Home 2018 January

Are you Ready for Braven’s new speakers?

Braven just refuses to rest. They are constantly updating their speaker lineup and have entered 2018 with their Ready Series of Bluetooth speakers. If you into music and like being outdoors, Braven has what you want. There are four Ready speakers—all ready (get it?) to add a soundtrack to your outdoor adventures.

The personal Ready Solo is lightweight, durable and loud. The Solo contains an extended range driver and all-direction subwoofer encased in a shockproof thermoplastic housing and aircraft grade aluminum grille. It is IP68 water and debris-proof, has a 12 hour rechargeable battery that will charge a smartphone and a noise cancelling speakerphone with voice control allowing you to give commands to your mobile device. It sells for $99.99 US.

The slightly larger Ready Pro has what the Solo has and more. It too is IP68 waterproof and totally resistant to dust and dirt. It sports a 14 hour battery and comes with an action mount that’s compatible with most of GoPro’s existing ecosystem. Pair any two READY PRO speakers together using BRAVEN’s TrueWireless technology for a true left and right stereo experience. The Ready Pro sells for $149.99 US.

Next up is the Ready Prime, with its dual passive subwoofers and twin full range drivers that can deliver music for 17 hours. There are reinforced alloy anchor points so it can be strapped to boats, motorcycles and outdoor vehicles. It can get as wet and dirty as possible with IP68 certification that’s designed to withstand up to 30 minutes in one meter of water. Charge any USB device from its 4400mAh battery bank when they’re running low. Two Ready Prime speakers can also be paired for true stereo. It sells for $199.99 US.

Then there’s the Ready Elite. Dual subwoofers develop deep bass balanced by twin, extended range drivers that deliver 12 hours of sound with its 5200mAh rechargeable battery. The Ready Elite has cast alloy tie down points that let you strap it to anything and a drop-proof thermoplastic housing with an aircraft grade aluminum grille. Strap it to boats, UTVs, or whatever—its IP68 certification makes it completely waterproof, dustproof and debris proof, enduring wet, muddy or sandy environments. Like the Ready Pro and Prime speakers, the Elite can be paired for true stereo. It sells for $299.99 US.

The Ready Pro, Prime and Elite speakers have Bluetooth Smart functionality facilitating power, customization, control, and connectivity in virtually any environment via the BRAVEN Smart App.

Visit braven.com for more info and a look at Braven’s many other speakers.

Warm your hands with this phone charger

Most powerbanks just sit in your bag, waiting until you need them to recharge your mobile device.  The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 will be useful in more ways than one this cold winter.  The 7500mAh battery has enough power to recharge a phone up to 2.8 times (iPhone 6S).  But when you don’t need to recharge your phone, some of that power reserve can be used to keep your hands warm.

The Pisen is a double-sided hand warmer that uses NTC technology to heat to 122 degrees in 30 seconds and maintain that constant temperature for 3-5 hours.  It has multiple protections built in to prevent over-charging, over-heating, over-discharging, over-power, over-voltage, and short-circuit protection.  It’s sized to fit easily in a pocket or in the palm of an adult’s hand.  The Pisen Rechargeable Hand Warmer Power Bank 2-in-1 is available in gold, pink, or silver for $25.99 at Amazon.

Make your workouts feel like you’re in a video game

Chris Lawhorn sent me an email telling me about his just-released two workout albums that are inspired by the music from video games of the 80’s. The albums feature a collection of mixes where he’s taken beats from 8-bit games to create tracks that will inspire you to run, jump, and avoid bosses (calories). Best of all, all profits from the album go to charity. Lowhorn’s albums are 35minutes each and are selling as a set for $10. You can listen to a couple track snippets and find out more on Run Hundred, a site that helps you discover workout music based on your own favorite tunes.

Tsumbay Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Wireless Headphone review

We get a lot of headphones here at the Gadgeteer. Various ones of us prefer different styles – some want to have sweat-proof workout units, some want minimalist buds with no cables, some prefer on-ear or in-ear wired units. I prefer over-the-ear wireless headphones. If they have noise canceling, well, that’s just icing on the cake. The latest pair I’ve been sent is from Tsumbay, and they are wireless, over-the-ear, and noise-canceling. Let’s see how they fared.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

Here’s the info from the website:

Description:
Quiet the Noisy World
Get tired of the whir of the plane wings? The drone of a lawn mower? Or the city traffic? Advanced noise reduction technology significantly reduces noise. Let you focused more on what matters.

