Product review: Esorun Wireless Charger Stand,15W Fast Charging Pad for Qi Device,Compact Phone Charger Stand

 

I am using this wireless charger for Pixel 6 Pro.  This charger works well with it in both horizontal and vertical orientation. The charger is slim and light, just under 3 oz.

Pixel is a large phone 6.5 inches in height, 3.0 inches in width, 0.4 in thick.  I wish the lip of the hold were a bit wider, so I don't have to be so careful when placing the phone on the charger.  The charger has an anti-slip pad, and it feels sturdy when the phone is on it.

Wireless charging, of course, is significantly slower than a wired charger. But slow charging is good for battery life, and wireless chargers are very convenient.

The measured the speed of charging with the Charge Master app.  There is a significant difference in charging depending on whether you use a light or dark theme.  In the light mode with the screen turned on, the charger cannot keep up with the power consumption (discharging at a -91 mAh rate).  In the dark mode, the charger can charge at a reasonable speed (charging at a 1271 mAh rate).  When the screen is off, the charging speed is also reasonable.  For comparison, the phone discharges at a 532 mAh rate when not on the charger in white mode.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

 

Product review: Wireless Microphone Set, KIMAFUN 2.4G Wireless Headset Microphone and Lavalier Lapel Mics

This microphone works using audio ports on the devices (i.e. it does not use a digital connection). The receiver and transmitter communicate via 2.4G radio signal.  The receiver and transmitter need to pair to each other before use (they do so after both units are turned at the same time after about 2 seconds).

I tried this microphone with three devices: Android phone, Linux laptop, and Linux desktop.  Instruction mention the need to use the splitter in the setup.  For the devices I tried, the mic worked when it was plugged in directly into the phone and laptop, and did not work when I used the Y-splitter.  I am including a recording of playback from the phone as well as the original sound for comparison.  I also tried the microphone on the Webex call that ran on my laptop (Redhat 7 distro). I was told that I sounded fine.  On the third device, I tried, the Linux desktop running Fedora, the microphone did not work, the desktop did not recognize it.  


When I was using the mic on the Webex call, I could not hear anyone unless I unplugged the microphone from the audio port.  It took me a bit of troubleshooting to figure out the issue. It turns out that this is because my laptop does not have a board necessary for this type of use.
 
If you want both the microphone and speaker on the desktop/laptop to work at the same time you need to use use a USB adapter. To use the adapter you need a USB sound card with two 3.5mm sockets. My laptop does not have this sound card, so I connected the mic directly to the headphone jack. In this configuration, the microphone occupies both audio input and audio output, and this means the output (the speakers) do not work. You need an adapter that can separate them.

Both receiver and transmitter have built-on lithium batteries that are charged via USB. The receiver and transmitter take 4 hours to fully charge, and they can run for 8 hours recording.

This set includes two microphones (headset and lavalier mics), transmitter and receiver that plug into an audio port, dual USB cable so you can charge both transmitter and receiver from one USB charging port, Y splitter, foams, and 6.35 adapter if you want to use this microphone with a PA system.

This microphone is best for doing video voice-overs and other applications when you only need the microphone and not microphone and speakers at the same time like Webex and Zoom video conferences.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review
  

Product review: MobiFren Holeic Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds Hi-Fi Stereo Sound

    

MobiFren Flex-L earbuds sound good.  The sound is pleasing at all ranges, although the base is not powerful.  They feel very comfortable in my ears and the wire is very light so I don't feel it around my neck. The earbuds are magnetic, they snap together when I am not using it so I can hang them around my neck (and not worry about dropping them) when I am talking to somebody.

The Bluetooth reception is solid within 20 feet.  If I leave my phone and walk away for more 15 feet meet I start hearing a bit of cracking. If I go a bit further I lose the Bluetooth connection with the phone.

I liked that the charging is done by a regular micro USB cable, not a proprietary cable.

Pairing with my phone was easy. I needed to hold the power on button for 4 seconds (middle button) and my phone detected a new Bluetooth device called ?.

