2017 – Page 225

Pelican Bottle Drinkware review

I have been a sportster/athlete most of my life, enjoying tennis, running, karate, basketball, etc. When I was younger, I did a poor job of drinking enough water to stay hydrated. Horribly so, but youth allowed me to power thru 99% of the time. As I have gotten older, I do a much better job drinking liquids throughout my day. Sadly though, that sometimes means buying water in plastic bottles. And while I diligently recycle, I still have twinges of guilt. To help alleviate this, Pelican has recently released a new product to help you fill up as you go… Pelican Bottles is the latest addition to their rugged Drinkware collection and is a tough, “go anywhere, do anything” vessel designed to withstand the harshest of rough and tumble lifestyles.

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

I love Pelican products, I have used them for decades both at home and at work. It is impressive just how much abuse they can withstand. Pelican’s Drinkware Bottles are created with that same bring it on attitude. Pelican Bottles are engineered with 18/8 pro grade stainless steel finished with a sweat-proof, powder-coated exterior that ensures greater durability and solid grippability.

Specifications:

Length: 3.62″ (9.2 cm)
Height: 11.00″ (27.9 cm)
Capacity: 32oz
Weight: 1 pound (empty) / 3 pounds (full of water)

Features:

Double-wall vacuum insulation for extreme hot & cold retention
Copper-plated inner wall and 18/8 stainless steel
Sweat-proof, powder-coated finish
Non-slip rubber base
Spill-proof lid with easy-carry handle
Lifetime Guarantee

The Pelican Bottle has double-walled construction with vacuum insulation for better hot and cold thermal retention. As stated above, the interior wall is made from 18/8 stainless steel with a copper-plated inner lining and vacuum insulation between it and the outer wall. The cap is made from rigid plastic that screws on easily and has what appears to be a rubber or silicone o-ring to seal the vessel liquid-tight.

Pelican has designed the Bottle’s cap to be an easy-carry handle for “effortless transport”. The loop on the cap is meant to be carried by hand or attached to your EDC bag. The thermos itself is engineered to be spill-proof.

The Bottle’s non-slip rubber base not only adds extra surface grippability but increased durability from bumps and drops as well. This wide base is engineered to (hopefully) not topple over, preventing spillage of the bottle’s contents. But the wider base on the 32oz. and 64 oz. Bottles make it so they will not fit into most, if any, car cupholders. As an aside, this made me smile: pretty funny how Pelican needs to warn folks to not microwave a metal bottle…though I bet it would make for an excellent Slow Mo Guys video .

Pelican Bottles are available in black or white, with capacities of 18 oz., 32 oz., and 64 oz. Pelican Bottles come with a lifetime guarantee. I selected the 32oz. Pelican Bottle and it definitely fits the three bears scenario. Not too big and not too small, for me at least but your need may be different.

Now I grant you a thermos is not the most high-tech piece of hardware…no matter how nicely constructed. But the Pelican Bottle is an excellent addition to my EDC gear. I’m considering using the Pelican Bottle to upgrade my old plastic bottle I continue to reuse around the office or perhaps as a emergency source of water in my fun car. But whether you are going on a hike, long ride in a car, or bringing your favorite beverage to watch your kids sports team play, the Pelican Bottles is a great way to transport your hot or cold drinks with you.

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

Product Information

Price:	$39.99
Manufacturer:	Pelican
Pros:	Very well made/solid construction Quality materials Easy to carry Great thermal insulation Good grippability
Cons:	None

Filed in categories: Health, Fitness, Sports, Outdoor Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Water Bottle

Pelican Bottle Drinkware review originally appeared on on March 29, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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Creative gets creative with gaming speakers

Creative is known mainly for SoundBlaster sound cards and speakers. I’ve reviewed their wonderful Roar wireless speaker series. Creative’s newest speaker is the BlasterX Kratos S5 is a 2.1 gaming speaker system with Aurora Reactive lighting system. It comes with powerful 4” satellite drivers and a 6.5” subwoofer in wooden enclosures, delivering clear highs, detailed mid-range and deep bass. When connected to a PC or Mac it’s capable of high-quality 24-bit/96kHz digital audio playback.

The full-range satellites are designed with large volume capacity in mind. The custom-tuned, down-firing subwoofer pumps out deep bass for gaming, movie and mega bass music playback without distortion.

The Kratos S5 has immersive virtual 7.1 surround sound and fully customizable BlasterX Acoustic Engine Pro software for PC.

Control volume through an easy-to-access audio control pod. This pod provides hassle-free gaming connection for a headset and microphone.

