Product review:PowerGen Dual USB 3.1A 15w High Output Car Charger review for use with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone, and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player

I tested PowerGen Dual Port USB Car Charger with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone, and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.  My original test  for Nexus devices was using Jelly Bean 4.1, I repeated the tests for Jelly Bean 4.21 and saw a significant difference.  I updated this review to show the differences between two releases.
I received PowerGen car charger 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 3 photos labeled with numbers 1 through 3 under customer photos that I will be referencing in this review.

The first thing I noticed that this car charger is fairly short (3 inches in length, 1 inch by 1 2/8 in width). Photos #1 shows this plug plugged in.

The plug has two ports labeled "A" and "NA" which stands for Apple and Non-Apple devices. I own all Android devices but I tested both ports to see their behavior with my devices. The charger comes without a USB cord, so tested it with the USB cords that came with my devices.

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) Samsung Galaxy 7.7 cannot be charged with this car charger with either port
(2) "A" port provides reduced power for some non-Apple devices and does not work for others
*** Update 1/11/2013 ***
I repeated the test with Nexus 7 running Jelly Bean 4.21 and both ports are now charging it at AC rate. The original test which showed poor performance on Apple port was Nexus 7 running Jelly Bean 4.1.
I also retested Galaxy Nexus Phone running CyanogenMod 10.1 version of Jelly Bean 4.21, both ports also show charging at AC rate.


The table below summarizes my findings:

Nexus 7 Tablet
--------------
A port -- discharging (Jelly Bean 4.1)
A port -- AC (Jelly Bean 4.21)
NA port -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
A port -- USB (Jelly Bean 4.1)
A port -- AC (Jelly Bean 4.21)
NA port -- AC

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 (photo #2 and $3 show Galaxy tablet is running battery app and showing "discharging" on both port)
--------------------------
A port -- discharging
NA port -- discharging

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player
------------------------------
A port -- charged at USB rate
NA port -- charged at AC rate

The behavior with Nexus devices was consistent and good on "NA" port. After upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.21 both Nexus devices are charging at AC rate on the Apple port.

Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7 did not work (was discharging) in both ports.

The MP3 player worked in both ports, but as USB rate in "A" port and at "AC" rate in in "NA" port. When I charge Sansa MP3 with a standard AC charger (photo #3), 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 plug (photo #3) 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.

To summarize:

I liked:
---------
1. Good behavior with Nexus devices.
2. Solution for MP3 player with built-in battery
3. Can charge two devices (but one at a reduced rate for non-Apple devices)

I did not like:
--------------
1. Did not work with for my Samsung Galaxy tablet
2. (Not applicable after upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.21) For non-Apple devices one port has less power or does not work
3. (Not applicable after upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.21) For non-Apple devices the less useful plug takes up a little extra room

Overall, after upgrade to Jelly Bean 4.21 this plug has an excellent performance on both ports for Android devices.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Covergirl and Olay pressed powder

I have been using The Covergirl cosmetics for a long time.  I recently tried two new to me Covergirl products.  This is a review of the Covergirl and Olay pressed powder.  You can find the review of the Covergirl and Olay foundation here. 

 I have a dark spot on my cheek that I always try to cover up with make up. The Covergirl & Olay powder  overall did a nice job covering up my problem dark spot. I am attaching a photo of before and after photo, and you can see the more even color of my skin.

On the negative applying powder took a bit more work than the liquid foundation. The powder came with a nice applicator which really helped make powder invisible on my face, but after the first application I noticed a bit of powder specs visible to the naked eye. Then I read the instructions to see if I did it wrong, and yes I missed a step. After the powder is applied with an applicator sponge you need to work the powder into you skin with the tips of your fingers.  After that step the powder specs were gone!

The Covergirl & Olay foundation comes in 6 shades of color from Fair to Medium/Dark, so everyone should be able to find a color that works well with their skin.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the results and will continue using it after the test period is over.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Covergirl & Olay Foundation

I have been using The Covergirl cosmetics for a long time.  I recently tried two new to me products. This is a review of the The Covergirl and Olay foundation.  You can find the review of the Covergirl and Olay pressed powder here. 

The Covergirl & Olay foundation does a nice job on rough surfaces. In addition to the color the foundation has ingredients that hydrate the skin, so when I removed the make up at the end of the day my skin felt soft.  The foundation comes in an elegant bottle with a smooth action pump that gave me an even amount of make up every time I used it. The first photo shows make up in my hand so you can see its color and creamy texture.


When I put foundation on my face it felt nice and not greasy and spread evenly. I have a dark spot on my cheek that I always try to cover up with make up. I am attaching before and after photos, and you can see the more even color of my skin.

On the negative side the coverage did not last all day. I needed to reapply the foundation once. My dark trouble spot is an area that I am likely to brush when I use the phone, so I suspect that what caused it to come off during the day.

The Covergirl & Olay foundation comes in 14 shades of color from Ivory to Soft Sable, so everyone should be able a color that works well with their skin.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the results and will continue using it after the test period is over.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: DBEST London PS4001BT Solo Bluetooth Rechargeable Mini-Speaker

This speaker was purchased to use with the Nexus 7 Tablet and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone when the tablet or the phone are used for navigation. The built-in speakers in both devices produce very weak sound even at the maximum setting and cannot be heard well over the music when we are driving. This little speaker totally solved the problem.  The sound is excellent, we have the volume set at about 1/3 level and it is clear, crisp and loud.  It produces no distortions and the sound quality is good not only for voice but for music as well.

I am attaching a collage of three photos under customer photos number 1 through 3 that I will be referencing in this review.