The ear buds can be controlled by MobiFrenGT app, which is available for download from Google Playstore (there is also a version for Apple phones). I did not think the user interface of the app was great. It has a busy screen, not intuitive, small controls that are hard to use while exercising. 

Overall, very comfortable fit and pretty good sound at a reasonable price.

YOu can locate these earbuds on Amazon

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: MobiFren Flex-L Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds High Definition LDAC/Apt-X Sound

MobiFren Flex-L earbuds sound great!  I thought the sound was excellent at all ranges, strong base, pleasing middle and high notes, clear through the entire range.  They feel very comfortable in my ears. The earbuds are magnetic, they snap together when I am not using it so I can hang them around my neck (and not worry about dropping them) when I am talking to somebody.

The Bluetooth reception is solid within 15 feet.  If I leave my phone and walk away for more 15 feet meet I start hearing a bit of cracking. If I go a bit further I lose the Bluetooth connection with the phone.

I liked that the charging is done by a regular micro USB cable, not a proprietary cable.  The package comes with a carrying pouch.

Pairing with my phone was easy. I needed to hold the power on button for 4 seconds (middle button) and my phone detected a new Bluetooth device called ?.

The ear buds can be controlled by MobiFren_SM app, which is available for download from Google Playstore (there is also a version for Apple phones). The app is not as good as the ear buds themselves. The app has some extras such step counter and remote control for the camera, but the user interface is not great - busy screen, not intuitive, small controls that are hard to use while exercising.  The measurements are in kg rather then pounds, so the program is not cutomized for American market.

Overall, very comfortable fit, good sound, app is not as good as the eard buds themselves.  They come in attractive box and would make a nice impression as a gift.

You can locate these earbuds on Amazon


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Masterworks 20V Cordless Drill

Besides the drill this drill contains drill bit, screw driver heads, flexible shaft for hard to reach places, the charger, and the manual.  The package does NOT include a case.  For now I am keeping it in the box, but I am plan to buy a separate case tfor storage.  The drill has 3/8" (10 mm) chuck.  The drill has variable settings for torque: 0 to 15 settings.   Larger screws require more torque to drive than small ones.  More torque will set a screw deeper into material, less torque will prevent it stripping.

The drill runs on 18 volt lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it is shipped partially discharged and needs to be fully charged before first use.  The firs time it took me overnight to charge it.  Subsequent recharging requires 5 hours if it is almost fully discharged, less if it is partially discharged. The green light is the power indicator. When the charger is connected to AC the green light is on. The red light is the charging indicator. Both red and green light are on when the battery is charging.  The red light will turn off once charging is complete.

To remove the battery from the drill you need to depress the button on the front of the battery pack to release it and then it slides out. When you put it back in make sure it clicks to latch in.

The drill's weight is 2 pounds and 8.6 oz.  I find it easy to use.  The handle is comfortable and 3.5 pound is pretty easy to handle.
Instructions say to prolong the life of the tool, do not continually for work more than 20 minutes at a time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★

Product review: SOLOMEMO TP801 Touch Wireless Mini QWERTY Handheld Keyboard Air Mouse

I like using an air mouse with my Android TV as it replaces both a keyboard and a mouse and I don't need a flat surface to mouse on. I have a couple of other air mice that have their pluses and minuses so I was curious to see how this mice measures up.

Solememo air mouse is a little larger and a little thinner than my smart phone: 5.5"L x 2.75"W x 0.25"H and 3.3 oz. One side of it is very smooth and glassy surface. It doubles as a mousing pad and a touch keyboard. Both the mouse pad and the keyboard worked well individually, what I found slightly unnatural is the need to switch from one mode to another. There is a small button with a <--> symbol which switches the pad from one mode to another. It is true that I never mouse and type at the same time, but it took a bit time to get used to hitting the button to switch. The switch happens with a slight delay.

The mouse comes with a wireless nano style dongle. I successfully tried it with my Android TV, Windows laptop, and Linux desktop. They all worked without needing to install drivers or changing any configuration settings.

