Wednesday, October 31, 2018

KeyHero: Digital Spare Key On Your Phone Review

Keys are quickly becoming a thing of the past with all of our smart locks replacing traditional locks, but are they on their way to being gone forever? Probably not. I mean, we once thought that the internet was going to make us a paperless society and look how well that turned out. For the moment anyway, some of us still use keys for our doors and other locks. However, the problem with physical keys is that they can get lost.

This Is One Handy App

Losing your keys is a real hassle too. If you have a spare, it’s all good, assuming that it isn’t in the very place that you are locked out of. And sometimes you lose a key that you don’t have a spare for. We have to protect our keys unless we want to get locked out of our homes and our cars. But even knowing this, it still happens. Pros: Makes it easier than ever to get a spare key No physical key needed Cons: You still lost your key, but it’s not so bad now So what is the answer to the whole key conundrum? How can we make it even easier to get spare keys when we need them. The answer is simple. Save your spare key on your phone. It’s an idea so brilliant, I can’t believe that it hasn’t been done already. Keyhero makes it easy to create a digital backup for your key. All you have to do is scan your key at any Home Depot kiosk and save it to the Keyhero app. So now when you lose your key or just want a spare key, you can cut one without having the original physical key. Now you can lock and unlock your door. If you need to, you can also share your digital key with someone else, so they can cut a spare.    

No Physical key Needed

Bottom Line This app takes some of the hassles out of losing your old-fashioned keys. You can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. We love apps like this that make life easier.

KeyHero: Digital Spare Key On Your Phone Review is courtesy of gadgetreview customer testimonials


KeyHero: Digital Spare Key On Your Phone Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
KeyHero: Digital Spare Key On Your Phone Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Monday, October 29, 2018

ActivePure Technology In Beyond By Aerus Air Purifiers

If you’re looking for a new air purifier, go with the best technology out there. Aerus’ ActivePure Technology can be found in Beyond By Aerus air purifiers, making them the best choice for your home. How good is this technology? Well, Aerus’ ActivePure technology was inducted into the Space Technology Hall Of Fame. If that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Space Age Technology

They don’t just give this to anyone. Only 75 other technologies have received that honor in 30 years. So obviously they are in good company. This tech was originally developed by NASA researchers at the NASA Commercial Space Center at the University of Wisconsin where they used it to reduce ethylene gas that interfered with potato plant growth experiments on the space shuttle in 1995. ActivePure denatured ethylene gas into simple carbon, hydrogen and oxygen molecules by pulling ambient ethylene-filled air into a chamber. The chamber contained a wavelength of ultraviolet light that interfaced with a titanium dioxide plate to create hydroxyls. These hydroxyls oxidized the ethylene into its base elements and reduced it at the molecular level. In terms that those of us on Earth can understand, it converted ethylene gas into harmless carbon and water, scrubbing the air in a contained environment. If it is good enough for NASA and the space shuttle, it is going to perform amazingly in your home. So that was back in 1995. How does the technology work today? The answer is, better than ever. The technology has proven effective on air and surface contamination and is almost 100% effective in the elimination of airborne and surface bacteria, viruses, mold, fungus, and volatile organic compounds. These Volatile Organic Compounds include: H1N1 (Swine Flu) H5N8 (Bird Flu) Staphylococcus aureus Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) E-coli Ethylene

This Air Purifier Cleans Your Home

ActivePure technology is built into products like their Beyond Guardian Air and Air Scrubber Plus, and many others. You will notice the difference in air quality right away. Your air will be fresher and the surfaces cleaner, with an up to a 99% reduction in contaminants on surfaces, like kitchen sinks, keyboards, TV remotes, doorknobs, and carpets. Now that’s impressive. Get your home cleaner with the power of air, straight from NASA to you. It makes their air purifiers sound like some kind of miracle, but it’s science.

The following blog post ActivePure Technology In Beyond By Aerus Air Purifiers was originally seen on GadgetReview - Hands On Reviews


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ActivePure Technology In Beyond By Aerus Air Purifiers published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

VAVA Mobile Pet Cam Is A Smart Pet Nanny

For many of us, pets are an important part our lives. They offer us companionship, love and protection. But it’s always been a problem when a pet owner has to go away and leave their animal alone. We hate the idea of our pets being alone and bored while we are off living our lives. Thankfully we are living in the age of smart homes and smart gadgets. The VAVA Mobile Pet Cam is a smart gadget that will take care of your pet while you are away.

Stimulate Your Pet From Anywhere

The VAVA Mobile Pet Cam aims to end pet boredom and seperation anxiety for good. It will allow you to check in on your pet anytime you want, from anywhere. This is the first pet camera on wheels with treads that moves on all surfaces. It lets you see, play, treat and talk to your pets, no matter where it is in the house. The treaded wheels let it go anywhere, and it is also designed to be paw-proof with a long lasting battery, 1080p resolution and night vision so you can see your pets in the dark. VAVA worked closely with many pet owners to make sure that this smart pet cam has all of the features that pet parents want. A single app controls everything from your mobile device, ensuring that your animal will never be truly alone again. It will play interactive games like laser chase, butterfly tease, or feather tease so that your cat or dog is always stimulated. You can even control which direction the laser points. You won’t have to worry about Fido destroying it either since the VAVA Mobile Pet Cam is made with industrial grade materials for durability. It also boasts a low center of gravity that makes sure it remains upright during play.

Give Treats, Play and Much More

Your pet’s favorite feature is sure to be the fact that it dispenses treats. Whether you want to reward them for good behavior or just spoil them, you can give them as many treats as you want. If you have steps, no worries, the VAVA Mobile Pet Cam has built-in sensors that prevent it from taking spills, while collision sensors help it avoid bumping into furniture or pets. Pet owners will love being able to interact with their pets whenever they are away. It’s products like this that make home automation fun. Along with your home security and smart lighting you have to make sure that your pets are taken care of as well.

The following blog post VAVA Mobile Pet Cam Is A Smart Pet Nanny Read more on: GadgetReview Expert Testing & Reviews


VAVA Mobile Pet Cam Is A Smart Pet Nanny published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
VAVA Mobile Pet Cam Is A Smart Pet Nanny published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Saturday, October 27, 2018

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Early Black Friday Deals Arrive at 35% Off

It seems like Black Friday arrives earlier and earlier each year, and for 2018 this is no exception. Starting this recent Friday, Lenovo is launching their “early bird” Black Friday deals on select models. Before you scoff at the promotion, some of the pricing is actually incredibly enticing! For example, the base model X1 Carbon is now at a new lowest ever price of $987 - well under the $1,000 threshold where the laptop is generally found at throughout the year. This model comes with an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U processor, IPS Full HD touch display, and a fast 256GB SSD. If you need more oomph, the Core i7 models starts at $1,474 and come with the higher-end 1440p WQHD display. If you’re looking for a display even with more fidelity - Lenovo does offer the higher-end panel with Dolby Vision 500 nits (as compare to the 300 nits in the standard panel). All of these models are discounted by 35% off. In other offerings, you’ll find the also popular X1 Yoga and the X380 Yoga. Both these models are fairly similar in capabilities, but unlike the X1 Carbon, the discounts are limited only to 30% off instead of 35% off. The base X380 starts at $951 but does come with a small 128GB SSD, while the X1 Yoga starts off at 256GB SSD but at a  price of $1,169. Note that base model comes in both Black or Silver depending on your color preference. Finally, for those with deeper pocket or needs, the high-end ThinkPad X1 Extreme is also on sale, with the base model starting at $1,301 and the higher-end model quickly jumping to a cool $3,154. These workstation quality machines comes with a Quad Core 8th Gen Intel processors. The base includes the Core i5-8400H while the higher-end models are equipped with the Core i7-8850H. All of them includes discrete graphics with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. Two of the models listed below also comes with a high-end 4K Ultra HD panel and plenty of RAM.

