Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Product review: Prime Pro | Mega Mini Spy Camera Pen



This is a pretty neat spy camera. In attached video you can see and hear snippets of my evening out with the pen in my pocket. The video the pen takes pretty good quality but since you can't tell exactly where you are pointing the framing is difficult. The video has quite a bit of shake because it is taken while the person is walking or moving. In addition for the ladies the pockets are often on the part of the chest that is not flat so the camera lens will be pointing a bit up rather than straight ahead. In my video I got a lot of ceiling shots. Carrying this pen in the purse might be another option that will work in some situations better than a shirt pocket. Attached video contains the video taken with camera in my shirt pocket, I did not hold the pen in my hand so this is a realistic example of what the video would look like if I wanted to take video in a covert manner.



After I fully charged the camera, I was able to take video for 40 minutes. It is a little difficult to tell if the camera working or not. I could tell it was recording because it got slightly warm. When it stopped recording it got cool so I knew it stopped recording. When I got home I found two video files with a total recording time of 39 minutes. It is also hard to tell when it is fully charged or how long it take for it to get fully charged. When I charge it the indicator light is red, but it continued glow red even overnight when I think it was already fully charged.



The camera has no controls, it operates by detecting motion. The only thing you can control is setting the date to the current date, and this is done by createing a text file which contains the current date. A sample copy of this text file is present on the micro SD card. Just edit it with any text editor and modify sample time to current time. Save the file. The name of the file us userconfig.txt.



This pen camera looks very similar to a normal pen and it even writes well. It has a very short ink canister because most of its body is the battery and the camera.



The camera lens is right above the clip. The clip has a nice mechanism which closes the lens when you don't want it to take pictures. Very thoughtful!



The charging port and the port for Micro SD are revealed when you take off the cap.



The status indicator is a small light on the opposite side from the camera lens. If you are carrying the pen with the camera out then the light is facing you so you know what the camera is doing. To start recording you need to do a short press on the button on top of the pen. Another short press turns it off. A long press while it is on puts into motion activation mode. Note that the instruction refer to the color of the light is amber, but to me it looks like light green light. Do not remove the micro sd card until the pen stops saving the file which is indicated by status light being off.



The camera produces either jpg photos (1280x1024) or AVI videos (1280x720). The camera is 8 mega pixels. It can take TF card up to 32G.



Finally, if something goes wrong it is nice to have an escape hatch. There is a reset to manufacturer's setting pin hole on the camera. I was able to reset the camera by pushing it with the back end of a needle.



Overall, a very good combination of stealth and video.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★★



Monday, July 20, 2015

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 ★★★☆☆



Saturday, July 18, 2015

Product review: Setaluna Premier Soft & Silky 100% Satina Bed Sheet Set



The bed sheet set is made ot of 100% Satina microfiber. The material feels similar to sateen because it has a certain silkiness to it. It has a dense weave and feels softer than 100% cotton sheets which feel "crispy". Satina is thicker than other microfiber sheets I have tried.



I selected Camel color which turned out to be a beautiful rich umber yellow color. I am very pleased with it. The sheets come out of the dryer totally wrinkle free. The pillow cases felt nice against my face. The sheet is cut very generously and a bit more slippery than cotton. This combination does not keep the sheet taught on our mattress like the cotton sheets. It does not cause discomfort but it requires more tucking and straightening if I want it to look good. For reference, the fitted sheet pockets are 13" inches and our mattress is 10". I am guessing that if the mattress is thicker there will be less bunching on the top. For my sheets I need to use sheet gators which keep the sheet from slipping. It is a little more work, but the results are very good.



♦ Fitted Sheet is 80"x60". It has 13" pocket and elastic around all 4 edges.

♦ Flat Sheet is 102"x90".

♦ 2 Pillowcases are 20" x 30". Each has three embroidered stripes on one edge of one side.



Most seams are singly stitched, the corners on the fitted sheet are double stitched. This will help them to to last longer.



The sheets/pillow cases did not shrink after washing, they are color fast (I washed them with a color catcher to be sure), and they came out wrinkle free out of the dryer.



Care recommendation from Setaluna: Machine wash in cold water. Do not iron or dry clean.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★★



Thursday, July 16, 2015

Product review: FAVOLCANO 20000mAh High Capacity Ultra-thin Dual USB Port External Battery



A lot of capacity comes in a fairly compact package, this battery is 6" x 3" x 3/8" and is 20000mAh. It has two USB outlets and one (fairly dim) flashlight.