Wear It for All Day Long
Kindle Paperwhite weight, adjustable headband, soft earmuffs and over-ear cups. No pressure on your ears or head. Designed for comfortable wearing for all day long.

No Need to Worry about Battery
23-30 hours playtime in Bluetooth mode left countless similar product behind. When battery is dead, go on enjoying music with provided 3.5mm audio cable.

Impressive Audio Quality
Reduce noise and won’t damage the immersive Hi-Fi sound at the same time. 40mm large-aperture drivers for robust, balanced and crystal-clear sound.

Universal Compatibility
Optional Bluetooth and AUX-IN mode. Compatible with Anroid, iOS operating system, iPhone, iPad, Samgsung, Blackberry, Nexus, Smartphone, Computer, PC, Notebook, MP4, MP3 and more.

Worry-Free Warranty
we believe in our products. That’s why we back them all with an 18-month warranty and provide friendly, easy-to-reach support.

*Playtime varies according to volume level and audio content.

Design and features

The headphones appear on first glance to be high-quality, with faux-leather earcups and headband cover. Stitching is even and hidden, all screws are counter-sunk so that everything feels very smooth. The metal and plastic areas have a slight nappy, satiny texture. It’s not something added on or scratchable, it’s just the surface.

Inside the earcups, the speaker grille has the channel printed in grey in a single large letter. It’s very easy to get the proper earcup on the correct ear. The deep foam inside the cushions seals out room noise, so you’re alone with your sound. If that doesn’t help, there is active noise cancellation.


Everything is accessible to your thumb or index finger on the left earcup: Power on/off, Noise canceling on/off, volume down/up. At the very bottom of that side, there is an AUX input, for older devices that have these ports and no Bluetooth. (Casts a glance at Apple, Google, and others who eschew AUX ports on recent devices) On the right earcup, there is a power port (microUSB) for charging.

Tsumbay allows the listener the privilege of listening to both wired and wireless sources at the same time, which I find myself doing a good bit while watching a video on iPad and working on my computer. I’ve also used this for working on the computer (getting sound feedback) and talking on the phone as well. The unit also works while being charged.

Noise-canceling worked fairly well. There is a fair bit of attenuation in the earphones, where random touches to the device are heard inside the sound space. When noise canceling was on, it was less noticeable, but it was very evident otherwise.

While I was writing this review, the soundtrack for Stranger Things 2 was released on Spotify. I pulled it up and listened to much of it. The analog synth pads and melodies are a great mind salve while writing. With the noise-canceling, you can feel like you’re floating through space. (I’ve not watched the show, but someone in my Twitter feed said it was good for working with, so thought I’d try it. If I knew the story, it might bring up different responses.) Frequency response on this and other music was very acceptable, but I don’t think thumping bass would be as full through here.

What I Like

  • Over-ear comfort
  • One-hand control of all sound
  • Wired or wireless use
  • noise-canceling covers environmental noise

What needs to be improved

  • Some attenuation when not using noise-cancelation
  • Playback not as crisp as other units in price range

Final thoughts

When I listened while moving around a lot, the attenuation was really noticeable, so I had noise-canceling on most of the time. This makes all the environmental noises fade out, but brings in non-repetitive noises. When working, I’ve had several instances where someone would have to tap my arm or shoulder, because they were trying to speak to me. If you’re wanting to be quite alone in your personal soundscape and you’re not moving about a lot, these cans may be a good bet for you.

Price: $25.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Tsumbay. Please visit their site for more info.

Nokia wants to watch you sleep and no, that’s not creepy at all

Nokia Sleep is a specially designed sensor pad that is placed between your mattress and box springs to record in-depth sleep cycle analysis, plus heart rate tracking and snore detection all without wearing a wristband or other wearable. But wait, that’s not all. The Nokia Sleep is also compatible with IFTTT.

When you wake up and get out of bed in the morning, Nokia Sleep can automatically turn up the temperature on your smart thermostat, turn on your coffeemaker, and more.

We don’t have any info on pricing yet or even when this sleep sensor from Nokia will ship. But if this is a gadget that you’re interested in, head over to Nokia and sign up to be informed when more info is available.