Product review: URPOWER Stand [Multi-Angle Design] for smart phones and tablets

I tested this stand with my two tablets iPad Mini and Galaxy 7.7 Tablet. They both fit nicely in the horizontal and the vertical orientations. I tested iPad Mini "naked" and Galaxy 7.7 Tab in a leather folio. The tablet with the folio fits if I let the back cover dangle behind the stand (not in the slot).

The stand feel solid is is heavier than I expected by looking at it. It weighs 6.0oz. The stand is made out of aluminium and can hold loads up to 11 pounds according to the manual. It is nice to see that they built it much more heavy duty than needed! It is 3.5 inches tall. The groove is 0.375" wide and 0.5" tall.

The easel in the back can either lock flat against the stand or be expanded by pressing a button on the hinge of the stand. It is a nifty design that keeps the easel in place in both positions without wobbling. The stand is very compact and very study. I liked how both of my tablets felt while they were in the stand. I can type on the touch screen without the tablet coming out of the stand.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product reviews: VonShef Premium Vacuum Food Saver and Sealer System

The tricky part of using this vacuum sealer is closing the cover. It took me several tries until I got the sealer to work initially. The trick is to make sure you hear a click on every side as you close the top cover. If it does not click twice (once on each side) it will not be able to suck out the air. The first few times it took quite a bit of effort to push down until I heard the click, but it got easier as I got the initial stiffness out of the foam insulation.

The machine automatically vacuums, seals, and then stops. As you see in the video it is fairly fast. If it makes noise without removing air, it means you did not close the lid completely.

The plastic bag can be opened and resealed if you leave a little extra room at the top of the bag.

I have to admit that after the first attempt I thought closing the lid was too hard to use the machine frequently, but after the third bag it really was not bad. So don't give after the first attempt, when the foam around the edge of the device gets squished down it works. Once I got a hang of how to close the lid, the sealer has been working well without fail.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Annke SPI Wireless 720P HD Wi-Fi IP Camera

We have bought a number of IP camera in the last few years to watch over an older relative who had a tendency to fall and not press her emergency alert button. I have to say that this camera is better than the ones we have used in the past. I thought Annke is a nice camera and I really liked the app that controls it. The app allows me to pan the camera by swiping my finger across the screen, I can zoom in and zoom out by pinching and spreading my fingers. I have been using it extensively for several weeks and have not experienced any crashes or technical issues. The video is very good during the day and not bad during the night. If there was anything I would change about this camera is I would have liked it to have a slightly wider angle, however because I can pan the camera this is not a big deal.

The setup was very easy . All I had to do was install the app (called MIPC), connect via Ethernet for the initial set up, and create an account. Once this was done I could connect the camera either via Ethernet or WI FI.

The quality of the video is quite good as you see in attached video. I already mentioned that I like the app that controls the camera. It has a lot of nice options and is easy to use. I tried this camera as a surveillance camera looking out of the window. To make it work through the window during the night I had to turn off its infrared mode (otherwise the infrared reflects from the window back into the camera in the form of light). To turn off the infrared option I had to switch the mode from Auto (which switches between day and night) to Day.

The camera can be used free standing or be mounted on the wall with a bracket that is included in the package. The bracket can also be used as a stand if you want to tilt the camera down (say on a window sill to have the camera point to the front door from the second floor of the house).

The camera can record to a micro SD card (max card size is 32G).

The camera has several recording modes. You can schedule recordings to occur between certain hours. This is handy if, for example, you need to fit more video on the micro SD card.

Alternatively, you can have the camera start when it detects motion. There is a setting which allows you to control "motion detection sensitivity". You can use it to tune the camera not to start recording when wind moves the leaves on trees yet record when someone comes to the door.

I have been using the camera for several weeks and so far I am quite impressed with it and had no problems. I am especially pleased with how I can control the camera using the app.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sentey Power Bank Brio LUX 20800mAh LS-2185 LG 18650 Li-ion Battery

♦ size: 6 3/8" x 3 1/4" x 7/8"
♦ weight: 15.15 oz
♦ number of ports: 2
♦ flashlight: yes
♦ pass through charging: no (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cable: 7.5" charging cable

This external battery is very compact for its large capacity of 20800 mAh. It has two ports and came with a short charging cable (charging cables are more efficient charging the phones then the data cables, that charge at USB rate).

I really like its charge level indicator, it is shown in LED window as a percentage rather than just lights.

This charger performed very well with my Android phone. It worked with my iPad Mini but my current monitor showed that one neither of the ports drew more than 1A. I am including the details of the tests at the end of the review for those who are interested in the nitty gritty numbers.

To see how well different chargers and external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to compare them to each other in a fair way. I use the current monitor to see what current is delivered to each device which tells me how well each external battery is working.

I also tested to see if the battery supports pass-through charging (i.e. whether the battery can charge mobile devices while it is being charged). This battery does NOT support charger through chargng. It can not charge while being charged.

In addition to testing with my own cable, I test the cable included in the package to see if it is a charging cable or a data cable. This package includes a charging cable. For Android devices it matters if a cable used to charge the device is a charging cable or a data cable. In a charging cables the two data connections are shorted together (rendering the cable useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection and thus the battery accept a higher current for charging. Most of the time external batteries come with a charging cable, but every now I run across a manufacturer that encloses data cables with external batteries. It is not easy to tell what cable you got unless you have a current monitor. I always include this test in my reviews so people can improve the performance of the battery by switching to a charging cable.

