Product review: Lumsing® 5200mah Mini Size Portable Power Bank

One unique feature of this external power pack is that it has a micro USB cable built into the side of the unit (see attached photo collage). It pops out of the side on a coiled cable, so if your mobile device takes a micro USB connector you don't need to carry any extra cables. This built-in cable delivers very rapid charging. It gave me faster charging than my own charging cable (see test results below). The power pack also has a port which allows you to connect other connectors, so it works with devices that have proprietary connectors as well.

This external battery pack is very compact. It is 3" long, 2" wide, and 0.75" thick. I like its shape. It weighs 4.6 oz. This battery pack has one port. 4 small green LED lights indicate the charge level.

I tested Lumsing 5200mAh external battery pack with Samsung Nexus phone, Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet and iPadMini. For testing Galaxy tab and iPadMini I used my own charging cables as the adapters for these devices were not included.

I tested the power pack both with a built-in cable and my own charging cable (using the Nexus phone which takes a micro USB charging cable). I saw much faster with a built-in cable, so for the devices that take a micro USB charging cable the built-in cable is the best choice.

I own a number of external batteries and to compare them I run the same set on tests on each of them, so they can be compared to each other using "apples to apples" comparison. This set of tests allows me to provide unbiased comparisons between different external batteries. For those who are interested in the details of the test I include at the end of this review.

★ How I tested this battery pack
==================================

I use a USB current monitor and a charging test to test each port. The current monitor shows the voltage and the current flowing between the battery and the device.

The amount of energy transferred from the charger to the device is calculated by multiplying voltage and current. Most of the chargers are 5V devices and most devices show the voltage very close to 5V. The interesting number is the current as it varies from unit to unit and from port to port.

The current varies based on what the device requires and what battery provides. This communication happens using different protocols depending on OS. Newer Android OS versions have adapted their protocols to get better performance from ports aimed at Apple devices. An addition variable for Android devices is whether a data cable or charging cable is used to charge the device. The charging cables short the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection, and thus accept the higher current of the charging source.

The 10 minutes test consists of charging each mobile device on each port of the battery pack for 10 minutes and measure how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. 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.

★ Test Results:
======================

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
AC charging rate ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes (built-in cable)
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.92A and 4.99V (built-in cable)

AC charging rate ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes (my own cable)
current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.84A and 5.02V (my own cable)

✔ Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet
--------------------------
AC charging rate ----- 8% change in charge in 10 minutes (my own cable)
current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.01A and 4.75V (my own cable)

✔ iPadMini
--------------------------
AC charging rate ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.03A and 5.02V

★ Summary
------------------
This pack showed impressive performance especially with a built-in cable. The small size and the built-in cable make a great charger to have along as an emergency power back up.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: August SE50 Bluetooth Speaker System with FM Radio

The August Bluetooth Boombox with FM Radio combines an FM radio with a Bluetooth speaker for your mobile device. It also comes with an audio cable, so it can work as a speaker for devices that do not have bluetooth. The Boombox is 12"L x 4"L x 4"W and it weight 2.11 pounds (or 2.15 pounds if you count the power supply). It has a 39.5" metal antenna (the collapsible type) that extends from the back of the radio. It provides excellent reception for the radio but you need to allow 39.5" of vertical space when placing it to take the full advantage of its power.

Its finish is plastic which is made to look like dark wood. It runs on AC power and does not do have a battery. On the back there is on/off switch, which allows you to turn off electricity draw for the display if you are not using the unit all the time. The display is only used when using the radio, otherwise it just displays the model number SE50.

The FM antenna is 39.5" and this fairly long length gave me an excellent reception for a large number of stations. The radio allows you to save 10 different stations as preset. The display in the front of the radio shows you the station and as well as the preset number. The only thing I wish the radio did that it does not do is have an automatic scan function. I had to hit FM+ or FM- to scan the entire FM range manually to find the stations I wanted to store as my pre-sets. If you want to listen to one of the presets you need to click through all presets preceding the one you are interested in, there is no way to select a specific preset directly.

The bluetooth pairing worked easily with my iPadMini. The pairing was easy, and the settings was remembered when when I turned off and turned on devices back on.

The speakers plug into the AC source with a cord which is 59" long. The speakers are power by 15V power supply and can be made quite loud. In my video I turn up the volume to the max for a demo and sitting next to it during the test was not pleasant due to the loudness.

