Product review: Citrus Herb All-Natural Soap Old Man Murray

As soon as I opened the box the scent was fantastic. I love soaps that smell so nice, while they wait to be used I store them in my underwear draw. So nice to put on something that smells so pleasant.

The soap bar is sized 3.375"W x 2"L x 1"H. It weighs 4.4 oz. The bar itself is very plain, but scent is complex and wonderful. It smells very nice as it sits on counter and as you wash you hands, but does not linger on your hands.

I like that it is all natural, no parabens, no artificial dyes, no artificial fragrances.

I received a set of 6 soaps from Old Man Murray for testing and review. This gives me an opportunity to compare the different scents for those who trying to decide which scent to buy:

★ Citrus Herb lemongrass, rosemary, lime is very lemony and fresh. I would describe as soap with a light scent and I think it would be gender neutral in its appeal. It is light yellow in color.

★ Lavender with comfrey root is a feminine Lavender scent. Among Old Man Murray soaps I would describe it as strong scented. It is purple in color.

★ Kerouac patchouli and orange peel has a masculine scent. I would describe it as earthy and woody with a slight bitterness when I first smelled it. Interestingly enough I did not smell any orange peel. Among Old Man Murray soaps I would describe it as strong scented. I It is beige in color.

★ Bouquet Garni has a fairly light scent. To me it smells like herbs with a hint of mint mixed in. I see it being appealing to both men and women. It is green in color.

★ Everything nice oats, clove, spice. This soap reminds me of freshly baked oatmeal cookies. Among Old Man Murray soaps I would describe it as medium strong scent. Anyone who likes oatmeal cookies would love this soap. It is beige in color.

★ Sanguinello blood orange and bergamot: I can detect faint orange scent in this soap and scent that makes me think of Earl Grey tea. I would describe as soap with a light scent and I think it would be gender neutral in its appeal. It is dark red in color.

I loved all the soaps, if I had to pick my favorite it would be a toss up between the Citrus Herb and Lavender.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Lighting EVER® 7W Dimmable LED Desk Lamp

The best feature of this desk lamp is its ability to pivot both the neck and the light panel in many different angles.  It gave me a lot of options for shining the light exactly where I need it, even in some challenging locations. The stem of the lamp can be adjusted 90 degrees horizontal to vertical, and the light panel can be adjusted 180 degrees from horizontal position in one direction to horizontal position in the opposite direction.  The lamp's neck is 16" tall and the light panel is 14" long.  The base is 7.25" by 5.5".  The weight of the lamp is 2 pounds 2.3 oz.  It has 3 brightness levels.

The lamp's cord is 55" long and plugs into the base on one of the sides.  If there was anything I wanted to change about the lamp it would be the length of the cord.  I would have found a longer cord more convenient, I would have liked it to be 6 feet or longer.  The cord ends with a plug with a transformer, but the plug is long and narrow and takes up only wall slot on the old-fashioned style power strip which has the slot positioned parallel to the strip.

Because the light has a long light panel the desk light cast a pretty big area of light. In attached video I show the light cast on 16" by 9.5" hard cover book and you can see that it is totally in the light.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Hype Mini Capsule Bluetooth Speaker

In the last year I have tested a lot of small bluetooth speakers, I rank HYPE Mini Capsule speaker sound quality as good overall. It has good mid-tone and OK bass. The sound is louder and richer than the built-in speaker of my tablet, but even at the max volume HYPE Mini Capsule speaker is not as loud as some of the other small speakers.

I am attaching a video which has several short snippets of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. As one of the top reviewers I get asked to test and review a fairly large number of speakers. This allows me to compare a large number of speakers to each other. To help me make this comparison I always use the same two pieces of music, so I can compare speakers using "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I use Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 to test the mid-range. The HYPE speaker performed well in these tests.

In the video I switch between the tablet's built-in speaker and HYPE speaker so you can compare the sound. You can hear that the speaker produce the sound that is richer, fuller, and louder sound the the built-in speaker. However this speaker does not have a super loud sound even at its max. In the video both the speaker and the tablet have the sound set to its maximum volume.

HYPE speaker is 2 1/8" tall. It weighs in at 3.1 oz. Its fairly small size makes a good travel companion.

The speaker comes with a charging cable.

A note on pairing: The initial pairing works well but even though the speaker remain connected if you turn it off and then turn it back on, so you still need to manually reconnect the audio by clicking on the device in bluetooth settings.

I received HYPE speaker from the manufacturer for testing. Based on other speakers of similar size/price I rated this speaker as 4 stars. The HYPE speaker performed well with music without strong base as well as when I listened to spoken human voice (e.g. news), bass sounded fairly good for a speaker of this small size.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: SHARKK LIGHTNING 8 PIN 3 in 1 SD Card Reader Camera Kit Connects Cameras, USB, & Memory Cards To The New Apple iPad 4Apple iPad Mini

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. If you are out in the field taking photos or videos with my camera and want to transfer them to you mobile device there is nothing extra you have to do.