Lenovo’s Early Black Friday ThinkPad X Series Deals

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Deals ThinkPad X1 Yoga & X380 Yoga Deals ThinkPad X1 Extreme Deals Note: For some context on the hefty $3,000 price tag, the final model listed is a bundle which includes 3 years worth of premium support, onsite upgrade, sealed battery compatible, keep your drive, and most importantly an accidental damage protection. Physical item bundled is a ThinkPad USB 3.0 Ultra Dock, Lenovo Executive Topload Case, and finally a ThinkPad X1 wireless touch mouse. All deals end later this week on Monday, October 29 at 9PM Eastern. If you prefer to wait until the holiday season for true Black Friday - expect an extra 5% ~ 10% in discount for most of these models. For the pricier config - this can actually be pretty significant - but much less so for base models. Another caveat to consider: when you order during the end of the year, supplies and stock are on a different level and unlike pre-configs that are available to ship in 3-5 days, you may be looking at additional 1-2 weeks of wait time. All deals includes free shipping and full warranty straight from Lenovo.

The following blog post ThinkPad X1 Carbon Early Black Friday Deals Arrive at 35% Off See more on: GadgetReview Blog


ThinkPad X1 Carbon Early Black Friday Deals Arrive at 35% Off published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Early Black Friday Deals Arrive at 35% Off published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Friday, October 26, 2018

Best Tool Brand: Measure Twice, Buy Once

Although the “best” toolmakers will always come down to a slight amount of subjectivity, we scoured the web and did our research to find the top brand producing some of the most reliable and widest range of tools in the business.

Our Top 5 Best Tool Brands

#1 DeWalt

Pros:
  • Made in USA
  • 90-day full refund
  • 3-year limited warranty
Cons:
  • Owned by Black and Decker (notorious among craftsmen for poor quality parts)
During our research into the best tool brands we found it was always a close contest in preferences of tool users between our #1 pick DeWalt and the occupant of the #2 slot, Makita. That said, DeWalt earned the edge just ever so slightly thanks to its better warranty programs and more extensive network of approved repair shops, making it easier for owners of DeWalt tools to easily get their equipment repaired and back in action quicker no matter where their worksite is in the world.

#2 Makita

Pros:
  • Free repair and replacement within 1-year warranty period
  • Nearly $50 million in new plants opened in US over past five years
Cons:
  • Some tools made in China
Despite being one of the few companies on this list which essentially manufacturers the majority overseas in China, Milwaukee still earned a number of accolades from tool buyers who consider the company to produce some of the best tools (for the price) in the business. This may be due to the company’s recent efforts to bring jobs back stateside, with a $47 million investment in local production facilities over the last five years. This has led to new and more technologically advanced plants being opened in states like Mississippi and Wisconsin.

#4 Bosch

Pros:
  • 3-year tool/2-year battery warranties
  • MaxVantagePRO repair program
  • Cheaper than most brands
Cons:
  • Primarily manufactured in China and Mexico
When it comes to the fine balance of price to quality, Bosch seems to have managed to walk that line expertly by offering tools which generally skew toward the cheaper side of the spectrum (thereby opening themselves up to a much wider spectrum of the home buyer market), without sacrificing the quality that most professionals have come to associate the brand with. Although many of their tools do come from production facilities located either in China or Mexico, the company also maintains strict guidelines on quality, which seems to have paid off in spades to make them one of the most widely purchased tool brands operating in the market today.

#5 Ridgid

Pros:
  • Lifetime defect warranty
  • Plumbing tools made in USA
Cons:
  • Some power tools manufactured overseas
Finally, we come to Ridgid. Ridgid is one of the oldest brands on this list, and actually has the distinct claim to the patent for inventing what everyone knows as the modern-day pipe wrench. The company has topped several lists among professional construction workers for their power tools, though their primary focus (and expertise) is in manufacturing just about everything a plumber would need to do their job effectively. Ridgid has taken some flak in recent years for leasing the brand out to another Hong Kong-based company called TTI, which also manufactures products for the likes of previously American-made brands like Hoover, Dirt Devil, and Homelight. That said, with so many accolades under their belt it doesn’t seem as though Ridgid has let the quality of their tools suffer as a result of this rebranding, which is why although not the best brand out there, has still earned a respectable #5 slot on our list of the best tool brands for 2018.

Other Tool Brands to Consider

  • Stanley: Stanley is another highly-regarded brand in the tool space that’s known for creating quality tools that can stand the test of time. The options with Stanley can be a bit pricier than some other brands on this list, but the brand is definitely a case of “you get what you pay for” when it comes to long-lasting reliability and strength.
  • Husky: Husky covers every area of the market with its tool lines, catering to the demands of professional craftsmen and home builders alike. There are a large range of Husky tools to choose from along with about a dozen well-supplied pre-selected toolkits you can buy, so if you’re on the hunt for variety and want the all-in-one experience, Husky might be the right choice for you.

Tool Brands to Avoid and the Worst Tool Brands

  • Craftsman: Since their $900m acquisition by Black & Decker in 2017, many tool heads have reported a significant drop in the overall quality of tools that Craftsman used to be known for. This is likely due to outsourcing the production of tools to China, a move which seems to have doomed every brand in this space before it.

Best Tool Brand Buying Guide

In general, we relied on the votes of home tool buyers as well as professional craftsman to reach our rankings of the top five-tool brands in the United States today. That said, there are a few other factors that were considered which helped us reach our final list.
  • Tool Quality/Price
    • When you buy a tool you want to be sure that it’s going to be able to stand up to any punishment you throw its way, which is why the build quality and lifetime durability are the #1 factors we considered when deciding on the best tool brands in the business.
    • Of course, the quality of a tool is always weighed directly against the price you paid for it, which is a balance that many US-based toolmakers have been struggling to maintain as Chinese and Mexican-made tools undercut the market by significant price gouging at checkout (more on that below).
    • If you’re willing to pay just a bit more though, the jump in quality, durability, and the overall lifetime of your tool is significant. If you’re uncertain whether or not a cheaper tool might come with some problems by the time it shows up on your doorstep, be sure you read the company’s warranty policy carefully to guarantee that it covers any manufacturing defects that could present themselves at the time of purchase.
  • Warranty/Return Policy/Repair Policy
    • In the world of power tools, warranty programs and return policies can be pretty confusing to the layman. Because the number of things that can go wrong with a heavy-duty tool are just as varied as the number of applications a tool can have, just about all of the companies on this list will only cover manufacturing defects that the company themselves verifies after you mail it in.
    • Not only that, but warranty length will vary pretty significantly both between the company you go with as well as the actual type of tool itself.
    • For example, Makita offers a 1-year defect repair warranty on its corded tools, but a 3-year warranty on any tools that use a lithium-ion battery, and so on.
  • Best List Placements/Amazon Reviews
    • As non-experts ourselves, we deferred most of the heavy lifting to about a dozen other annual roundups of the best tool companies of the year, as determined by experts in their relevant fields as well as ranks handed out by home buyers who used portals like Ranker to vote for their personal favorites and rank them by popularity and quality.
    • And as always, Amazon provides an amazing resource of buyers who not only rate how well a tool performed upon first purchase, but will often come back and update their review two, three, even five years later to let other prospective buyers know how the tool held up over time. This is an invaluable resource of knowledge for anyone who wants to find out which tool brands hold up to punishment and which inevitable failed, and one only needs to sort by star rating to get a quick snapshot of who pulled out in front and which brands fell by the wayside after extended periods of use and abuse.
  • Made in the USA
    • Dozens of tool brands have moved their manufacturing plants to China over the past few decades, and it seems both craftsmen and home buyers alike unanimously agree that the quality and durability of the tools suffered as a result.
    • Producing tools in the United States does have its drawbacks (limited capacity, slimmer margins), however, the jump in quality simply can’t be ignored.
    • It may mean you end up paying slightly more at the register, but when you consider what it would cost to replace that tool every time it breaks the small uptick in final cost definitely starts to look a lot more worth it.

Best Tool Brand: Measure Twice, Buy Once is republished from The GadgetReview Difference


Best Tool Brand: Measure Twice, Buy Once published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Best Tool Brand: Measure Twice, Buy Once published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Mysa Smart Thermostat Review

If you live in an area that gets cold, then you already know the horror of seeing your heating bill in the winter. Whether your heater uses gas or electric, when things get cold, you pay the price. So you need to take control of your heater if you want some savings. The good news is that if you have an electric heater, the Mysa Smart Thermostat will let you do just that.

