UtechSmart USB 3.0 Superspeed Multi-in-1 4-Slots Memory Card Reader

UtechSmart card reader is card reader that plugs into your USB port. It is capable of USB 3.0 speeds and also is backwards compatible to USB 2.0/1.1. It has a nice feature that indicates at what speed you are transmitting data: red indicator shows your transfer is at USB 2.0 speed and green indicator shows that you are transferring data at USB 3.0 speed. USB 2.0 speed is 480 Mbit/s. USB 3.0 is 10 times faster than USB 2.0 4.8 Gbps.



This card reader works with following formats:

SDXC (up to 2TB), SDHC, SD, CF, High-Speed CF(UDMA), MS, M2, Micro SDXC, Micro SDHC, Micro SD cards.



The unit itself is fairly small 2.25?" x 2.25" x 0.375". It does not require an external power source, it gets the power it needs from the USB connection. The card reader has a built-in USB cable which is 4" long. The unit weighs 1.4 oz.



I tested the card reader on Windows 7 and Linux. Note that it is documented to work with Windows and Mac, but I have successfully tested it under Linux as well.



I tested with Class 10 SD card and 133X CF card.



Each operating system I tested saw the cards plugged into the card reader without any problems.



To evaluate similar devices I tested each port by copying the same large set of mp3 files totalling 638916 Megabytes. I measured CPU time and clock time. My goal is to test that each port works, and to compare the performance relative to other card readers I have tested. Since I use the same set of files I can compare different devices in "apples to apples" comparison.



I ran each test three times to make sure they were consistent.



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

TEST #1 SD card

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



1.242s (cpu) 1:40.82 (clock time)



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

TEST #2 micro CF card

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



1.339s (cpu) 0:42.69 (clock time)



This card performed better than other card readers I have tested.



Hoo Too card reader (ASIN B00CDY0DSA):

CF card:___________1.234s (cpu) 1:27.81 (clock time)

SD card:___________1.241s (cpu) 1:46.49 (clock time)

UtechSmart USB 3.0 Card Reader (ASIN B00CBTQW6E)

SD card:___________1.551s (cpu) 1:48.54 (clock time)



I received this card reader for testing and review from the manufacturer. The card reader performed well in my tests. The card is small, fast, and a short USB cable allows it to fit well even into a laptop where the USB slots are tightly packed. I find it especially handy to use with my laptop which does not have a built-in card reader.



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 ★★★☆☆

Dalen NB1 7-Foot by 20-Foot Bird-X Net 3/4-Inch Mesh

I purchased this netting to protect miniature raspberry bushes from the birds. The size of the netting openings is just right and it was fairly easy to work with.

I am attaching a photo which shows the netting on my hand so you can see the relative size of the netting grid, as well as over the potted raspberry bush so you see how it looks from a distance.



Overall, I am pleased with it and plan to re-use it next year.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



AshopZones review ★★★★★

3 in 1 Card Reader Adapter Cable Camera Connection Kit, 3 Port Card Reader for Ipad and iPad Mini by Eurekka®

I tested this 3 in 1 card using my SONY NEX-5N camera, USB memory stick, and SD card with iPadMini. I am attaching a photo collage that I will be referencing in this review, which can be found by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.



Attaching the camera with USB cable just worked. Copying photos, videos, and other files from a memory card/stick also works if you follow the rules that iPad Mini expects. I describe these rules below.



Sometimes I need to copy files to my iPad Mini while I don't have a Wi Fi or my PC with iTunes handy. I want to be able to insert a memory card and copy the files to my iPad Mini. 3-in-1 card reader allowed me to do this, but it required me to figure out how to use what iPad Mini allows me to do to accomplish my desired goal.



I discovered that not every memory stick works in the card reader. Some memory sticks generate an error message "The connected USB device requires too much power". See photo #1 in collage of photos I am including for reference in this review. The smaller older memory sticks tend to work better. None of my large memory sticks worked, however one of the old non brand name 1Gig memory sticks worked (an old 1Gig SanDisk did not).



The 3 in 1 Card Reader documentation says "When you insert U-Disk/TF/SD card into the reader your iPad automatically opens the photo app which lets you select which photos to import." This is how it worked when I used it directly with the camera. However, when I copied several photos to a memory stick and inserted it in to the card reader and nothing happened.