Copying random photos, videos and other files from a memory card/stick (i.e. not directly from a camera but from another external memory) 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 manufacturer 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.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SURPAHS Ultra-Thin Anti-Fingerprint Stainless Steel Digital Kitchen Scale, Food Scale

This digital kitchen scale matched my digital postal scale (which has been calibrated) in accuracy pretty closely (see video).  It runs on four AAA batteries (which are included in the package).  It capacity is  11 pounds and 4 oz, 5000 g, 176.35 fl.oz, 5000 ml.

This kitchen scale is quite precise. Its graduation is 0.1 oz, 1 g, 0.1 fl.oz, 1 ml. If the battery runs low the scale displays "LO" indicator, if you try to measure more weight then it can handle it will display 'Err'.

The scale has on/off button. It turns off automatically after 60 seconds of not being used.  Changing the units of measure is done by pressing "unit" to cycle between g, ml. oz, and fl.oz. 

The scale measurements are 5.25" wide x 7.875" long.  Because the scale platform is totally flat I was able to measure items much larger than the scale platform.  The read out has nice larger numbers, they are 0.75" large, and easy to read.

I thought the scale is very attractive. It has a beautiful smooth stainless steel finish and a sleek look. It showed accurate results in comparison with my postal scale. I would recommend it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Surpahs Bamboo Cutting Board (Large, 17"x11", 16:9)

I really like bamboo cutting boards, this is my third one.  I like bamboo because it is hard, lasts a long time and they look good.  This Surpath cutting board is a very attractive board. It has a beautiful light brown natural finish.  It has a channel for catching juices. I also like a channel because I can place an egg on a channel and know it will not roll away.

The board generously sized:

☼ 17 inches long, 15.5 inches from the channel to channel
☼ 11 inches wide, 9.375 inches from channel to channel
☼ It weighs 3.3 oz

Cutting board care:
☼ Cutting board is not dishwasher safe. It should be washed with hot soapy water and dried in between uses.
☼ Manufacturer recommends applying mineral or vegetable oil to the surface after each use

I thought the board is well made, nicely finished, and looks beautiful. I would recommend it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SURPAHS WAVE Bamboo In-Drawer Knife Storage Block

This bamboo knife block is very attractive and practical. I like the horizontal orientation of the knife block. It meant to be an in-drawer knife block but I keep in on the kitchen counter, under the cabinets where a vertical knife block I had before did not fit well. I like bamboo because it is hard, lasts a long time and look attractive. This knife block has a beautiful light brown natural finish.

The video include a photo of the block with various knives I own. You can see that the block can accommodate various sizes including a ceramic knife in its sheath.

Here are the measurements:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
♦ 17" long
♦ 5.25" wide
♦ 5 long slots
♦ 6 shot slots
♦ It weighs 2 pounds 15.4 oz

Bamboo knife block care:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
♦ Knife block is not dishwasher safe. It should be washed with hot soapy water
♦ Manufacturer recommends applying mineral or vegetable oil to the surface

I thought the knife block is well made, nicely finished, and looks beautiful. I would recommend it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LOFTEK® EP4 4 Port USB Wall Charger Station

Loftek 4 port charger comes with a 44 inch cord and a regular sized plug. I was able to replace two dual chargers that took up three slots on my power strip with one regular size plug which is connected to this 4 port USB charger.  I am always running out of slots on my power strips so this charging station a big space saver for me.

The charger has two 5 volt 2.1 Amp ports and two 5 volt 1 Amp valts.

The unit's size is 4.5"L x 3.5"W x 1.25"H. It weights 8.2 oz (including the cord).

I charged my Galaxy Tablet on each of the slots and I measure the current with a current monitor to see what power is delivered on each port.  Results are pretty good and consistent!

➨ How I tested this charging station:
======================

I have been testing chargers for a long time, and people often ask me why results differ so much from charger to charger and often port to port. The results are different because they are affected by a number of factors. To help with a numerical explanation of the differences I began using a USB current monitor which shows the voltage and the current flowing between the battery and the device.

The amount of energy transferred from the charger to the device is calculated by multiplying voltage and current. Most of the chargers are 5V devices and most devices show the voltage very close to 5V. The interesting number is the current as it varies from unit to unit and from port to port.

The current varies based on what the device requires and what battery provides. This communication happens using different protocols depending on OS. Newer Android OS versions have adapted their protocols to get better performance from ports aimed at Apple devices. An addition variable that effects performance is whether a data cable or charging cable is used to charge the device. The charging cables short the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection, and thus accept the higher current of the charging source.

