Home 2017

TEWELL RetroRock AC Powered Bluetooth Speaker review

This may be one of the coolest looking vintage-styled speakers I’ve reviewed. Seriously… if you don’t tell anyone they might think you swiped it from your dad’s (or grandad’s) rec room. With Bluetooth connectivity and great sound, however, it’s more than just a good looking room ornament. Let’s get our groove on with the Tewell RetroRock!

Retro-Styled Goodness and Simple Controls

The TEWELL RetroRock speaker is a beauty. The vintage look is highlighted by a metallic fabric front face, gold accents, and a leatherette casing. It’s even got an old-school toggle for a power switch and an honest-to-goodness volume knob! 

It’s a good-looking accessory that stands out in any room. My wife even asked to put it on display on the bar in our kitchen. This is a thing that never, ever happens.

The Tewell RetroRock offers Bluetooth connectivity or an aux-in audio cable port to connect to your preferred music device. A recessed panel on the top of the speaker contains all of the controls (and the aux port). There’s a button to switch between Bluetooth and aux mode, and three buttons for Bluetooth control (play/pause, next track, previous track). The buttons all have nice tactile feel, and everything is laid out nicely so that you’re not fumbling for the controls.

Rounding out the package, you’ll find a standard AC jack on the back. A power adaptor and aux cable are included in the package. The whole unit is a shelf-friendly 10.2” wide by 5.9” tall and deep, and weighs about 4.5 pounds.

As far as connectivity goes, Bluetooth connectivity is a pretty straightforward affair. Turn the unit on and pair with your device. A blue led light around the volume knob flashes rapidly during pairing mode, and goes steady when the connection is made. I tried pairing it with multiple devices without an issue.

If you want to use the aux cable, plug in and hit the Bluetooth button to start playing from the cable. Hit the button again, and it picks up the last Bluetooth device automatically. All the controls are simple, no user manual required.

Does It Bring the Funk?

The Tewell RetroRock sports two 12w speakers on the front face, and a “bass reflex system” with the bass port on the rear of the unit. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an audiophile, but I’m impressed with the sound quality. I tested the speaker with a variety of music styles, podcasts, streaming music services, and stuff loaded to my devices. Audio is crisp and clear. The bass has a well-rounded, deep resonance that adds nice depth. Quality is also consistent at high and low volume ranges without breaking.

Other Considerations

While the RetroRock has a 30-foot range for Bluetooth devices, I did notice some drops if the device is farther away than 10 feet from the speaker. After reading the reviews on the RetroRock, however, I don’t see this as a commonly reported problem. I also noticed that sounds quality and volume range seems to be slightly better when using the aux cable, but it sounds great either way.

The Tewell RetroRock is not a battery-operated device, so you can’t charge it and move it around the house. Tewell offers a chargeable variant called the “RetroGo” that is portable and wireless if that’s your preference.

There’s also no microphone/speaker integration on the RetroRock for integrated Bluetooth calling. If you get a call, it will switch automatically to your phone and back again when your call is complete. I don’t see this as a big drawback, but you may want to consider this if you’re shopping based on feature sets.

Tewell offers an 18-month refund or replacement policy if you find any defects with your speaker. At this price range that’s a pretty impressive warranty. According to other reviews, they also offer excellent customer service support.

Positives

  • Great looking retro-styling
  • Bluetooth and Aux-cable support for compatibility with all of your devices
  • Simple, easy-to-use interface
  • Great, deep sound
  • Excellent customer support & warranty

Negatives

  • Does not support integrated Bluetooth phone calls
  • Noticed some drops in Bluetooth connectivity, but it does a good job of picking up if drops occur

Final thoughts

I really dig the Tewell RetroRock speaker. Not only does it have great sound and device compatibility, but it’s a great looking and interesting design piece that you’ll be happy to display anywhere in the house. At a retail price of $69.99 with excellent customer support, it’s also a great value. The battery-powered version, the RetroGo, retails for

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: the sample for this review was provided by Tewell.

Pad & Quill Heritage Apple Watch band review

 

If you own any kind of Apple product you have probably heard of Pad&Quill. Well known for producing luxurious leather Cases for iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks they also make leather bands for the Apple Watch. I was fortunate enough to receive the Heritage Apple Watch Band to review.

What is it?

The Pad&Quill Heritage Apple Watch Band is a full-grain leather strap made for the 42mm Apple Watch Series 1, 2, and 3.

 Design and features

I own a lot of Apple Watch Bands, you could say that I’ve never seen one that I don’t want to buy. However, the P&Q Heritage band is the first one I’ve owned that screams craftsmanship right out of the box. From leather to stitching, you can tell that the utmost care went into making this strap.

Even the box the strap comes in has a real artisan look, right down to the old-fashioned Pad&Quill wax seal.

