Product review: PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack 5200mAh External Battery Pack High Capacity

I tested PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack 5200mAh External Battery Pack with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone, and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.
I received 8400mAh and 5400mAh external battery packs for testing from the manufacturer to write an honest and unbiased review and you will find both pluses and minuses of my experience in this review.

I am attaching a collage of 6 photos labeled with number 1 through 6  that I will be referencing in this review.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package is that brick looks slick and well made. Its dimensions are 3.66" x 1.69" x 0.87" (smaller than a deck of cards). Photo #1 has it next to a pen for size reference.

The box contained two USB cords 7" and 27" and adapters to fit different devices (Micro 5pin, PSP, Nokia DCP 2.0, Mini 5pin, iPhone/iPad, Samsun 20 pin, LG, SONY Ericsson). Photo #1 shows the entire content including all adapters. The adapters are a weak point of the design, they feel a bit flimsy and it is easy to loose all the small pieces. The minimum configuration for my devices is two connectors: one that goes into the AC plug to charge the external battery and the second (mini USB) that goes into the devices for charging. You can see the large connection bundle it creates best in Photo #1 where the cable is shown with the adapter for the AC plug.

The blue lights on top of the battery pack indicate the level of power in the battery: 4 circles indicate full charge, 3 circle indicate 75% and so forth. To turn on the device you need to press the button on the side of the unit. To turn off the device you need to press and hold the button for a few seconds (this is not documented, I found it by experimenting).

The 5400mAh PowerGen has one USB outlet. I tested my four electronic devices using both my own USB cable as well as the manufacture cable+adapter.

The provided adapters fit Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, Nexus 7 tablet and Sansa Clip MP3 (as they take regular USB-to-micro USB cable) but none of the provided adapters fit Galaxy Samsung 7.7 Tablet. The Amazon product description mentions Samsung Galaxy and does not explicitly state that Galaxy Tablets are not supported so I hoped it would work, but it did not.

I used Battery App to determine how each device recognized the external battery pack. '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.

The key findings:
(1) Using PowerGen cables vs generic cables that came with my devices made a difference.

(2) Samsung Galaxy 7.7 cannot be charged with this battery pack

Why using PowerGen cables makes a difference:
PowerGen cables are charging cables, not data cables. This is achieved by shorting the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer),  but this fulls Nexus to see it as an AC power connection, and will accept the higher current of the charging source.

The table below summarizes my findings.

Nexus 7 Tablet (photo #2 and #3)
--------------
Regular cable -- discharging
PowerGen cable -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (photo #4 and #5)
--------------------------
Regular cable -- USB
PowerGen cable -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (photo #6)
--------------------------
Regular cable -- discharging
PowerGen cable -- no adapter, cannot be used

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player
------------------------------
Regular cable -- works (USB rate)
PowerGen cable -- works (AC rate)


The behavior with Nexus devices was consistent and very good when used with PowerGen cables. Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone was more forgiving and worked even in 2 AMP outlet with my own cable at USB rate. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone with 3800 mAh super battery Trexcell Samsung Galaxy Nexus 3800mah got charged from 81% to 100% in less than 2 hours. The charging started at 3:18pm, at 5 pm it was at full charge. It stayed at 100% with the battery going down to about 3/4 full when I checked at 9 pm. At 6:15 pm the next day (27 hours later) the phone was at 100% and the battery pack was down to 1 light (25% full).  Finally, at 8pm the next day last light on the battery pack went off, and the phone began discharging. Pretty good!


Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 did not work (was discharging) with this external power pack. I got slightly better results with 8400mAh power pack (for details see my review of PowerGen 8400mAh).

The MP3 player recognized the power pack, however it behaved differently than charging from AC recharger.
When I charge Sansa MP3 with a standard AC charger, the MP3 player goes into charging mode, displaying the charging animated icon, the MP3 content is not played. When MP3 was plugged into the PowerGen external battery it continued to play the content. I listen to books on my MP3 player so this caused me to move forward in my book and I had to manually reset my position by a few chapters to get back to where I was when I started charging. The positive side of this, is that is possible to continue listening while MP3 is recharging. This turned out to be immediately useful, as 30 minutes after I finished testing a thunderstorm knocked out my electric power for 9 hours and when my MP3 battery died I listened to it attached to the PowerGen battery while it recharged.

