Product review: Asus Mini Bluetooth Dongle (USB-BT211)

I was looking for a Bluetooth dongle for my Linux machines and thanks to other reviewers I knew people got Asus dongle to work on Linux systems even though officially is is described as Bluetooth dongle for Windows (and comes with Windows drivers).

I want to confirm that I also got my Linux systems to recognize the dongle. All I had to do is insert the dongle, reboot the system, and then enable Bluetooth from System/Preferences. It worked with the native drivers that came with Fedora 14 which is fairly old, as well as with Fedora 19, which is the latest version as of now. I am able to stream music and use other bluetooth devices.

Note: Asus occasionally offers $5 rebates on these dongles, I noticed that Amazon rebate offer expired, but NewEgg still had a valid one, so that's where I got mine as the base price was the same.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Kinivo BTH360S Bluetooth Stereo Headphone

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✔ The headset produces good sound, I tried different music and it performed well at different ranges, including Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor which is a stress test for the bass that I use to test different speakers. Some speakers crackle and can't handle it, but this headset handled it very well.
✔ The headset has a rigid head band. At first I thought it was too small for my head, but then realized that it needs to be position in the back almost around the neck. See photo #2 and #3 as it is easier to see than explain in words.
✔ Because the headband is rigid it does not catch on anything (shirt collar, ears, earing). I have another bluetooth wireless headset which has a soft longer cord that rests on my shoulders in the back, and I like this headband better.
✔ Controls are located on the headband, you have to locate them by touch when you are wearing the headset.
✔ The LED light is very small an narrow, it is hard to see especially in the bright light
✔ The ear pieces are fairly small, they are 1" from the tip to headband, 6/8" are outside the ear. The battery is located in the headband not in the earpiece. I find them very comfortable even for my small ears. I like them better than the other bluetooth headset I own, which houses the battery inside of the earpiece which make the earpiece a bit larger and heavier, and thus more proned to popping out.
✔ The earphones come with three three sets of ear tips for small, medium and large ears. I left them with the medium tips which are installed when the headset arrives.
✔ The volume of the headset can me made quite loud. The volume at highest setting is uncomfortably loud for me, so they go pretty high.

CAPABILITIES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✔ The range between the headset and the mobile device should be 10 meters (33 feet) or less. When I get outside that range the reception breaks up.
✔ Low battery indicator (red LED flashes twice every 30 seconds, three dong tones every 30 seconds)
✔ To do a factory reset (this deletes pairing list): hold multi-function key and volume up ("+") button at the same time for 8 seconds. Red and blue LEDs will flash at the same time briefly when the operation is completed.

You an use this bluetooth headset with devices that support one of the profiles that Kinivo headset supports. Kinivo bluetooth headset supports the following profiles:
Headset profile (HSP)
Adanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
Audio/Video Rempte Control Profile (AVRCP)

For devices that support HSP this headset can
✔ answer, end, or reject calls.
✔ redial last number
✔ voice dial
✔ adjust volume
✔ transfer between headset and phone
✔ mute/cancel mute (Mute mode is indicated by two tones every 10 seconds)

For devices that support A2DP this headset can
✔ listen to wireless audio
✔ adjust volume
✔ remotely control pause and play
✔ remotely control next/previous track

CHARGING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The headset comes with a special charging clip which clips to the headset to charge it (see photo #1). It takes 3 hours to fully charge the headset, and it can be used for 6 hours to listen to music or talk on the phone on a single charge. It has 150 hours of standby time.
There is a small light on the back of the ear piece that indicates the status of the battery (see photo #4). When the red light is on the headset is charging, when it is done charging the read light turns off.

BLUETOOTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✔ Keep your device close to the headset
✔ Put headset into pairing mode by pressing the multifunction button for 6-7 seconds. When it is in pairing mode the LED status indicator will flash red and blue alternately. The headset stays in the pairing mode for 2 minutes.
✔ Enable Bluetooth on your device and scan for near by bluetooth devices.
✔ Kinivo BTH360-S will appear as a device name. If your device supports Bluetooth 2.1 password is not needed, otherwise enter "0000"
✔ When the headset successfully connects blue LED on the headset will flash twice every 4 seconds (Note that if the light flashes once every 2 seconds it indicates that there is no connected device)
✔ Every time the headset is turned on it will connect to the last connected device automatically

I received this headset from the manufacture with a request for an honest review, be it positive or negative. This review includes the positives and negatives of my experience with this bluetooth headset. The highlights for me were the sound quality and how comfortably they fit my ears.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Bolse® AON2 8000mAh Compact Size External Battery

I tested Bolse 2 port AON2 External Battery with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (ICS 4.0.4), iPad Mini, Pyle 9" Tablet (ICS 4.0.4) and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.