The 10 minutes test consists of charging each mobile device on each port of the battery pack for 10 minutes and measure how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. 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.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Port 1: 5V ~ 2.1A ~~~ 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 4% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 1: 5V ~ 2.1A ~~  current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.65A, 5.07V (charging cable)

Port 2: 5V ~ 2.1A ~~~ 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 4% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 2: 5V ~ 2.1A ~~  current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.59A, 5.03V (charging cable)

Port 3: 5V ~ 1A ~~~~~ 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 4% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 3: 5V ~ 1A ~~~~  current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.57A, 5.03V (charging cable)

Port 4: 5V ~ 1A ~~~~~ 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 4% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 4: 5V ~ 1A ~~~~  current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.61A, 5.10V (charging cable)

I really like this charger.  It charges quickly and I like that it takes up just one slot on my power strip.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Car Black Box -Timetec Road Hawk 1080P HD Car Vehicle Road Traffic Accident/Incident Dash Windshield Dashboard Video Audio Camera Recorder Camcorder

Road Hawk is a HD video recorder which is designed to be mounted in your vehicle and record video, GPS, and audio. It records in the continuous loop, so when there is no more space on the SD card it overwrites the oldest files. It has two modes "normal" and "event". Normal mode means it records all the time, "event" mode means it starts recording when an impact is detected. The camera records full HD 1080p video, the quality of the video is excellent.

The camera comes with the software which displays the recorded video along with the speed, coordinates of the vehicle, and a map which shows the position of the vehicle with street names. The video files can be displayed with other software, but then GPS information (speed, coordinates, map) are not shown.

In attached video I show both screen shots of the Road Hawk software as well as MP4s recorded by Road Hawk played directly with Amazon video player. The video contains recordings made over 2 days. The first day the camera was forward facing, the total trip was 4 hours. The next day we took a 2 hour trip and had the camera mounted on the rear window. When the camera runs out of room it overrides the oldest video, however the 6 hour of 1080p video did not overwrite any information. The video includes recordings made during day light as well as night time. I also show how the camera was mounted for both trips.

The Road Hawk package includes the camera, 8 GB SD card, cables to plug into the car outlet and GPS, mounts for the camera and GPS, CD card reader with a USB connection, the manual, and the CD with the software. The camera supports cards up to 64 GB. The camera has 127º Wide Angle Lens. The cords for power and GPS are extremely long. The power cord is 196 inches long, the GPS cord is 198 inches long.

The package was thoughtfully put together, I especially appreciated the SD card reader as I installed the software on the laptop which does not have a built-in SD card reader.

The only thing I did not like about the package was that the mounts were the type that required them to be permanently adhered to the car with a sticky tape. Instead of using Road Hawk mounts I used my own screw mounts with a suction cup. This allowed me to move the camera when I needed to do so.

The documentation refers to the camera as forwarded facing. One of the reason to have this camera is to help your case if you are involved in an accident. However, according to Massachusetts (where I live) traffic law the vehicle that is behind is always at fault no matter what, so a forward facing camera can only help convict a person living in Massachusetts. So we decided to try to mount the camera facing backwards. It worked just as well as you see in the included video.

Installation tip: the GPS antenna has a push in connector. Initially I tried screwing it in and it was not going in. Oops! User error!

Software tip: You need to start Road Hawk software connected to the internet. If you connect after you started the software much of the functionality does not work - you cannot select segments to play and you do not see the map.

Overall, I was impressed with the camera and the video it captured. The only thing I did not like were the mounts which required permanent attachment. I used my own screw-mount windshield mount, which allowed me to easily move the camera from the front to the rear window.

Manufacturer of Road Hawk asked me as one of the reviewers who have a history of writing informative reviews to test this dash cam and post a video review to make it easier for future potential customers make their buying decisions. I was asked to write an honest review whether positive or negative and I have included both positives and negatives of my experience with the camera. I hope the video helps you see what to expect.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: TaoTronics® Business Card Scanner Colour USB Handyscan

This mini scanner scans images the size of a business card. It can scan small photos or small sections of text. If you need to scan full pages in a book or legal size sheets of paper a flat scanner is better. However, if you need to scan business cards or receipts this small scanner will do a nice job.

In order to work the scanner needs to be attached to a computer running Windows (USB cable is provided). The software package that comes with the mini scanner is used to configure the scanner, put the scanner into "scan" mode, and post process the image (save the image or run OCR software). To scan the image you need to pan the scanner device by hand over the text you want to scan. As you pan you need to hold down a "scan" button on top of the device. The package includes a tray which makes it easier for a business card to stay in place while you are scanning. When the scan is completed the image will appears on the computer screen. Once you see the image you can choose your next step: save the file or OCR (optical character recognition). OCR converts the image to a text file you can edit.

I found that the image scanning software works very well. The OCR software is not as good as the other OCR packages I have tried. It does not auto-rotate so you need to put the scanned image in the orientation it expects otherwise the recognition does not work at all. Even when text is oriented correctly the recognition it is not 100% if the text uses script font or has non-white background.