 Quality, quality, quality!

The construction of this strap is meticulous. From the elegant contrasting stitched French-hemmed edges to the durable matte black nickel hardware. The leather is a luxurious American full-grain whiskey leather and the stitching is a UV-resistant marine-grade stitch. That’s the same stitch used in making sails and parachutes.

Each band is hand-made by a Skilled Artisan. This is one of the things that makes P&Q’s bands stand out from all others. Not only does a skilled craftsman make each band but they also discreetly sign each strap’s interior.

Another unique thing they do is add a single orange tie-off to each strap. The orange tie-off signifies P&Q’s tribute to World Vision. Not only is it cool but it makes for an interesting conversation piece when people ask you about your new watch band.

P&Q is so confident in the skill of their craftsman that they offer an INSANE 25-year leather warranty with every strap. So you’re not only buying quality you’re also buying confidence. I love that.

I really like how this strap looks and feels on my wrist. The robust non-tapered design gives the band a substantial and rugged look and feel. It really transforms the whole look of my Apple Watch. And like any good watch band, its look effortlessly transitions from workweek to weekend.

 

The band is a little stiff at first, and the size adjustment holes are a little on the small side which made putting the band on the first couple of times a little challenging. But once broken in I can honestly say it’s the most comfortable Apple Watch Band I’ve ever worn.

Positives

  • Handcrafted by a skilled artisan
  • American full-grain whiskey leather
  • Great looks
  • Extremely comfortable
  • 25-year leather warranty

Negatives

  • Leather is a little stiff
  • Small adjustment holes

Final thoughts

The Pad&Quill Heritage Apple Watch Band isn’t simply just a watch band, it’s a piece of artisan artwork and a great conversation piece. From the full-grain whiskey leather to the craftsman signature, and trade-mark orange tie-off everything about this band speaks to its quality and craftsmanship.

IMHO, if you own an Apple Watch you need to have this strap as part of your collection.

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Pad & Quill
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Pad & Quill. Please visit their site for more info.

Waterfield announces its new Atlas Executive Athletic Holdall

Waterfield has recently announced its Atlas Executive Athletic Holdall, a bag designed to be an all-in-one everyday transporter. It is meant to be both a briefcase and athletic bag, enabling you to seamlessly go from gym to office and back again. It has a padded laptop compartment and organizational pockets for all your EDC needs plus separate compartments to hold your workout gear (including shoes) as well. The Altas Holdall is made from black ballistic nylon or brown waxed canvas with full-grain leather accents. The bag is not too big or heavy: 16″ (L) x 10″ (H) x 8.5″ (W) weighing just over 3 lbs.

I regularly carry multiple bags with me to work:

All of this adds up to a very clunky way to get from home to work and back. When I saw the Waterfield Atlas Executive Athletic Holdall my initial thought was…I so need that. Combining all my stuff into a single carry solution while looking very professional and organized would be truly brilliant.

Waterfield begins taking orders for the $429 Altas Executive Holdall on Dec. 31st with orders shipping in mid January.

Mujjo iPhone X case, iQAir air purifier, Peak Design Sling bag, and more – Weekly roundup

Do you need a distraction from all the holiday hubbub? No problem, I have just what Santa ordered. Here’s a full listing of everything that we posted this week on The Gadgeteer. Grab a mug of eggnog, settle back and enjoy.

Reviews

Articles

News

Snooz fan-powered white noise machine review

One of humankind’s most under-rated activities is sleep. We cannot function without it and yet the modern world makes it very difficult to fall asleep naturally. Lights, evening activities, foods and drinks with stimulating ingredients, and noise all contribute to shifting and/or shortening our natural sleep cycle. Avoiding lights (especially certain hues), certain foods, activities that get the blood flowing are somewhat in everyone’s own control, but avoiding noises is more difficult. Noise is especially prone to disturb sleep because our hearing is always alert, even while sleeping. White noise machines help because the tones they produce lull our minds into sleep while at the same time drowning out noises which may wake us. One of the most trusted noise machines is a fan running at night. Snooz has turned this old standby into a state-of-the-art gadget. read on to see what I think!

What Is It?

The Snooz is a white noise machine with a real fan used to generate the sound. It has fan design and a low-power motor designed to be energy efficient. It is also controllable by an smartphone app using Bluetooth, so that it can be remotely controlled, programmed to start and stop on schedule, and operated to not exceed a dBA noise level measured at the phone.

Design and Features

Unboxing

The Snooz comes with a sleeping mask and an instruction booklet. At the back of the booklet is a one year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. The packaging is “frustration-free” style and opens in a clamshell fashion, as depicted above.