A minor complaint about the USB dongle is that it is not labelled. I have so many different dongles that if they get unplugged it is easy to confuse them with other USB dongles. I like it when manufacturers put a little logo on the back of their USB dongles. For this one I had to tape a little tag of my own making. The nano transmitter tucks away neatly into the back of the mouse.

The keyboard keys operated smoothly and it feels like an on-screen keyboard on my tablet. I had no problem with touch sensitivity. The keyboard is fairly small so find that I use similar to how I used my old Blackberry keyboard with my thumbs rather than doing touch typing like on a regular keyboard.

Air mouse run on a rechargeable battery and comes with a charging cord. It has an on/off button on the side to save the battery when the mouse is not in use.

The bottom line is that this air mouse works smoothly but requires a little bit of getting used to. The large mousing touch pad is particularly nice and easy to control. Definitely worth reading the manual to get all the gesture tricks this touch pad can do. What would I change? I would like the control switch between the mousing pad and keyboard to be larger and maybe colored differently so it is easier to spot when one is learning how to use the air mouse.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Rii® i8+ Wireless 2.4G Mini Keyboard and mouse for Google Android Devices (Smart TV)

Rii remote control works very well with my Android TV. I also tested that it works with my Windows laptop and my Linux desktop however I found that the keyboard is too small for how I used the PCs. However for the smart TV it is perfect. The touch pad is very sensitive and it is easy to control the cursor with it. The keyboard has three ways to do selections, there are keys on the keyboard for left and right mouse click (2 sets of keys on the left hand side, and two other keys next to the touch pad). But I prefer the third method - tapping on the touch pad. Single tap is the left mouse click, double tap is the right mouse click, to scroll I move up or down with my two fingers. The keyboard also has a lot of short cuts, a button for search, a button for mail, a control for music (volume, and next/forward).

The entire keyboard controller is 5.75" wide x 3.5" front to back. They keyboard has nice feel to it, the keys are hard plastic with mat rubberised finished. They keys are pretty small (3/8") but well spaced out, so when when I press one key I don't press the neighboring key.

This is a very nice controller, a perfect match for my Android TV. Much nicer than having a separate mouse/keyboard to control it. It works well and it looks kind of cool.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: OXA Qi Wireless Charger

This is my third wireless charger and my favorite thus far. In addition to excellent charging speed it has one other key design feature. This charger has a rubberised ring in the center which creates a bit of extra friction especially if you have a rubberised skin on the phone. My first two chargers have a smooth finish which turned out to be an important difference. A smooth finish makes it easy to knock of the phone from the charger, especially if you have a pet or a child who  might unintentionally do it without you noticing. 

OXA wireless charger is 5.125" by 3.375" and 0.625" thick. It weighs 7.2 oz.

This charger is not only a wireless charger but a 70000mAh external power pack. In addition to wireless charging it is capable of charging another device via a mini USB cable. The package includes two micro USB to USB cables: one is 55" and the other is 10.5".

WIRELESS
~~~~~~~~~
I ran several test to see how fast this wireless charger is charging the phone. I included the details of these test below for those who are interested, but to summarize the test I can say that this charger has a excellent  performance.

In addition to excellent performance there are several things I really like about the design of this charger:
1. It is an external power pack in addition to being a charger
2. It uses a generic USB to micro USB charging cable not a proprietary charging cable.
3. Its shape matches the shape of the phone, so it is easy to place it right on the sweet spot on the wireless charger
4. It has a rubberised ring in the middle of the charging sweet spot, which creates nice friction with the phone
This charger provides the best friction with the phone among the three chargers I own. Ideally, I would like the charger to be shaped as a tray with raised edges so it would be impossible to push the phone off the charger.

The minor weak point of the charger is the light that indicates that wireless charging is on.  This LED is fairly dim and it is hard to see whether it when the light is bright in the room.

WIRED
~~~~~~~~~
In addition to being a wireless charger, this battery can also be used to charge a wired mobile device from a USB port.  The USB port does not charge if the charger itself being charged. Note that wireless charging works both when the external battery itself is charging and when the battery is not connected to AC.