Turns out I had to follow a very specific format for naming my files and the directory structure where I place them:



✔ 1. Use FAT file format on the USB drive (this is the format used by cameras and thus expected by iPad)



✔ 2. Create a folder on your memory stick called DCIM.



✔ 3. Copy your files into that folder. The files have to be stored directly in the DCIM folder of the memory card or memory stick. No sub-folders are allowed, images at the top level are not seen.



✔ 4. Name the photo images following the camera image conventions:



"_DSC" followed by 4 digit number followed by ".JPG", for example, _DCS0001.JPG.

You can also transfer movies by naming the files with an 8 digit number followed by .m4v extension, e.g. "00000001.m4v"



✔ 5. As soon as I renamed the files on my card/stick to follow these conventions iPad Mini immediately began showing thumbnails of the images that are on the card. When the transfer process is done you'll be asked if you want to delete the images that were just transferred or if you'd prefer to keep them on the memory stick/card.



This technique could be used to move files other than photos or movies, as long as you have an iPad app that knows how to open such files. For example you can zip text files into a zip file myfile.zip and then rename the zip file to be called myfilezip.pdf. When Photo app starts you can import your PDF file. To get the PDF file out of the Photo import folder, you need to open it with an app that knows how to handle pdf extension (for example, Files Pro). Then you can rename the file back to myfile.zip and extract your files.



➨ ➨ Warning: do not leave the card reader plugged into the iPad (even without a memory stick) if you are not using it. I left it in for the day and it totally drained my battery. Without the card reader plugged in I only need to recharge my iPad Mini every few days.



I received this card reader from the manufacture for an honest review. All in all 3 in 1 Card Reader is a useful gadgets at a very good price. I hope my tips will help you get the most out of it.



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 ★★★★☆

Plugable 12 Outlet Power Surge Protector with Built-in Dual USB Charging Ports

Plugable 12 Outlet power surge protector provides 12 power outlets and 2 USB ports. 4 of the AC outlets are set away from the others so I could plug in my battery rechargers without covering any other outlets. The power strips measures 12" x 6" x 1", has a 6 foot cord. It claims 4320 Joules of surge protection for all 12 power outlets. The switch on the side of the power strip servers the role of power switch as well as the circuit breaker switch. Each outlet has an individual sliding cover, so you can close any outlet that is not in use or is partially obscured by another plug/charger.



I am attaching a collage of 2 photos: Photo #1 shows a variety of battery chargers, USB chargers, and a regular size small plug in this power strip. I found the outlets well spaced out to fit my needs. Photo #2 shows one minor annoyance I found in this strip. Both sides of the strip glow with green LED lights that cannot be turned on. It seems fashionable for every device to glow in the dark, I wish this was an optional light with a way to turn it off.



To test the USB ports I ran the test I use to test all chargers and power banks. The benefit of running the same test on all devices is that it allows me to compare them to each other in "apples to apples" comparison. 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.



iPad Mini

_________



Port 1................ 2%.....AC

Port 2................ 2%.....AC



Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet

_________________________



Port 1................ 0%.....discharging with data cable

Port 1................ 2%.....AC with charging cable

Port 2................ 0%.....discharging with data cable

Port 2................ 2%.....AC with charging cable



iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet at the same time

_________________________________________________________

Port 1................ 2%.....AC (iPad Mini)

Port 2................ 3%.....AC with charging cable (Galaxy tab)

Port 1................ 2%.....AC with charging cable (Galaxy tab)

Port 2................ 2%.....AC (iPad Mini)



These charging rates fall in the middle range of my tests, not as good as the fastest chargers but not the slowest. Given that it a bonus functionality on the well spaced power strip I am satisfied with this performance.



Plugable products offers a one year limited warranty against any defects in materials or workmanship. The warranty information can be located on Plugable web site by selecting "Support/Warranty" from the top menu of their website (and the website name is the product name followed by dot com). They state that they will repair or replace products which fail because of any defect in the first year after purchase.



Plugable provided this unit to me for testing, evaluation and review be it positive or negative. I am very pleased with the layout of the outlets. The USB ports provided reasonable speed of charging even though they were not as fast as the best rapid chargers I own. Overall, I recommend it.



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 ★★★★☆