Mysa Looks Lovely, Saves You Money

Did you know that most homes spend about 60% of their electric bill on home heating? Yeah, you’ve seen the bills, so you probably know that already. This is why you have to take control of your home heating by using smart products. Well, if you have a phone, and who doesn’t?, you will have total control of your heat through Mysa. In fact, you can control your heat from anywhere in the world with the Android and iOS apps. This is what home automation is all about. Pros: Great sleek design You can save a lot of money Cons: For electric heating only This means that with Mysa you can have the heat turned down or even turned off during the day while you are at work, and then crank the heat up just before you get home. That way you can save money and still be warm and toasty after a hard day at the office. Mysa’s smart thermostat has a simple minimal design that is easy to use. There are no complicated menus or screens. Just simple interactions that do what you want. If you have electric heating, you’ll be happy to know that Mysa works with most high voltage electric baseboard or electric fan forced heating systems. Mysa will fit right in and play nice with the other gadgets in your smart home, working with all of the popular voice assistants, connected devices and smart home platforms. How does your programmable thermostat fare in that department?

Fully Control Your Heater

Bottom Line Mysa is stylish and sleek. It will look good just about anywhere in your home. You have to love the simple design approach that the company took with this smart thermostat, but the best thing about it is that it is that this piece of smart home technology gives you full control of your heater so that you can save a lot of money.

The following article Mysa Smart Thermostat Review is republished from homepage of GadgetReview


Mysa Smart Thermostat Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Mysa Smart Thermostat Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Nuki 2.0 Keyless Smartlock For The UK Market Review

Nuki has announced the arrival of Nuki Smart Lock 2.0, which is the next generation of the company’s smart lock that turns your smartphone into a key. It arrives with a bunch of new features and includes Bluetooth 5 for further range, better internal processing power for speed. There’s also a door sensor so you can get updates at-a-glance and it has full Apple HomeKit compatibility.

No More Keys Under The Flower Pot

The Nuki 2.0 smart lock is specifically updated for the UK oval-cylinder lock while keeping the easily-installed retrofitting. This new version fits over the user’s existing lock and key and installs in less than three minutes. Most people can handle this easily. You won’t have to worry about replacing door fixtures either. So the emphasis on this smart lock is ease of use. It also plays nice with your other Smart Home solutions like Ring and Nest, Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. Pros: Easy To Install Easy To Use Cons: Limited Color Options To Match Your Door This is the company’s foray into the ripe UK smart home market. The Nuki Smart Lock 2.0 is compatible with Android and iOS. As with most smart locks on the market, you can use this one to give your friends, family, delivery people and others digital access to unlock your door via the companion app. With all of the smart lock solutions available to us these days, burglars and other nefarious individuals are going to have a hard time finding a key under a flowerpot. Nuki 2.0 gets even more convenient with the optional Nuki Fob and Nuki Keypad which gives easy access to children, delivery people, or those without a smartphone.

Nuki Makes This Lock Easy For Everyone To Use

Bottom Line This new version will be available in November of 2018. Whether you are securing your apartment, house, business or vacation home, Nuki provides a very cool home security solution that anyone can easily install and use in minutes. It has a lot of options via the app, the Nuki Fob and the Nuki Keypad. Folks in the UK are going to love this smart lock solution.

Nuki 2.0 Keyless Smartlock For The UK Market Review is courtesy of home page GR


Nuki 2.0 Keyless Smartlock For The UK Market Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Nuki 2.0 Keyless Smartlock For The UK Market Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Q1 Smart Pet Feeder

As home automation gadgets continue to sell, our homes are becoming smarter every day. At the same time, our lives are getting easier. All thanks to smart locks, smart thermostats, home security and more. That doesn’t just benefit us humans, but it also makes our pets lives better too. That’s right, dogs and cats also appreciate a smart home.

Your Pets Will Love This

And why wouldn’t they? Technology like the Q1 Smart Pet Feeder is all about them. This pet feeder works via an app that allows you to remotely feed your dog or cat so that it gets the exact amount of food at the right time. It’s perfect for when you are away from home. In the old days, you either had to get a friend or family member to feed your pet while you were away. Either that or your pet would go hungry waiting for you to return. That latter scenario is just not acceptable because we love our pets like our children. Well, we don’t have to worry anymore. The Q1 Smart Pet Feeder takes care of your pet when there’s no one else around to do so. The Q1 Smart Pet Feeder doesn’t just make sure your pet is fed, it also makes sure that your pet’s eating position is ergonomic and good for their spine. Your pet’s food will be fresh and their eating habits are always recorded. And if you are worried about your pet eating too fast, you can switch from “Normal” to “Slow” dispensing to slow your pet down. In “Slow” mode, Q1 will dispense your pet’s meal in increments of one section every 3 minutes.

Feed Your Cat No Matter Where You Are

With Q1 you never have to worry about your pet going hungry because you are away. Our lives are busier than ever nowadays and our pets shouldn’t have to pay the price. It’s useful gadgets like this that make home automation and let’s not forget home security, worthwhile.

Q1 Smart Pet Feeder is courtesy of homepage of GadgetReview


Q1 Smart Pet Feeder published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Q1 Smart Pet Feeder published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Monday, October 15, 2018

QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier

We go through a lot of trouble cleaning our homes, wiping down counters, vacuuming and dusting. We do this not only because it looks nicer and feels nicer, but because a clean house means a healthier house. There are fewer germs and allergens in your home when it’s clean? So why wouldn’t you want clean air in your home? Well, if you are smart, you do want clean air. And that’s where a good air purifier comes in.

Perfect For The Home Or Office

You can get one that will clean up the air in a large area of your home, but if you’re looking for an air purifier that specializes in better air in a smaller area, you might want to check out the QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier. This compact unit purifies the air in rooms up to 350 square feet in size, making it perfect for bedrooms, offices and other smaller-sized rooms. Pros: Quiet when running Makes the air feel great Cons: It only purifies one room. I wish it did a bit more. The QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier has smart, automatic operation and an air-quality indicator light for real-time feedback so that you know what the air quality is right that instant. A HEPA filter removes allergens and contains carbon for better removal of VOCs, chemicals, and odors. It also features a negative ionizer and three air-filtration stages with an auto mode that automatically adjusts fan speeds based on the room’s air quality. There’s also a programmable timer function that comes in handy at night or when you are away. The timer function sets schedules off in 1, 4 or 8-hour increments. It measures just 8.5" x 12" tall and weighs 3.74 lbs. That size means that you can put it just about anywhere and it won’t get in the way. As the name implies it operates at a quiet whisper level so that you barely know it is there. So this model is not going to bother you while you are sleeping at night and it won’t bother you the rest of the time either. Aside from the low noise levels, it also offers low energy consumption thanks to a brushless DC fan motor. Your air will feel fresher because it is fresher, now that some of the bad unhealthy stuff is removed from your environment.

Clean Your Air and Feel Better

Another great feature is that colored air-quality display that I mentioned. Blue means good, yellow is moderate, red is bad. Knowing the quality of your air is half the battle after all. The other half is letting this air purifier make it better so that you feel better. Bottom Line: You have to love how quiet this machine is. And the air really does feel cleaner. If you have allergies and use this during allergy season, it should help you quite a bit. The size of the unit along with how big an area it purifies is a big plus. You are getting your money’s worth here. It seems like it easily competes with some of the best air purifiers out there.

QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier is available on GadgetReview (US)


QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
QuietPure Whisper Bedroom Air Purifier published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Friday, October 12, 2018

HELLO 2 Fully Encrypted All-In-One TV Companion

Video and audio issues are a part of our everyday lives sadly, but what can you do? Most people think it’s just an annoying thing that you have to deal with. Well, it turns out that there is something that you can do to cure this. HELLO 2 is designed to address some of the most frustrating video and audio communication issues that we deal with daily.

HELLO 2 Has It All

The second generation HELLO 2 has improved hardware and software. The company has learned what worked and what didn’t in the original HELLO and are back with a super impressive offering. HELLO 2 transforms your TV into the world’s most powerful communication device for video conferencing yet. It offers digital whiteboarding, wireless screen sharing, TV streaming, gaming, live broadcasting, a camera feed with motion and voice detection + infrared night vision, Alexa and Google Voice Assistant and much more. That’s an impressive list, but one that it delivers on. As for an OS, the device uses the HELLO Solaborate Messenger platform, a platform that took 6 years to develop, but only because they wanted to make sure that collaboration is seamless across all of your devices and PC platforms. You can access it via your Android, iOS, Web and Desktop Clients. It supports all of your favorite platforms that you use daily, being compatible with Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business, Google Hangouts Meet, Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Facebook Messenger, WeChat and more. HELLO2 works with 3 other new products that make it the only communication device you’ll ever need. HELLO Touch is a real-time Video Conferencing & Whiteboarding solution that is essentially an affordable 4K Touch TV. That’s right, you get 4k resolution and it’s also a touch TV. It has 10 multi-touch points for real-time collaboration, digital whiteboarding, video conferencing and more. It mostly serves as a digital whiteboard, but you certainly have a lot of options. HELLO Creator Edition has a transparent shell, so you can see the inner workings. It’s designed to reflect the company’s open source ideology since they are opening the platform for developers. HELLO Controller lets you play games using your HELLO device when you are taking some time away from work. You can install any Android game on HELLO 2 that you like. It is compatible with all of them. There will also be a software version of the HELLO Controller to play games on your mobile phone.

