Product review: PowerBus - Elivebuy® 20000mah 4 Independent USB Output Power Bank

♦ size: 7 1/4" x 4 3/8" x 1/2"
♦ weight: 18.90 oz
♦ number of ports: 4
♦ flashlight: no
♦ pass through charging: No (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cable: 45" charging cable

I love the capacity of this battery! And it surprisingly compact for what you get. This external battery is 20000 mAh. As far as usable capacity it is less as 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. It has four ports.

Even though I love the capacity of this battery but it is not a speedy charger for either my Android Phone or iPadMini tablet. My current monitor shows that my devices were not able to draw more than 1Amp from any ports. I am including the details of the tests at the end of the review for those who are interested in the nitty gritty numbers. I am using this battery to power my MP3 player with external speaker as I listed to audio books when I do my chores. This speaker requires me to swap batteries every day, with EliveBuy I don't have to swap the battery that often.

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). Elivebuy DOES NOT support cjarge through charging.

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. Elivebuy package includes a charging cable. I ran the same tests with my own proven cable and got the same slow results, only slightly above the USB rate.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1: 0.58A/5.01V (below average)
Port 2: 0.61A/5.01V (below average)
Port 3: 0.73A/5.01V (below average)
Port 4: 0.76A/5.02V (below average)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1: 0.93A/5.01V (average for 1A port)
Port 2: 0.93A/5.01V (average for 1A port)
Port 3: 0.93A/5.01V (average for 1A port)
Port 4: 0.93A/5.02V (average for 1A port)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

Bottom line, the best feature of this battery is its capacity. If you need a fast charge then this is not the best battery pack to get. I rate 5 stars for my application when the speed of charging does not matter.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SplashETech Mini 0805 Ambarella Car DVR Recorder

If you read just a few lines of this review let me start by saying that you can get a firmware update and a corrected manual from the manufactures web site. The website is called splashetech.net and the home page allows you to down load a new manual and SplashETech Mini0805 Firmware(20141211 V1.0). Amazon does not accept links in the reviews, but if you Google for the name you will find it. The update was easy, all I had to do was copy this file on a sd micro card and when the camera booted up it prompted to "Update?", I selected yes. Then remove the file from the micro sd card as it will ask you to update every time it is turned on and sees this file.

Now onto the rest of the review.

Mini 0805 is a small HD video recorder designed for to be mounted on the windshield the car. It record video, GPS, and audio. It is powered by a regular micro USB cable, so even though it is designed for a car if you want a general purposes recorder that records to a micro sd it can do that job as well. This video recorder has many options: video quality, recording in a loop or stopping when disk is full, recording all the time or only when motion is detected, recording car speed and gps data, and so forth. The camera records full HD 1080p video, the quality of the video is excellent. The camera has 120º Wide Angle Lens. Note that there is a mistake in the original manual describing this lens as 135º Wide Angle Lens but the updated manual I mentioned above corrects this.

In attached video I show video of Mini 0805 as well as the video recorded by Mini 0805.

The Mini 0805 package includes the camera, 116 inch power cord that plugs into the car cigarette lighter output, and a micro USB cable. Note that the micro SD card is not included. The manufacturer recommends using Class 6 card. Class 4 is ok is okay, but Class 10 might cause problems. Maximum micro SD card is 32G.

There is only one option for mounting and it is permanent. You need to attach it to permanently adhere it to the car with a sticky tape. The camera has no screw mount. Having an optional screw mount would have been a great improvement as I would like to move this video cam between cars. The mount is one side of the camera so the camera cannot be balanced on the dash as is. I came up with kludge that allowed me to balance the camera by mounting a foam block on the camera bottom for balance and then mounted on a sticky pad that clings to the dash. This way I can move the pad between our cars depending on who is driving.

The user interface is straightforward and easy. The only thing I needed the manual for is to learn how to get to the menus to set my preferences. This is done by holding down the up button for a few seconds. After that up and down arrows allowed me to navigate the menus and ok button made the selection.

Overall, I was impressed with the camera and the video it captured. The only thing I did not like was the mount which allowed only one option with a permanent attachment.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Organic Raw Yacon Syrup

This raw yacon is a dark color syrup that has consistency similar to molasses, it is quite thick. It has a pleasant taste sweet and a little tart at the same time. When I add two teaspoons of the syrup I can drink an 8 oz cup of tea without adding sugar and it has a pleasant taste. One teaspoon of syrup is not as sweet one teaspoon of sugar but sweet enough that I find it to be a pleasant taste. This bottle contains 48 teaspoons.

I think of Yacon syrup as a sugar substitute. It contains 1/3 amount of digestible sugars (fructose, glucose and sucrose), and 2/3 of the syrup are fructooligosaccharides and a fiber called inulin which are not digestible. So it has only a third of the caloric value of sugar, about 133 calories per 100 grams or 20 calories per tablespoon.

Is it a metaboloc booster? I am a bit of sceptic on this aspect. But because it has less calories than sugar it can be used as a low-calorie alternative to sugar.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Piano Keys Ultra-high Capacity 10000mah External Battery Power Bank

♦ size: 2 3/8" x 5.5" x 7/8"
♦ weight: 9.6 oz
♦ number of ports: 2
♦ flashlight: yes
♦ pass through charging: no (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cable: 30" charging cable

This external battery has a unique attractive look - it looks like piano keys. Its capacity is 10000 mAh, some of this capacity is lost to heat and energy needed to run the charger itself. In general, a safe assumption is that 30% of this part will not be available for charging my devices. It has two ports and came with a 30" charging cable. The battery has a nice bright charge level indicator.

