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totallee $29 thin leather iPhone 7+ case review

I typically do not have a case on my iPhone, preferring the natural feel of the smartphone itself. But I do worry a bit about buggering my very expensive tech-toy due to my desire to use it naked. I sometimes use a case when I’m feeling conservative but most feel so bulky and in the way. totallee’s thin leather iPhone case tries to bridge the gap between the two extremes. This case is about as minimalist as you can find, barely changing the look, feel, and weight of the sleek and slim device. 

Note: Click the images to see a larger view.

totallee is a startup company based out of South Pasadena, CA. Their primary mission is to make thin iPhone cases that provide decent protection without adding bulk. When totallee began in 2013, they wanted to develop a line of cases that are “thin, elegant and fairly priced”. According to their website, they’re a “group of hard working, creative individuals who care about the products we sell and about the people we sell them to.”

Truth be told, when I first opened the packaging and held the totallee thin leather case my initial impression was less than positive. It felt cheap and at best, mediocrely made.  But with time, it has definitely grown on me. I’ve had it on my iPhone 7+ for several weeks and have not gotten tired of it.

The case itself is made from polypropylene and is a mere 0.02″ thick, weighing in at 0.1 oz. The thin leather iPhone case features a genuine lambskin leather backing that is inset into the plastic.

The $29 thin leather iPhone case is perfectly fitted for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Here you can see it installed on my smartphone…it is a very tight fit with zero gaps whatsoever. totallee’s goal is to: keep your iPhone 7 Plus looking like an iPhone.

The lambskin leather on the back of the case adds texture and grip to your slippery device. I was surprised to find out the “leather case” only had leather on the back vs the whole case. But overall the design works very well.

This case snaps-on the smartphone and covers/protects 99% of the iPhone’s sides and back. Instead of push-throughs, the totallee case has well fitted cutouts that allow access to the iPhone’s mute, volume, and power buttons. The buttons themselves are slightly recessed but easily pressed when desired.

The totallee case has a cutout for the lighting connector and speaker holes on its base.

The case covers the entire top of the iPhone.

totallee backs their $29 thin leather iPhone case with a 2-year hassle-free warranty. It is available for the iPhone 6/6+/7/7+ in black and as the name implies costs 29 bones.

The totallee $29 thin leather iPhone 7 case is great minimalistic protection for your sleek and slim smartphone. This case adds little bulk or weight to your iPhone while providing decent protection from bumps, nicks, or scrapes. Though it wouldn’t add much drop or impact protection. An added bonus is that the totallee case enables me to sandwich a metal plate between it and my iPhone to use the magnetic mounts in my vehicles. Bottom line: the totallee thin leather iPhone case is well made/engineered from solid materials, designed to keep your iPhone looking and feeling as Apple intended while protecting it from the outside world.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by totallee. Please visit their site for more info and to order. You can also see other totallee cases on Amazon.

 

Product Information

Price: $29
Manufacturer: totallee
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • iPhone 6/6+/7/7+
Pros:
  • Excellent minimalistic design
  • Solid materials
  • Perfect fit
  • Protection for nicks, scrapes, bumps
  • Great value
Cons:
  • None

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totallee $29 thin leather iPhone 7+ case review originally appeared on on July 7, 2017 at 6:24 am.

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Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera review

There are so many home security cameras on the market, that it can be frustrating to figure out which one to choose. Do you go with a tried and true brand like Nest or DLink, or do you try a less expensive brand like the Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera which I’m going to tell you about today? Let’s find out.

What is it?

Momentum is a WiFi home security camera with the following features:

Two-way talk through the mobile app
720p HD resolution (720×1280)
110-degree viewing angle
Built-in night vision
Dual band Wi-Fi support (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz)
Integration with NEST and future home security products from Momentum *

*This is according to the Momentum site. At this time I can’t find any way to implement this integration.

What’s in the box?

Momentum 720P wireless camera
AC adapter
micro USB charging cable
Mounting hardware
Manual
Quick start guide

Design and features

The Momentum WiFi Video Camera has a black and brushed silver plastic case.

On the front is the 720P camera lens, a status LED, and a microphone for two-way communication.

On the back of the camera is a speaker, a micro USB connection for the included power cable, and a reset button.

On one side of the camera is a micro SD card slot. A memory card is not included with the camera, but it will work with cards that have up to 128GB capacity.

The camera’s base is magnetic. It will stick to any flat steel surface or you can use the included steel plate to attach the camera to a wall or ceiling.

The angle of the camera can be adjusted by pivoting it in the base.

Setup

To setup the Momentum camera, you install the iOS or Android app on your mobile device. I did my testing with an LG G6 and an iPhone 7 Plus.

The application then guides you step by step to add the camera. Basically, you just plug in the camera, point the phone’s camera at the QR code on the back and it detects your WiFi network. Then you just wait for it to complete the setup.

I had a few glitches during the initial setup where the app detected the camera but never finished setting it up. Note that I was setting up the Momentum camera within 3.5 feet from my wireless rounder and phone. After a couple of reboots, it finally worked.