Packed With Features

This new and improved, End-to-End Encrypted HELLO 2 has a lot to offer. Other features of the HELLO 2 include 4 far-field beamforming microphones, a 4K HDR video sensor and state of the art 6-element lens. These features all work together to make video and audio the highest quality. HELLO 2 really is an all-in-one solution. You can play games, stream Netflix or other 4k content with amazing picture quality, take care of your business meetings, use the whiteboard and so much more. Your 4k TV doesn’t do half as much. It is a truly impressive setup and to be honest, I wish I had it in my house right now so I could play with it. This truly shows how far tv technology has come and how far home automation has come as well.

The post HELLO 2 Fully Encrypted All-In-One TV Companion Read more on: Gadget Reviews process


HELLO 2 Fully Encrypted All-In-One TV Companion published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
HELLO 2 Fully Encrypted All-In-One TV Companion published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

AT&T SportsNet and the Vegas Golden Knights Now Available on DISH in Las Vegas

Hockey fans are going to love this news. AT&T SportsNet, the TV home of the Vegas Golden Knights regional game telecasts, have announced an agreement with DISH, where DISH will carry Vegas Golden Knights live regular season games, pre- and post-game shows and other related programming in Nevada. DISH will also carry these in parts of California and Mohave County, Arizona.

Vegas Golden Knights On DISH

This regional sports network is available to subscribers in these areas right now. If you happen to live in Utah, no worries. This content is also coming to existing DISH customers in Utah who subscribe to AT&T SportsNet. It is going to be an exciting NHL season in Vegas this year for sure and you can see all of the action. Nina Kinch, Vice President of Affiliate Relations for AT&T Sports Networks said, “With the Vegas Golden Knights making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season, there is a high level of excitement for the team’s upcoming season and we are looking forward to DISH subscribers having access to this programming.” The expansion Golden Knights team shocked NHL fans last season, with their first campaign as Stanley Cup runners-up. So you know it’s going to be a pretty wild ride.

Enjoy the Games

DISH was the last cable/satellite provider in the Las Vegas market to agree to carry this. Cox, DirecTV, and CenturyLink all agreed to deals prior to last season, so things feel complete now and DISH customers don’t have to feel left out. If you are an NHL fan in the Vegas area, you now have another reason to become a DISH subscriber. “We are very excited for DISH to offer our games to their customers for what we expect to be an exciting second season of NHL Hockey in Las Vegas,” Knights president Kerry Bubolz said.

AT&T SportsNet and the Vegas Golden Knights Now Available on DISH in Las Vegas Read more on: gadgetreview process


AT&T SportsNet and the Vegas Golden Knights Now Available on DISH in Las Vegas published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
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What is Mesh? Find Out What The New WiFi Tech Means To you

Mesh routers first made a splash early in 2017, and have since become one of the fastest growing sectors of the home networking market. But what is mesh networking, and how do mesh routers actually work? Read on in our guide to mesh routers to find out!

What is Mesh Networking

By all appearances, it would be easy to get a mesh network confused with a wireless router/range extender combo. That said, the fundamental technology underneath is what makes these two methods of getting more wireless out of your wireless router so different. While a range extender relies on the same transmission technology that a wireless router uses to communicate with your devices to send and receive data (2.4GHz or 5GHz radios), mesh networks use each extra router in the network as an independent signal booster itself based on ad-hoc technology. Every node communicates with the other nodes to provide a “blanket” of coverage, which can be both more reliable and more consistent than range extenders depending on the architecture and layout of your home. mesh nodes Mesh networking has been around for years, but until recently was mainly used by the military, cities, and hospitals in disaster zones to get signal in areas that might be hundreds of yards, even miles from a dedicated Ethernet port. Each “hop” in the network doesn’t degrade the signal or slow it down, because as long as there are a number of mesh nodes all hooked up together they’ll always be able to pick up the slack for one node if another starts to lose connectivity. The larger the number of nodes you have in the chain, the more dependable and reliable the connection will be.

Who is Mesh Networking For?

Even though the primary implementation of mesh networking was strictly for industrial and enterprise use for many years, now the technology has made its way into the homes of millions of consumers and the results can’t be argued with. Although standard routers have made significant improvements to the range and power of their signals over the years, oftentimes this increased power comes at the tradeoff of buying bigger, bulkier routers with more and more antennas strewn across all sides of the device. This can make them far less visually appealing, and cause most people to want to hide them in some dark corner of their home or leave them relegated to their home offices where technology that looks like that usually belongs. But what does this mean for the actual use case of wireless networks? Well, the problem starts when you consider the fact that most people prefer to use their wireless devices in central hubs of the home like the living room, their bedrooms, and the kitchen. When you’ve hidden away your big bulky router in a more distant corner of the home, this weakens the signal to central hubs and makes it difficult to get a reliable connection anywhere else except the areas that are close to your home office. Similarly, a home router will only work when it’s connected to the main Ethernet port of your home, a location that can differ greatly from home to home and apartment to apartment. If your main Ethernet line isn’t located central to your home, you used to be stuck with only two options: get a super powerful main router, or use a less powerful main router with a series of range extenders hooked up elsewhere. This means that in larger homes or homes with a lot of walls and doors between your devices and the main hub, a mesh network will always be the superior choice to maintain a strong, solid connection no matter where you’re trying to game or stream from at any time of the day. Mesh networking is also perfect for less tech-savvy users who may not have the skill or knowledge necessary to hook a wireless extender up to their existing network implementation. Read Next: Wireless Access Point vs Router Mesh networks haven’t just streamlined the design of traditional routers, they’ve also made it ridiculously easy to get the systems set up throughout your home. Mesh routers are the definition of “plug and play” simplicity, often relying on smartphone apps and automatic Bluetooth connections to get your network out of the box, plugged in, and running within 15 minutes or less.

Mesh Networking Makes Routers Look Good

Mesh router networking solves this problem by offering a sleeker, smaller alternative to both routers and range extenders by using the benefits of mesh networking alongside some pretty svelte design notes on top of it. We’ve tested several mesh networking systems here at Gadget Review, and I’m happy to report that nearly all of them would look great in anyone’s home decor. Because of the ad-hoc technology, mesh nodes can be significantly smaller than a standard router, and even the base router itself can shrink down in size because it doesn’t need any large antennas to get its signal from one mesh node to the next. Mesh Routing looks goodMesh systems like the Linksys Velop and AmpliFi HD are just a few of the new mesh networking systems that have incorporated modern design elements into the core construction of their devices. These mesh systems are petite, beautiful, and would look good no matter where you hooked them up in your home. Because of the smaller form factor, systems like the AmpliFi can use a tiny little box with a gorgeous LCD display as the main hub, while any additional nodes are implemented as antennas that can be plugged directly into your electrical sockets. Read Next: How to Setup a Wireless Router This means that if you want to have an antenna hooked up in every bedroom of your home (as well as another in the kitchen, living room, and an outlet next to your backyard), you can do so without screwing with the aesthetic that you’ve built for the rest of your house.

Wrap Up

If you live in a large home and have found yourself struggling to maintain a decent signal on your current router (and already own one of the more powerful base stations out there), then you might want to consider upgrading your network to a mesh system soon. Yes, they cost a bit more than a standard router, but the benefits you get both on design and connection reliability simply can’t be competed with by standard wireless router options.

What is Mesh? Find Out What The New WiFi Tech Means To you is available on GadgetReview (US)


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Thursday, October 11, 2018

Mesh WiFi vs Router: Which One Should You Choose

If you’ve been paying any attention to the world of routers over the past two years or so, you may have noticed a new product category that’s quickly started to dominate the manufacturers’ sales cycle: mesh routers. But what are mesh routers, how do they work, and how do they compare against traditional routing solutions? Read on in our guide to find out!

