Product review: OQUEENZ Women's Cotton Sanding Long-Sleeve

I wanted a loose shirt to wear over a sweater. I got the shirt label XXL, which was supposed to be US XL. I expected it to be loose and turns out and I can't even button it at the chest level. I measured it under arms and it is 37.75". This does not match the manufacture size chart for XL. The shirt is also too tight at the upper sleeves area.

Based ont he shirt I have if the label says XXL it is equivalent to the low end of L (not XL) to match the size in manufacturer's size chart. I hope this helps someone not to be disappointed. You need to order two sizes up minimally.

The shirt itself is nice looking and the cotton material has an attractive thin herringbone design. If only it fit...

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Polaroid POLC3 Cube HD Digital Video Action Camera

Update: I am downgrading the rating from 5 to 4 stars. Recently I tried to set up CUBE to record continuously overwriting the old files. There is a setting which is supposed to enable this feature. It does not work. When the camera runs out of space it stops recording.  It records less than 1 day of video, how many hours depends whether the video is shot at night or during the day as night time videos are smaller.

 Original review:

I own a couple of small cameras and I am impressed with Polaroid cube. It stands up well to competition.

First and foremost the quality of the video and the photos is very good. It also has a sensitive microphone and captured the sound well. Second, it is intuitive to use. This camera has no display so an intuitive interface makes a big difference.

This camera has a unique magnetic mount. The magnet is quite strong. I put the camera on the roof of our car. At first I drove in the parking lot to build up confidence that the camera is not going to fly off as we drove and then we drove in downtown Boston which included hitting a couple of huge pot holes. I was worried that the camera would be gone by the time we arrived because the pot holes really jarred the car. When we arrived to our destination the camera was still there. We were impressed!

Attached video contains:
(1) Setup of the Polaroid camera
(2) Day time video taken by the Polaroid camera (mounted on the dash of the car)
(3) Low light night time video taken by the Polaroid camera (mounted on the roof of the car)
(4) The first 2 clips were taken on a grey day and at night, so the final clip is during a sunny day with a bright sky

SETUP
~~~~~
You can use the camera as is without running the configuration software. The configuration software allows you to change 5 settings.

♦ Whether the camera overwrites old files when it runs out of space (the default is no)
♦ Whether you want to see a time stamp (the default is no)
♦ The volume of the buzzer (the default is good if there is no noise around, if you are using a camera as action camera it might be too low)
♦ Light frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz). Default is 60 Hz
♦ The date/time (default was in July 2014)

If you want to run the software you will need to attach the camera to a computer (Windows or Apple).

1. Format the memory card. If the memory card has some old stuff on it the camera will not load its software on it.
2. Power off and power on the camera and connect
3. The camera will load configuration software and will create directories for storing videos and photos.
The micro SD card will contain
At the tom level it will create DCIM directory and sub-folders 100PHOTO and 100VIDEO. Photos are stored in jpg format and videos in mov format.
At the top level Polaroid setup files PolaroidCube.app.zip for Apple operating system and PolaroidCube.exe for Windows operating system. After you run the software it will add two more files Settings.txt and Time.txt which will contain the setting you configured.

OPERATION
~~~~~~~~~
There is one button on top of the camera that controls everything
♦ To turn on the camera press the button for 3 seconds (green light turns on)
♦ To take a photo press once (red light turns on briefly as it saves the photo)
♦ To start video recording press twice (red light starts blinking as it records)
♦ To turn of video recording press once (red light stops blinking)
♦ To turn off press to the button for 3 seconds (the light goes off)

In the back of the camera there is a water resistant cap which covers. The cap is opened by turning a coin in a slot. At first I thought "Shoot, I am going to loose this cap". But then I realized that it has a magnet and can be attached to the magnetic mount of this camera while the camera is opened. Cool!
♦ A slot for micro SD card. It supports up to 32GB capacity. Class card 10 and above is recommended (will work with Class 6 and above).
♦ Micro USB connection to charge the camera or to connect it to the computer
♦ A switch which allows you to switch between 720p and 1080p resolution

OUTPUT FORMAT / SOUND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The video output is generated in .mov format (QuickTime/Apple) so for those who want to use Windows Media Player an extra step is needed to convert the files. The video can be converted either to .WMV or .mp4. Without the conversion there will be no sound when the video is played on the Windows PC. In my video I converted the .mov format into .mp4 and as you can hear in the clips I included the camera is quite sensitive to sound. Yeah, Boston drivers honk a lot!