The Snooz is just over 5 1/2 inches at its widest part and is about 3 1/4 inches tall, weighing in at 1.1 lbs. This means that it is very easy to pack into a suitcase while traveling.

The outside of the Snooz is made from plastic and covered with a polyester soft mesh wrap.

The outside is also adorned with a product label

The polyester covering is also available in charcoal

The base of the unit is covered in a soft rubber. The purpose is not only to provide protection to surfaces that it is installed on but to permit rotation of the top of the unit in order to customize the tone of the sound. The power cord is also visible in the picture below at the base of the photo.  One thing that I was surprised to see is that the power cord is permanently attached to the base of the unit. This makes it a little harder to install if it is necessary to fish the wall wort attached to the plug behind furniture or through shelves. Having a DC connector may make installation in a room easier but also presents the risk that the plug gets lost.

Operation

A normal desk fan has a propeller like impeller that slices the air as it turns, adds pressure, and pushes it toward the direction of the motor. All of this air movement creates turbulence which creates vibrations that people interpret as white noise. A few inventors thought they could improve on this and started a Kickstarter campaign. In the end, 5,799 backers pledged $463,648 to help bring this project to life. In order to see how the Snooz is different than a desk fan requires an inside look. The plastic body of the unit is permanently sealed, but the exploded view below gives a peak into the inner workings of the unit. The Snooz impeller is in the style of a Rushton impeller, which is characterized by moving fluid or air in a radial direction, away from the center of the shaft. The air strikes the inside of the body and causes noise.  In a mostly closed container, air that does not exit the unit will circulate around the inside of the container back toward the center and will be recirculated by the impeller once again. This operation is why the noise machine can produce the sound of a fan without creating the large movement of air. 

 

The other big difference between the Snooz and a desk fan is the style and connected operation. The top of the Snooz shows three symbols: a power icon between two icons of moving air, one showing small flow and the other larger.

The three icons are capacitive switches and are illuminated by LEDs from below. Gently touching the icons will cause them to illuminate for seven seconds.

There are ten levels of volume settings ranging from 46 dBA to 87 dBA measured at the device (as reported by the manufacturer). And, as reported above, rotating the shell of the Snooz changes the size of holes in the chamber wall, altering the tone of the sound produced.

One of the most unique features of the Snooz is the Bluetooth connectivity and embedded microcontroller. These features allow the Snooz to be operated remotely and programmed to start and stop automatically. After installing and starting the Snooz app, the first screen that is presented is the pairing screen below.

After pairing you can rename the Snooz. I chose to rename it “The Gadgeteer”.

If after pairing the Snooz is unplugged then the following screen will be displayed, but after plugging the unit back in all of the setup data, including the name and the operating schedule, will be restored.

Once connected, operation of the app is straightforward. The same icons on the unit are displayed in the app.

After the unit is powered on, the central ring displays what volume (1-10) the unit is operating at

The clock icon to the upper left allows the app to set a start and end time to the snooz.

The number of blue dots above the clock indicates the number of automatic settings that are set.

The settings icon on the other side is for using the microphone on the smartphone for ensuring the noise out of the sound machine is below recommended values for noise exposure. Before this feature can be used the microphone on the phone must be calibrated. The app uses the known volume of noise generated by the Snooz to calibrate the microphone on the smartphone. The calibration procedure is demonstrated in the gallery below






After the phone is calibrated it can be used to set the volume of the snooz to produce the indicated dBA at the phone. The image below is just me humming into the microphone but illustrates what the readout on the phone looks like.

Performance

One of the performance characteristics the Snooz differentiates itself with from a desk fan is the low power consumption it achieves. The Snooz consumes 6 watts at the highest volume. I have two other sound machines in the house, each with a speaker and a recorded track. They have power requirements of about 2.5 watts each. However, these produce 70 – 74 dBA at the device (as measured by the Snooz app) versus 78 next to the Snooz. Therefore the Snooz is either about the same volume or almost twice as loud as devices using about a third of the power.

Positives

  • Peaceful white noise from a real fan
  • Fully adjustable tone & volume (10 settings)
  • Portable design
  • Companion app includes remote control, auto-shutoff, and nursery calibration (available for iPhone and Android)

Negatives

  • Always connected AC cord
  • Still a bit more power hungry than recording based models

Final thoughts

The Snooz is indeed an improvement on the desk fan or some of the less connected or sophisticated stand-alone noise machines. Its features include white noise from a real fan with adjustable tone and volume (10 settings), portable design, and a companion app which includes remote control, auto-shutoff, and nursery calibration (available for iPhone and Android). However, with these features comes a premium price of $79.99. In a world where some people struggle with the luxury of sleep, the Snooz stands out as a luxury sound machine. If the features discussed in this review appeal to you, then the Snooz won’t disappoint.

Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Snooz.