The Aurora Reactive lighting system provides ambient lighting to accompany games with fully customizable 16 million color LED lighting with six presets or customizable colors and patterns to match other peripherals or fully integrate with other Creative Aurora Reactive lighting system-enabled products.

The Creative BlasterX Kratos S5 is a 2.1 gaming speaker system is available now and sells for $159.99 US. Visit Creative for more information.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV, Gaming Gear, News

Tagged: Gaming, Speakers

Creative gets creative with gaming speakers originally appeared on on March 29, 2017 at 8:53 am.

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myCharge RazorUltra 12,000 mAh portable charger review

Extra power in your hands, right when you need it? Yes, please! This myCharge RazorUltra 12,000 mAh portable charger delivers. Not only is it tough, sturdy and reliable, but it looks great, too. There are a lot of portable chargers out there, but I found that this device really delivered for me. And it has a TON of great features!

I really thought the top and bottom form-fitted plastic packaging this item came in was outstanding. It firmly holds all of the components in their place. There’s no chance of the items moving around in the packaging during shipping, so there’s little chance of damage. The box it comes in, too, is very sturdy and well built. (See feature picture.)

This picture shows that the unit is a pretty standard size for a 12,000 mAh portable charger. Fits well in the hand, feels solid, and fits easily in your pants pocket. The smaller picture shows some of the specs on the back of the unit. And check out this outstanding list of features – straight from the manufacturer’s website:

TECHNOLOGY

Smart-sense: ensures complete device compatibility

Hyper-charge: ultra-fast charging of your devices; up to 65% faster than competitors

Power-stay: maintains battery power for up to 1 year

Max-power: maximum power transfer from powerbank to device

High-density battery: the smallest and lightest powerbank

Safe-cell: provides the highest level of battery safety

Rapid-recharge: powerbank recharges up to 50% faster than competitors

Pass Through Charging: will charge the powerbank and connected device simultaneously

The plug to charge the unit comes with handy fold-out pins that fit into any standard USA power outlet.

Something I really like about this portable charger are the “Power Remaining” indicators. There are four of them. Very intuitive, so four lights indicate 75-100% power remaining, three means 50-74%, two means 25-49%, and one light means 24% or less power remaining. They don’t stay on constantly, either; thus draining the battery for no reason. How do you get them to light up, then? You shake it! (But don’t “shake it light a Polaroid picture”! Unless you’re dancing… or you just can’t help yourself.) Just give it a jostle, and they’ll light right up for you, then fade after about 3 seconds. Pretty cool.

As you can see, the RazorUltra unit comes with a USB 2.0 micro Type B jack (cord included) for charging, and two USB 2.0 Type A ports to charge your devices.*

*myCharge sells a variety of chargers, each with different ports, options, and styles to meet your needs, including one that uses the latest USB-C technology, which can charge and run a laptop!

So let’s talk about practical application. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.1″ tablet. Starting with the RazorUltra fully charged, and my Galaxy S5 phone at 6% remaining power, the portable charger totally recharged my phone in exactly 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 17 seconds. Now, AFTER the phone had been fully charged, I just attached the charger to my Galaxy Tab S and started charging it without recharging the RazorUltra. The Tab S was also at 6% power remaining when I started. The portable charger got my Tab S up to 96% after 5 hours, 24, minutes, and 16 seconds, and then it ran out of juice. But the juice was pretty sweet. (Ha! See what I did there?)

All-in-all, I really like this unit, especially for the price of $59.99. It holds its charge well and definitely stands up to other 12,000 mAh portable chargers out there. I usually go for larger capacity chargers, but this is a really solid piece of equipment to have in your arsenal.

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

Product Information

Price:	$59.99
Manufacturer:	myCharge
Retailer:	Amazon
Pros:	Tough, anodized aluminum 12000 mAh storage Various models, options and colors See ALL the features under the TECHNOLOGY section in the article, including: Smart-sense Hyper-charge Power-stay Max-power High-density battery Safe-cell Rapid-recharge Pass Through Charging
Cons:	Limited power storage. Will only charge your device 1-3 time(s), depending on the device

Filed in categories: Cables, Batteries and Chargers, Reviews

Tagged: Backup Battery

myCharge RazorUltra 12,000 mAh portable charger review originally appeared on on March 29, 2017 at 7:43 am.