Traditional Routers

Since their introduction back in 1999, consumer-grade wireless routers haven’t really evolved much beyond their basic function. Sure, there’s been a number of significant upgrades to their power, range, reliability and features, but other than that the core structure of what makes a wireless router remains functionally the same as it did 19 years ago. In essence (without getting too bogged down in the technical details), a router works like this: a hardline Ethernet cable is plugged into the back of the unit. The router then takes the signal from that line and broadcasts it out via several antennas placed around the unit over two distinct frequencies, either 2.4GHz or 5GHz (similar to what made wireless landline telephones work back in the 90’s). The distinction you see on the router itself in regards to the radio technology (802.11b/g/n) refers to the transmission protocol, while the rating (AC1900 vs. AC5300, etc), refers to the amount of bandwidth the router is capable of pumping out to multiple devices at once. Speaking of multiple devices, a more recent innovation to traditional routers is the inclusion of a feature known as MU-MIMO, short for Multiple User, Multiple-In Multiple-Out. In so many words this means that unlike a traditional router which streams data packets to every device hooked up to the network in a series of periodic bursts (think of a machine gun strapped to a carousel with one device at each corner), MU-MIMO routers can seamlessly split their signal and broadcast packets simultaneously to every device on the network without any interruptions. Linksys WRT3200 Main The main drawback of traditional routers is for all their fancy technology, they are still ultimately limited by the size of the antennas on each side. While most consumer-grade routers under $300 are generally powerful enough to handle the needs of homes 1,500 square feet or smaller, beyond that range (or in homes with basements/third floors/big backyards), that’s where the signal power starts to drop off. That’s because for all the creative ways that router manufacturers have tried to boost the signal in their routers, ultimately they’ll always be limited by the real world use cases of how we actually live and the way that devices fit into our lives. Especially since the rise of tablets and smartphones, people like to browse from every corner of their home instead of just from a single home office (as we did when wireless router technology first took off). This puts walls, doors, floors, ceilings, and even thick layers of concrete (in the case of basement browsing) in the way of the signal, which can be a difficult obstacle to get around for traditional router setups. And while the 2.4GHz spectrum is better at getting through walls than 5GHz, its speed limitations make it a less desirable option for gamers, streamers, and downloaders who want to roam freely without worrying about whether the signal is going to drop out in the middle of their usage. So how have router manufacturers attempted to solve this problem?

Range Extenders and Repeaters

The first way that router manufacturers attempted to get around the range problem were with devices known as wireless range extenders (also known as “repeaters” in some cases). And while extenders are a decent band-aid to the wound of having a large home with a small router, the headaches they can cause often aren’t worth the cost of buying them and setting them up. A range extender/repeater works exactly as the name advertises: it extends, or “repeats” the signal sent out by your router and leapfrogs it to other parts of your home. The problem with this approach, however, is that because the extender has to have its own network in order to repeat the signal users need to manually switch between the regular router and the repeater every time they drift out of range of the original base station. With devices like the iPhone dominating the smartphone market thanks to their simplicity and ease of use compared to Android, the idea of expecting users to manually switch anything over in order to get the full experience really feels like too much to ask in 2018. Also, depending on the brand of extender or repeater you might experience significant slowdowns from what you would get on the base station due to the fact that all wireless signals transmit on what’s known as a “half-duplex” system. Not only that, but often extenders are more difficult to set up and configure correctly for non-tech savvy users, and this can prove to be especially difficult and convoluted if the brand of your router and your extender differ at all.

Mesh Networking Systems

Finally, enter mesh networking systems. Mesh networking looks to solve many of the issues present with single base station routers as well as routers with extenders attached thanks to several clever innovations that spent years in development before they hit the consumer market. Mesh networking works mostly the same to a router with a repeater in that an internet signal is taken from the landline and broadcast wirelessly throughout your home, but that’s about where the similarities end. What is Mesh? Unlike a router/repeater combo, mesh systems communicate with each other over an ad-hoc system, which essentially replicates the base router across each mesh node (which can be as few as two stations, or an unlimited number if you want to just keep adding more and more depending on the size of your home). The primary benefit of this approach is both functional and aesthetic. On the functional side you end up with a single wireless network that works in every room of your house where a node is installed since every node communicates with its brothers the same way a traditional router would communicate with a repeater, basically covering your house in a fully lined “mesh” of connectivity. Mesh networking systems, unlike a router with a repeater, never lose signal strength, speed, or connection reliability as long as you have a mesh antenna installed in or around the room where you do most of your daily browsing. Aesthetically mesh networking systems are able to do away with the big gaudy antennas that are present on so many of today’s traditional routers, instead opting for much sleeker, design-first stations that would look good in anyone’s home. In the case of devices like the AmpliFi HD, the mesh nodes are actually just white antennas themselves that plug discreetly into any outlet of your home.

Mesh vs. Router

So with all the benefits of a mesh router system over a traditional router, why would you ever go back? Well, there’s a few compromises to be made. First, is cost. In almost every situation a mesh network will cost more than a standard wireless router because you’re physically buying more equipment than you would get with a single router (most basic mesh systems come with at least one base router along with 2-4 extra nodes), which increases the material cost. This can sometimes be offset by certain systems which let you buy a custom number of nodes to go along with your base station to better fit the layout and square footage of your home, but even still because mesh technology is the new kid on the block you can expect to pay a premium regardless of how many nodes you decide to include in your system. Next, there’s the issue of power. While most mesh systems are fine for daily browsing, streaming, and some types of gaming, they do suffer in heavier use case scenarios like more competitive gaming where ping and latency rule over consistent signals or raw bandwidth output. If you’re specifically trying to game on a router, we definitely recommend going with a powerful base station and just making sure your base station isn’t too far away from your gaming laptop or desktop (and who’s trying to get in a match of CS:GO in their backyard anyway, right?). Mesh Routing looks good If you already have a relatively powerful base router and are just trying to fix an annoying dead spot in your home, most repeaters/extenders worth their weight can be had for as little as $50. This makes them a much cheaper and more viable solution in the short term, and doesn’t require you to buy an entirely new system to get a system that can be argued that brings 90% of the same benefits. All that said, if you live in a large home, care about what an eyesore most routers can be, and want a system that will stand the test of the technology cycle, then a mesh networking system is definitely the way to go. Mesh networking is simple and intuitive to set up and provides a seamless user experience that traditional routers simply can’t match in this day and age.

Mesh WiFi vs Router: Which One Should You Choose was originally published to GadgetReview partner Christen da Costa


Mesh WiFi vs Router: Which One Should You Choose published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Mesh WiFi vs Router: Which One Should You Choose published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Brava Oven Review: Is Infrared Cooking for $995+ Worth It?

If you read my best toaster oven piece, then you know that I’m no stranger to them. I spent hours combing through what was on the market, eliminating the fluff, avoiding the “toaster” and focusing on the machines that would provide me (and those alike) the results, or requirements, I was looking for. What are those results, you ask? Well, for one, I’m not looking to toast bread. A toaster oven, which is really at this point a mini-oven, should be able to roast, broil (or sear), bake and even keep food warm. It needs to be able to fit more than a pizza and its controls must be variable enough that a chef (or an aspiring one) feels as though they have enough control that it allows for creativity within the kitchen. And that’s why The Brava is such a vexing product to me. And I mean that in the most humbling of ways. Call it a form of flattery through a side serving of negativity. But keep reading and you’ll learn why.

The Brava is No Ordinary Toaster Oven

The Brava is no ordinary oven. If you’re familiar with the June oven, then the Brava might make more sense to you. But this ain’t no June Oven, according to its CEO, his culinary masters and everyone working on the PR team. The Brava uses completely new technology and is focusing on food curation, and somehow (IMHO) appeals to both noobie cooks and those one chef knife bag away from being designated a professional. In fact, that’s what’s so confusing, or vexing about the Brava to me. I’m no chef, but I like to work my way around the kitchen, testing timing, adding ingredients and experimenting on how to enhance a recipe. Yes, the Brava still appeals to me. Why? Because it allows me to achieve simplicity if I so choose. Or I can opt for complexity. It’s sort of a choose your own adventure of ovens. Why?