In attached video I show the installation of the mini scanner software, and then using it to scan two business cards. After scanning each business card I post process both with the OCR software. The first business card is white with simple font and OCR generates accurate results. The second business card is yellow and uses a script font. The resulting text has many errors.

Manufacturer of this mini scanner asked me as one of the reviewers who have a history of writing informative reviews to test this scanner and post a video review to make it easier for future potential customers make their buying decisions. I was asked to write an honest review whether positive or negative and I have included both positives and negatives of my experience with the scanner. I am not paid to review, however the manufacture provided this product free of cost for testing purposes.

This scanner is most useful for scanning business cards and receipts, especially if you need to keep track of these things while you are travelling where its small size is a big asset.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: iFlash® Ultra Slim 3200mAh Portable Power Bank Backup External Battery

Ultra Slim 3200mAh External Battery Pack looks very slick, it is quite thin. One unique feature of this external power pack is that it has a micro USB cable built into the side of the unit (see attached photo collage). It pops out of the side on a coiled cable, so if your mobile device takes a micro USB connector you don't need to carry any extra cables. This built-in cable delivers very rapid charging (see test results below). The power pack also has a port which allows you to connect other connectors, so it works with devices that have proprietary connectors as well.

I tested Ultra Slim 3200mAh External Battery Pack with Galaxy Nexus Phone (running ICS 4.0.4), 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 white, having two of them allows me to test for consistency in manufacturing. Ideally I want to see the same performance numbers for both units, and this was the case with the two Ultra Slim power packs .

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:
======================

Ultra Slim 3200mAh external battery weighs 3.2 oz. Its size is 2.25" x4.25 " x 0.375". The pack has one USB output port and one built-in micro USB cable.

In addition to the built-in micro USB cable Ultra Slim comes with a charging cable and two tips - micro USB and iPad. 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 the Ultra Slim 3200mAh 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.

Ultra Slim 3200mAh looks very slick: it is thin, has a nice finish, and in general has a look and shape of a smart phone. It shows the charge level by displaying 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% on panel. When it is charging, however, this indicator gets turned off. But the charging continued even when the lights were off. This is a little different from how other external power pack indicators work (they stay on when you are charging),so I wanted to mention it. In addition to the charging capabilities, Ultra Slim has a built-in flashlight.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Galaxy Nexus Phone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes (built-in mciro USB charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes (built-in mciro USB charging cable)

White unit: AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

✔ iPad Mini tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

➨ Key finding:
======================
✔ This power pack has great performance with built-in micro USB cable.
✔ Using your own charging cables the power pack works with both Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and iPad Mini but performance is on the slow side.
✔ I observed the same performance for both the black and white model, which is good and reflects consistency in the manufacturing process.

I highly recommend this power pack to people who can take advantage of the built-in micro USB cable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kinivo BTX180 Wireless Bluetooth Mini Portable Speaker

During the last year I have tested a lot of small bluetooth speakers, I would rank Kinivo BTX180 sound towards the top of the pack but not at the very top. It has good mid-tone and OK bass.

I am attaching a video which has several short snippets of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. As one of the top reviewers I get asked to test and review a fairly large number of speakers. This allows me to compare a large number of speakers to each other. To help me make this comparison I always use the same two pieces of music, so I can compare speakers using "apples-to-apples" comparison. As a stress test for the bass I use Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. The second piece of music (Tchaikovsky) does not have a lot bass and allows me to test the mid-range. Kinivo BTX180 speaker did well on the mid-tone test, it did OK at the bass range, but not as good as Kinivo BTX270. On the other hand Kinivo BTX270 is a bit larger.

In the video I switch between the tablet's built-in speaker and Kinivo BTX180 speaker so you can compare the sound. You can hear that the speaker produce the sound that is richer, fuller, and louder sound the the built-in speaker.

Kinivo BTX180 speaker is 2 3/8" tall. It weighs in at 5.8 oz. Its small size makes a good travel companion.

The speaker comes with 2 cables - charging cable and an audio cable. The speaker supports 3 EQ settings: Normal mode, Bass mode and Treble mode. Play time is 4-5 hours, standby time is 900 hours (according to the manual)

A note on pairing: The initial pairing works well and the speaker automatically reconnects if you turn it off and then turn it back on.

This speaker has a couple of features I did not like:

✔ The speaker has a voice confirmations "Power on", "Connected", "Power Off", and so forth. After the initial "Oh!" the voice prompts grew tiresome, I prefer a blinking light to a voice. These voice alerts cannot be disabled.

✔ The speaker has light effects, so if you like listening to music in the dark or when you fall asleep this speaker may not be the best choice as it generates a light show.

I received Kinivo BTX180 speaker from the manufacture for testing. Based on other speakers of similar size/price I rated this speaker as 5 stars. The Kinivo BTX180 speaker performed well with music without strong base as well as when I listened to spoken human voice (e.g. news), bass sounded pretty good for a speaker of this small size.

