Product review: LAPA key finder

There are things about LAPA key finder that I like, but also it has some shortcomings.

On the positive side it is small, thin, and light. You make it beep by using an app on your phone. I have other finders that beep when you press a button their special remote.  They are bigger and are more cumbersome to carry on the key chain.

On the negative side I have doubts about the experience level of LAPA engineers in web security. I am a software engineer with a lot of experience in security. There were several things that I did not like.  First, the documentation told the user to load an app not from Google Play but from their web site.  This is unsafe. I would never load any application that has not gone through the scan by Google Play store or Amazon app store.  To my surprise, the app to control LAPA is in Google Play store, so the fact that instruction do not lead the end user to Google Play is even more surprising.  I loaded the app from Google Play.

The second thing that concerned me that when I created my password with letters, numbers, and special characters (i.e. a good strong password) I received an error that only letters and numbers can be used.  This is bad! A company with engineers that have experience in security would never put such restrictions on passwords.  Usually the restrictions are the other way - you can't create a password without adding at least one special character.  In the world where every site is constantly under attack from hackers the users are not as well protected as they should be.  Make sure you don't use real words as passwords, use gibberish that would make it more difficult to attack with a dictionary style guessing.

I hoped I could use the key finder as a GPS tracker for my car. I hid LAPA in my car and then tried to see if I can display its location on the map when it was far away from me.  Unfortunately that did not work unless I was within 100 feet from the car.  Within 100 feet from the car it does show the location of the car on the map. Unfortunately, the map is shown in a small circle so it is hard to identify.  the map cannot be zoomed in our zoomed out to get a better idea of where it is or zoomed it to get more details of the area.  So it is only marginally useful.

Bottom line?  I think LAPA has a lot of potential, but in the current implementation it has shortcomings.  I am giving it a 3 star rating with several asterix - do not load app from any site other than GooglePlay, overcome password shortcoming by using complex random string of letters and numbers that does not form any real words.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Spa Massage Foam Flip Flop

These are plastic flip flops.  Their surface has texture and the texture combined with the hard finish feel like a massage to the soles of your feet.  These are not the kind of slippers I can wear all day, but they are good around the pool or on the beach where I want something that can get wet or could be good for walking on uneven pebbles of a rocky beach.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Type-C / USB-C Input & Output Lumsing QC 3.0 13400 mAh High-Capacity Power Bank

Type-C / USB-C Input & Output Lumsing QC 3.0 13400 mAh High-Capacity Power Bank



♦ size: 3 7/8" x 3 1/8" x 7/8"
♦ weight: 9.3 oz
♦ number of ports: 2 (one Type A USB, one Type C USB)
♦ flashlight: yes, but it is not bright
♦ pass through charging: no (i.e. the battery can charge while being charged itself)
♦ cables: 1 micro USB cable

The external battery performed well using Nexus 5 on with micro USB and Nexus 6p with type C cable.

The type C port can be used both to charge the battery and to charge devices that can take type C cable.  I am using this battery charger for Nexus 6p, and it is nice that I can carry only one cable, the type C cable.  I can recharge the phone three times.

The battery can be charged either using micro USB cable ot type-C cable. I was curious which one will charge the battery faster.  Type-C cable is a little faster.
Using micro USB cable the battery charger: 4.80V / 1.42A
Using type-C cable: 4.80V / 1.55A

Nexus 5 using micro USB cable: 4.97V / 1.12A using the Lumsing battery
Nexus 6p using type-C cable to type-C USB cable: 1.79A using the Lumsing battery
Nexus 6p using type-C cable to type-A USB cable: 2.20A using the Lumsing battery

For comparison, I use type-C to type-C cable and a wall charger: 2.13

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 supports charge through charging. It can not charge while being charged.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LED Light Outdoor with Remote Solar Panel by Falove

What I like about this light is that the solar panel can be mounted quite far away from the light.  This means I can put the light under the eave where it is needed where the light is always in the shade, but the panel can be quite a distance away where it is exposed to the sun.

The light is photo sensitive and it turns on only at night, but it is not motion sensitive it is always on.
It gets dark now around 6pm and I see that it is produces light at midnight, but when I woke in the middle of the night the light was off that it drains the battery in the middle of the night. 

The light is fairly bright. To give you a better idea of what I mean by "bright" I used a lux meter (it measures light intensity) to measure the light it generates and for comparison also measured a 60 watt CFL at the same distance.

The lux meter shows that this light registered as producing 806 lux, for comparison the 60-watt bulb registered as 527 lux.

Overall, pretty good light. I would find it useful if it was motion sensitive so it could produce light all night long when needed, but it does provide good amount light for at least 6 hours.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Distianert Trail & Game Scouting Camera

We are big animals lovers and I own several wild cams so we can observe the wildlife visitors we are lucky to get every day. Many wild cams look similar on the outside but there are differences in video quality.  I noticed that video short in 720p on this camera look better than 1080i.  By looking at the video properties I see that 1080i is recorded with the rate 14.98 fps where as 720p is recorded at 30 fps.  The 720p video looks more clear and the video is smoother.  My video editing software does not handle 14.98 without conversion, so my video clips included in this review were shot in 720p.

The video shot at dusk and at night are black and white, so you can easily tell them apart from the day time videos. I included clips taken during the day and during the night.

The camera has a good motion sensor and is activated only when something interesting is happening, so every video it captures has something good on it. The camera can be mounted in a number different (strap to attach to a tree or a tripod mount).  I am using a tripod.

The user interface is menu driven and is very intuitive, I show it in the attached video to give you a better idea of how it feels to use it.

The camera runs on eight AA batteries (not included). The battery life is pretty good.  After running for a week taking hundreds of videos every day the camera's battery indicator shows that it is half full. SD card is not included. The camera produces AVI and JPG output.

This camera case is robust.  The tripod with the camera has been knocked down by animals several times, and the camera still running, no problems. The case is waterproof and has been out in several rain storms without any problems. The case is 5.25" tall x 3.25" wide x 1.75" thick.

This camera falls in the middle of the pack compared to other wild cams I have tried. 1080i quality is not as good as other cameras, but 720p is very good. I love being able to have a glimpse into the life of our wild life visitors.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Resistance Band Exercises for Home Workout by JUFIT

JuFit is best fit provides light resistance so it is best fitted for someone who is either a beginner or someone rehabbing an injury.  I fall into the second category, and I thought it provided me a reasonable amount of resistance that does not hurt me.

I am using it both with my legs on the floor (laying or sitting) or standing on the loops.  The loops that go around the feet are covered with thick foam so they feel more comfortable when I sit ot lay on the floor.  I use them with bare feet (with socks on my feet).

I have other exercise bands what I can use for similar exercises, but what I like about these resistance bands is that they have loops for the feet.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Velice Women's Touch Screen Winter Gloves

Velice Women's Touch Screen Winter Gloves 

These gloves are perfect fit for me. I normally wear small size gloves. The material is stretchy and will likely to work for medium size hand as ell. They have warm fuzzy material on the inside, and slick fabric on the thumb and second finger.  These are simple and casual gloves.  They are the type of gloves I like to wear during daily commute - thin, somewhat warm, but not for bitter cold.   They provide some warmth but not super warm to be outside in very cold  weather. They are made out of fabric (cotton and other fibers).
In the attached photos I show them on 1/2" grid. The middle finger is 3.125" in length and the palm (measured just above the thumb) is 3 3/8".

These gloves are provided by Velice to test the fit in American market. They are a good fit small hands.  If you wear large size you are likely to think they are too tight.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★