DB-Tech DB-WAW400 Wireless Water Overflow And Leak Detector

DB-Techi wireless water alarm consists of two units. The smaller unit is the water alarm transmitter (its size is 2.25" x 3.5" x 1") and the larger unit is remotely controlled receiver (its size is 5" x 4" x 1.25"). The transmitter unit has a water sensor probe which is attached by 82" cord to the unit. It also has a retractable antenna to communicate with the receiver unit. Both units have keyhole hangers and come with mounting hardware and two hole templates to make mounting easier. If you have an unfinished basement and can't easily mount the unit on the wall, the cord is long enough to place the unit on top of the water heater while the sensor is at the floor level.



The transmitter unit operates on one 9V battery (not included), and the receiver operates on three C batteries (not included).



I am attaching a video which shows the water alarm operation. The water alarm worked smoothly, however it took some experimenting to figure out when the alarm generates sounds (the manual is not clear).



✔ The transmitter and the receiver both generate sounds. Each one generates a different type of alarm and on a different schedule.



✔ The receiver generates a beep-beep-beep sound for a few seconds every 10 minutes. The receiver can be re-programmed to generate another beep sound, but I was satisfied with the default sound.



✔ The transmitter generates a twirling sound for longer periods of time with shorter breaks.



✔ Each unit has a switch that allows one to turn off the sound manually, which is a good thing because the sound is loud and annoying. Loud and annoying is a good thing for an alarm, but it is also good to be able to turn it off once you know there is a problem.



✔ The video shows that the alarm is very sensitive, it needs very little water to start making noise.



To summarize:

1. Very sensitive, alarm is set off with a small amount of water

2. Reliable, alarm went off in every test I tried

3. The alarm itself is fairly loud and the receiver unit can be mounted in a different location in the house, where it can be heard even better.

4. Mounting might require some creativity if you have an unfinished basement or if the water heater is not near a wall.



I received a sample unit from manufacture to share my experience with the alarm (be they positive or negative) the with the potential future buyers. I addressed pluses and minuses of the unit, and overall recommend it. This inexpensive device can save you a lot of money by alerting you about an unexpected flood before significant water damage occurs.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Hipe 6 LED Automatic Motion-sensing Night Light

Hipe Motion Activated Light is 3.5" in diameter. It can be activated by motion or by turned on manually. In the motion detection mode it is also light sensitive. Manual on/off works both when it is light and dark. The light runs on three AA batteries which are NOT included.



I am attaching a collage of two photos which show the light turned on. These photos can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.



The first photo shows a close-up of the light. You can see that only a crescent shape portion lights up. The LED lights are covered by a milky lens which defuses the light and is a good feature for a night light when your eyes are not used to the bright light.



The second photo shows the light in a small dark room so you can see how much light it produces. The stock photo that shows the light in a stairway makes it look like this light lights up more area than it does in reality. The amount of light is reasonable for a night light, enough not to be in a total darkness.



The light can operate in two modes: motion activated night light and flashlight mode when you can manually turn it on and carry with you. The shape of the light is a bit awkward to carry and the light not very bright for a flashlight. I am unlikely to use it this mode much. However in a power outage it is nice that I can detach it and place the light somewhere else.



To operate the light in flashlight mode you need to press switch "on" or "off" manually.



To operate the light in night light mode, you need to leave the switch in "off" position and set the slider to 30 seconds or 60 seconds. The light will come on automatically when motion is detected and stay on for 30 seconds or 60 seconds as selected. The motion is detected within 16 feet from the light.



The light can be mounted in several ways. It comes with a sticky tape Velcro. One side of the sticky tape can be attached to the cover, and another one attached to the wall. This allows you to remove the light when you want to use it in "flashlight" mode. The second option is to mount the light using two screws included in the package.



The light is not very bright, so I find it best fits the role of the night light than the flashlight.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® Charging Dock Cradle with 2nd Battery Charger for Galaxy Note II

If you use your cell for phone for business or are in general a heavy cell phone user you know that one battery is not enough to take you through the day. This cradles allows you to charge the phone and a spare battery at the same time.



The cradle weighs in at 4.4oz on my digital scale, and 4" wide x 3" tall x 3 3/4" long. The bottom has non-skid feet. It comes with an USB cable which is 48" end to end. The phone can be charged with or without the skin. The status of charging will be displayed on the phone. Battery charging is indicated by a red LED. When the charging is completed the LED will turn green. If the LED does not light up when you insert the battery check if you inserted the battery correctly.