1. Despite the large sound the speaker is quite small. Photo #2 shows it my hand.

2. The speaker has a small loop at the top, which can be used in many ways to hang the speaker in the car: from the mirror, from the GPS mount, or as shown in picture #1 from the hook on the side of the car.  This puts the speaker next to the driver's head and making the sound a bit louder to the person who is driving.
Photo #1 shows the loop clearly, photo #2 shows the speaker attached to the hook with two wire ties.

3. To pair the speaker with the device you need to turn the speaker on, then scan for blue-tooth devices on the your tablet/phone, when the speaker is found, all you have to do is select it. That's it.
Photo #3 shows Nexus 7 navigating while giving us instructions over the DBEST London mini speaker.

4. Works about 20 hours wireless (40 hours when plugged in)

5. Comes with a USB cable for recharging, no AC recharging cable. We purchased a USB plug so the speaker can be recharged at home from an AC outlet.

Small gotcha:

After a stop in driving, even when the speaker is left on, when we resume driving the blue-tooth pairing does not happen automatically. Turning the speaker on and off does not fix the problem.  We need to use to re-scan blue-tooth devices on the Android device to get the speaker connected again. It feels like a problem with the Android OS (running JellyBean OS in our case) rather the speaker.  However, compared to the great sound, no wires, and convenient options for hanging this is a relatively small annoyance.

This is the third speaker we auditioned for this job and we finally have a winner!
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Music review: An incredible performance by Tansel Akzeybek in The Elixir of love, Opera North, Lebanon New Hampshire

I had a pleasure of being at a wonderful performance of The Elixir of Love this week (Opera North, Lebanon, New Hampshire). The leading role was peformed by Tansel Akzeybek who, in his North America debut, absolutely mesmerized the audience by his beautiful voice. The audience went berserk after he sang "Una furtiva lagrima" and began screaming "ancora! ancora! ancora!" ("again!"), he nodded and repeated the entire aria one more time right in the middle of the show.  I've never encountered or heard of anyone doing this before.  I was so glad he did!

I found that his Opera North performance of  "Una furtiva lagrima" was available on YouTube and hope other people will enjoy it as much as I did.

"Una furtiva lagrima" ("A single secret tear") was composed by Gaetano Donizetti, the libretto was written by Felice Romani. English Translation

A single secret tear

from her eye did spring:

as if she envied all the youths

that laughingly passed her by.

What more searching need I do?

What more searching need I do?

She loves me! Yes, she loves me, I see it. I see it.

For just an instant the beating

of her beautiful heart I could feel!

As if my sighs were hers,

and her sighs were mine!

The beating, the beating of her heart I could feel,

to merge my sighs with hers...

Heavens! Yes, I could die!

I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.

Oh, heavens! Yes, I could, I could die!

I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.

Yes, I could die! Yes, I could die of love.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: Retractable Extension Cord ( White, 2 outlets)

 

The description of this cord does not specify its length. If I knew it was only 56 inches (4.5 feet) I would not have bought it. The stock photo shows it replacing a very long cord, and one might think the photo that shows the cord has most of it retracted, but in fact you see the entire thing. I am including a collage of 4 photos which I will be referencing in this review.

Photo #1 shows this extension cord in fully extended length wrapped around a 12 inch ruler. You can see its entire 56 inch length.

Photo #2 shows that I was able to use to regular size plugs next to each other. However the outlet is VERY tight, it was quite difficult to insert and remove the plugs. I hope it will loosen up with use. A slightly larger black plug next to the cord could not be plugged in along with another plug, it only could be used alone. The position of the two outlets is poorly designed - they should have been placed further apart to make it more useful.

Photo #3 shows the retraction mechanism upside down, and Photo #4 shows how retraction works. It is a mechanical retraction device that you need to turn to retract. It does not retract by tension like some of my other retractable cords. I found that I was not able to retract the cord when something was plugged into it, I had to unplug retract and then put the plugs back in.

I use it with a fan which is not used all the time. I constantly wish the cord was longer to reach the ideal ventilation spots. I found I use the cord at full length and stretched out which makes it a tripping hazard. Since plugs are tight and I need to remove them to retract I don't bother with retracting when the fan is not in use.

To summarize:

I DID NOT LIKE:
------------------
1. Too short to be useful as a retractable cord (56 inches)
2. Plug positions are too close together
3. Outlets are extremely tight and it is very difficult to insert/remove plugs
4. Retraction mechanism is mechanical and needs to be set when the other cords are unplugged

I LIKED:
-------------
1. It does works

I would have given this cord a 3 star score if the description clearly stated its length so I knew what I would be getting.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product Review: Akron windshield mount SM517 for use with Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone

We have been using GPS units for a long time and went through a large number of units and even larger number of mounts. Arkon window mount is one of the best mounts we tried.
I am attaching a collage of three photos which I will be referencing in this review.

Here are the features I look for in a good windshield mount and how Arkon mount measures up

1) Good suction, quick and easy to mount, stays on, does not jiggle. Arkon mount is better than most. We have been using it for a number of weeks. It has not fallen down even in rough terrain. This is a low vibration mount - it generates almost no jiggle of the unit.

2) Good positioning of grippers that hold the device. This is especially important when using a phone or tablet (rather than a dedicated GPS device) as those units have volume and on/off buttons on the sides.  Arkon mount does very well in this department.  We did not have to do any fussing, it just worked.

3) Flexibility in holding multiple devices. Arkon comes with with 4 short and 2 long grippers. The long grippers worked perfectly for 7" Nexus tablet (see photo #1) and the short grippers worked well for Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone.

I also own 7.7 Galaxy tablet, which is slightly wider that the Nexus 7 tablet. My Galaxy 7.7 tablet did not fit into the mount (see photo #2). Photo #3 has two tablets side by side, where you can see the diffeence in height.

Overall, this is a very good mount and we are very pleased with it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★