I received this power bank from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. One of the benefits of being requested 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.

The manufacture offers the identical 8000 mAh external batteries in black and white colors and send me both for evaluation. Other than colors they are identical and testing both allows me to test how consistent each unit performs relative to each other.

My methodology is to charge each mobile device on each port of the unit for 10 minutes and measuring how much each unit was charged 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.

➨ Key finding:
======================
I found some inconsistency between the two unit, especially with the respect to Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet.

I am attaching a photo that shows both power brick during a test to illustrate this review. This photo can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo in this listing.

➨ General features:
======================

Bolse 8000 mAh external battery weighs 6.4 oz. Its size is 4" x 3.75" x 0.75" (slightly larger than a deck of cards). It has two ports labelled out1 (5V/1A) and out2 (5V/2A). It has a built in LED light. It is not super bright, but could be handy in an emergency. It comes with a really nice nylon carrying pouch.

The external battery comes with 8 connectors. Neither my iPad Mini nor Samsung Galaxy had a connector that fit and I had to provide my own. Pyle tablet takes a standard micro USB which was included in the set. The package also include a 17" charging cable.

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

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet (black external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 3% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet (white external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ discharging ~~~~~ 0% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet (black external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ iPad Mini tablet (white external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 4% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 and iPad Mini at the same time (black external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 5% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy 7.7)

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 and iPad Mini at the same time (white external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (iPad Mini)
OUT 2 ~~ AC ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy 7.7)

✔ Pyle tablet (black external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ USB ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ USB ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ Pyle tablet (white external battery)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ USB ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
OUT 2 ~~ USB ~~~~~ 1% change in charge in 10 minutes

✔ SanDisk Sansa Clip+ MP3 Player
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OUT 1 ~~ worked
OUT 2 ~~ worked

➨ Key finding:
======================

The chargers performed well compared to other chargers are tested with these tests.

However there was a difference in performance between the black and the white battery in particular with respect to the Samsung Galaxy tablet, which worked well on both ports of the black unit but only one port of the white unit. The black charger also did better when two tablets were charged at the same time. This seem to point out that there inconsistencies in manufacturing that were not caught by quality control.

If both chargers performed as well as the black external power I would have rated them as a 5 star. Since inconsistency in the manufacturing process may appear in a battery of either color I am rating them both as a 4 star.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: V7 USB 3.0 Flash Drive

This V7 thumb flash drive has 8 GB capacity. It has a retractable USB plug controlled by a slide on the side of the stick (I am attaching a photo which can be located by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo). When the plug is retracted its size is 2.0"L x 0.8"W x 0.35"H. I like USB drive with retractable plug design for carrying around in my purse. According to the specification this memory stick has 10 year data retention and 5 year warranty. The memory stick is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8, Linux Kernel 2.4, and Mac IS 9.0.

I measured the performance of V7 flash stick with several utilities and found it to be pretty good. It falls in the mid range of various USB memory sticks I have tested in the past, it is neither the slowest nor the fastest.

To test various USB devices I run the same set of tests so I can compare devices to each other in "apples to apples" comparison, this way if some unit does not perform well I notice it by comparing it to other devices I have tested. My "write" test consist of copying a large set of mp3 files totalling 638916 Megabytes.

V7 Flash Drive write performance:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✔ 1.535s (cpu) 1:08.45 (clock time)

For comparison I including numbers for copying the same set of files to SanDisk USB2 memory stick, Transcent microSDHC class 6 card, to hard disk of my computer,

✔ SanDisk USB2: 1.358s (CPU time), 1:23.53 (clock time)
✔ Hard Drive: 0.573s (CPU time), 0:00.58 (clock time)
✔ Transcent microSDHC : 1.482s (CPU time), 1:33.97 (clock time)

For read performance test I use Linux Disk Utility Benchmarks.

V7 Flash Drive Read-only performance:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
✔ Minimum read rate 34.7 MB/s
✔ Maximum read rate 40.2 MB/s
✔ Average read rate 39.7 MB/s
✔ Average access time 0.9 ms

The only small negative I have to say about this memory stick is that it does not have a LED indicator which shows that the memory stick is being accessed. If I am using multiple memory sticks I like to see the reassuring flashing of the stick I am writing to so I can be sure I am accessing the right stick.

I was supplied a sample for testing and an honest review, be it positive or negative.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Tea Tree Oil Shampoo for Dandruff

Tea Tree Shampoo is aimed at people with mild to moderate dandruff and scalp blemishes. The shampoo has a pleasant forresty scent. It will work well for men and women as the scent is pleasant, but not flowery.