One nice thing about Samsung phones is that you can swap out the standard battery for extended battery. The extended battery more than doubles the capacity of the original battery, however it also significantly increases the phone thickness. Note II with standard battery is 6.4mm thick, the extended battery it is 8.4mm in the middle section. The phone thickness with extended battery is 18.4mm.



This cradle is designed to fit only the standard battery and the phone with the standard battery.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link



AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® M2 10000mAh Dual Port External Battery Pack

I tested Bolse M2 (10,000 mAh) Power Pack with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (running ICS 4.0.4) and iPad Mini. This external battery has exceptionally good behavior with iPad Mini and average performance with Galaxy Tablet.



I received this power bank from the manufacturer 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.



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:

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



Bolse M2 external battery weighs 8.7 oz. Its size is 2.5" x 5.125" x 0.75".



The pack has two USB output ports. The package include 3 tips, among them mini USB and iPad. The package also contains a micro USB cable. Galaxy tab connector and lightening cable for iPad Mini were not included and I used my own charging cables for the tests below. Some external batteries include a small flashlight, this external battery does not.



➨ Test Results:

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



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

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

1A: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

2A: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



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

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

1A: AC ~~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

2A: AC ~~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet at the same time

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

1A: AC ~~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy Tablet)

2A: AC ~~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)



➨ Key finding:

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

✔ This external battery has a very good behavior with iPad Mini, and an average performance with Galaxy Tablet. Overall it earned a 4 star rating.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link



AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® M3 6600mAh Dual Port External Battery Pack

I tested Bolse M3 (6600 mAh) Power Pack with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (running ICS 4.0.4) and iPad Mini. It showed exceptionally good behavior with iPad Mini and average performance with Galaxy Tablet.



I received this power bank from the manufacturer 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.



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:

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



Bolse M3 external battery weighs 5.7 oz. Its size is 2.375" x 4" x 0.75".



The pack has two USB output ports. The package include 3 tips, among them mini USB and iPad. The package also contains a micro USB cable. Galaxy tab connector and lightening cable for iPad Mini were not included and I used my own charging cables for the test below. Some external batteries include a small flashlight, this external battery does not.



➨ Test Results:

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



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

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

Smart: AC ~~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

iPad: AC ~~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes



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

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

Smart: AC ~~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes

iPad: AC ~~~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet at the same time

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

Smart: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy Tablet)

iPad: AC ~~~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)



➨ Key finding:

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

✔ This external battery has exceptionally good behavior with iPad Mini, and average performance with Galaxy Tablet. Overall it earned a 5 star rating.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link



AshopZones review ★★★★☆

SHARKK Apple iPad Mini Keyboard Bluetooth Case Cover Stand

This is a very nice keyboard and case in every respect except that it is difficult to take off.



This keyboard is not only a bluetooth keyboard it can also serve as a stand and a case. It keeps the tablet very firmly in both horizontal and vertical orientation. In fact so firmly that I have had trouble removing it from my iPad Mini, I had to take it to work where a male co-worker with strong fingers was able to remove it after a bit of a struggle. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I have failed in my attempts to remove the case, but figured I have to confess for an honest review.



Sharkk keyboard is 8" long and 5.5" wide. Alone the keyboard case weighs 9.1 oz. Together with the iPad Mini it weighs 1 lb 3.9 oz. Each keyboard key is 1/2" by 1/2" in size. The size of the keys is very comfortable, I did not feel I had to adjust my hand position much. Both the individual keys and the case are made out of hard plastic. The keyboard has nice feedback, I felt confident that I was making good contact.



This keyboard case fit both my iPad Mini and my Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet. These two tablets are almost identical in size so the case fit them both, but Galaxy did not snap in the same way iPad Mini did. I tried Galaxy first and was able to remove it. Then came the iPad Mini test and now they have become very attached to each other.



I have used several other blue tooth keyboards in the past and here are some of the major comparison points:

1. This keyboard has good balance between key size and comfortable typing

2. It has nice feedback and the accuracy of my typing was good

3. This keyboard has no back lighting, so I needed external light to use it in the dark

4. I encountered issues with removing the case



I found that I type much faster using this keyboard than on screen keyboard, especially when I have to mix letters and numbers in the text. Pairing is remembered from previous sessions even when I turn off the keyboard and the device.



I am attaching a video which shows pairing the keyboard and using it with iPad Mini. What is particularly nice is that some application do not display on screen keyboard, so you get the benefit of the entire screen containing the information without being covered by on screen keyboard. Some applications still display on screen keyboard even when the keyboard paired with the device, so it depends if the application developer anticipated bluetooth keyboard use or not.