How the Brava Oven Works

This is how the Brava works. It’s an oversimplification but bear with me. The Brava uses super powered bulbs that achieve infrared cooking (i.e. not conduction or convection cooking which tends to dry out foods by warming the surface or air). There are 3 bulbs on top and 3 on the bottom. Each bulb (aka heating element) can be controlled individually, unlike all toaster ovens on the market today. This means that you can have a variety of things (aka varying density) on one tray and cook ingredients to perfection. It’s an entirely new way of thinking about cooking in an oven. But not one that blows one’s mind. It’s more like “but of course, that only makes sense”. The folks at Brava (their expert chefs), on a single tray, made me a complete meal of salmon, tomatoes, and broccolini. They cooked it all at the SAME TIME and it was virtually perfect. First off, the team has spent a countless amount of hours testing a variety of ingredients to know what cooks in what amount time. As result, they’ve got a database that you can access directly from the machine’s touchscreen (it also has a smartphone app - duh). So, in this case, they were able to choose the aforementioned ingredients as a macro and hit the go button. But that’s not all: they’ve also got a thermometer that has 3 sensors in it. This got stabbed into the salmon and allowed me to select my internal desired temperature of medium rare. And best of all, because these bulbs produce instant heat and don’t require the air to be warm, so there is ZERO preheating. This means less energy usage and less time waiting. Music to my ears. Note: the Brava can bake. Which means it can heat the air. It does this using a combination of the heating elements, the fan, and the correct tray (there is 1 glass tray and 1 metal tray). Following that the Brava oven displays the predicted cooking time - in this case about 14 minutes - and adjusts according to the salmon’s internal temperature. In my case, it added about 2-3 minutes to the speculated time. This felt somehow calming on account of the fact that I knew what was happening and no guesswork was needed. And walla, the food was cooked and I was eating. The broccolini still had the right amount of snap, the salmon wasn’t dry and the tomatoes were juicy but not a soggy mess - no easy feat if you ask me. Cooking with light is the REAL DEAL.

What’s Next For Brava

Inside the Brava is a camera. But unlike the June Oven, they’re not trying to guess what you’ve placed in there…yet. However, as they build up their database and customer feedback - the Brava is connected to WiFi - they will add some machine learning into the mix. And while they don’t plan on identifying the foods you’re putting in the oven - largely because that’s a trivial matter - Brava does say they’ll soon be able to identify when food is burning and turn off or reduce heat. But snazzy tech aside, you, the expert chef, can still cook like one. And while Brava plans to partner with a food packer who will create prepackaged meals, you can individually select ingredients from the touchscreen and cook leverage its thermometer and knowledge-base to get things cooked just right. And if you’re like me, you know, as an expert and informed as you’re, there is no accounting for variable weights, thickness and sizes.  Yet, the Brava can.

Brava Oven Final Thoughts

The Brava is not cheap. Anything but by comparison to the top end of most toaster ovens; it’s $995 on their website right now, but that’s a preorder price. It will increase to $1295 once the “early bird” pricing is over. When that will be, I don’t know. But I think they plan to ship the preorder units in November of this year, 2018. To be candid, I’ve never used such an advanced oven. There are a few manufacturers that are coming out with competitors, such as Meile’s Dialog oven. However, the Brava is more approachable, since it doesn’t require a professional or permanent install. And yes, the Brava will fit under most if not all counters.

Brava Oven Review: Is Infrared Cooking for $995+ Worth It? is available on http://gadgetreview.com


Brava Oven Review: Is Infrared Cooking for $995+ Worth It? published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Brava Oven Review: Is Infrared Cooking for $995+ Worth It? published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Wyze Cam Pan Review

Wyze Labs’ Wyze Cam Pan is a $30 1080p pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) model that delivers 360° horizontal view and 93° vertical view, all at full HD video quality. It gives you full control over what you want to see inside your home when you need to see it. It has everything you’d expect to find in a modern smart cam at a great price.

Clear Images and A Lot Of Options

Those features include 1080p resolution, night vision, local and cloud recording, motion-detection zones, smart notifications, and two-way audio. It also boasts a motion tracking feature that lets the camera follow moving objects around the room. It also works with Alexa, so if you want to see your front door just ask Alexa and this camera will show you the door. The same goes for your kid’s room, dining room or anywhere else you have your Wyze Cam Pan. So what we have here is a smart home security camera option with some killer abilities. Pros: Free Cloud and SD Storage Great Price Tons of Features Cons: Bad Audio Quality Sound Alerts Not Very Smart Other features include a 110° per second rotation speed, 360° horizontal view & 93° vertical view, Pan Scan with 4 custom waypoints, 14-day free cloud storage, continuous recording, and more. We’ve seen our share of more expensive options that don’t have half of these features, so this is a great bargain. You get a lot for your money. Motion Tagging is another interesting feature, which highlights motion in both live stream and playback modes. There’s also Smart Sound Recognition which allows the Wyze Cam Pan to recognize the unique tonal patterns of smoke alarms and CO monitors so that it can alert you to emergencies. This feature needs a lot of work, but we like the idea. It just isn’t intelligent enough yet. You can expect very clear and sharp images in nearly every mode and these images are superior to higher priced options that are currently on the market. The sound is another issue entirely. Like most smart cams, the emphasis is on images. The integrated microphone will detect and record audio just fine, but playing that captured audio back can sound fairly bad. The speaker works well for its main uses, however, which are as an intercom or to deliver warnings to intruders.

You Can’t Go Wrong With This Camera

Bottom Line: The Wyze Cam Pan is an amazing value with a simple user interface, free cloud and local SD recording, and tons of features. This is why it leaves competitors in the dust. You really can’t go wrong at that price. It’s the best PTZ camera out there currently. It is a great addition to a home security system or awesome all by itself.

The post Wyze Cam Pan Review is republished from check out our recent reviews


Wyze Cam Pan Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
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MEGA XL Cycling GPS Review

If you are a cyclist you’ll like the MEGA XL Cycling GPS. No. Scratch that. I think you’ll love it. It’s designed and engineered for serious riders. It has everything that a cyclist needs including a large, 2.7-inch 240x400 high-resolution screen that can be viewed either vertically or horizontally.

This GPS is Packed With Features

This GPS device can simultaneously pair with Bluetooth Smart or ANT+ enabled power meters, heart rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors, as well as compatible electronic drivetrains. It will even offer turn-by-turn navigation and phone notifications for incoming calls, texts, and message app notifications when paired with an iOS or Android smartphone, through the free Lezyne Ally V2 app. Pros: Great battery life Feature heavy Cons: The Firmware And App Has Some Issues Other features include on-screen preloaded maps, multiple bike profiles, off-line navigation, and customization. Activate Live tracking to let friends and family follow your rides in real-time for even more fun. The device also packs in GPS/GLONASS for better data accuracy, a barometer and an accelerometer and much more. You can expect a runtime of up to 48 hours from the battery as well, which is no small feat considering just how many features this thing has on-board. The feature-packed list goes on with display data like Grade, Calories, Temperature, GPS signal strength, Battery life indicator, and Bread crumb trail page to name a few. The MEGA XL is bound to become any cyclist’s best friend. This device is definitely right up there with what the bigger GPS boys in the industry are offering.

A Powerful Friend To Cyclists

The fact that maps from anywhere in the world can be downloaded and transferred using Lezyne’s GPS Root website or GPS Ally phone app is awesome. When you save and load an area, you can create routes, search for destinations, or find your way home even if you have no live data connection. Bottom Line: GPS is in everything these days, even hoverboards, but to find a GPS device for cyclists that is this powerful is pretty sweet. Especially for the price here.  The software seems half-baked at times, but otherwise, this is a great device.

MEGA XL Cycling GPS Review was first published to GadgetReview News


MEGA XL Cycling GPS Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
MEGA XL Cycling GPS Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Monday, October 8, 2018

LEVO Rolling Laptop Workstation Stand Review

Whether you work at home or at the office, there is a heavy price to pay for sitting in an uncomfortable office chair day after day. This is why many people buy an ergonomic office chair, to help ease their back pain. But if you work at home at a desk, and don’t want to make the leap to an ergonomic office chair just yet, you might want to try LEVO’s Rolling Laptop Workstation Stand.