The battery also has a small flashlight. It is not very bright but could be useful in an emergency. My video include a demo of the flashlight so you can see it yourself.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1A port: 1.01/4.99V (excellent)
2A port: 1.02/5.01V (excellent)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1A port: 0.92A/5.01V (average for 1A port)
2A port: 0.92A/5.02V (below average for 2A port)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)


I have been using this battery for several weeks without problems as I write this review. It does the job and does not get warm as it is charging. As far as capacity some of the battery capacity is always lost to heat, voltage conversion, and operation of the power bank itself. I always estimate that 30% of the capacity will not be available for the charging of the device.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: OLALA C2-a 6000mAh Fast Charging Portable Power Bank with Built-in Micro USB Cable

This is a compact battery with good capacity and a good charging speed (test results are included at the end of the review) and it has a short built in cable. This is a type of battery I like carrying in my purse: slim size and fairly big capacity.

♦ size: 5" x 2.5" x 0.5"
♦ weight: 4.85 oz
♦ number of ports: 2 (one vis built-in cable, one generic)
♦ flashlight: no
♦ pass through charging: yes (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cable: 11" charging cable

The power pack has a bright charging level indicator which can be turned on with a push and goes off quickly.

To see how well different chargers and external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to compare them to each other in a fair way. I use the current monitor to see what current is delivered to each device which tells me how well each external battery is working.

In these tests OLALA battery did quite well for both devices, especially the phone. For the phone both the built-in cable and included charging cable showed optimal performance.

I tested to see if the battery supports pass-through charging (i.e. whether the battery can charge mobile devices while it is being charged). Yes, it can charge while being charged.

I also checked whether the enclosed cable is a data cable or a charging cable. This makes a big difference when charging Android devices. In a charging cables the two data connections are shorted together (rendering the cable useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection and thus the battery accept a higher current for charging. Most of the time external batteries come with a charging cable, but every now I run across a manufacturer that encloses data cables with external batteries. It is not easy to tell what cable you got unless you have a current monitor. I always include this test in my reviews so people can improve the performance of the battery by switching to a charging cable. Good news in this case - OLALA package includes a charging cable.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
charging cable : 1.03A/5.01V (excellent)
built-in cable: 8% upcharge in 10 minutes (excellent)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
my own cable: 1.25A/5.06V (good)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

To summarize: compact, fast charging, good capacity. I like it!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Cozyna Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Thermos

Cozyna insulated stainless steel bottle (referred to as a mug in the title) has a insulated stainless steel body and a plastic cap. The plastic cap is not a sports cap, but a spout opening which I find easy to drink from (see video). The cap forms a good seal and is leak proof.

This is a thermos bottle. Its construction is two stainless steel walls with a vacuum between them. This construction is similar to the old glass Thermos bottles with steel replacing the glass. The thermal conductivity of glass is lower than steel so the glass thermos keeps the temperature better, but stainless steel is unbreakable.

To answer the question how well Cozyna thermos keeps the temperature I filled it with hot water, and measured the temperature several times over 14 hours with a temperature probe.

★ start ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 187 degrees
★ 2 h 35 mins later ~~~~ 158 degrees
★ 6 h later ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 136 degrees
★ 14.5 hours later ~~~~~ 106 degrees

Cozyna thermos holds the temperature well, on par with my favorite old thermos.

The bottle holds 16 oz of water. The bottle's base is 2.25" across at the base. This bottle fits into the bottle holder of my car. The bottle is 9.5" tall (from the base to the top of the cap).

The instructions say that this bottle should NOT be washed in the dishwasher.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Smart 8-Outlet with 4-USB Output Surge Protection Power Strip Tower shape

This outlet tower fits perfectly behind my TV. I don't have a lot of room there and need a lot of outlets - both AC and USB powered - and this tower is perfect in that space. The top of the power has two buttons which turn on/off half of the outlets. The AC outlets are well spaced out. I am able to mount two large chargers next to each (see video), no outlets are blocked! This is a very clever design.

The strip has a 6.5 foot cord and a regular size plug.

In addition to 8 AC outlets this tower also has 4 USB outlets. I tested each USB port with a current monitor an Android device and an Apple device. I saw that it charged my Android phone at an optimal rate on each outlet. iPadMini perfromed well at at optimal rate on one port (2A). Performance on 2 others were typical for 1A port but not optimal for iPadMini, and one port delivered only USB level of performance.

To see how well different chargers and external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to compare them to each other in a fair way. I use the current monitor to see what current is delivered to each device which tells me how well each external battery is working.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 port: 1.02A/4.99V (excellent)
2 port: 1.00A/5.01V (excellent)
3 port: 0.99A/4.99V (excellent)
4 port: 0.98A/5.01V (excellent)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 port: 0.93A/5.02V (average for 1A)
2 port: 0.47A/4.99V (not good, USB rate)
3 port: 1.24A/5.02V (good)
4 port: 0.93A/5.01V (average for 1A)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

I love the shape of this power strip, it gave me more than enough outlets in the area which barely has any space.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★