Usage



The user interface for the Momentum app has a tiled layout that is easy enough to navigate. There’s a large tile for the camera (it’s not a live view though), a tile/button to go into the activity list and a tile/button to go into the rules setup.

Note that the camera comes with a 30 day free trial of the Momentum cloud service, but the service is not mandatory. Without the service, the camera can save photos and manually captured videos to the micro SD card. The camera will not (as far as I can tell) record ALL footage to the micro SD card.

The rules setup is very basic. All you can do is set it to trigger on motion and set the days/times when the triggers will be active. There isn’t a way to set zones or other advanced features that some home security cameras offer.



Tapping the camera tile on the app’s dashboard will take you into the live view of the camera which you see above on the left. Below the live view are icons for two-way communication, video recording, camera snapshot, and the activity list. The slider switch at the top of the screen turns the camera on/off.

When motion is triggered, you’ll receive a notice on your phone like you see in the image in the middle. This notification does not include a thumbnail of the motion. To see what triggered the notification, you have to go to the activities page which shows a list of all the triggered events (above on the right).

The activities screen is not accurate or updated correctly. It will list some events that happened yesterday under the heading for today. And as you can see, each entry does not always show a thumbnail.

But even worse is the fact that very often, I’ll click on one of the notifications in the list and it will act like it’s going to play the recorded video clip but it’s completely blank. This is one of the most frustrating problems with the Momentum camera, but it’s not the only problem.

Another problem is with the night vision IR. See the image above? That was taken around 8 AM in the morning. It’s a little gloomy outside, but it’s not that dark right?

During the same time, the live view through the Momentum app looks like this. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to deactivate the IR feature or schedule it for only certain times of the day.

Final thoughts

For $49.99 I was hoping that the Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera would be a good deal, but it turned out to be a dud. It’s fine if all you want to use it for is a live viewer, but if you want to depend on it for motion alerts, you’ll be very disappointed. My advice is to skip this one.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Momentum. Please visit their site for more info.

 

Product Information

Price: $49.99
Manufacturer: Momentum
Pros:
  • Inexpensive
  • Built-in micro SD card slot for local video storage
  • Magnetic base
Cons:
  • Notification video is sometimes blank
  • Can't turn of IR night vision
  • Manual image and video capture doesn't show up in the app
  • Activity screen does not show current info

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Momentum Wi-Fi Video Camera review originally appeared on on July 6, 2017 at 9:48 am.

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AOC’s new monitors hide the cables in the base

I haven’t had monitor lust in… well I can’t really remember ever having monitor lust until right now. Take a look at the image above. It’s the new AOC PDS241 and PDS271 monitors and they are stunning. They feature a crazy thin (5.2 mm) and an almost frameless display that looks great, but what really has my gadget lust in overdrive is the way these IPS monitors have been designed to hide the power and HDMI cables.

Instead of the typical design that most monitors use that puts the connections on the back of the monitor so that the cables dangle behind for a very untidy look. Design house Studio F. A. Porsche has designed the AOC PDS241 and PDS271’s cables to be routed through the stand and into a small module.

The HDMI cable (they include one with the monitor) and power cables connect to the small communication box at the base of the monitor so they can then be passed through a desk grommet or off the back edge of the desk for a much nicer and more minimalist look.

You can read more about the AOC PDS241 and PDS271 by visiting AOC.com and you can buy the 24″ monitor for $199.99 and the 27″ monitor for $249.99 through Amazon.

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AOC’s new monitors hide the cables in the base originally appeared on on July 6, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Tronsmart Presto 10,000mAh power bank review

Aside from my phone, power banks may be the most important tool in my gadget arsenal. I use my phone for everything and have the ability to drain the battery in a few short hours. If it weren’t for power banks, I would find myself lost in tech wilderness more often than I care to admit.

I recently reviewed the Tronsmart Presto 10,000mAh power bank. How will it compare to those I’ve reviewed in the past?

Measuring 5.5″ (L) x 2.67″ (W) x .62″ (H), the Presto is definitely something that can fit in your pocket; yet, it still packs an impressive 10,000mAh capacity.

The Presto has three ports on the end of the device.

The two USB A ports use Tronsmart’s VoltiQ technology to determine the maximum current a device can use. The green USB A port to the right also utilizes Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology. The middle port is a micro USB port used to charge the power bank.

The front of the device has four LED indicators. Each LED represents approximately 25% of battery life.

The back of the device contains branding and technical information.

The body of the Presto is smooth and feels a bit rubbery. Whatever the body is made of, it’s a dust magnet.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Presto is it takes advantage of Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology.

Quick Charge 3.0 allows phones to recharge at much greater speeds than normal. The most recent version automatically optimizes the power transfer rate and works with any voltage between 3.6V to 20V, while remaining backward compatible with Quick Charge 1.0 and 2.0.