I received the Sharkk keyboard for testing and review (be it positive or negative) from the manufacturer. I hope the video will help you set your expectations.



I liked everything about it except for trouble with removing the case. However the case fits is so nicely that the tablet feels like a super-duper netbook computer where the keyboard is part of the device, not just a tablet with a separate keyboard.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Recycled Rubber Coasters

These coasters are 3.875" in diameter and 0.25" thick. Each coaster is pretty substantial, each weighs 1.7 oz. They are made of recycled rubber, one side has a printed design.  The coasters look rugged and sturdy (i.e. not pretty and dainty).  This is a masculine looking coaster if there is such a thing.  Since they are made out of rubber they are not slippery and make a really good coaster.



The coasters have a fairy strong rubber scent.  The scent might air out in a while, but in one week that I have had them the scent has not disappeared.



The coasters are made from 100% recycled rubber and they are made in the USA.  I received the coasters from the manufacturer who asked for an honest review be it positive or negative.



I am attaching a video of the coasters to give you a good idea what to expect.



You can find "Flox 'Moroccanometry in Orange' Rubber Coasters" on Amazon via this link





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Vibe Essentials iPad Mini Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case & Stand

Vibe Essentials keyboard is 8 1/8" wide and 5 1/2" deep and 3/8" high. It weighs 7.1 oz on my digital postal scale. Each key is 1/2" wide and 1/2" tall.  The keys have a comfortable size, I did not feel I had to adjust my hand position much. The individual keys are made out of hard plastic.  The keyboard tray is made out of aluminium. The keys have very good feedback, I felt confident that I was making good contact. The keyboard is good overall.  There is one small thing I don't like about it.  There is a raised latch near the space bar (see video) and I find that it got in my way when I hit the space bar. I wish the front was totally flat. I am able to work around it, but if it was not there I would have been happier.



I am using this keyboard with my two tablets, iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet. These two tablets are almost identical in size and the keyboard's stand mechanism worked well with both tablets in both horizontal and vertical orientation.  In order to fit the stand, I had to remove the case from both tablets. The design is such that neither the skin nor the leather case would fit into the keyboard stand.  The keyboard can also be used as "case" cover for iPad Mini by snapping to the tablet (thus that little latch near the space bar).  I prefer a bit more cushioning providing by the leather case, so I don't think I will be using this particular aspect of the keyboard.  When I tried snapping the keyboard case to the tablet, it seemed to need a bit of force and I did not proceed any further as it did not go in easily.



I have used several other blue tooth keyboards and here are some of the major comparison points:

1. This keyboard has a very good balance between key size to typing comfort. It is small enough to be portable yet comfortable for typing

2. It has very good feedback which aided in good accuracy

3. This keyboard has no back lighting, so I needed external light to use it in the dark

4. The front of the key board is not flat, I felt the latch with my thumbs when I was hitting the space bar



I found that I type much faster using this keyboard than the on-screen keyboard, especially when I have to mix letters and numbers in the text. Pairing is remembered from previous sessions even when I turn off the keyboard and the device.



I am attaching a video which shows Vibe keyboard in use with both tablets.  What is particularly nice is that some application do not display on-screen keyboard, so you get the benefit of the entire screen containing the information without being covered by on screen keyboard. Some applications still display on screen keyboard even when the keyboard paired with the device, so it depends if the application developer anticipated bluetooth keyboard use or not.



I received Vibe Essentials  keyboard for testing and review (be it positive or negative) from the manufacturer. I hope the video will help get a better idea of what to expect from this keyboard.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Gurin Steam Inhaler

I got this steamer a few months ago and waited to write this review until I had a cold so I could evaluate if it helped my congestion. The inhaler provided some relief although the effect were fairly brief. In that sense it is similar to taking a hot shower: you feel better while you are in the shower and for a brief time afterwards. Note that I am comparing only the feeling, not the actual effect. The steamed shower has much more steam.



The documentation included with the unit was not totally clear on where you add water to the unit, and I made a video which shows how to add water and control the amount of steam the unit generates. The steam is easy to hear but hard to see, so in the video I used a mirror so you can see how steam fogs up the mirror.



The steam that this inhaler generates is fairly hot. I used the inhaler by hovering about 1 inch above the mask of the unit, not putting my face directly against it. The steam was not generated totally evenly, sometimes you could see and hear puffs of extra steam. Hovering 1 inch above gave me enough steam to make me feel better.