In addition to the video I am also posting a photo of the speaker, which can be be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: GO ID Emergency Medical ID Kit

GO-ID is an emergency ID which gives first responders essential information about you.

I have a friend who is an EMT and decided that the most useful review I can give will be to include feedback from the professional in the field who will be working with these alert tags.

Here are the key points from our conversation as he examined the GO-ID tag:

✔ EMTs are trained to look for Medic Alerts as jewelry or as a wrist band
✔ What is the best way to wear GO-ID alert? He said he would put it on a gold chain around the neck. Wearing under the watch would be fine.
✔ Where is a bad place to put it? EMTs do not look in the pockets, so putting it on a key-chain is not a good idea. Attaching to a backpack/pocketbook is not a good idea as they look at the body only.
✔ Who needs a medical alert? Should everyone wear one? People that need medical alerts are people with special medical conditions: allergies, diabetic, pacemaker... any condition that an EMT would need to know to keep a person alive.
✔ Do not use alerts to specify emergency contact, EMTs do not look for this information. Their job is only to keep you alive not to contact anyone.
✔ If you don't have a special condition you do no need a medical alert.
✔ EMTs look for alert tags only when dealing with unresponsive patients who are alone as part of the assessment process.
✔ GO-ID tags were new to my friend and since they are new they are less recognizable than the Medic Alert bracelet.

Now, for my experience with GO-ID.

The GO-ID kit consists of the metal tag, a silicone holder, and spring lock which can be used to attach the holder to a key ring, and a set on double-sticky labels which stick to the metal tag an contain the personal information you want to relay to EMT. The metal tag 2" long and 1.125" wide. I decided that it sticks out a bit too much when placed under the watch (see attached photo), so before I talked to my EMT friend I thought I would put on my key-chain. After talking to my friend I decided that attaching to the shoe laces is best, since it does not look like something you would wear on a chain as jewelry.

The content of the tag can be printed on the GO-ID web site. The GO-ID web site required me to register. Once you sign up the web site send you your login ID and password in the clear via email, so don't use a password you use for secure web sites.

When I used Firefox I ran into an issue editing the form for creating the label, but was able to complete this task using Chrome Browser. Printing of the label is a little tricky. It involves printing a template, attaching a special GO-ID label to the template, printing the actual label, and removing the circle which has a sticky side that attaches to the tag. I printed a couple of test labels which did not line up perfectly.

When it was time to create the real label I decided to hand print the information: I could line it up better plus I did not want to enter my personal information to be stored on the web site. I wish the registration was optional and that my personal information was not stored on the web site. If registration is required then a better security practice is to generate a random password and send to the user if the password is forgotten rather than sending the user's password via email in the clear.

I am attaching a collage of several photos:

✔ Photo #1: Everything that came in the package
✔ Photo #2: The tag with the silicone holder removed
✔ Photo #3: The tag with information and silicone holder
✔ Photo #4: The GO-ID on my wrist for relative size

I received GO-ID from the manufacturer and told him that my review will be based on what my EMT friend's feedback on the id would be. Overall, my EMT friend liked a big medic alert bracelet best. He felt nothing is more noticeable. He thought GO-ID tags were OK if worn around the neck, wrist or shoe laces. They could be life saver for people with underlying conditions, but not needed by people without any special conditions.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Update

I received an email from the manufacturer of GO-ID bracelet with clarification that the only information stored on GO-ID web site for each user is their email/password. The information you enter to display on your GO-ID is not stored.

Product review: iFlash Dual USB 8400mAh 2.6A External Battery Pack

I tested iFlash Dual USB 8400mAh External Battery Pack with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone and iPad Mini Tablet.

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. 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, 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. The two iFlash Dual USB 8400mAh units showed small differences in performance, but the differences were not too bad.

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 Dual USB 8400mAh external battery weighs 6.5 oz. Its size is 3.75" x 2.5" x 0.875". The pack has two USB output ports labelled OUT 0.6A and OUT 2A. The external battery comes with two charging cables (7 inches and 28 inches long) and 6 tips - including micro USB, mini USB and iPad. 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. The package also includes a two compartment pouch which fits the power pack, cables and tips.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Nexus 7 Tablet (using provided cable)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit#1 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#1 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

Unit#2 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#2 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone (using provided cable)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit#1 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#1 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 7% change in charge in 10 minutes

Unit#2 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#2 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet (using my own Galaxy tab connector cable)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit#1 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#1 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

Unit#2 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#2 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet (using my own lightening connector cable)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit#1 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#1 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes

Unit#2 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes
Unit#2 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Nexus 7 Tablet and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone at the same time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unit#1 /OUT 0.6A: AC ~~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes (tablet)
Unit#1 /OUT 2A: AC ~~~~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes (phone)

➨ Key findings:
======================
✔ The iFlash Dual USB 8400mAh power packs worked well with all devices. They were not the fastest of the power packs I have tested, but I like their compact size. iFlash Dual USB 8400mAh is the smallest 8400mAh capacity power pack I have tested.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: 300LM Mini Ultra High-Flux Cree XR-E Q5 LED Adjustable Flash Light

This is a pretty bright LED light flashlight. It has two modes: a steady light and a strobe. The flashlight runs on one AA battery (not included).