The speakers did fairly well at most ranges with the exception for the deepest bass, where the sound became a bit muddy. I use Bach's Fugue in D minor as my stress test for the bass because it is easy to see how different speakers handle bass by listening for a short snippet of this music.

Overall, I am pleased with August Boombox. I've set it up in the laundry room so now I have something good to listening to as I fold fresh laundry! It gets good FM reception and I can listen to Pandora without having to carry my tablet with me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets

This package contains two emergency blankets. Each blanket comes in a 4.5" x 3" pouch. Each emergency blanket is a sheet of mylar. Each package weighs 1.7 oz, each mylar sheet is 54 inches x 84 inches in size.

Something so small and light can be a lifesaver if a person is stranded. The mylar blanket is useful for anyone in wilderness or even in a trunk of a car in case of emergency. To use it the person should wrap in the blanket tucking it around the sides and the feet. It is usually put around the body and the head is covered with something else if needed. One it is used it will be impossible to get it back into the small pouch, but in some situations (like camping) it possible to find additional uses for it.

How does it work?
Mylar works by reflecting heat. If the heat is reflected in it keeps the person warm. When a perspn sweats or if the clothing is wet the wetness evaporates, this process requires energy, and lowers the body temperature. An emergency blanket slows down the process of evaporation by increasing the humidity of the air next to the skin. It also helps with conductive heat loss, which transfers heat between objects that are next to each other. If the air next to your skin is colder then the skin, the body will cool and the air will warm. If the person is outside wind keeps moving new cold air next to the skin and the person loses more and more heat. The emergency blanket prevents the wind from moving the air next to skin and thus slows down the cooling. Human body constantly radiates heat, and the reason the blanket is silver is that that finish reflects a large percentage of heat back to the body.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Mpow® 4.2Amps 20W Dual USB Port Car Charger

I have mixed feeling about this charger. On one hand it charges at a fast rate (there is only one charger that performed better in my tests) on the other hand the fit in the car charging port is a bit loose and had to be readjusted when we drove on rough roads. The speed of charging is very important to us as the charger needs to keep up with the power hungry Sygic app that we we use to navigate.

Mpow Dual USB Car charger is fairly long compared to some of my other car chargers (3.5" long) and provides up to 4.2Amps between its two USB ports. The USP ports are not labelled . The front of the panel lights up in blue to indicate that the charger is working, given the loose fit this light was key to know when to re-adjusted it. Its weight is 0.9 oz.

For those who are interested in detail of how I tested this charger I am including the details below.

➨ How I tested this car charger:
======================

I have been testing various chargers for a long time, and people often ask me why results differ so much from charger to charger and often port to port. The results are different because they are affected by a number of factors. To help with a numerical explanation of the differences I began using a USB current monitor which shows the voltage and the current flowing between the battery and the device.

The amount of energy transferred from the charger to the device is calculated by multiplying voltage and current. Most of the chargers are 5V devices and most devices show the voltage very close to 5V. The interesting number is the current as it varies from unit to unit and from port to port.

The current varies based on what the device requires and what battery provides. This communication happens using different protocols depending on OS. Newer Android OS versions have adapted their protocols to get better performance from ports aimed at Apple devices. An addition variable that effects performance is whether a data cable or charging cable is used to charge the device. The charging cables short the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection, and thus accept the higher current of the charging source.

The 10 minutes test consists of charging each mobile device on each port of the battery pack for 10 minutes and measure how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. 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.

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

✔ Samsung Nexus Phone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1: 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 10% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 1: current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.97A and 5.17V (charging cable)

Port 2: 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 7% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 2: current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.96A and 5.17V (charging cable)

✔ Nexus 5 Phone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Port 1: 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 6% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 1: current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.19A and 5.17V (charging cable)

Port 2: 10 minute test: ~~~~~~ AC rate ~~~ 5% in 10 minutes (charging cable)
Port 2: current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.10A and 5.17V (charging cable)

I received this charger from the manufacturer for an honest review be it positive or negative. I like its speed but the loose fit required paying attention to the charger to make sure it is still plugged in.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Puracy Natural Hand Soap, Lavender & Vanilla

Puracy hand soap smells terrific. Lavender is the strongest component of the scent but vanilla adds a very nice tone and makes its scent rather unique. I love good smelling hand soaps and I Lavender Vanilla is a really nice one. It generates light lather and works well cleaning my hands. I washed my hands after spreading Jojoba Oil with my hands and after applying make-up foundation with my fingertips. The soap handle both quickly.