The neck of the unit can be extended about 1 inch to make the unit taller. I am fairly short so the distance to the unit felt quite comfortable for me. I suspect a taller person might want to put the unit on a couple of books rather then bend down towards it. Underneath the unit there is a plastic container with two compartments. One side can be used to add saline solution or aromatherapy. The other side collects any condensed steam.



I timed how long various stages of operation took. After I turned on the unit, the steam appeared in 1 minute. I was able to use the unit for 6 minutes until the inhaler ran out of water. I left the unit turned on and 1 minute after the last puff of steam escaped the inhaler automatically turned off. The automatic turn off is a good safety feature. When the unit is turned on the light on the front of the unit is turned on. When the auto shut of turned off the unit, I heard a click and the light on the front of the unit was turned off.



I was provided a sample for review, and I noted pluses and minuses of the unit to provide a fair and balanced review.



Overall, I found this inhaler helpful in easing my congestion and will use it again.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Gurin Renewable Wireless Mini Dehumidifier

This dehumidifier is 6" by 4.5" by 1.5". Crystallized silica gel inside of the case absorbs moisture in the air (documentation says it can absorb 8-10 ounces of moisture). The window on the front of the unit show moisture indicator crystals that change color from dark blue (when dry) to pink (when wet). When the crystals indicate that the content is wet the unit needs to be plugged in for 12-14 hours to dry out the gel.



The unit is designed to work in small enclosed areas. I keep some paperwork in the basement and want to prevent it from smelling musty. I put the Gurin dehumidifier into the enclosed box with my paperwork and left it there for 1 month. I took pictures of the indicator after this 1 month test and after I dried them out again.



The first photo shows the unit from the side. It comes with a hanger which is handy to finding a good way to place the unit. I used it to hang the unit inside of the box from one of the sides.



The second photo shows the power outlet which is used when you need to dry out the silica gel. After 1 month test I kept the unit plugged in for close to 20 hours as crystals continued to get darker after 14 hours recommended in the manual.



Photo #3 shows the "dry" crystals after they were dried out. Photo #4 shows the "wet" crystals after 1 month in the basement. Under the bright lights I was able to tell a subtle difference between purple and dark blue. The top of the unit contains a color chart that shows blue for dry, purple for medium, and pink for wet. After one month the color was somewhere between the blue shade and the purple shade shown on the chart.



Having a small unit preserving valuable papers is very useful. I believe the unit did absorb the moisture in the box. The indicator is a bit hard to read, but at least this test told me that I don't need to recharge (i.e. dry out) the silica every month.



I received this dehumidifier from the manufacture for an honest and unbiased review. Note that the manufacture provides a 5 year limited warranty for this product.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

NEEWER LED Macro Ring Light 48 X LED with 6 Adapter Rings for For Canon/Sony/Nikon/Sigma Lenses

NEEWER LED Macro Ring Light is not as good as I hoped, but good enough to be useful in some situations. I am including a collage of 6 photos to illustrate my review.



The ring light came with 6 adapters (49mm/52mm/55mm/58mm/62mm/67mm), which fit both of the cameras I use. The adapters work similar to Cokin filters where you attach a metal ring of the adapter to the lens of the camera, and then slide the light ring into the adapter.



I selected this particular light ring because it could run on DC power as well a battery pack. The power pack is mounted in the hot shoe but the mount is used purely to hold the batteries in place on the camera. The ring does not communicate with the camera, once you turn on the light it is permanently turned on. The power unit is 3.75" tall and 1.5" x 1.5". It weight 4.2 oz with the batteries installed, and 8.7 oz together with the right light itself.



I hoped I would be able to hook up DC power to the ring without going through the hot shoe mounted battery back because my SONY NEX5 does not have a standard hot shoe mount. However, even without the batteries you need to use the power unit. Luckily the power unit has a 17" power cord so for the table top photography I can leave the power adapter laying on the table, and when shooting outdoors I can stick it into a pocket (I just need to remember to wear a shirt or vest with a pocket at the chest level). I like this approach better than using the cumbersome hot shoe adapter for SONY cameras.



As I mentioned earlier the unit provides continuous lighting (not flashing). There are a total of 48 LED lights and three settings: all lights on, left half of the ring is on, and the right side of the ring is on.



To demonstrate how the light ring works I am using a 17 inch power strip (this is a boring subject for sure but the length of the strip shows the light distribution very well).



There are two sets of photos, four are taken with the light 2 feet away from the object. Another two are taken with the light 6 inches away from the object. The photos are not edited in any way, just shrunk and stitched together. I took all pictures with a wide angle lens (18mm) so you can see the light ring in the shot - this makes it easier to see which lights of the ring were turned on, and also shows what you get if you use a wide angle lens. The photos were taken with the ring light being the only light source.