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Using Catchall could get you accused of being an organized person

It’s that time of year when decluttering and spring cleaning is at the forefront of everyone’s minds and procrastination with a side of stagnancy has been removed from the menu. I feel the pressure and I don’t like it. How about this? In lieu of all that organizing and cleaning that I so dread, I’ll buy a Catchall or two as gifts (maybe for Father’s Day…notice me NOT procrastinating) so that I can enjoy the thought of a couple of lucky people in my life getting their “stuff” organized.

This stand is a simple, two-piece design that allows the user to keep all of their important items in one place so they don’t have to guess where they may have left their keys, wallet, phone, etc. You could put your watch or bracelets on there, use it as a place to charge your phone or tablet, keep the book you’re currently reading close by, or even use it in the kitchen to hold your recipes while keeping your other important items neatly organized. It’s made of two unstained and sanded pieces of high-quality plywood that you could stain yourself or leave natural. The handmade Catchall by Jigsaw Furnishings can be purchased for $34.99 on Amazon today. Making this purchase qualifies as spring cleaning in my book!

Filed in categories: Home and Kitchen, News

Tagged: Organization

Using Catchall could get you accused of being an organized person originally appeared on on March 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm.

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Seneo PA046 fast wireless charger 10W Qi wireless charging stand review

When I got my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ I embraced wireless charging. I had been especially looking forward to that feature when considering the purchase of my phone, so I started looking for wireless chargers right off the bat. I have reviewed several here on the Gadgeteer, and I now have a good idea of what I like and don’t like about wireless charging in general. So what makes the Seneo different? Is it better or worse than other wireless chargers I have? Let’s find out.

First things first, the specs from the manufacturer:

Fast charge modes are ONLY available for the Galaxy devices – S6 Edge+, S7, S7 Edge, Note 5. All other Qi-enabled devices will charge at regular speed. Some devices may require an additional wireless charging power brick (Not Included).
Charging time from zero to full (Phone case is strongly suggested to be REMOVED while charging):
- S7 (3000mAh): 2 Hours + 20minutes
  S7 Edge (3600mAh): 2 Hours + 55minutes
  S6 Edge+ (3000mAh): 2 Hours + 35minutes
  Note 5(3000mAh): 2 Hours + 30minutes
Phones can be charged either vertically or horizontally
Curved bottom in the cradle helps to accommodate phones with a curved bottom
Built-in over-voltage, under voltage, and short-circuit protection
In the box:
1 x SENEO fast wireless charger stand
1 x USB Power Cable (not including the AC adapter)
1 x User Manual
Warranty: 45 days money back & 18-month warranty.

What I liked

I love wireless charging in general. The convenience is awesome… just lay it down and it charges. The Seneo does provide my phone with fast-charging, and just like the manufacturer suggests, removing the phone cover does improve the wireless charging experience slightly. But honestly, it didn’t improve my charging enough to cause me to want to go through the effort to remove the cover. So I don’t.

The main thing that I love about the Seneo is that it solves my biggest hassle with all wireless charging devices. When your device is laid flat on a wireless charging device, you can’t really use it. At work, I find myself constantly having to pick up my phone to answer text messages, make phone calls, etc. So I have all but abandoned wireless charging at work during the day. Until now. That’s where the Seneo fits in my life. Now I can wireless charge my phone as it sits up and I can use it while it charges. Big win.

The one indicator light is across the bottom of the front of the charger, and it glows blue when not being used and glows green while charging your phone. I tried it at home first and the light wasn’t too bad during the night.

What I didn’t like

Not much. I don’t like the general trend in gadgets these days of not including a power brick, and there is no power brick with the Seneo, obviously to save cost. That means I have to use a power brick that can handle fast charging. I tried using an old power brick from an older device and not only would it not charge fast wireless, the Seneo wouldn’t charge at all. So I would have been willing to pay $10 more for this charger to include a power brick.

Final thoughts

At $22.95 this charger is a bargain. And as I mentioned, I would have been willing to pay more if it included a power brick. Having the ability to charge my phone in the upright position at work has enabled to embrace wireless charging at work again. I highly recommend this product.

The sample for this review was provided by Seneo. Please visit Amazon to order.

Product Information

Price:	$22.95
Manufacturer:	Seneo
Retailer:	Amazon
Requirements:	A cellphone with wireless charging capabilities
Pros:	Great price Dual-orientation charging Fast-charging on some models
Cons:	No power brick

Filed in categories: Cables, Batteries and Chargers, Reviews

Tagged: Qi

Seneo PA046 fast wireless charger 10W Qi wireless charging stand review originally appeared on on March 28, 2017 at 12:00 pm.

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