I tested each USB port with current monitor with an Android phone and iPad Mini tablet. The battery charged iPadMini as well as the best power banks I have tested on 2A port. On 1A port did not provide optimal results because Apple products require more than 1A, but it provided a typical charge for a 1A port. For Android phone results were not as good. It underperformed on both ports, charging at USB rate on 2A port and below optimal on 1A port. I started running these tests when my Android devices had HoneyComb operating system. The charging rate is controlled by protocols between the devices and the battery. When they can't negotiate they get the default non-optimal rate. I was able to observe the improvements in Android OS as they adapted to handle Apple protocol on 2A ports. Before 4.21 I could only get fast charging on 1A ports, and would get bad performance on 2.1A port on my Android devices. After upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.21 I saw the same performance on 2A and 1A ports as it is controlled by the device negotiating the protocol with the charger. Now my Android devices typically charge similar in speed on both ports. So these results surprised me. This battery us using a protocol that Android is not able to handle well. If you are interested in the specific numbers, my video includes screen shots of the results.



Based on my test this power bank is better suited for Apple devices. It works with Android but not as well as with other power banks.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆



Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Product review: ORICO Mini Size 2 Outlet Surge Protector with 4 USB Charger



The Orico charging station combines two AC outlets and four USB ports. This charging station has a 54" cord and its size is 6.5" x 2.5" x 1.5". The AC outlets are spaced in such a way that I can put a battery charger and a regular plug next to each other (but not two battery chargers side by side).



I tested each USB outlet with current monitor with an Android phone and iPad Mini tablet. Both performed as well as any other charger, however the strip got pretty warm when I get both the phone and the tablet charging at the same time. If you are interested in the test results I am including the readings in my video.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.







AshopZones review ★★★★☆





Sunday, July 12, 2015

Product review: AVANTEK In-Car Universal Wireless FM Transmitter Radio Adapter Car Kit



I have been using FM transmitters in my car for many years as I like listening to audio books in my car. I have used several FM transmitters in the past and this one falls in the middle of the pack.



First thing you need to know that this transmitter is not bluetooth enabled. You can use either with an audio cable to connect to the phone or MP3 player or by streaming audio from a USB memory stick. So this transmitter is ideal for MP3 players that are not bluetooth enabled and my favorite method USB stick, but I don't see it being particularly useful with a phone that is bluetooth enabled.



As you see in the video it works the memory stick well. The sound is as good as your car speakers, of course. The main job of the transmitter is to stay in contact with an empty FM station for a clear sound, and this transmitter allows you to select any station you want - no limited number of pre-sets as some of the other FM transmitters I encountered.



To find vacant FM stations in my area I used a web site "radio-locator (dot) com/cgi-bin/vacant" where you can enter your zip code and get a list of stations to try.



Once the station is selected Aventek remembers it even when I unplug the transmitter and then plug it back in.



Since I listen to audio book having a bookmark capability (i.e. ability to return to exactly where I left of last time) is key. My favorite FM transmitter by Satechi has a bookmark capability, Aventek does not. This feature is most useful to audio book listening, for music it is not all that significant.



Aventek fits my cigarette firmly. It does not move even when I go over bumps. However its neck is pretty short and it is a little awkward to reach in my car as the car port is very close to the floor. Satechi has a remote control so I don't have to bend down and touch the unit, Aventek does not have a remote.



At the time I am writing this review Satechi transmitter is twice as expensive as the Aventek. So for the music lover who does not need bluetooth the feature difference is not significant, if you need bluetooth or you listen to audio books that the bookmarking feature might be worth the extra money.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆



Friday, July 10, 2015

Product review: Gembonics Portable Charger 6000mAh - External Battery Power Bank



This is a very compact external battery for its size. It has one port and based on my current monitor readings it is a 1 Amp port. My Android phone draw a current somewhat below average, and iPad Mini draws a current typical for 1 Amp port (which is below optimal for Apple devices that need a 2A port to charge at the optimal rate). For those who are interested attached images captures the results of each test.



The size of the battery is 3 7/8" x 1 7/8" x 7/8" and it weighs 4.9 oz.



My favorite use for it is with my MP3 player that has a built-in battery which no longer holds a charge well. I keep always plugged into the external pack, this way I never need to worry about the battery running out.



This battery really has the best size to capacity ration among all external packs I own.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





AshopZones review ★★★★☆