Photo #1 shows show the strip at 2 feet with the full ring of lights.

Photo #2 same lighting and distance but above the power strip rather than to the side.

Photo #3 shows strip at 2 feet with half the lights on, on the right side of the ring.

Photo #4 shows strip at 2 feet with half the lights on, on the left side of the ring.

Photo #5 shows the strip from 6 inches from above

Photo #6 shows the strip from 6 inches from the side



For photos take from 6 inches the ring produced pretty good results, however photos with the subject 2 feet away were not good. I hoped to be able to use the ring light at 2 feet, but the it did not produce sufficient amount of light for use at that distance. It does reduce shadows at the 2 feet distance when used in combination with another light source.



The bottom line, I found good uses for this ring light, but it did not totally live up to my high hopes.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

DB-Tech BD-WA65 Battery Operated Water Alarm with a 6 Foot Detachable Sensor

DB-Tech Water alarm is a 2.5" by 4" unit that has a water sensor and electronic alarm. The water sensor is located at the end of a 66 inch cord which allows the unit to be mounted above any potential water line. The back of the unit has holes for mounting screws. However I do not have a wall within 66 inches, so I just placed the water alarm on top of the water heater, as the cord was long enough to reach the floor with a bit of slack. If the cord was not long enough to place on top of the water heater, my back up plan was to attach the unit to the water heater with some duck tape.

 I have been using a water alarm for my water heater since I had some water damage a few years ago. In the attached video I replaced my current water alarm with the DB-Tech Water alarm. You will notice the water tray under my water heater which was installed the last time the water heater was replaced. As you will see the water alarm is very sensitive, it really does not need a water tray to fill to sound the alarm. 

 

In the video I show how to extend the cord, install the battery, and then take it down to the basement where a quarter of the cup of water makes it squawk. The alarm is not very loud, I am likely to hear it on the first floor above the basement but not on the second floor especially if the TV is on.

 

To summarize:

1. Very sensitive, alarm sets off with a small amount of water

2. Reliable, alarm went off in every test I tried

3. Not loud enough to hear everywhere in the house when it is mounted in the basement

4. Mounting might require some creativity



I received a sample unit from manufacture to share my experience with the alarm (be they positive or negative) the with potential future buyers. I addressed pluses and minuses of the unit, and overall recommend it. This inexpensive device can save you a lot of money by preventing water damage.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Instapark YT1008 Solar-powered Dusk-to-Dawn Outdoor Motion Sensor LED Light, Weather-proof

Instapark YT1008 solar light is 5" x 3.35" in size. When it is mounted on a vertical surface the top part of the light that faces up and the entire surface facing up is the solar panel. This light is both motion and photo sensitive. The light turn on at dusk and shines dimly when noone is around. When the light detects motion it turns on the brighter setting. At the brightest setting Instapark Solar light is not very bright but sufficient to light the area so you can see. After a full day of charging in the sun the light stay on for approximately 6 hours.



To activate the light you need to turn on it with a provided pin by inserting into small hole on the under side (white) of the light. You only need to activate the light once. I suggest you do it before installation as to find a spot where to push inside the light is a little tricky. Just keep poking inside at different angle until it clicks and turns off. The light is water tight and this on/off mechanism provides a way to save the battery when you don't need it operating without compromising the water proof aspect of the light.



The attached video shows a close-up of the light, how to turn it on with a pin, then I turn off the lights so you can see the amount of light it generates after a full charge.



I am also attaching a collage of three photos.

Photo #1: show both sides of the light: the top with the solar panel, and the bottom with the light.

Photo #2: shows the lights in the two states: the left light shows the bright state (when motion is detected), and the left light shows the dim state (no motion detected).

Photo #3: shows both lights on bright setting in total darkness. All the light you see is generated by the two solar lights.



I mounted the light on the deck near the rear entrance of the house. The light detected me approaching from any direction (180 degrees) from about 10 feet away. After the movement stopped it went back to dim setting in about 2 minutes.

I received this solar light from Intapark for providing an honest review be it positive or negative. I have no financial interest or business relationship with the manufacturer, and this review represents my independent opinion of the product.



Overall, the light worked well. It detected motion in a good range and turned on to the brighter setting. However it does not light a large area so I recommend using at least a couple of these lights together.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® Dual Desktop Charger Cradle Dock with Spare Battery Charging Slot

The idea of having a dock which can charge the phone as well as an extra battery outside the phone at the same time was very appealing to me, as my husband uses the cell phone for business and it gets a lot of use. He uses Nexus Galaxy phone with Hyperion Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3800mAh Extended Battery which makes the phone extra thick.  I tested the dock with both regular slim battery and the extra thick extended battery.