However, in terms of performance I was a bit disappointed in the battery. I did not get more than 1A on either of the ports on my iPadMini and it charged my Android phone at below average speed, only slightly above USB rate. 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.

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. I tested this battery with my own cable and my results were fairly close to what I got witht the enclosed cable. So the issues is not charging cable vs data 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: 0.68/4.99V (below average)
2A port: 0.61/4.98V (below average)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1A port: 0.93A/5.01V (average for 1A port)
2A port: 0.93A/5.02V (average for 1A port, below average for 2A port)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

If you know someone for whom piano keys would be special this battery will make a nice gift. I like its nice capacity, however it is not a speedy charger.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Cord-Cordless Iron by Smartek USA

I am a quilter so I have have used a number of irons in my life not just for clothing but for seams working with intricate quilts. I never had a cordless iron before and I love it! It gives me a lot of freedom of movement, the cord is not pulling no matter what angle I am at. The iron can be used in corded and cordless. If you do a lot of steaming the corded more is better as the irons cools faster in the cordless mode. I like this iron a lot so why is not a 5 star review? Because the cord is only 63 inches and if I need to use it in the corded mode it is not enough to reach the entire length of my ironing board.

I thought the steam function worked well and the handle was comfortable to work with. I like the location of the opening to fill the reservoir for steam. It is on top of the iron and I can do it while it rests on its stand. It did not leak, the spray was even, the amount of steam was sufficient for working out wrinkles.

The iron is quite light (1 pound 13.6 oz), the iron with the station weighs 2 pounds and 12.8 oz. It is fairly large. The iron is 11 inches tall when it stands in its station, and the plate is 8.5" long.

Overall, I really like the cordless mode, I only wish the cord was longer.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: LYNEC M6 Quad Core XBMC Android 4.4.2 TV Box

As a background for my review I own a Tronsmart Android TV. I have owned it for over a year and use it frequently. My opinion of Lynec is influenced by the experience with the Tronsmart Android TV and in this review I compare the two devices.

❌ Lynec is also an Android TV which has XBMC software pre-installed and has its own shell over a standard Google interface. I prefer a straight Google interface and found the Lynec shell cumbersome to use as it allows less customization. Tronsmart, by comparison, uses a standard Google Interface which gives me the complete control over what I see on my desktop and how it is organized. You can see Lynec custom shell in my video.

❌ Right out of the box Lynec display did not render correctly on my screen: the left and right sides were clipped and I could see only partial menus. I needed to locate the display adjustment and scale the display 90% to stop edge clipping. I am using 1080p TV and this is the first time an Android TV display did not render correctly right out of the box. You can see what it looked like before the adjustment in my video, as well as the adjustment control in case you need to use it too.

❌ Lynec comes with a cumbersome remote control. Not only the remote is cumbersome to use especially when you need to type using the on-screen grid, but the Lynec box is not very sensitive to the remote control unless the remote is aimed directly at the Lynec box. I keep my Android TV behind the TV monitor, so I placed Lynec box next to it initially. Lynec did not respond to the remote 100% of the time when it was behind the TV. I had to move the box to be in front of the TV for it to respond reliably to every click. To enter any data you need to use on screen keyboard which is a grid that you need to navigate left/right/up/down to select letters. This is not a good experience for anyone who is used to a touch screen. I attached my own air mouse but it did not work right away as the ability to use an air mouse was disabled by default. I had to find where the option to enable it was located. By comparison Tronsmart Android TV (which also ships with the cumbersome remote) recognized the air mouse as soon as I plugged in its dongle.

❌ I normally test the speed of each device using OOKLA speedtest, but when I tried to install this app I got an error from the PlayStore that OOKLA speedtest was not compatible with my device.

✅ The basic set up was very easy. All I had to do is plug in power and connect HDMI cable to my TV. When I selected HDMI output on my TV display it was operational. I had an option to connect with Ethernet cable or WI HI. Both worked.

✅ Lynec box is fairly compact 5"W x 5"L x 11"H in size.

✅ Lynec is running 4.4.2 (KitKat) Android operating system. Many of my favorite apps worked fine: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Playstore, and so forth. So far Speedtest was the only one that did not work, but it is a sign that it is not totally compatible with all Android apps. To use Netflix or Hulu you need to have a subscription. Using this box does not give any more access to their content than using any other Android TV.

❌ Lynec has XBMC pre-installed. This is my first experience with XBMC. You get access to some recent movies, but out of the three I tried two failed to load and the third did load but ran with a alot of stops to buffer and I did not find it to be a great experience. I have a fast internet connection so the issue is with the source of the stream. I can't really enjoy a movie if every few minutes I need to wait for it to load the next segment.

So what is the bottom line? It worked after a bit of tinkering, but frankly I prefer a straight Android TV without a custom shell where I have more control over the look and feel of the interface. XBMC, its main differentiator, was disappointing.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Spaworks Flash Temporary Tattoos - four day diary of how it looks

These temporary tattoos are easy to apply and stay on pretty well even on my the back of hand which gets wet. In attached video you can see me applying a tattoo, and then how the tattoo looks over 4 days, and finally removing what is left of it on day 4.

To apply it to my hand:
1. I cut out the tattoo I want to apply
2. Place it on my hand
3. Use a very wet sponge to press it down for 30 seconds
4. Lift the backing and the tattoo is there

The tattoo itself is very thin. I don't feel it and it flexes with my skin as I move the hand. The tattoo stays nice looking for 3 to 5 days depending where you place it. Since I had it on my hand which gets wet it stayed it looked good for 2 days, okay on day 3, and not nice on day 4. If you want to remove it faster the instruction say to use spirits. I used nail polish and it came off in a couple of strokes. I had no bad reaction to it of any sort, the skin did not get red or irritated.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