Home 2017 October

Use the magic of fire to charge your gadgets

Can you imagine what the first humans thought when they were able to create fire for the first time? You can experience a tiny bit of that magic by harnessing the energy from fire to charge your gadgets. The FlameStower converts heat from a campfire into electricity that you can use to charge your USB devices.

This small device has a collapsible cup that you fill with water and a metal blade under that cup that you insert into the fire.

The fire heats the blade, which heats the water in the cup, which iturns into 2.5 watts (average) of power. That is enough to charge your phone in about 2.5 Hours or or if you don’t want to wait that long, it will provide about 2 minutes of talk time for every 1 minute of charge time.

The FlameStower is priced at $99.99. You can read more about it at stowerenergy.com and Amazon.

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Use the magic of fire to charge your gadgets originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 13, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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Even your car deserves an awesome gear bag

Keep all the miscellaneous gear in your car in one place with a Seat Organizer from Ketzel. These multi-compartment leather holders are designed to hang on the back of a car seat so you can keep everything neat and tidy for easy access. Ketzel makes their car seat organizers for a selection of Toyota, VW, Jeep, and other vehicles. They are constructed to hold a variety of items from flashlights, books, water bottles, and more. Each seat organizer is made from 100% Columbian leather with double-stitched waxed polyester thread and are priced at $150 – $199. You can read more about these rugged car gear bags at ketzalbags.com

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Even your car deserves an awesome gear bag originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 13, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Snag a copy of “Coding For Dummies” (Free eBook expires 10/17/17 )

Coding For Dummies is an ebook which normally costs $16.00 but it is being offered FREE of charge until 10/10/17. This ebook offers hands-on exercises will help you learn to code like a pro without needing prior coding experience. Coding for Dummies is a guide that uses plain English to help the reader build up their knowledge in writing computer code for web, applications, and software development using languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

There are a few hoops to jump through to get this guide (if you haven’t already signed up previously with TradePub) but it helps The Gadgeteer to earn some affiliate fees that can help us to bring you more cool product reviews.

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Snag a copy of “Coding For Dummies” (Free eBook expires 10/17/17 ) originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 12, 2017 at 5:45 pm.

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Julie’s gadget diary – First it was iPhone to Android and now I’m switching from Verizon to T-Mobile

If you’ve been following along at home, you know that I recently had a 3-month fling with an iPhone 7 Plus but just switched back to Android a few days ago. I’m currently using an original Pixel XL but ordered the new Pixel 2 XL last week after it was announced by Google. And now I’m switching again, this time it’s my wireless carrier and I’m switching from Verizon to T-Mobile.

I’m feeling of Deja Vu because seven years ago I switched from the iPhone to Android AND from AT&T to Verizon. My seven year run with Verizon has been pretty good until the last year or so when the signal coverage at my home has gotten worse. This hasn’t been a huge deal until recently when we disconnected our landline phones to solely rely on our cell phones. As long as we remain upstairs, making and receiving calls is fine, but if we receive calls while in the basement, we have issues with dropped calls.

I’m on a grandfathered plan with Verizon which is only 6GB of data shared between two lines. I know, how do I survive which such a small data bucket? I’ve just lived with it because the 2 lines are only costing me $88 a month and it really hasn’t been a problem until recently. For the last couple of years, I’ve been able to connect to the WiFi at my day job. But now they require that we load a special app that can track what’s on our phones and wipe them at their discretion. Ummmm… no, thank you.

Another reason for the switch is that I regularly have to turn down offers to review phones that aren’t compatible with my Verizon SIM because they are GSM phones.

And last but not least, T-Mobile has a deal right now you are a new or existing customer and bring a Pixel 2 to their network, they will give you a $325 gift card! That’s tough to turn down.

So last year I got a T-Mobile account to test the signal quality between my house in the woods and the “big” city of Columbus Indiana and found a 5-mile stretch where I’d consistently get the dreaded no signal message.

I tested again in May of this year with Mint SIM who use T-Mobile towers for their service and I experienced the same no signal area.

In anticipation of potentially switching to T-Mobile, I ordered a new Mint SIM to see if there had been any updates in their coverage in the last 5 months. I tested that this past weekend and unfortunately, the no signal hole still exists.

Long story short, even though there’s a small gap in signal coverage that I’ll drive through twice a day, I’m making the leap and switching. We’ll be paying about $20 more per month, but we’ll have “unlimited” data, Netflix, faster speeds, and better connectivity at my house. How do I know that? I’ve been using T-Mobile for my home internet for several months, so I already know that it’s going to work great there.

iPhone to Android. Verizon to T-Mobile. What’s next? Would you believe that I’m seriously considering switching from Mac to Windows now?!

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Julie’s gadget diary – First it was iPhone to Android and now I’m switching from Verizon to T-Mobile originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 12, 2017 at 12:54 pm.

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Belkin Pocket Power 5,000mAh charger review: A cute way to quickly charge your devices.

When it comes to day trips and travel days, I’ve been using the same portable battery pack for years to keep my phone topped off. During that time, battery packs have become not only smaller but pack more power into that smaller unit. Belkin offered their Pocket Power 5,000mAh portable charger to review and I thought, “Why not?” I just couldn’t say no to the portability and the lovely pink color.

In the package you’ll find the Pocket Power 5k power bank, instruction manual, and a 6 inch Micro-USB cable.

I was happy that they offered a rose gold colored pack, since it made it easy to find when tossed into a backpack. The color was really nice, and despite being thrown in my purse, backpack, and car, the outer casing held up very well. The pack is thin enough to fit inside even my smallest purse, which was nice. My previous pack was too thick to do so.

The side of the battery pack is where the charging indicator lights are, as well as the button to start and stop charging. Sometimes it would automatically start charging my phone when I plugged it in, while other times I had to press this button.

On the bottom side you’ll find the USB port for charging your devices and the Micro-USB port for charging the battery pack. Charging the pack from empty took a few hours to do. I just left it to charge overnight for the most part.

At 5000 mAh, this pack should have enough juice to charge your phone about 1.5 times, which is better than the previous one I was using.

I was very happy with how fast this little battery pack charged up my phone. The ultimate test was when I forgot to plug in my phone overnight right before a weekend trip. I got to the airport, pulled up my boarding pass, and realized I was very low on battery. I plugged in my phone and in an hour I was up to almost 90%. What a lifesaver! I also used it to keep my phone topped off, and it had plenty of juice to do everything I requested of it that day. I charged it up that night and it lasted the entire weekend.

Overall, I am very happy with the Pocket Power 5K power bank. It has enough juice to charge my iPhone 7 Plus and
then some, and not only that, it charges very quickly. The pack itself fits well in my hand, purse, or backpack, and seems sturdy enough to hold up to daily use. I would definitely recommend the Belkin Pocket Power 5K as it will be my go to pack for travel from now on.

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

 

Product Information

Price: $29.99
Manufacturer: Belkin
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • – Very fast charging
  • – Portable
Cons:
  • – None

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Belkin Pocket Power 5,000mAh charger review: A cute way to quickly charge your devices. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 12, 2017 at 10:29 am.

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