Work Where You Want To Work

With this laptop stand, so you can at least switch to the couch occasionally. You can even work from bed if you want. And since it is completely adjustable, you can get your laptop at the perfect height and angle that is right for you. That will help you to avoid some of the aches and pains that are typically associated with desk jobs. In that way, it’s a cheaper alternative to buying an ergonomic chair. Pros: Easy to use Adjusts to any height and angle Rolls anywhere you need it Cons: The cord that secures the laptop could be better That I didn’t start using it sooner It allows you to work wherever you want so that you aren’t confined to a desk all day long. Now your bed, couch, or favorite reading chair can be your workspace. This laptop workstation extends over your furniture so you can sit all the way back in your chair, sofa, or bed comfortably. It has a total of 5 freely moving adjustments that give you the freedom to work in any position. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting, standing or laying down. The base of the workstation is nicely weighted at 22 lbs so that the unit stays in place as you do your work and when you do need to move it, it rolls easily to your next destination. It will hold laptops up to 17 inches. And while some stands tend to bounce too much when you type, this one keeps it to a minimum, making it a fairly smooth experience as you type away. Other features include quick locking height adjustments that will quickly adjust it from a sitting to standing position. You could use this stand for a number of other things aside from holding your laptop. It would make a great rolling art desk for sketching or painting and musicians could easily use this for holding music sheets.

Freedom To Move Around

I was expecting a far less sturdy workstation, so it was a nice surprise to find that this one is durable and also has adjustments that lock and keep it in place after you set it. This versatile workstation will really let you work from just about anywhere. Those caster wheels roll around easily on both carpet and hardwood flooring, while the hourglass shape of the base is helpful for moving it around your furniture. I do wish there was a better way to strap the laptop in though. They provide a bungee cord with clips on the end that you have to feed through the stand. It’s easy to use and put in place, but you do have to pull it hard to do so and that cord can slip and go flying if you aren’t careful. Aside from that very minor issue, there’s nothing but love for this workstation. It’s great to be able to work from anywhere and have your laptop at the perfect angle. This is a computer accessory that you will love if you work at home.

The following blog post LEVO Rolling Laptop Workstation Stand Review was originally seen on http://www.gadgetreview.com/


LEVO Rolling Laptop Workstation Stand Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
LEVO Rolling Laptop Workstation Stand Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Smado Smart Lock Review

These days it is easier than ever to up your home security thanks to all kinds of cameras, motion detectors, and smart locks. These devices are not only everywhere, but they are easier to use than ever before. Smado has introduced their own smart lock with a variety of features that you’ll like.

No Tools Needed To Install

It fits on all door locks so you don’t need to hire a handyman or even remove your existing door lock to install it. It will work with your existing key or a latch. It is as simple as sticking it, then calibrating it and you are done. No screws or tools necessary. I know that those of us who are not very handy can appreciate that. Pros: Easy to install Effortless to use Keeps your door secure Cons: 3 items to buy to make it all work(but priced affordably) With the Smado opener and your already connected smart device nearby, you can operate hands-free. You don’t have to pull out your phone or touch the door. It connects automatically and opens the door for you. So basically it’s giving you that Star Trek lifestyle that many of us have dreamed about for ages. Smado will lock and unlock the door automatically. It features military-grade end-2-end encryption for the highest possible security and if you want to use your key and do things the old fashioned way, you can. A 180-degree angle adjustment allows you to fix the Opener for both swing doors and slide doors. Those sliding doors will give you the most Star Trek-like experience after all. That’s one big reason to love this smart lock. These devices have lithium batteries for a longer life and when those batteries get low, you will get a notification. If you lose your key, it will no longer be a problem. And you won’t have to leave a spare under the mat outside, which is just asking for trouble. You can control your Smado devices with the Smado Smart App from your phone.

Upgrade Your Door and Your Security

Smado has a trio of products that bring your door, firmly into the future. The Smado smart lock, the Smado smart roller and the smart bell. Together they lock and unlock your door, open it for you and let you see who’s there. This is a nice upgrade to any home security system.

The article Smado Smart Lock Review was originally published to Gadget Review - honest reviews that help


Smado Smart Lock Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Smado Smart Lock Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Azio Luxury Vintage Keyboard

You know, with all of the keyboard manufacturers out there making all kinds of keyboards, you would think that we would have more models that aren’t just boring black or white finger bangers. Sure, there are some that stand out, but mostly these keyboards are all the same. Which is why it is so good to see the Azio Luxury Vintage Keyboard.

A Keyboard With Class

This is a vintage typewriter mechanical keyboard with luxury style. It even has genuine leather or wood, metal alloys, and backlit keys. It combines the best of the typewriters from the past with the best keyboard technology of today. Other features include spherical round keycaps and pillar feet with adjustable height. These keyboards are so retro-lovely. They are as much a work of art as they are a functional tool. They’re available in either Wired USB interface with Windows layout or in Wireless Bluetooth + Wired USB combo interface with switchable Mac or Windows layout. Bluetooth lets you use it on the go like a portable keyboard. Pair these keyboards with the AZIO Retro Classic Palm Rest and you will be typing in style. The palm rest is made with genuine top grain Italian leather and sits in a sturdy aluminum alloy frame. The nostalgia of years gone by is perfectly captured in the design. Speaking of design, the designers wanted to incorporate natural materials for a higher quality build while also bringing back the nostalgia of vintage goods that make a mark on our physical touch and senses.

Love The Act Of Typing

This keyboard is all about humans connecting with it and experiencing feelings. It works! You really can’t help but be blown away just by looking at it. It is just full of charm, quality work, and materials, and a passion for beauty. It is a keyboard that transcends the act of typing and one that is full of class. If you aren’t tempted by this peripheral, you just don’t like beautiful things.

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Azio Luxury Vintage Keyboard published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Azio Luxury Vintage Keyboard published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Monday, October 1, 2018

Sony MP-CD1 Projector Review

Sony has a new pocket-sized projector that will come in handy for a number of activities, whether it’s movie night outside by the pool, business presentations, or playing video games that are projected on your wall, this new projector should have you covered. The ultra-portable MP-CD1 Mobile Projector is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and it will project content up to 120 inches in size from a short distance of 3.5m. Pros:

  • Ultra Compact
  • 2 hour runtime
  • ANSI 105 lumens2 brightness
Cons:
  • 854 × 480 resolution isn’t the greatest for entertainment, but for the rest it’s fine.
  • Between plugging in sound devices, HDMI etc, this small device gets cluttered and a bit cumbersome,
  • but we can’t really fault it for that. We just wish the ports could be more streamlined.

Ultra Portable, But Powerful

It’s great for projecting media while on the go with media-streaming dongles, smartphones, laptops or gaming consoles to have fun anywhere, at any time. The MP-CD1 is perfect for travelers who need to do presentations and when you are in your hotel you can enjoy large screen entertainment on the wall or ceiling. It sets up in as little as five seconds. As a nice bonus, it can also be used as a portable charger for your other mobile devices. This device features Texas Instruments DLP3 IntelliBright technology to manage brightness and power consumption. It may be compact, but it offers high brightness (ANSI 105 lumens2) and minimal heat build-up. The 5000 mAh battery will give you up to 2 hours of projection time, which is all you need for most movies. It may be a portable projector, but the size of the projected image depends on distance, but if you are going for the maximum size of 120 inches, you only need 11.32 feet. This means that just about any small room will be large enough. The standard audio jack lets you plug in your headphones or external speakers for entertainment.

Very Portable and Capable

Bottom Line: When they say ultra portable, they mean ultraportable. This projector is great for travelers or anyone who likes to take their entertainment on the go. And that 2-hour battery life is great for a travel gadget like this. It’s enough for a movie or a decent amount of gaming or presentations for business. This is pretty much the ideal compact projector. Keep it in a pocket and bring it out when you need it. This projector is a big win. This is one of the best short throw projectors we’ve seen in a while.

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Sony MP-CD1 Projector Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Sony MP-CD1 Projector Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

XenStand Ergonomic Office Desk Review

Working at a desk all day is not good for your health. I think we all know that by now. It can lead to headaches, backaches, and much more serious problems. The human body was meant to move, not sit all day. This is why standing desks are so popular.