I tested charging Nexus 5 wireless and Nexus 7 via the charging port at the same time. I tried both a data cable (charging at USB rate) and a charging cable (charging at AC rate). When the second device was charged using a data cable it charged but charging was fairly slow, while wireless charging was superb.  When the second device was charged using a charging cable the charger could not charge both devices, the unit shut down. Charging only once device with a charging wire worked well, the device was charged at a good speed (average compared to other external batteries).

How I tested the wireless charger:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tested the charger with a current monitor to see what current it is drawing. I also did a 10 minute charging test which I run on all chargers I test to compare how much the phone was charged in 10 minutes. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level.

✔ Wireless Charger (phone not charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.01A (i.e. not drawing any current)

✔ Wireless Charger plugged into AC (Nexus 5 phone charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.07A and 5.15V

✔ Wireless Charger NOT plugged into AC (Nexus 5 phone charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Wireless (Nexus 5 phone) and Wired (Nexus 7 tablet)  using a data cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wireless 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
Wired    2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Wireless (Nexus 5 phone) and Wired (Nexus 7 tablet)  using a charging cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wireless - unit shut down, power demand too high
Wired    - unit shut down, power demand too high

✔ Wired (Nexus 7 tablet) by itself using a data cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wired    2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔  Wired (Nexus 7 tablet) by itslef using a charging cable
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wired    5% change in charge in 10 minutes

Overall, this an excellent wireless charger.  It is now my favorite of the three I own.  Not only does it give me superb wireless charging, I can also charge another device at the same time via a micro USB cable.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kinivo WHD110 Wireless 5G HDMI Transmitter and Receiver System

I am using Kinivo Wireless HDMI to deliver FIOS cable signal to the room that has no cable wiring. To add an outlet in that room requires to run visible wires and that is not something I wanted to do. I am using a dedicated cable box in a room with a cable outlet to transmit the signal to another room.

The ease of initial connection between the HDMI transmitter and the HDMI receiver depends on the distance between the two units. I have tested two configuration. First, when both the receiver and the transmitter were right next to each and then the second configuration when two units were in the rooms on different floors. When the units were far away from each it required two people to turn the transmitter and receiver units on at the same time otherwise they could not connect. I describe my experiences below in more details.

The first thing I did to test whether wireless HDMI works at all is to connect Kinivo HDMI transmitter to my cable box and attach the receiver to the TV right next to it. Prior to this test the cable box was connected directly to the same TV. All devices (cable box, tv, and the two Kinivo boxes) needed to be turned off, connected and then turned on. After a brief pause a Kinivo LED light turned from red to blue and the TV was displaying the broadcast. I did not notice any degradation of the picture.

The second stage of the test was to attach the receiver box to a TV in the room without a cable outlet. The receiver is located on the floor below the transmitter and about 20 feet away. Again, all devices had to be turned off and turned back on. Note that everything (cable box and two HDMI boxes) had to be turned off and turned on at the same time. If I turned on the cable box and the transmitter, ran downstairs, and turned on the receiver they did not connect to each. My husband and I had to coordinate turning on the receiver and the transmitter at the same time.

The final step was to get the remote working. The Kinivo receiver (the box that is attached to the TV) has IR sensor which transmit the signal to the Kinivo transmitter. The Kinivo transmitter has a IR transmitter which forwards the signal to the cable box. For this to work the IR transmitter needs to be position in front of the IR sensor of the cable box. At the moment I have it dangling from a pencil taped to the cable box and working on a more elegant solution. With the IR set up, I could use my cable remote operating the TV connected to the HDMI receiver.

Some restrictions: the cable box's digital rights allow only one device to be receiving the broadcast. If you attempt to turn on both TVs (attached directly or with a use of an HDMI splitter) the cable box detects interference and turns off. I am using a dedicated cable box and that works.

So what's the bottom line for this particular use? It works, but establishing communication between the two units is difficult when the units are far away from each other and requires two people. If this was a one time thing I would have thought it was pretty good. Unfortunately when the cable box turns off (say time out overnight) the communication between the units needs to be established again so it ranks "okay" for me this specific use of it. It works but not cumbersome as I can't do it on my own.