I am attaching a video which demonstrates the flashlight in action.

The length of this flashlight can be changed from 4 inches to 3.5 inches. This such a small difference that I don't really see the point why it is made this way. It is not a negative but I did not find the difference in length to be significant enough to be useful. The flashlight has a pen-like clip which could be handy both in storage and attaching during usage.

Overall, I liked the flashlight but I found the battery compartment hard to open. After a bit of struggle I managed to do it once to put in the battery, but when I wanted to do it again for the video I could not open the battery compartment again.

I received this flashlight for testing and review from the manufacture. I wrote to the manufacture to ask them if there was a trick to opening the battery compartment. No. There was no secret button. They suggested putting a drop of oil on the threads. If you have trouble opening it too keep this suggestion in mind. I will try this again when it is time to change the battery. Since this is a LED light flashlight I hope this will not happen for a very long time.

Other than the battery compartment glitch, I am pleased with the flashlight.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: iFlash® Ultra Slim 3200mAh Portable Power Bank Backup External Battery Charger

Ultra Slim 3200mAh External Battery Pack looks very slick, it is quite thin. One unique feature of this external power pack is that it has a micro USB cable built into the side of the unit (see attached photo collage). It pops out of the side on a coiled cable, so if your mobile device takes a micro USB connector you don't need to carry any extra cables. This built-in cable delivers very rapid charging (see test results below). The power pack also has a port which allows you to connect other connectors, so it works with devices that have proprietary connectors as well.

I tested Ultra Slim 3200mAh External Battery Pack with Galaxy Nexus Phone (running ICS 4.0.4), 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 white, having two of them allows me to test for consistency in manufacturing. Ideally I want to see the same performance numbers for both units, and this was the case with the two Ultra Slim power packs .

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:
======================

Ultra Slim 3200mAh external battery weighs 3.2 oz. Its size is 2.25" x4.25 " x 0.375". The pack has one USB output port and one built-in micro USB cable.

In addition to the built-in micro USB cable Ultra Slim comes with a charging cable and two tips - micro USB and iPad. 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 the Ultra Slim 3200mAh 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.

Ultra Slim 3200mAh looks very slick: it is thin, has a nice finish, and in general has a look and shape of a smart phone. It shows the charge level by displaying 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% on panel. When it is charging, however, this indicator gets turned off. But the charging continued even when the lights were off. This is a little different from how other external power pack indicators work (they stay on when you are charging),so I wanted to mention it. In addition to the charging capabilities, Ultra Slim has a built-in flashlight.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Galaxy Nexus Phone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes (built-in mciro USB charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes (built-in mciro USB charging cable)

White unit: AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

✔ iPad Mini tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
White unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)
Black unit: AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (separate charging cable)

➨ Key finding:
======================
✔ This power pack has great performance with built-in micro USB cable.
✔ Using your own charging cables the power pack works with both Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and iPad Mini but performance is on the slow side.
✔ I observed the same performance for both the black and white model, which is good and reflects consistency in the manufacturing process.

I highly recommend this power pack to people who can take advantage of the built-in micro USB cable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: iFlash 5600mAh Backup External Battery Source/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.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: iFlash 5600mAh Backup External Battery Source

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

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Rabbit V.I.P. Electric Corkscrew

After a couple of back surgeries my hand strength is pretty bad. One of the things that is difficult for me is opening wine bottles. When Metrokane asked me to test and review Metrokane Electric Rabbit Wine Opener I eagerly agreed knowing I will be one of their weakling testers.

I finally found the wine opener that is easy for me to use! All I have to do is press the bottom button on the wine opener and wait until the motor stops, and then push the top button to eject the cork from the wine opener. No strength needed at all! At the 4th of July gathering we opened a few bottles using it, and they all worked equally well.

Attached video starts with the use of the foil cutter - one has to squeeze and turn it to cut off the foil. Then the video shows extracting the cork, and finishes up with ejecting the cork.

The bottle opener comes with a charger. It takes 5 hours to fully charge the opener. The top of the opener has a digital display which shows how many bottles you can open with the remaining charge. The fully charged unit can open 30 bottles.

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

✔ Photo #1 shows the use of the foil cutter
✔ Photo #2 shows wine opening removing the cork
✔ Photo #3 shows the cork coming out of the wine opener
✔ Photo #4 shows the cork being ejected
✔ Photo #5 shows the wine opener being charged (just starting, so it shows 0 bottles)

The Metrokane Electric Rabbit Wine Opener comes in an attractive round box. It would make an attractive gift.