When I wash my hands with this soap the nice scent lingers on my hands a few minutes. The scent is very light I can smell it only if I bring my hands close to my nose. The bathroom where I wash my hands with this soap also has just a bit of lavender scent for a few minutes as well.

Puracy is an all natural soap. Below is the list of ingredients. I would buy it again.

INGREDIENTS:

Purified water
Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate (natural cleaner)
Aloe-vera-based Surfactant (proprietary plant-based cleanser)
Glycerine (natural skin softener)
Citric Acid (plant based pH adjuster)
Lavender essential oil
Vanilla essential oil
Methylisothiazolinone (preservative)

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Sabrent 3-Port USB Portable Charging Station

Sabrent charger has 3 ports (two on top, one on the side) and AC cord which is 56 inches long and ends with a regular small AC plug. I like corded USB chargers because they tape up only one slot on any power strip and the long cord gives me a lot of flexibility of where to place it. The 3 ports are labelled: 1A, 1A, 2A. I tested Sabrent 3 port 3 Amps Charger with Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (ICS 4.0.4), Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone (JellyBean 4.2.2), iPadMini, and SanDisk Sansa Clip+ player.

I own several wall chargers and power bricks and run the same set on tests on each of them, so they can be compared to each other 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. To test Sabrent 3 port charger I ran a large number of tests using 3 mobile devices on each of 4 ports. I also tested charging the tablet and the phone at the same time. For those who are interested in the details I am including them at the end of this review. To summarize the results of the tests I can say that its performance falls in the middle of the pack among the chargers I tested over the last year. Overall I like this charging station because it performed well and has extras that make it convinient to use: on/off switch and a long cord with a small plug.

➨ How I tested this wall charger:
======================

I have been testing various chargers for a long time, and people often ask me why results differ so much from charger to charger and often port to port. The results are different because they are affected by a number of factors. To help with a numerical explanation of the differences I began using a USB current monitor which shows the voltage and the current flowing between the battery and the device.

The amount of energy transferred from the charger to the device is calculated by multiplying voltage and current. Most of the chargers are 5V devices and most devices show the voltage very close to 5V. The interesting number is the current as it varies from unit to unit and from port to port.

The current varies based on what the device requires and what battery provides. This communication happens using different protocols depending on OS. Newer Android OS versions have adapted their protocols to get better performance from ports aimed at Apple devices. An addition variable that effects performance is whether a data cable or charging cable is used to charge the device. The charging cables short the two data connections together (rendering them useless for data transfer), but this fools devices to see the cable as an AC power connection, and thus accept the higher current of the charging source.

The 10 minutes test consists of charging each mobile device on each port of the battery pack for 10 minutes and measure how much each unit was charge in that 10 minute period. Since the charging speed is non-linear I start charging each device from approximately the same charge level. 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.

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

✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone
--------------------------
Port 1A (top): AC ----- 7% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (top): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.94A and 5.08V

Port 1A (side): AC ----- 5% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (side): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.84A and 5.09V

Port 2A:------ AC ----- 6% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 2A: current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.90A and 5.08V

✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet 7.7
--------------------------
Port 1A (top): AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (top): current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.14A and 5.06V

Port 1A (side): AC ----- 2% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (side): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.86A and 5.06V

Port 2A:------ AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 2A: current monitor: ~~~~~ 1.19A and 5.06V

✔ iPad Mini
--------------------------
Port 1A (top): AC ----- 3% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (top): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.93A and 5.08V

Port 1A (side): AC ----- 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 1A (side): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.93A and 5.07V

Port 2A:------ AC ----- 1% change in charge in 10 minutes
Port 2A: current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.93A and 5.08V

✔ Samsung Galaxy Tablet & Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone at the same time
--------------
Port 1A (top): AC ----- 2% change in charge in 10 minutes (Galaxy tablet)
Port 1A (top): current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.82A and 5.08V (Galaxy tablet)

Port 2A:------ AC ----- 4% change in charge in 10 minutes (Nexus phone)
Port 2A: current monitor: ~~~~~ 0.82A and 5.08V (Nexus phone)

The MP3 player worked on all ports.

To summarize all three ports worked. Overall I like this charging station because it performed respectably in my tests, small plug takes up just one slot on the power strip, long cord gives me flexibility in where I put it, and on/off switch allows me to save power.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Astak Neos HD 15.6-Inch Touchscreen Smart Display and Android 4.1 All-in-One Tablet-Top Android PC

I would not call Astak Neos a tablet because it not mobile, you need to plug it into AC to use it. I would describe it as an Android PC.