Work Smarter and Feel Better

They get us on our feet and help keep us in motion. Another solution is the XenStand Ergonomic Office Desk from WellDesk. This laptop desk accessory was designed by an engineer who was tired of five-years of daily headaches. So he set out to develop a lightweight, ergonomically-correct product that could help relieve posture-related problems, like stiffness and muscle cramps. It helps you keep your space well-organized and most of all, comfortable. Pros: Easy to use Easy to assemble Doesn’t take up much desk space Cons: Feels like the pieces could fit together tighter It lifts your monitor to eye level so that you can still use a keyboard and mouse while sitting up straight. This should help eliminate a lot of those aches and pains. It consists of just a few wood pieces that form together to create an elevated stand for your laptop. You can create several different angles, so it is very versatile. The Xenstand is about as simple as a gadget can get. You just form the wood pieces together and you have a stand. While using XenStand, it did feel as if I were in a more natural position as I typed on my laptop. This is a great device for anyone working in an office for several hours a day and I can see how it could eliminate many of the pains associated with this lifestyle. When you are working in a more natural position, with good posture, you are not working against your body, but with it. The other thing about this laptop stand is that it looks classy in wood. I’m not sure if they offer different finishes, but I’d like to see this in several finishes that might accentuate your desk. Since it is so basic, anyone can easily assemble and use this stand to improve their health. It’s a great first step if you are thinking about buying a standing desk.

Take It With You and Work Anywhere

Bottom Line: This laptop stand is lightweight so that you can take it anywhere. Just pack it in your backpack and you are good to work anywhere. It also looks good. Those two factors alone make this a very useful tool for anyone looking to alleviate the common symptoms of working too hard. So we like it. We can’t for sure say whether or not it will help your aches and pains, but I’m convinced that over time this really pays off. especially when you consider all of the repetitive motions that we all make every day on the computer. It’s a simple design that is useful and we love that.

XenStand Ergonomic Office Desk Review See more on: GadgetReview Blog


XenStand Ergonomic Office Desk Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
XenStand Ergonomic Office Desk Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/

Optoma UHD60 4K Projector Review

As one of the very first DLP projectors to feature 4K pixel density, the Optoma UHD60 is a big, bulky projector that comes with an equally big picture size. But the same question remains that we’ve been asking with every 4K projector we’ve reviewed this year: is the cost really worth the effect of having a 4K picture the size of your wall if you can only appreciate it during nighttime viewing hours? Read on in our Optoma UHD60 4K projector review to find out!

Optoma UHD60 4K Projector Hands-On Review

Price: $1,799.00 Model: UHD60 Summary: The Optoma UHD60 is a surprisingly cheap 4K projector which had exceptional picture quality and fidelity when compared to projectors more than twice the cost – save for some middling HDR results overall. What We Liked
  • Stellar picture quality in most scenarios
  • Solid price for what you get
  • Onboard speakers were surprisingly boomy
What We Didn’t
  • HDR quality could be better
  • Ambient light washes out any 4K/HDR benefits

Optoma UHD60 Specs

Optoma UHD60 Design

As is the case with most 4K projectors, there’s nothing “small” about what the Optoma UHD60 brings to the table. This is a big beast of a projector (one of the biggest we’ve ever reviewed in fact), but even though it may take up half your living room it won’t exactly look bad doing it. When we reviewed the Acer VL7860 we noted there was nothing special about the boxy, flat-white design and although some similar notes could be said about the UHD60, it’s still a surprisingly curvaceous projector that askews some of the more familiar grated design elements we’ve seen on Optoma projectors before it. The projector is completely svelte on the top save for a small line that runs across the middle, hiding the secret panel which opens up the case to let you tweak the lens shift ratio as well as the overall zoom and fine-tuning that would normally be placed on the outside of the unit. The company has also opted to place the lens housing directly in the middle of the unit rather than off to the side (as we’ve seen in literally every Optoma projector to date). This could make certain mounting situations a bit more complicated if that’s the way you’ve configured your ceiling bracket previously, but outside of that limited scenario I actually appreciate the look of having the lens dead-center and staring straight out the way it is in the UHD60. Read Next: The Top Rated Projector Screens

Optoma UHD60 Hardware

The Optoma UHD60 4K projector uses DLP technology to create its images at a maximum display resolution of 3840 x 2160, with a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 and ANSI lumen rating of 3000, with the ability to show an image as large as 302.2" across from corner to corner at a distance of 30.5 feet. The Optoma UHD60 sports two HDMI ports (one 1.4, one HDMI 2.0/MHL 2.2), one VGA-in, one RJ-45 Ethernet port as well as a USB port and two jacks for audio in and audio out.

Optoma UHD60 User Interface and Settings

The Optoma UHD60 uses a standard set of menu options that don’t deviate really at all from what we’ve seen on previous Optoma models, save for a few extra settings that are specific to the 4K UHD portion of this display technology. These included the option to turn on the Dynamic Blacks setting (which we always recommend when watching movies, but not so much when playing a game), and of course the ability to switch on HDR which is exclusive to any 4K projectors produced by the company. Read Next: The Top 4k Projectors

Testing and Performance of the Optoma UHD60 4K Projector

Brightness/Picture Quality Going into this review I have to admit I wasn’t expecting too much from the DLP-powered Optoma UHD60 in terms of picture quality when compared against more robust options like the laser-powered Acer VL7860, but was pleasantly surprised to find that on almost all tests and sources we could throw at it it performed equally well, if not above the curve in some scenarios. Considering that the UHD60 costs less than half of what the VL7860 does, that’s a very impressive feat unto itself. During our standard Spiderman: Homecoming 4K Blu-Ray viewing we found the picture quality to be just around what we got out of the VL7860, save for one small issue that seems to nag most 4K projectors that have been released in the past year or so: HDR quality. HDR is still a new technology for standard televisions, so it’s not all too shocking that the projector market is still working to refine how the color spec will fold into their market with aging chip applications like DLP. In this department the VL7860 definitely pulled out ahead thanks to the addition of its laser technology, but the two were back on even footing when it came to ambient light performance. Even with “Bright” mode turned on and everything tuned as much as possible, 3,000 lumens just doesn’t seem to be enough to overcome the issues that ambient light present for 4K projectors. If you don’t have a specifically blacked-out room to watch in, you’ll probably want to stick with a standard 4K flatscreen option instead. Read Next:Top Projector Under $1000 That said you still get way more than what you’re paying for if you’re comparing the two on a purely cost-based basis. 4K images were crisp, clean, and suffered almost no color bleed that we’ve seen on lesser projectors, and the projector was more than capable of handling action scenes without losing any of the fidelity we’ve come to expect from 4K flatscreen sets or higher priced projectors in the same bracket of features and performance.
  • Gaming Performance: At a max refresh rate of 60Hz we definitely didn’t get everything we would have liked to out of the UHD60 in this department, and the input lag was even less bearable. That said the HDR effect still makes games look better than they ever have before, and the immersive effect of having your favorite titles blown up to over 100" in 4K simply can’t be understated at this price.
  • 3D Performance: 3D performance at 1080p (the highest rate you can use the feature at) looked just fine on the Optoma UHD60, about as good as every other Optoma projector we’ve reviewed in this department.
  • Noise and Heat: Even though we were hoping that the advancements made to the DLP chip that allowed it to display 4K content would carry over to lesser noise and heat, the UHD60 ran pretty damn hot under the collar with a max temperature output of 115°, and a max decibel rating of 43dB from an ambient rating of 34dB.
  • Sound: Although normally this would be the part of the review where we once again malign the limitations of onboard sound systems for projectors, we were pleasantly surprised to find a considerable amount of fidelity and bass being pumped off the UHD60’s two 4W speakers. They were more than enough to fill the room with decent sound and even if we’d never recommend them for long-term use, in a pinch for outdoor viewing scenarios they can hold their own no problem.

Wrap Up

As one of the very first DLP projectors to feature 4K pixel density, the Optoma UHD60 hits the ground running with some seriously impressive results that continued to shock us from start to finish with a pricetag as low as it is. For only $1799 you get a DLP-powered 4K experience that can keep a strong pace with laser-powered options that cost over twice as much (we’re looking at you, Acer). For this reason alone the Optoma UHD60 gets a strong recommendation from us. Read Next:How Do Projectors Work? That said, if you’re a mega-stickler for color quality and want the absolute tip-top of what HDR display technology has to offer on projectors we’d recommend going with the aforementioned Acer VL7860 instead. But, if you want to spend a reasonable amount on your next home theater upgrade and don’t mind a slight step down in HDR quality, the Optoma UHD60 is more than well-equipped enough to handle the job.

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Optoma UHD60 4K Projector Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/
Optoma UHD60 4K Projector Review published first on http://www.gadgetreview.com/