I am attaching a collage of 4 photos that I will be referencing in this review.



The first photo shows that the dock did not fit the phone when it had the thick extended battery installed. Photo #2 shows the bottom of the phone and extra thickness this battery forms.  The phone with the regular battery fit without problems.



Photo #3 shows the extended battery in the dock, the contacts of the battery did not line up with the contacts of the charger due to the thickness of the battery.  The green light on the dock indicates that the dock is plugged in, not that the charging is happening.



Photo #4 shows a regular battery in the dock, and it the charging of the regular size battery worked without a problem.



I received this item for an honest review and shared both positives and negatives aspects of my experience with this dock.



Overall, if you have a phone with a regular size battery this device works without problems.  If you use extended battery in your phone this charging dock is not for you. 





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® 4 Port USB Charger Wall/Travel/AC Rapid Charger 4 Amps / 20Watt For Mobile Devices

I tested Bolse 4 port 4 Amps 20 Watt 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 SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.



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.



To test Bolse 4 port I ran a test for each of my 3 devices on each of 4 ports for a total of 12 tests. I repeated the tests on both the white and the black version of the wall plug as I received one of each from the manufacture for an unbiased review. I also charged the Nexus phone and the Nexus tablet at the same time. The results of these 25 tests are included in the tables below.



➨ Key finding:

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

I am include results from testing both the black white plugs, as to my surprise they produced different results. See more on this difference in my overall assessment at the end of the review.



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.



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 plugs on different power strips, charging different mobile devices, as well as a close up of the plug itself.



Bolse wall charger has re-tractable prongs which is very handy for travel. It has 4 ports: 2 universal ports, 1 Apple port, and Samsung port. The ports are marked on the top of the unit. The writing is very easy to read on the white plug, and a bit harder on the black plug.



The plug is 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. If you put the plug on the strip it takes up two slots.



The table below summarizes my findings:



✔ Nexus 7 Tablet (black plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Apple port ------- AC ----- 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 1% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Nexus 7 Tablet (white plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

Apple port ------- AC ----- 0% change in charge in 10 minutes

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 1% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (black plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes

Apple port ------- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 5% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (white plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- 6% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- 6% change in charge in 10 minutes

Apple port ------- AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (black plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Apple port ------- -- ----- discharging

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (white plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- -- ----- discharging

Universal port 2 -- -- ----- discharging

Apple port ------- -- ----- discharging

Samsung port ----- AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes



✔ SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player

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

Universal port 1 -- worked

Universal port 2 -- worked

Apple port ------- worked

Samsung port ----- worked



✔ Nexus 7 Tablet & Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone at the same time (black plug)

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

Universal port 1 -- AC ----- Tablet 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Universal port 2 -- AC ----- Phone 7% change in charge in 10 minutes



The behaviour of both Nexus 7 Tablet and Galaxy Nexus Phone plugged in at the same time was the same as when they were plugged in individually.



On the black plug the Galaxy 7.7 tablet performed better on Universal ports than on the Samsung port. However on the white plug, the only port that worked for Galaxy 7.7 was the Samsung port.



The MP3 player worked on all ports.



➨ Key finding:

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

There was a difference in performance between the black and the white plugs. I can only explain it by inconsistency in the manufacturing processes. The performance of the black plug was consistently better for all the units. The white plug did work, and if I did not have a black one for comparison or did not run the same set of tests on both plugs I would have thought the white one worked reasonably well. As an engineer I find inconsistency in performance rather unsettling and even though the black plug performed exceptionally well I felt I had to mark down both plugs because potential consumers would not know whether they would be getting an ok plug or a great plug. The inconsistency may show up in a plug of any color.





You can find the black charger on Amazon by following this link.





You can find the white charger on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

YooMee Red BEAT51 Portable Travel-size Mini Speaker for Apple, Nexus, Android and other mobile devices

YooMee Red BEAT51 Mini Speaker is an attractive black and red round speaker that weights 2 oz and is about 2.25" in diameter.  It is wired and has a rechargeable battery. The speaker comes with a black velvet pouch which fits the speaker and cables.



I am attaching a video which demonstrates the sound generated by my tablet's speaker, then by YooMee Speaker, and then back to the tablet's speaker for comparison.  The speaker produces sounds that is noticeably better than the built-in speaker. It has a reasonable base for a speaker of such small size and nice mid tones which produce sound without distortion. 

