Product review: Wireless Qi Charger by TechMatte

I have been using Qi chargers with Nexus 5 for over a year. I love the technology, it is convenient and does not stress the micro USB connector by constantly needing to connect and disconnect it. I own several Qi chargers and through experience found several features that make some Qi Chargers work better in day to day use than others.

➀ Speed of charging

Some charger charge my phone faster than others. Speed is always important to me. I compared charging Nexus 5 with TechMatte Qi Charger to the same test run with the other chargers and found that it fell in the middel of the pack, not among the best and not the slowest. It charge the phone 5% in 10 minutes. I run the test at the same charge level, running the same apps, and keeping everything the same for an "apples to apples" comparison.

I also measured the charge rate with a current monitor, which also also puts the charger in the middle of the pack.
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.82A and 5.05V (below optimal, but above USB rate)

➁ The size of the sweet spot
The sweet has an average size. I show this in the video for a better illustration of what I mean. I show both the phone on the charger and the current monitor which shows the rate at which the phone is charging. When it is perfectly aligned it draws an optimal charge. If the phone is moved slightly the current rate drops from an optimal rate to lower rate, and when it is moved a little more it draw no current and then the charger turns off. So if you accidentally brush against the phone and it moves it may stop charging. This is particularly important if you have small kids or pets who may touch things.

➂ How well the phone stays on the Qi charger

The phone can be easily knocked off the sweet spot of the charger unintentionally. The charges that handle those unintentional bumps best are the ones that have non-slippery finish. TechMatte has has a matte finish which works well because it creates friction with the phone. In addition the size of the charger is slightly larger than Nexus 5.

My trick for charging on the go: When I need to charge the phone on the go (i.e. when it cannot lay flat) I double wrap a rubber band around the phone and the charger. This keeps the phone on a sweet spot charging in a pocket/purse. I like it better than having a micro USB connector which can be damaged if the phone/battery are jarred. The rubber band trick works very well with this Qi charger because it is square and thin.

➃ How easy it is to see that the phone is charging

I like being able to see a visual indicator that the phone is charging. If the phones stops charging I like having a quick way of telling this without having to look at the phone charging status. Nexus 5 is 5.43" x 2.72" x .34" in size, TechMatte charger is 5.875" x 3.123" x 0.125" so TechMatte is slightly larger than Nexus 5. This is ideal.

➄ Is the battery using standard cables

I like the chargers that use a standard micro USB cable, so I don't need to worry about losing a special cable. TechMatte charger uses the standard micro USB cable. Excellent!

Bottom line? I thought it was good. Its thinness and shape makes the battery work well with my rubber band trick and that is very important to me for charging on the go. It charges with an average speed but its non-slip surface and its size make it a practical charger for me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Memoscan U380 OBDII Car Diagnostic Scanner Trouble Code Reader

I just got a replacement unit. Unfortunately the second unit also generates "Linking Error!". It appears that the seller has a bad batch of these. I have reviewed another OBD II scanner (a bluetooth unit) and it worked it both cars, so I know the connectors are not faulty. This connector is always on according to documentation. Just in case I have tried running it with the engine off, with the engine on, and with the key on ACC setting.

Original review:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Memoscan scanner did not work with either of our cars even thought both were listed as compatible.

Both Honda CRV and Chrysler 300 work with another OBD II scanner but with Memoscan we get "Linking Error!" which indicates that Memoscan has trouble communicating with the vehicle.

All cars and light trucks built and sold in the United States after January 1, 1996 were required to be OBD II equipped. The connector is very distinctive looking, I am including a picture of it in my video for reference. In both of our cars this connector is located under the dash, under the steering wheel.

The scanner displays information on a small screen on the hand held unit. The scanner works as soon as car is turned on. There is no need to turn on the engine. The scanner goes through a series of messages (see video) but for both of our cars the sequence ends with "Linking error!"

Memoscan comes with an impressive manual. It is well written and easy to understand and includes 36 pages of trouble codes.

I received this device from the manufacturer with a request for testing and review as well as some documentation on how to use the device. The manual and the device look impressive, but it was not able to give us any readings. Note that both units were received via Fulfilment by Amazon, which is my requirement for evaluation products so I could get random sample not a pre-tested unit.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Zoppen Women's Wosha Leopard Print Hobo Handbag

This is bag has my favorate shape and configuration: a hobo bags with three compartments. Two large compartments on the sides and a smaller zipped compartment in the middle. I love having three main compartments so I sort my stuff. The middle zipped compartment also has one zipped pocket and two open side pockets. My bag is always overstuff and this bag helps me keep everything well organized.

♦ The purse is 6.5" long (measured from top to bottom in the middle). It is 13.5" wide (side to side at the bottom, which is the widest part). It is 5" deep (measuring the width of the bottom panel).
♦ The inside the bag there are three main compartments. One of them is zipped. The side compartments are equal in size and have snap closures.
♦ There is one large zipped compartment on the outside.
♦ The purse has 18 inch handles (they extend 8" above the zipper in the center). They just long enough for me to put the bag over the shoulder (but it is a tight fit). Since the handles fit over the should there is no separate over the should strap.