However, when the two devices are near each other (say transmitting from your camera to TV or from a Blu-Ray player to TV) wireless HDMI works very well. So this brings me to overall rating of 4 stars. When you decide whether this set up would work for you consider the distance between the two units as part of your decision.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: TechMatte Power Pod Qi Wireless Charger

This wireless charger is 3 7/8" across, is pretty thin and weighs 1.9 oz. Taking advantage of its thinness its main use for me is to charge Nexus 5 in the car. Our car has a bin next to the main console with a width that is just right to fit this wireless charger and the phone next to it. The sides of the bin hold the phone and the charger close enough for the phone to be charging when both the phone and the charger are in a vertical position (see video).

I ran several test to see how fast this wireless charger is charging the phone. I included the details of these test below for those who are interested, but to summarize the test I can say that it worked reliably although it is not the fastest wireless charger I have tested.

However there are several things that I really liked about this charger. First, it uses a generic USB to micro USB charging cable not a proprietary charging cable. Second, its thinness allows me to use the charger in the car. Thirdly, I like that it clearly indicates when the phone is charging: the red LED means not charging, the green LED means charging.

The weakest point for me is the polished surface of the charger and fairly small "sweet" spot (meaning position on the charger that charges the phone). The polished surface makes it fairly easy to accidentally push the phone off the sweet spot on the charger. The phone has to be positioned on the charger in a specific way to get charged, so the green/red LEDs are a very helpful indicator. One of the benefits of using it in the car that I can control the position of the phone because the bin is a fairly tight fit.

I would have liked to see the surface to be made out non-slick material so there is as much traction between the phone and the charger as possible. Ideally, I would like the charger to be shaped as a tray with raised edges so it would be impossible to push the phone off the charger.

How I tested the wireless charger:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tested the charger with a current monitor to see what current it is drawing. I also did a 10 minute charging test which I run on all chargers I test to compare how much the phone was charged in 10 minutes. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level.

✔ Wireless Charger (phone not charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.01A (i.e. not drawing any current)

✔ Wireless Charger (Nexus 5 phone charging)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.78A and 5.01V

I received this charger from TechMatte for testing and review. Overall, I am pleased with the charger. Even though it is not the fastest wireless charger I have tested it has features that I really like, especially its thinness which allows me to use it in the car.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Noosy Qi Wireless Charger for Cell Phones and Tablets

I am very impressed with this wireless charger. It is Qi standard charger and I am using it to charge Nexus 5 phone. A wireless charger has some inefficiency compared to the wired charger, so I expected that it will charge the phone significantly slower. However, I was pleasantry surprised!

To test the charger I charged the phone directly when plugged into the wall charger that came with this wireless charger (it is used to power the wireless) as well as laying the phone on top of the wireless pad. I ran two sets of tests, first I measured the current with a current monitor. Second I ran a 10 minute charging test. I use these two tests on all chargers I own because it lets me to make unbiased comparison purely based on the performance numbers. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level.

The wireless charging was only slightly slowler than wired. The stated inefficiency of wireless charging is documented as 74% of wired charging. So this means it is getting 0.92A out of 1.26A shown on the current monitor.

✔ Nexus 5 Phone (wireless)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AC ----- 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.26A and 5.08V

✔ Nexus 5 Phone (pluged in directly into Noosy wall charger)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AC ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.94A and 5.03V

This wireless charger is 4" across and 0.375" thick. It comes with a 56" AC cord.

Input requirement: 5V/2A
Output: 5V/1A
Charging effeciency: 74%
Transmission distance: 0.31" or less
Operating temperature range: 32°F to 45°F56"

As much as I am impressed with this wireless charger there one thing I would have liked to be different:
I would have liked the surface to be rubberised so it has more traction with the back of the phone. It is easy to accidentally move the phone off the pad by sliding a book on the night table or by a careless cat stepping on the pad or the phone. Ideally, I would like the shape of the wireless pad to be a little tray with raised borders so the phone stays within the tray safely.

I am impressed with the wireless' pad speed of charging and would recommend it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★