 

The speaker can play 12 hours on one charge.  When the speaker is charging the led indicator is red, when the full charge is reached the led indicator turns blue. It took me 3 hours to charge it from totally empty to totally full. The speaker can be used while it is being recharged.

  

I am attaching a photo  which shows the speaker with its charging/audio cable. The speaker has no audio input aside from this custom cable. This custom cable has one USB connection that has two wires coming out of it: one audio cable and one charging cable. Audio cable branch goes to the sound source, charging cable branch goes to the power source. Even when you don't need to charge the speaker, you always have both wires danging together.  The audio cable is quite short, only 17 inches (19.25" if you include both connectors).  If I am recharging the speaker it gives me only 17 inches of freedom.  I often recharge gadgets from a small external power brick in my pocket, so I can continue to listen while recharging, but this cable is too short to put the speaker and power brick in my pocket and hold the tablet at the same time.  If you are not charging the speaker then you have the length of both cables with a USB connector dangling between the two branches.  The weakest point of this speaker is this cable.



The compact size and light weight make it a good travel companion. As far as the sound is concerned it is a nice little speaker with the sound which is rather impressive for its size.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Bolse® Micro Usb Charging Dock Cradle with audio output for Samsung Galaxy Phones

I tested Bolse Charging Dock with Nexus Galaxy phone with Hyperion Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3800mAh Extended Battery. This extended battery makes the phone much thicker and often presents problems fitting into devices designed for phones with their regular slim batteries. However Bolse Charging Dock handles this challenging configuration well. This dock has a nice feature that the micro-USB docking plug can be moved and re-positioned, this accommodates different port positions on various phones.



I am attaching a collage of 4 photos that I will be referencing in my review.

The first photo shows the phone in the dock charging. I used Battery App by Elvison to determine how the devices recognizes 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. As you see in this photo, the charging source is recognized as 'AC'.



I use the same test when I test various charging devices so I can compare them to each other. My methodology is to charge each device I own on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Bolse dock charged the phone from 76% to 81% in 10 minutes, which is a 5% difference and ranks well among various devices I have tested.



The second photo shows the profile of the phone in the charging dock to give you an idea of the shape of the battery in case you are using a different extended battery.



Photo #3 shows my ear buds plugged into the the audio pass-through in the back of the docking station. When the phone is in the charging dock its audio output is blocked by the dock, so this audio pass-through is designed to make audio out available. However it did not work for this phone, there was no sound.



Phone #4 shows a top down view of the dock. The top of the devices has 4-LED light that surrounds the pen/stylus holder. This indicator cannot be turned off.



Bolse dock also fits our Nexus 7 tablet, but the fit required Nexus 7 to be placed with the back cover forward. The audio did not work with the Nexus 7 either.



Bolse dock comes with a 4-foot USB to micro-USB cable. It has a 1-year warranty



I was provided a sample unit for an honest and unbiased review and covered positives and negatives of my experience with this docking station.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Garnier Olia Oil Powered Permanent Haircolor, 4.0 Dark Brown

I recently began coloring my hair to keep on top of the grey hairs that began springing up in my dark brown hair.  I like to have a natural color so noone can even guess I color my hair.



Garnier has a large selection of colors. I selected Garnier's Olia 4.0 dark brown color and the color came out nicely.  The color is very natural and matched the rest of my hair very well.  This is the good news part of the review.





On the negative side, I did not like the applicator. It is attractive looking, but the tear drop shaped bottle is not comfortable to hold and is slippery when the gloves are soaked with color mixture. The bottle is totally smooth and round and the sleek gloves had trouble holding on to it.



The color mixture is fairly thick. I started applying it directly to roots by parting the hair.  Because I found the bottle hard to hold I switched to using a brush to apply color and that worked better for me.



The color had no amonia and thus no amonia smell, that was very nice. I found the flowery fragrance a bit too strong. I would have preferred a lighter scent or unscented.



I liked that the color stains on my skin around the hair line washed off easily without much scrubbing.



The bottom line of my experience: nice color and uncomfortable applicator. I plan to use it again with the following modifications: I would use some masking tape to create folds and grooves on the bottle so that the surface is no so smooth. I would also be applying the color from the bottle on to the brush and then use the brush to apply it to the hair.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆

Ayl Accessorise (TM) Portable Bluetooth Wireless Mini Speaker System for PC / Cell Phone / Tablet / MP3 Player (Silver) Accessorise (TM) Portable Bluetooth Wireless Mini Speaker System

Several months ago we were on the market for a bluetooth speaker for the car, so I have done quite a bit of research comparing different mini bluetooth speakers. The overall winner of that comparison was DBEST London PS4001BT speaker.  When I received an offer from Accessorise to receive an evaluation unit of their mini speaker for review purposes I was eager to compare it with the other speakers I recently evaluated.