Electric Rabbit Wine Opener has a 1 year warranty. It can be returned for repair or replacement to Metrokane (proof of purchase is required) to the following address:
Metrokane Consumer Service
150 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10155

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Amazon PrimeAir - 30 minute delivery via a drone

In today's 60 minute interview Jeff Bezo introduced a new concept in delivering products to Amazon buyer's door.  A 30 minute delivery via a drone!  



Bezos said that the technology is ready and Amazon is working with The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)  on rules for unmanned aerial vehicles.  This drone delivery is projected to be available to locations located 10 miles away from an Amazon distribution centers for packages weighing up to 5 pounds.

Pretty cool!

You can find more information on the PrimeAir page.

Product review: Toddy Gear 5 x 7 Inch Premium Microfiber Smart Cloth

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.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Ferry-Morse Annual Flower Seeds 1009 Annual Cut Flower Mixture 600 Milligram Packet

This was a disappointing purchase in several aspects.

First, the amount of seeds you get in the package is quite small. I am attaching a photo which shows the entire content of the package on a white sheet of paper (placed on 1 inch gridded mat for size reference).
My local nurseries sell this amount of seeds for around $1.

Second, three weeks after I planted the seeds, watered them daily, I have practically zero germination rate. I planted another bag of seeds in another flower bed at the same time and it has quite a few seedlings. Both areas were watered at the same time and are located in the same sunny area.

I am attaching a photo collage containing four photos (1) the seeds contained in this package (2) the back of the packet which shows different planting zones (3) Flower bed with Ferry Morse Flower Mix, you can see one tiny seedling in the middle of the flower bed (4) Another seed package planted at the same time totally brimming with seedlings of various size.

I can't recommend this flower seeds mix.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Norpro 1059DB Norpro Garlic Peeler

This is as simple as a kitchen gadget gets. But it works! I am attaching a short video which shows the garlic peeler at work.

You need to roll a garlic clove inside the garlic peeler and then roll it with a palm of your hand. If you push a little harder you can smash the garlic as well as peel it. The garlic clove is peeled quickly and your hands are left clean and ordor free. I use a paper towel to clean the peeler between the cloves when needed so it is not slippery.

I also use this garlic peeler to open sticky bottle caps. Its textures surface grips very well and it is a little thicker than the other gripper cloth I have for opening caps, so I find that the garlic peeler gives my hands a slightly better protection.

The size of the peeler is 5" x 5".

I received this garlic peeler from the manufacture for testing and sharing my experience with it (good or bad) with other potential buyers. I hope the video gives you a good idea of what to expect.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Poweradd™ Pilot E2 12000mAh High Capacity Dual USB External Battery Pack

I tested Poweradd 12000mAh 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 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. Based on these tests I rate this power bank as good - it is not the fastest but it has good capacity and performed equally well for both my Android and Apple mobile devices.

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:
======================

Poweradd 12000mAh external battery weighs 9.3 oz. Its size is 4.375" x 2.75" x 0.875". The pack has two USB output ports labelled 1A and 2.1A.

The external battery comes with coiled charging cable which is 7" when coiled and 4 connector tips (USB, micro USB, Apple, and one other which documentation does not identify and I don't recognize).

The power pack does not have auto power off. I left turned on and not attached to any device, 45 minutes later it was still on. Holding the button down for several seconds turns it off.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1A ~~~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 2.1A ~~ AC ~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1A ~~~~ AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 2.1A ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet and iPad Mini tablet at the same time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1A ~~~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy Tablet)
Port 2.1A ~~ AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)

Port 1A ~~~~ AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)
Port 2.1A ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy Tablet)

➨ Key finding:
======================
✔ This power pack performance falls in the middle of the power packs I have tested for both Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and iPad Mini. It is a good all purposes power pack that can handle both Android and Apple devices.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Metrokane Wine Rabbit Corkscrew with Houdini Aerating Pourer

After a couple of back surgeries my hand strength is pretty bad. When Metrokane asked me to test and review their Rabbit Corkscrew I eagerly agreed knowing I will be one of their weakling testers. I hoped for a magically easy bottle opener. I found that the initial push needed to pull the cork required more strength than I was able to provide and I was not able to do it. I decided that given my weak hands this was not a fair test of the Rabbit Corkscrew and I took it to a party where I asked a friend to open a bottle of wine using Rabbit Corkscrew while I recorded it.