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
♦ This camera is very small. It is 1.25" cube.
♦ The lens on the camera is a wide angle (124 degrees)
♦ The battery is sealed in the unit and I don't see a way to replace it if I ever need it. At some point this will become a problem. When the camera goes down to 10% charge it beeps a warning. I am getting apaproximately 1.5 hours of continuous recording from it with the fresh battery.
♦ The camera can record while it is plugged in. This is handy if you want to have it permanently recording. The camera has an option to cycle, so it can overwrite old videos when it runs out of space.
♦ The camera has a magnetic mount (there is no 1/4 mounting screw). The magnet is pretty strong and hangs on well to anything metal. I was able to drive 35 miles an hour with the camera mounted on the roof of the car.
♦ The camera does not come with any other mounts, but the documentation states there will be additional mounting option available in the future. From the pictures it looks like they will attach to the camera magnet and provide grippers and suction cups.
♦ The camera comes without a micro SD card, you need to supply your own.
♦ The camera charges with a regular micro USB cable. It works in all my chargers include a car charger.
♦ The camera comes with a short data cable (rather than a charging cable). This cable allows you to transfer files from the camera to the computer. If you decide to use your own longer cable (which I am doing) make sure you are using a data cable not a charging cable (those often come with external power banks). 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. For moving data from the camera to the PC you need a data cable.

I like this camera! Nice quality video/picture and easy to use interface make it stand above the other small cameras I have.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: DBK 23000mAh Multi-voltage 2USB Portable Charger External Battery Pack Power Bank

♦ size: 4.75" x 7.25" x 0.75"
♦ weight: 20.90 oz
♦ number of ports: 2
♦ flashlight: no
♦ pass-through charging: YES (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cable: 10.5" mini USB charging cable. Also included are 10 AC connectors for laptops as well as an AC cable to recharge the battery.
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.

The DBK 23000mAh external battery charger has two ports. It has an excellent performance for my Android devices on both ports. My current monitor shows that the left USB port is 2A and the right USB port is 1A port. I got excellent performance for my iPad mini on the right port (2A) and below average performance on the left port (not surprising, since Apple devices need more than 1A for optimal performance).

To tell how various battery packs perform I measure their performance with a current monitor. The current monitor results are interesting for relative comparison with other external batteries. I test all my external batteries using the same charging cables, running the same apps while charging, and starting all tests at same charge level of the phone to account for non-linear charging. This allows me to compare different external batteries to each other keeping everything else constant.

Samsung Nexus phone:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1A port: 0.98A/5.10V (Excellent!) -> my own charging cable
2A port: 0.98A/5.10V (Excellent!) -> my own charging cable
1A port: 0.98A/5.10V (Excellent!) -> cable enclosed in the package
2A port: 0.94A/5.10V (Excellent!) -> cable enclosed in the package
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this phone is 1.00A/5V)

iPad Mini tablet:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1A port: 0.92A/5.09V (below optimal)
2A port: 1.62A/5.10V (Excellent!)
(for comparison the best charging monitor result for this tablet is 1.70A/5V)

I like this external battery's performance and its huge capacity.

You can find it by following this link

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: FlePow 18650 2600mAh 3.7V Rechargeable Li-ion Batteries and Universal Smart Li-ion Battery Charger

FlePow charger can charge one or two 18650 batteries at a time. It also works for 18500, 14500, 14430, 10440, 16340, 22650 batteries. I use 18650 in several motion sensitive lights as well as flashlights. Some of them run on a single 18650 battery, so the fact that can handle recharging single batteries as well as two at a time is very useful for me. Foxnova capacity tester showed capacity of these batteries to be 2827 mAh at 3.89V.

FlePow charger is 5.125"L x 2.25"W x 1"H. The AC cord is 40". The charger becomes only slightly warm during charging (normal), while the batteries themselves remain totally cool. The charger has a bright charging status indicator. Green LED light indicates full charge, and red LED light indicates charging is in progress. This charger does not have a discharge option that is available on some chargers.