You should be aware that this is low suds shampoo. It generates very little lather when I wash my hair. This lack of lather is the only thing I do not like about this shampoo as I like lots of suds when I wash my hair. On the positive side I like the scent, and after using it for over a week it appears to keep my light dandruff under control.

Tea tree oil is derived from the leaves of the tea tree. The tea tree was named by eighteenth century sailors, who made tea that smelled like nutmeg from the leaves of the tree growing on the southeast Australian coast. The tea tree is not related to the tea plant that is used to make black and green teas.

Tea tree oil is has many medicinal uses, it is applied to the skin for infections such as acne, fungal infections of the nail, lice, scabies, athlete's foot (tinea pedis), and ringworm. It is also used topically as a local antiseptic for cuts, abrasions, burns,and insect bites. In the shampoo it clears out dead skin cells and combats dandruff (it can also be used for lice). Rosemary oil is also included in the shampoo regulates oil secretions. Lavender Oil heals blemishes on the scalp. You can find a complete list of ingridients below.

Instructions for use:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shake before use. Rinse hair, massage quarter-sized amount into the scalp, allow to stay on the hair for 2-3 minutes (2-3) before rinsing. Repeat and follow with 3 final rinses.
The bottle contains 8oz (236ml). This shampoo is made in the U.S.A. It is allergenic and BPA free.

COMPLETE LIST OF INGREDIENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Water, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Organic Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Oil, Botafl Keratin, Organic Lavandula Angustifolia Lavender) Oil, Organic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Oil.

I received a bottle of Tea Tree Shampoo for evaluation and sharing my experiences with potential buyers. Overall, I thought the shampoo was effective keeping dandruff flakes under control, but I wish it generated a more satisfying lather.

I am attaching a photo of the shampoo bottle, it seems that the formula has been changed since the stock photo was taken because the stock photo shows the shampoo as clear, my shampoo is light yellow in color.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Metrokane Houdini Wine Preserver

We are not big drinkers and tend not to finish a bottle of wine in one sitting. To keep the wine longer we have gone through a few wine preservers which pump the air out of the bottle to slow down oxidation and keep the flavor the same longer.

Houdini wine preserver is the latest wine preservation system I have tried. It worked fine on several bottles of wine but not all. I found that on one of the bottles I could not make a good enough seal. The pumps is working as I can feel it sucking out air when I try it against my hand, so I think in some cases the stopper might be a tiny bit too small for a good seal. The bottle that did not work was a bottle of plum wine, perhaps its shape is somewhat different.

I am attaching a photo collage with a close-ups of the stopped and the pump on the bottle. You can locate the photos by following 'customer photos' link under the main photo.

The top of the stopper has a small valve (see photo #1). If you push it to one side it lets the air back into the bottle and the stopper comes out easily. You can hear the a slight hiss giving a nice feeling that the system is working.

I received Houdini wine preserver from the manufacture with a request for honest review, be it positive or negative. I have been using Houdini wine preserver for 2 weeks, so far the only problem I ran into was the Plum Wine bottle.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Grace Digital GDI-EGRX601 ECOXGEAR - ECOROX Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

I am very impressed with ECOROX Bluetooth Speaker. In my video I included two small snippets of music to illustrate my review of this speaker. I used several pieces of music to test this speaker, including Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor which is a stress test for the bass. Some speakers crackle and can't handle the bass, but Grace Digital GDI-EGRX601 ECOXGEAR Speaker handles it extremely well. As one of the top reviewers I get asked to test and review a fairly large number of speakers, as a result I am able to do a relative comparison between a large number of speakers using the same pieces of music to test them. Based on these comparisons I can say that the sound of this speaker is one of the best small speakers I have tested in the last year (top two among the speakers I tested, along with Kinivo speaker).

In the video I start with the music playing through the built-in speakers of the tablet, then turn on blue tooth and then the sound switches to the speakers. You can see how much richer, fuller, and louder the sound is when the speakers are used. There is no cracking and sound distortion even in the most challenging parts of the Bach Toccata.

The speaker is 5.5"L x 3.5"W x 2.5"H. Its weight is 10.6 oz.

The bottom of the speaker has a screw type mounting hardware (purchased separately) Grace Digital GDI-EGSCM Suction Cup Mount. I used the Suction Cup Mount to mount this speaker in my shower and it holds it very well giving me fantastic acoustics in the shower. The speaker can also be mounted on a bike using Grace Digital GDI-EGCBM Handle Bar Mount purchased separately.

I received this speaker from the manufacture for an honest review be it positive or negative. I am very impressed with this speaker, especially how it handled the bass! I hope the video gives you a good idea of what to expect.

I am several photos that show the speaker, including how it is mounted using the suction cup mount. These 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 ★★★★★