To summarize:

I liked:
---------
1. Good behavior with Nexus devices.
2. Solution for MP3 player with built-in battery
3. Looks sleek, feels solid, is compact

I did not like:
--------------
1. The multiple piece connectors are flimsy and easy to loose. I already ordered a one piece replacement.
2. Documentation are hard to read: it is in microscopic font and written in broken English.
3. Did not work with for my Samsung Galaxy tablet

Overall, I am pleased with this unit and recommend for the devices I tested with the exception of Samsung Galaxy tablet.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


11/12/2012 Update:

I just finished testing and wrote a review of the new 9000 mAh PowerGen power pack that works with Samsung Galaxy table, and provides AC performance for Nexus devices.

I also just finished testing and wrote a review of the new 6000mAh PowerGen power pack which similar to this one.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

From product description this external battery is compatible with:
Apple:iPhone 4S / iPhone 4 / iPhone 3GS/ ipod touch/classic/nano/ iPad/ iPad 2 [OEM CABLE REQUIRED]
HTC Sensation XE XL / Thunderbolt / EVO 3D / EVO 4G / Incredible S / Evo Shift 4g
Samsung Galaxy S 2 / Epic 4G / Galaxy S 4G / Galaxy Nexus
Blackberry Curve / Storm 2 / Tour Style / Bold
Motorola Atrix / Bionic / Droid X , X2, 2 , 3, 4, Pro , R2D2 / triumph
Nokia N900 / N8 / N97 / C6 / C3 C7 / E7 / X6
LG Optimus , 2x , V , S , T / Quantum / Vortex
Sony Experia ARC Arc / Neo / Play / Mini
Amazon Kindle Fire, and all other kindles
Others Nook Color, NDS, Portable Wifi, PSP (NOT compatible with PSP vista)

Product review: Barely there crop bra / Bali comfort revolution bra

I have been a huge fan of "Barely there" crop bras. They are the most comfortable bras I have ever owned. I can fall asleep in one of these bras and not know I have it on, yet they give you reasonable support. They are also great to wear when it is hot, they do a good job absorbing sweat.

The first crop top bra I bought is over two years old and is still holding up well after a lot of use. I now have these bras in multiple colors so I can wear them with any top.

Note on color: I am very pleased with the colors, however the colors were not exactly what I expected based on the words "pink" and "blue lavendar". Pink is really better described as beige. Blue Lavendar is grey. These colors go well with my wardrobe, but in case you really want pink and blue I wanted to make a note of the Barelythere color scheme. Black and white colors, however, are exactly as one would expect.

I recently decided to ordered a new batch of these bras. I ordered them from Amazon from the same product page, which still said it was Barelythere bra, but in parenthesis said label "(Replaced with Bali 103J)". I wrote to the seller to ask her if this was the same bra or not, so I can be sure of the fit. She wrote back that it was the same bra. When I received the order I saw that the branding was different. Instead of Barelythere label, it had "Bali comfort revolution" label.

The design of the damask print knitted in on strap and center front of the bra seemed a little different but the fit was the same.

So, it appears to be the same bra... but why do they changed such a perfectly good unique name with something much harder to remember and find?
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Zeta Touch Stone - Stress Ball

In a typical day I spend more than 12 hours a day at the computer for work and play and often my right hand hurts at the end of the day from repetitive use of the mouse. I received an evaluation copy of Zeta ball to provide honest review of the product and you will find both pluses and minuses I encountered in my 3 week evaluation.

The small Zeta ball is 1.5 inches in diameter and it is made out of hard resin with a nice color that makes it look like stone. It comes with a nice plastic stand which is handy to keep it from rolling around when it is not in use.

First, I noticed that the stock photo currently used with this product is showing the larger version of the ball sold in a different listing. I am attaching a collage of three photos under customer photos which I will be referencing in this review.

Photo #1 shows the zeta ball next to a ruler for size reference. You can also see it resting on the plastic stand included in this offering.

Photo #2 and #3 show the ball in my hand. I have small hands, typically wearing size small women gloves. I used poses similar to to stock photo, and you see the ball is smaller in my hand than the ball in the model's hand. This is not a negative - for a small hand a small size ball fits better!