Geeky sidebar: A few times in the past I have been asked about the internal resistance of the batteries I reviewed. I recently put together instrumentation that allows me to calculate internal resistance. I tested this battery under load of 6.6Ω(Ohm) and calculated the internal resistance by dividing the voltage drop (0.16V) by the current through the load (0.608A). The internal resistance is 0.263Ω.

The description states that the batteries achieve their full charge capacity after 4-5 recharge cycles. I used a different charger to do 4 extra discharge cycles and so far the batteries hold the charge very well. The light has been on using one of these batteries for several week without any signs of dimming. These batteries appear to be just a little larger (1 mm or so) than my original batteries that came in my light. The batteries do fit, but they are harder to put in, I need more force to push them in.

Overall, I like the charger and despite the tight fit the batteries work well.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Yubi Power Desktop Surge Power Charging Station

I like charging stations that combine AC and USB ports as I always have a mix of devices that need different ports. This charging station has a 47" inch AC cable, 4 USB ports, and 2 grounded AC ports. The station size is 5" x 5" x 1.25". AC outlet are positioned in such a way that they will accept regular size plugs. If you have a large plug it will cover up both outlets. There is room on the box to space the outlet more, I wished they were positioned further apart.

I measured the performance of 4 USB ports. I used both an Apple device and an Android device. I tested each device when it was the only one charging as well as when both of them were charging on the shared ports. Both devices worked, but the performance was a bit disappointing for my Android devices on all 4 ports (AC rate but below optimal), and very good for Apple devices on one ports but below optimal on the other ports. I am including the detailed current monitor readings below for those who like to see the technical details.

➨ Test results
======================
--------------------------
✔ Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone (the only device charging)
--------------------------
Port 1: 0.71A / 4.95V
Port 2: 0.66A / 4.95V
Port 3: 0.74A / 4.94V
Port 4: 0.73A / 4.93V

--------------------------
✔ iPad Mini (the only device charging)
--------------------------
Port 1: 0.47A / 4.95V
Port 2: 0.93A / 4.90V
Port 3: 1.41A / 4.89V
Port 4: 0.93A / 4.93V

--------------------------
✔ iPad Mini and Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone at the same time
--------------------------
Nexus phone - Port 4: 0.79A / 4.95V
iPad Mini - Port 3: 1.59A / 4.95V
--------------------------
Nexus phone - Port 3: 0.76A / 4.95V
iPad Mini - Port 4: 0.95A / 4.95V
--------------------------

To summarize I like that the charging stations combines USB and AC ports without an additional charger. However, USB ports on this charging station did not perform as well as other wall chargers. The decision here is between the convenience of having a charging station and relatively slower speed of charging.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Okra Smartphone & GPS Dashboard Grip Mount Holder

This holder is made out of a very odd feeling material, it feels sticky on the back side as well as the cavity and the sides. When I first touched it and my fingers felt the stickiness I had to test if my fingers felt dirty from some goo... they did not. Yet they felt like was holding something very sticky, like glue on the back of the packing tape.

It sticks well to the dash and does not leave any residue. I always have a lot of small items I want to carry in the car either a pen, or some change I need for the meters. It is good for lots of thing. I also use it for a small camera that has a magnetic mount (no suction cup). This little camera would slide around on the dash before this holder and now it sits perfectly still even on turns.

Note that I do not use this mount to hold the phone in the slots when I drive. The slots are fairly shallow and on turns or bumps the phone can escape the holder.

The holder does attract dust and dirt, however it cleans up well with soapy water.

Its size is 6" x 3.75".

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Small Silicone Suction Lids

I like these silicone lids. They provide a very nice hold on mugs. In my video you can see that suction is strong enough to lift the mug by the handle on the lid. I don't use this way in real life, but I thought it was a good way to demonstrate when seal works and when it does not. I also show how the lid works with a small glass jar and a plastic yogurt container. You can see that when a glass container is too small and the opening is not big enough to form a good seal. The edge of the yogurt container also does not form a great seal I can only lift the container briefly before the seal breaks.

Even thought the lid does not form a great seal on plastic edges of the yogurt container it is still good enough to cover it for a day or so. This is my most common use for the lid. I really miss the days when all yogurt containers had resealable covers and this has become an reasonable substitute.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★☆