Samsung Android Smartphones , which in the same test showed 7% charge rather than 0%/2%. This charger showed the best behavior with Apple products on both ports, so if you have two Apple products this charger would be a good fit.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link



AshopZones review ★★★☆☆