Accessorise mini bluetooth speaker is an attractive black/silver dome which is 2.4 oz in weight and about 2.5" wide. It can be used as a bluetooth speaker as well as be plugged in using 3.5mm jack for devices that are not bluetooth enabled. I tested it pairing with Nexus 7 Tab, Galaxy Nexus Phone, Galaxy 7.7 Tab and using the jack with Sansa Clip+ MP3. All of them worked well.



I am attaching a collage of 3 photos (it can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo). The first photo shows the speaker next to the ruler. Phone #2 and Photo #3 show the two sides of the speaker. Photo #2 shows the button that controls all functions of this speaker. If you briefly touch the button it turns the speaker on and off (which results a slow blink of the blue light on speaker). If you push the button and hold it it goes into pairing mode (which results a quick blink blink of the blue light). The same button is used to pause (press while playing), skip to the next or previous song (rotate change volume control), or change volume (rotate left or write and hold). Because one button is overloaded with many functions it requires a slight learning curve to learn how to operate it. The main trick for pairing is to make sure you see a fast blink before you scan for bluetooth devices.



The speaker can be recharged by connection the standard USB cable.



The range of the speaker is about 30 feet (approximately 10 meters). When I went further away the sound began breaking up.



To do the comparison with DBEST mini speaker I listened to both speakers in the car. I used two music pieces to evaluate speakers, playing each using one speaker then the other: Edith Piaf, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien and well as a classical music piece.



Both speakers were impressive and were able to generate well amplified sound. Mid range was comparable for both speakers, DBEST produce better richer base.



There is one other minor but possibly significant in practice difference: DBEST speaker has a loop as part of its body, which gives us multiple options for mounting it in the car. We have it hanging from that loop on the driver's side. Ayl speaker has no options for hanging, it is designed to stand on it base. If we were to use it in the car we would need to rig something up, perhaps gluing a loop to it.



Overall, it is a nice little speaker with the sound which is rather impressive for its size.



You can find AYL speaker on Amazon by following this link.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆

 

SimplyVibe SV-X6U1-Black Rechargeable FM, MP3 Player and Portable Speakers

SimplyVibe a mini boom box that can tune FM radio and as well as play the content of USB flash memory stick or SD memory card.



To illustrate my review I am attaching a video and a collage of 4 photos. The video demonstrate FM reception for voice and music, as well as SimplyVibe's ability to play MP3 content from a memory stick.

1. The first photo shows the content of the entire package. Besides the unit itself, the package includes a USB charging cable, an audio cable, a rechargeable lithium battery, and instructions. The unit's size is 6.41 " x 1.50" x 2.30". The photo of the unit show is on 1 inch gridded mat for size reference, I also included a pen in the photo for relative size.



2. I found FM tuner to be a bit weak and a number of stations sounded a bit hissy. The attached video will give you a good idea of the reception I get on two different stations, one station will demonstrate speaking voice, the other will demo music. It is acceptable, but not as good as a larger receiver (I compared it to CC Crane radio FM reception). Photo #4 shows the display during an FM radio broadcast. The display is fairly small, and stays on only for a few seconds. As you see in the video I had to touch the button many times to keep the display active. The unit has a mode which displays a clock, but because the display turns itself off so quickly SimplyVibe cannot function as a general purpose clock. The controls take some getting used to, they are not totally intuitive and the display is faint and might be hard to read for people with presbyopic eyes.

3. Photo #2 show the side of the unit where you plug in USB memory stick, a charging cable, and a SD memory card. The speaker performed much better when playing MP3 music from a memory stick. The sound was louder and it was very clear. It even did a reasonable job with the base for a unit of such small size.



4. Photo #3 shows the back of the unit - the battery compartment and the audio plugs. You can attach headphones to the unit, or attached the unit to a laptop as an external battery.



I found this speaker to be a nice size to stand on my night table. The bottom of the unit is flat and it balances well.



My main use for this unit is when I want to have an mp3 player which has an external speaker instead of headphones. I listen to a lot of audio books, and when I am sick I like listening to the audio books in bed. I don't like falling asleep with the headphones in my ears so SimplyVibe gives me a nice alternative.



I was provided an evaluation unit for testing and review. I noted the pluses and the minuses of my experience in this review, and if you have any questions about the features I have not covered I am always happy to answer comments.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