The inside lining is deep brown with Jacquard design. It is very attractive and the deep brown color practical because it does not show dirt and will look good for a long time.

The bag is made out of Cow Split. Split leather is real leather but the less expensive bottom layer of the hide (the top portion ("top-grain leather) is the more expensive premium product). The bag's finish is shiny and fairly hard. This finish is called Enamelled Bovine Leather because it is smooth and shiny like enamelled finish.

This is a nice and practical bag.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Unnecto Air 5.0 Cell Phones

This a fairly nice phone. Its strongest points are the bright display, a decent battery life, and that it comes with a standard Google interface. There is no custom shell or invasive bolted-in apps that can't be uninstalled as I have seen in other phones that are originally aimed at the Chinese market.

Its weakest point is the small amount of memory. It does allow to install a micro sd card for additional storage for your media (photos and audio) but that extra storage cannot be used for apps. So this means that at some point to add new apps you will need to figure out what you don't use and uninstall those apps. Right now I have 779 MB of apps installed and 111 MB available. I have 25 apps installed. 498MB is available for media content (photos, music, app data).

This phone and its battery are shipped separately. So the first thing you will need to do is to remove the back cover and insert the battery. There were no instructions on how to remove the back, I could not slide it off but was able to flick the cover off starting in one of the corners.

Unnecto Air smart phone has a nice form factor it is 5 7/8" x 2 3/4" x 1/4" and weighs 4.7 oz. The phone is running Android 4.4.2 operating system.

I installed a number of my favorite apps and all of them loaded and ran without a problem. Among the apps I tested are Netflix, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio, Polaroid Mobile printer. They felt speedy, the touch screen is very responsive, the text is crisp and easy to read. I was able to pair a bluetooth keyboard, bluetooth speakers, an mobile printer without any problems.

To test its WI FI capabilities I run OOKLA speed test and the results were not as good as Nexus 5 but not bad. I got an average of 35 Mbps upload and 29 Mbps download. For comparison, my best results with another phone done at the same time are download 47.05 Mbps and upload is 37.84 Mbps (placing both devices at the same distance from the wireless router). Unnecto Air is decent but not outstanding.

The speaker on this phone is pretty good. When I spoke on the phone, I was told I sound clear, the sound on my end was clear but sounded slightly tinny.

The camera on this phone is decent. It performs best under good light conditions (not into the sun, not dusk). Attached video includes some photos taken by the phone.

Overall, this is a pretty nice phone. It scores well on the two key features: easy to read bright display and battery life. Some of the cons I listed in this review are preventing me from giving it 5 stars but it is a good buy for the money.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Real Butterfly Wing Earrings in Sterling Silver

I worn these earrings a few times since I got them and every time I get compliments! They are beautiful and unique. They are not as fragile as I imagined, the wings are encased in a thin acrylic tear-drops so they are perfectly okay to handle. My husband called them "hand-made amber" as it is an insect in a polymer.

The earring has a sterling silver wire forming a frame around the colorful tear-drop. I thought the design is attractive and delicate (but not fragile). The total length of the earring is 1 5/8" long and 1 1/8" wide, so it is fairly large. The earring has a sterling silver stopper in the back so there is no chance that it will get caught on something and pulled out.


You can find them on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Monarch Butterfly Wing Sterling Silver Earrings

I worn these earrings a few times since I got them and every time I get compliments! They are beautiful and unique. They are not as fragile as I imagined, the wings are encased in a thin acrylic tear-drops so they are perfectly okay to handle. My husband called them "hand-made amber" as it is an insect in a polymer.

The earring has a sterling silver wire forming a frame around the colorful teardrop. I thought the design is attractive and delicate. The total length of the earring is 1 7/8" long and 3/4" wide, so it is fairly large. The earring has a silicone stopper in the back so there is no chance that it will get caught on something and pulled out if my ear.

I am very pleased with them, just gorgeous!

You can find them on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Veetop® 4 in 1 Wireless Key Finder Tracker Locator

Sometimes I leave my keys in a pocket of some jacket I wore the previous day and spent quite a bit of time hunting for them. No more! This key finder works very well saving me quit a bit of time.

The range of the key finder is excellent I left the keys on one floor and took the key finder to another floor and could still hear the beeps. There are four color coded receivers, and one transmitter with 4 color coded buttons. All 4 buttons sound the same,

The transmitter runs on two AAA batteries (not included) and each of receivers runs on one CR2032 battery (included). The package also includes a little stand for the receiver, so it is easy to see the transmitter and I don't have to spend time looking for it.

The receivers are a little larger than I expected: 2" x 1 3/8" x 1/4". They have an eyelet that make it possible to hang them on a key chain. I keep my house key and my car key on two different key chains I am carrying two of these in my purse. In the two weeks since I attached it already saved me a few minutes and a lot of frustration.

What could be better? I would have liked receivers to be smaller.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