Neos runs 4.1 Jelly Bean Android operating system. As I write this review the current version of Android is 4.4 (KitKat). The processor in this device (TI OMAP 4430 dual-core CPU) is made by Texas Instruments which got out of the business of mobile computing so it is highly probable that this device will never be updated as with every new release there is a need for new drivers and TI is not going to provide them. I tried updating the device and it told me there are no updates. What does it mean? It means that bug fixes and new features will not be available. For majority of people this is probably not a deal breaker but worth noting.

With that out of the way, I thought the Neos performed rather snappy, the touch screen has a nice response, and the built-in speakers are excellent. The screen resolution is 1366 x 768 and looks okay if you looked at it straight on. But the good viewing angle is very narrow. If you are not right in front of the screen the colors look washed out. For comparison our tablets (Nexus 7, iPad Mini, and Galaxy Tab 7.7) have brighter colors and wider viewing angle.

The front panel of the Neos is 16" by 10" wide, the display area is 14.5" x 8" (which if measured on a diagonal corner to corner is 15.6 inch, the size mentioned in the specs). The device is shaped as a triangle. The angle of the screen is fixed, but you can change the angle of the display by standing the unit on either side if the triangle: either horizontally sloping down, or vertically sloping out (see video). The narrow base is 4" wide, and the wide base is 9.5".

The display works fine with apps that work in landscape mode, but some apps work only in portrait mode (like some of my favorite games) and that means they will not be usable on this device.

Neos weighs 6 pounds 14 oz. The AC cord is 66 inches. It does not have a battery and needs to be plugged into AC to work.

So what is this device good for? It is good for watching or listening to any content available on the web using Android apps. It worked well with YouTube videos and TuneIn radio. I was able to use it to watch cable channels using US TV app. I tried to stream Amazon Instant Videos, but Amazon told me that this device is not compatible and cannot be used for view Amazon Videos. This decision is made by Amazon and is true for all Android devices, Neos is not at fault here.

In addition to displaying videos, Neos can be an MP3 by playing MP3s either from a memory card or a USB stick. It can also serve as external speaker to any MP3 device attached to it via an audio port in the back of the unit.

When I plugged in my USB stick in the port located on the back of the unit, I was able to navigate to it via ES File Explorer. My memory stick appeared as one of the local storage options. I was able to play mp3 files directly from the external media. Neos makes a nice MP3 player with a terrific set of external speakers.

NEOS speakers are one of its strongest points. The sound is clean and crisp, I thought it sounded good at all ranges. I put it through my standard stress test for the bass (Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor). NEOS handled it beautifully, no crackling, not muddy, just crisp and clear. The sound comes from two Onkyo 5-Watt stereo speakers built into the sides of the unit.

NEOS comes with it own user interface called Kloud. Instead of having pages that you get with Google's interface, NEOS organizes everything into folders: Media, Games, Favorite, Communications, etc. You can get rid of most folders (there are a few non-removable folders like "available applications") and add your own. I liked the concept of organizing appls into folders but I did not like some of the pre-installed categories. I was able to remove the pre-installed folders and apps I did not like. I was able to add my own folders, and then move and add apps to the new folders.

A bluetooth keyboard and a bluetooth headset with a microphone (for use with Skype) paired easily. Both worked well, and I find using a bluetooth keyboard much more convenient than typing on the big on-screen keyboard.
The USB port in the back can be used to connect a USB keyboard. I tested with Logitech Wireless USB Keyboard K360

I am using WiFi and the device feels pretty snappy when I search and run apps. In addition to WiFi NEOS also supports a direct Ethernet connection, in the back of the unit there is a RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet port.
I was not able to run OOKLA Speedtest to measure the speed of the device. Speedtest app reported to be incompatible with my device.

For video calling or social media Neos has a 5M pixel camera with autofocus on the front of the unit. The back of the unit has a small lever which allows you to tilt the camera up and down so you can adjust the image based on your height or position in front of the screen.

To turn Neos off, hold the glowing blue button in the back for a few seconds and a shut down prompt will appear on the screen.

I received this unit for evaluation and review. The feature I liked best is the speakers, the weakest feature is the narrow viewing angle. I think the introductory price of $499 is a bit high for the functionality you get, but an Android PC is a useful device.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

12/28/13 Today a friend with a Netflix subscription visited and I asked him to log into his account to see if Neos is compatible with Netflix. It is. We tried a few shows and they all worked fine.