The ball can be used warm or cold. The ball absorbs heat/cold temperature very quickly. The plus of this that you can bring the disc to the desired temperature quickly. The down side of this is that it does not stay at the desired temperature for a long time. I found I like using the ball best at a room temperature. I use by rolling between my palms. In a typical day I spend more than 12 hours a day at the computer for work and play, and rolling the ball between my hands provides a nice massage for my hands. I do it a couple of times a day and my hands feel less tired at the end of the day. The massage combined with the movement of my hands is a nice break from holding the mouse and typing. To prevent repetitive stress injuries the doctors recommend not to do the same movement for a long time and the ball is nice reminder and aid that forces you to change what your hands are doing.

My second favorite use for it is to roll it by sole of my foot. Again, it provides a nice massage and it my foot feels nice.

Overall, at minimum it reminds me to change what I am doing with my hands. After three weeks of use I had fewer days when my hand hurt at the end of the day. For that alone I recommend it!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: PowerGen Mobile Juice Pack 8400mAh External Battery Pack High Capacity Power Bank

I tested I 8400mAh PowerGen external battery pack with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone, and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.
I received 8400mAh and 5400mAh external battery packs for testing from the manufacturer to write an honest and unbiased review and you will find both pluses and minuses of my experience in this review.

I am attaching a collage of 5 photos labeled with number 1 through 5 under customer photos that I will be referencing in this review. I am also attaching a user manual as photo #6.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the package is that brick looks slick and well made. Its dimensions are 3.8" x 2.5" x .87" (only slightly larger than a deck of cards). It weighs 6.5 oz by itself, and 7.4 oz with the charging cable. A photo of the unit is included in 4 out 6 pictures I posted.

The box contained two USB cords 7" and 27" and adapters to fit different devices (Micro 5pin, PSP, Nokia DCP 2.0, Mini 5pin, iPhone/iPad). Photo #1 shows the entire content including all adapters. The adapters are a weak point of the design, they feel a bit flimsy and it is easy to loose all the small pieces. The minimum configuration for my devices is two connectors: one that goes into the AC plug to charge the external battery and the second (mini USB) that goes into the devices for charging. You can see the large connection bundle it creates best in Photo #5. Photo #1 shows the cable with connector for the AC plug.

The blue lights on top of the battery pack indicate the level of power in the battery: 4 circles indicate full charge, 3 circle indicate 75% and so forth. To turn on the device you need to press the button on the side of the unit. To turn off the device you need to press and hold the button for a few seconds (this is not documented, I found it by experimenting).

The 8400mAh PowerGen has two USB outlets: 0.6 Amp and 2 Amp. I tested my four electronic devices using both my own USB cable as well as the manufacture cable+adapter. In addition I tested charging two devices using both outlets at the same time.

The provided adapters fit Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, Nexus 7 tablet and Sansa Clip MP3 (as they take regular USB-to-micro USB cable) but none of the provided adapters fit Galaxy Samsung 7.7 Tablet. The Amazon product description states that Galaxy Tablets are not supported, but I actually got it to work - more on that below.

I used Battery App to determine how each device recognized the external battery pack. '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.

The key findings:
(1) 2 Amp outlet is aimed at Apple devices and did not work as well as 0.6 Amp outlet for non-Apple devices.
(2) Using PowerGen cables vs generic cables that came with my devices made a difference.

Why using PowerGen cables makes a difference:
PowerGen cables are charging cables, not data cables. This is achieved by shorting the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer),  but this fulls Nexus to see it as an AC power connection, and will accept the higher current of the charging source. 

The table below summarizes my findings.

Nexus 7 Tablet (photo #3)
--------------
Regular cable -- 0.6 AMP outlet -- AC
Regular cable -- 2 AMP outlet -- discharging
PowerGen cable -- 0.6 AMP outlet -- AC
PowerGen cable -- 2 AMP outlet -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (photo #3)
--------------------------
Regular cable -- 0.6 AMP outlet -- AC
Regular cable -- 2 AMP outlet -- USB
PowerGen cable -- 0.6 AMP outlet -- AC
PowerGen cable -- 2 AMP outlet -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone and Nexus 7 Tablet together (photo #3)
--------------------------
8400 PowerGen was able to handle charging of both devices using two different ports, the charging levels are same as in the two tables above,
variying based on cable used and outlet.