✔ My friend was able to open the bottle of wine with a synthetic cork. As you see in the video it took a bit of work for the initial push and then was easy
✔ Releasing the cork from the corkscrew was easy by repeating the same motion as was used to open the bottle
✔ The foil remover got rave reviews - it was quick and easy and my friend asked me where she can get one of these
✔ The pourer/aerator was easy to use but not being wine connoisseurs our taste volunteers were not able to detect the difference between wine poured with it and without it
✔ The package comes with a spare worm, so if the original wears out or gets bent you have another one without having to buy it

Rabbit Corkscrew comes with a 10 year warranty. The warranty applies if Rabbit Corkscrew pull fails within 10 years of purchase. It can be returned for repair or replacement to Metrokane using the following address:

Metrokane
150 East 58th Street
New York, NY 10155

I hope the video gives you a good idea of what expect.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Epica Emergency Solar Hand Crank AM/FM/NOAA Digital Radio, Flashlight, Cell Phone Charger

I live in a tree dense area and lose power often during various storms. In the last few years I have been without power for 3 to 6 days several times. At times like that this emergency radio/flashlight would have been very handy.

This unit is unique because it has three sources of energy:

✔ USB which can be used to quickly recharge it
✔ Solar which can recharge it when there is sun
✔ Manual crank, where 1 minute of cranking will provide 30 minutes of light or 20 minutes of radio power

In the attached video I show various features of this emergency radio/flashlight. I was impressed that it gets fairly decent reception.

The Epica unit in addition to being a radio with FM/AM/WB bands also a flash light and can serve as an external power bank for brief charging of a cell phone (i.e. it will not fully recharge it, but will give it enough juice to make an emergency phone call). The radio has auto-tune capability. When you press and briefly hold ">" button it will scan until it finds the next adequate radio signal.

The radio is 5" by 3" by 1.75" in size, weighs 8.4 oz.

It has a handy handle so you can hold it on clip it as needed. It is water resistant and can be used in the rain or in a water craft, but it should not be submerged in water. Maintenance recommendation from the manufacture is to crank the handle for a few moments and turn on the flashlight for 5 seconds every 60 to 90 days if the unit is stored without use for several months. Manufacture states that battery life expectancy is more than 3 years and more than 5000 charging cycles (with 3 hours of daily use).

Overall, I am impressed with the radio reception I got. The flashlight is not the brightest flashlight I own but it is adequate. Cranking is not hard, and true to advertising 1 minute of cranking gave me about 30 minutes of light. I am feeling better about the next long power outage, and would recommend this unit to others. I hope my video gives you a good idea of what to expect.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Palm Pearl PowerBank - The Portable Power Source 4000mAh

There are many external packs on the market, many of them are very similar to each other. This power pack has several unique features.

✔ It is all-in-one charger, meaning it has built-in cables. You don't need to worry that you forget to bring a charging cable when you travel, and you don't need to deal with a table of wires.

✔ On the negative side if these cables are not the right cables for your device, you are stuck as there is no option to plug in your own cable.
The charger has three built-in charging cables one for micro USB, mini USB, and iPad. It has no lightning connector for iPad Mini, it has no Galaxy tab connector.
It has no outlets to attach a charging cable of your own or change connector tips.

✔ The charging cables are very short. Three of the 4 cables are 1/2" long (3 USB cables), and iPad cable is 1.25". The cables cannot be expanded.
I found them a bit cumbersome to work with due to short length.

✔ Palm charger has a unique shape with nicely sloped edges, it reminds me of a flying saucer shape. The charger is fairly small in size in size (2.5" by 3.5") and weights only 4.1 oz.

✔ Finally, the charging speed of this external power is very slow, it can only provide USB level of charge, none of my devices were able to get AC level which is the case with almost every other external power brick I have tested.
I tested this power pack with 5 mobile devices we own: Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Pyle Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet, and iPad Mini tablet. This test shows that this external power pack performed below average compared to other power packs I have tested. Results of my tests are below.

Top reviewers are often asked to review 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 to each other using "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. 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.

➨ Test Results:
======================

✔ Nexus 7 Tablet
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➨ USB level of charge.......+1 % charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
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➨ USB level of charge.......0 % charge in 10 minutes (+1% charge in 20 minutes)

✔ Pyle Tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
➨ USB level of charge.......0 % charge in 10 minutes (-1% charge in 20 minutes)

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
➨ Not supported

✔ iPad Mini tablet
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➨ Not supported

For comparison, the fastest chargers in my tests provide 5-6% in a 10 minute. 3%-4% up charge in 10 minute is fairly common.

I received this power bank from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. In fact, they specifically interested in what could be improved in the next version of the product.
Here is my wish list:

✔ I would like the charger to provide AC level of charging.
✔ I would like to see a change to replaceable charging tip so the charger can be used with a larger variety of devices.
✔ I would like to see the cable be retractable, so they can be made longer during use and retracted for storage.

I am attaching a collage of 3 photos which shows the charger on 1" gridded mat for size reference. Photo #1 shows the charger with cables extended and cover closed, photo #2 shows the charger with cables extended and cover open, photo #3 shows the charger during one of the tests. The photos can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