Although no iPhone is Quick Charge compatible, most major Android devices are compatible with some form of Quick Charge. Unfortunately for me, the Pixel XL is one of the Android devices that doesn’t benefit from Quick Charge.

I was hoping the combination of VoltiQ and Quick Charge would allow my Pixel XL to fast charge; alas, I was forced to watch my phone recharge at standard speeds.

Even without being able to take advantage of Quick Charge, the Presto still allowed for heavy use of my phone; I could use it to text, surf the net, and use it as a hotspot without any impairment.

Although not related to performance, the Presto also comes with a travel bag.

It’s a simple nylon bag, but it could be handy if you’re going to toss the power bank in a backpack or purse.

Overall, I really liked the Presto. It’s small but packs a powerful punch. It’s become my go-to power bank since I began reviewing it.

At $19.99, you’re getting great performance for a great price. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the market for a power bank.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Tronsmart. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $19.99
Manufacturer: Tronsmart
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • Quick Charge compatible device for enhanced charging speeds
Pros:
  • Fast Charging with Quick Charge
  • Affordable
Cons:
  • None

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Tronsmart Presto 10,000mAh power bank review originally appeared on on July 6, 2017 at 7:03 am.

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Fidget spinners, 3D printers, smart wallets and more – Notable crowdfunding campaigns

Today I have a selection of five Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns that I think are interesting enough that you’ll want to check them out. Click through to see my list of this week’s notable crowdfunding campaigns.

Liberty+: The First Zero-Compromise Total-Wireless Earphones

What is it?
The Liberty+ wireless earphones are totally wireless earbuds that offer better features than other wireless earbuds currently on the market.

Why do I like it?
I like the Liberty+ earbuds because they have a battery charging case capable of providing up to 48 hrs of play time, they are water resistant, have graphene-coated drivers for improved sound quality, have Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri integration, and they are affordable.

Where can I find more info?
With 18 days left in the campaign, The Liberty+ campaign has already blasted past their funding goal of $50,000. You can pre-order a pair of Liberty+ earphones starting at $99. After the Baggizmo Liberty+ campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in October 2017. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

SPƐDGET – An advanced, all-in-one Fidget & Spinner that grows along side your motor skills!

What is it?
The SPƐDGET is a two in one fidget toy and spinner toy.

Why do I like it?
I like the SPƐDGET because it’s not the same as all of the other tri-tip style spinners crowding the market right now. The SPƐDGET is different because it combines a fidget toy with a spinner toy into one folding toy.

Where can I find more info?
With 28 days left in the campaign, The SPƐDGET campaign is still working their funding goal of $1,024. You can pre-order a SPƐDGET starting at $5 (shipping not included). After the SPƐDGET campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in December 2017. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

FLEXY PAW, Selfies & Portraits of your Dogs and Cats

What is it?
The FLEXY PAW is a small clip for your phone that can hold treats or other items to capture your pet’s attention when you’re trying to photograph them.

Why do I like it?
I like the FLEXY PAW because whenever I try to take a picture my cat Max, I can never get him to look at me for more than a second or two. I bet if I put a piece of chicken in the FLEX PAW clip that he’d be easier to photograph.

Where can I find more info?
With 29 days left in the campaign, The FLEXY PAW campaign is still working their funding goal of $39,000. You can pre-order a FLEXY PAW starting at $16. After the FLEXY PAW campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in November 2017. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

Obsidian 3D Printer: High Quality, Sleek, and Affordable.

What is it?
The Obsidian is a small 3D Printer that has a fantastic price point of only $99 for their base version.

Why do I like it?
I like the Obsidian 3D Printer because it’s small and crazy inexpensive at only $99. It comes fully assembled so that you can unbox, plug in and print. This printer seems like a great choice for someone wanting to get into 3D printing without spending a lot of cash.

Where can I find more info?
With 23 days left in the campaign, The Obsidian 3D Printer campaign has already reached their funding goal of $100,000. You can pre-order an Obsidian 3D Printer starting at $99. After the Obsidian 3D Printer campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in December 2017. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

Baggizmo Wiseward – wallet meets gadget

What is it?
The Baggizmo Wiseward is a wallet with all the features you want in a connected wallet including Bluetooth tracking, RFID protection and more.

Why do I like it?
I like the Baggizmo Wiseward wallet because it has so many features that other “smart” wallets lack. Some of these features include Qi wireless charging, built-in LED lights inside the wallet so you can see your bills if you’re in a dark location, double tap the wallet to find your phone, notifaction if you drop the wallet and even if the wallet is opened.

Where can I find more info?
With 7 days left in the campaign, The Baggizmo Wiseward campaign still has some work to do before they can reach their funding goal of $35,000. You can pre-order a Baggizmo Wiseward starting at $79. After the Baggizmo Wiseward campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in December 2017. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

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Fidget spinners, 3D printers, smart wallets and more – Notable crowdfunding campaigns originally appeared on on July 5, 2017 at 1:54 pm.

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