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (photo #2)
--------------------------
Regular cable -- 0.6 AMP outlet -- AC or discharging (I got inconsistant results, 1 out of 5 times it worked)
Regular cable -- 2 AMP outlet -- discharging
PowerGen cable -- no adapter, cannot be used

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player (photo #5)
------------------------------
0.6 AMP outlet -- works
2 AMP outlet -- works

Behavior with Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 was inconsistent. The Amazon product description says that Galaxy Tablets are not supported by PowerGen external pack and the USB cable that fits this device is not included. Yet, I got it to charge with my own cable (photo #2 show "AC" status) and it charged my Galaxy Tab from 75% to 100% in 2 hours and 7 minutes. However, the next few times I tried the charging level indicator stated 'discharging'. It significantly slowed the discharge rate in that state but did not re-charge. So far I have not determined the specific conditions when the power pack is recognized as 'AC'.

The behavior with Nexus devices was consistent and very good when used with PowerGen cables. Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone was more forgiving and worked even in 2 AMP outlet with my own cable at USB rate.

The MP3 player recognized the charger on both outlet, however it behaved differently than charging from AC recharger.
Photo #4 and Photo#5 show the difference. When I charge Sansa MP3 with a standard AC charger, the MP3 player goes into charging mode, displaying the charging animated icon. When it was plugged into the PowerGen external battery it continued to play the content. I listen to books on my MP3 player so this caused me to move forward in my book and I had to manually reset my position by a few chapters to get back to where I was when I started charging. The positive side of this, is that is possible to continue listening while MP3 is recharging. Update: This turned out to be immediately useful, as 30 minutes after I posted this review a thunderstorm knocked out my electric power for 9 hours and when my MP3 battery died I listened to it attached to the PowerGen battery while it recharged.

To summarize:

I liked:
---------
1. Good behavior with Nexus devices.
2. Solution for MP3 player with built-in battery
3. Looks sleek, feels solid, is compact

I did not like:
--------------
1. The multiple piece connectors are flimsy and easy to loose. I already ordered a one piece replacement.
2. Labels and documentation are hard to read: 2A and 0.6A labels are white on white and are hard to read. The documentation is in microscopic font and written in broken English.
3. I wish it worked consistently for my Galaxy tablet

Overall, I am pleased with this unit and recommend for the devices I tested with the exception of Samsung Galaxy tablet.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Update 11/12/2012
I just finished testing and wrote a review of the new 9000 mAh PowerGen power pack that works with Samsung Galaxy table, and provides AC performance on both ports for Nexus devices.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

From product description this battery is compatible with:
Apple iPhone 4s, 4, 3Gs, 3G, 2G / iPod Touch / iPad [OEM CABLE REQUIRED]
HTC Sensation XE XL / Thunderbolt / EVO 3D
Samsung Galaxy S 2 / Epic 4G / Galaxy Nexus [NOT Compatible with Galaxy Tab series or Asus Transformer]
Blackberry Curve / Storm / Tour / Style / Bold / Torch
Motorola Atrix / Bionic / Droid Razr, X , X2, 2 , 3, 4 / triumph
Nokia N900 / N8 / N97 / C6 / C3 / Lumia 800 900 700
LG Optimus , 2x , V , S , T / Quantum / Vortex
Google Nexus One / Nexus S
Sony Experia / X1 / X10 / X8 / Arc / Neo / Play / Mini
Amazon Kindle Fire, and all other kindles

Product review: Gilmour 876R Pattern Spot Sprinkler

This is a very simple sprinkler. You control it by increase or decrease water pressure by how wide you open the spigot of water to which the hose is attached. How much of the area is covered depends on how strong your water pressure is at its max. The biggest area I can get is about 10 feet square. And, of course, anything less is obtained by just by turning down the water flow.

This sprinkler works well for spot watering. I have two small areas in the front lawn that I need to water, so I move the sprinkler a few times to get the entire area covered.

Since it has no moving parts this is going to outlast all my other rotation and oscillating sprinklers that I use in the back yard. The only down side of this sprinkler that it is very light, so if the hose does not want to lay flat (which is often the case) this sprinkler will not stay flat, it cannot fight what the hose wants to do.

There is a little loop of metal at the very tip which can be used to pin the sprinkler to the ground. If you push a nail through the hole and into the ground at a slight angle it will provide some resistance to the twist from the hose.

I bought a square and circle of this sprinkler. Frankly, it appears to me that they water the same shape, mostly controlled by how the wind blows. I am attaching a photo of this sprinkler next to a pen, so you can see the relative size of it.

This is a good economical solution for a small area.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Cable Ties

This package contains 4 rolls of Velcro ties. What makes them different from velcro that you can buy at any sewing store (for less money) is the shape they are cut into. I am attaching a photo which shows the shape that allows you thread one end into the other for tightening. Each ties is 1/4 inch wide and 7 1/2 inches long. However they are not separated in the roll, so you can detach two ties as a unit, making a whole unit 15 inches long (and so forth in units of 7 1/2 inches).

The benefit of Velcro ties over plastic ties is that they can be reused. They are easy to adjust in size by wrapping them a few extra times or loosening.

I found many uses for these ties. From obvious ones to somewhat creative:

- keeping my computer cords tidy and untangled
- attaching outdoor art to the black iron rod railing
- keeping wrapping paper from unrolling
- for bundling ski poles, garden sticks, and other long objects in the basement for storage
- keeping glasses attached the visor in the car
- keeping my phone inside a pouch without slipping out (yet either to remove when needed)
- securing a cargo net in the back of my car
- attaching a loop that holds the cable to recharge my tablet at table level while plugged in (otherwise it was on the floor when not in use)
- several loops that are attached to my textile loom, which holds shuttles and scissors when they are not use, but right there when I need them
- used as tarp fastener to keep the tarp over objects under my deck while construction on the deck was going on

Good stuff - I recommend!


You can find this pack of Veclro wraps on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SKIL 2364-02 7.2-Volt Lithium-Ion Drill/Driver

I have had this drill for over a year. It is still holding its original charge despite being used for all the small chores that need a drill around the house. I am very pleased with it.
I am attaching a collage of 3 numbered photos under customer photos that I will be referencing in this review.

I LIKE:
----------
1. This drill is light, easy to hold, and easy to work with even in awkward places. Photo#1 shows this drill on a postal scale, and you can see that it wights 1 pound 7.1 oz.
This is the main reason I bought the drill (due to back surgery it was painful for me to hold the bigger heavier Black&Decker drill I have) and it totally lived up to my expectations.

2. The shape of the drill is very compact and ergonomically comfortable. Photo #2 shows me holding the drill. I wear gloves size small for size, so my hands are pretty small.

3. This drill has excellent battery. It has Lithum-Ion battery Holds a charge for up to 18 months. I have had it well over a year, used it for a number of small projects, used it again this weekend it still works.

4. I recharged it this weekend, and liked that it has an indicator when it is fully charged. My old drill just has an indicator that it is charging, and never tells me when it is done. (Drill charger is included in the set)

5. This drill has a nice number of clutch settings, and lets me set driving power perfect for a specific task.

6. The drill has has 2 speeds

7. I like having forward and reverse indicators to be sure I have the right setting

8. It comes with a nice canvas carrying case 9.7 x 7.8 x 2.8 inches, which I show closed in in photo #3, and opened in the background of photo #2. The case has Velcro to hold the drill and the charger. And a mesh pocket on the cover to hold the bits.

I DON'T LIKE:
----------------------

1. This drill cannot handle a 3/8 chuck for 1/2 inch drill. In a couple of my projects I needed a bigger chuck and had to go back to the big old drill. I know, they probably could not keep it this small if it needed to handle 3/8 inch chuck but I did not realize this restriction when I bought the drill.

2. It does not have a neutral position. It only has forward and reverse. My Black and Decker drill has a neutral position: if the switch is in neural position when I squeeze the trigger the drill does nothing so I
cannot engage it accidentally. This options is not available in SKIL 2364-02.

Overall, I am very pleased with this drill and recommend it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★