Home 2018 March

Protect your iPhone X with the Mod-3 Radius X ultra-minimal case

A couple of years ago, The Gadgeteer reviewed the Mod-3 Radius case for iPhone 5, and Andy Chen found it was a “super-sleek, minimal way to protect your iPhone 5 while preserving the sleek modern lines and feel of a ‘naked’ iPhone.”  Well, Mod-3 is back again with a Radius case for the iPhone X.  They are currently seeking funding for the Radius X case.

Just like the one Andy reviewed, the Radius X will mostly protect the corners of the phone with precision-crafted corner modules that don’t touch the touchscreen.  The corner modules are held in place by an aircraft-grade aluminum X structure that covers the back of the iPhone X.  The corner pieces are filled with a proprietary impact-resistant material for extra drop protection, and the pieces keep your screen off the surface if you lay the phone face-down on a table.  And no worries about charging, because the Radius X doesn’t interfere with wireless charging of the iPhone X.

There’s another month of fundraising for the Radius X case.  Pledge $69.00 to receive one Radius X case.  There’s also a gold-plated version for a pledge of $193.00, and there are discounts for multiple cases.  The campaign has already reached 149% of its funding goal, but you still have time to get in on a discounted case.  Shipment is expected for May 2018.  Make a pledge and secure a Mod-3 Radius X case at Indiegogo.

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Protect your iPhone X with the Mod-3 Radius X ultra-minimal case originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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Sigma 105mm macro lens review

Photography professionals and enthusiasts are always looking for an opportunity to enhance their photography skills and to take better pictures. Those interested in macro photography seem to be involved in an ongoing search for the best lens to ultimately allow them to produce the most amazing pictures. Macro photography lenses have the ability to take really close-up photos with a nice depth of field and great bokeh (Bokeh is the blur produced in the parts of an image that are not in focus). I have a Canon EOS camera, and I recently purchased the Sigma 105mm Macro Lens for myself.

What is it?

The Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for Canon EOS Cameras is a mid-level lens specifically designed for macro photography (This lens is also available for Nikon, Sony and Sigma DSLR Cameras). Like many macro lenses, it is able to focus from infinity all the way into a 1:1 ratio which ensures a life-size reproduction of the image, from the lens to the sensor inside of the camera. This lens produces very clear images and its autofocus capability makes it much easier for even the entry-level photographer to take pictures that are sharp, in-focus and free of distortion.

What’s in the box?

In the box, there is a very nice lens case and carrying strap. The case is well padded and will very likely protect the lens in the event that it is dropped a few feet. Sigma also includes a lens hood, a hood extension for cameras with APS-C sensors, and protective lens caps for both sides of the lens. Of course, the warranty brochure and an instruction leaflet are included as well. This lens comes with a limited 1-year warranty for North and South America and a 3-year extended warranty if it remains within the USA.

Design and features

As with all macro lenses, this Sigma lens is quite heavy for its size. This is due to the additional glass inside that is necessary for the lens to be able to take macro images. The body is metal and it feels very solid overall. With an Aperture of f/2.8, this lens is capable of taking great pictures in low light conditions. The aperture and focus rings are nice and smooth and rotate freely without any binding. On the side of the lens, there are switches to select manual or auto focus, 2 types of Optical stabilization and a distance switch which is helpful with autofocus, by pre-defining the distance range between the subject and the lens. The Optical Stabilization is Sigma’s proprietary stabilization feature and does a great job at stabilizing when shooting hand-held. The “focus-Free” mechanical design creates a separation between the autofocus function and the mechanical focus ring which is great, since it allows you to hold the focus ring for support and still utilize autofocus without affecting the function. The lens can focus as close as 12.2” away from the subject and with the dual focus capability is easy to use without a tripod. The Hyper Sonic Motor makes focusing very fast and is relatively quiet.

What I like

After using the lens for a week or so, I can truly say that I am enjoying it. I like the build quality and how solid it feels. I also like the sharpness of the pictures it produces and the versatility of being able to use it for macro photography as well as portrait photography, and always get sharp photos with a great depth of field. The Bokeh it produces for my macro shots is very good, and my friends seem to love the photos.

What needs to be improved?

While this is obviously a great lens, I do think that there are a couple of things that can be improved. Despite its nice Hyper Sonic Motor, it is not as quiet as some of the other lens I have used. This would not usually be a problem for photography, but would be for videography, and would require the use of an external audio recorder for clean audio. I would also like to see 62mm ring adapters included with the lens, which is the size that is required for use with any lens filter or a ring flash. This size of ring adapter is not normally a part of most ring adapter kits, and must be purchased separately.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Sigma 105mm macro lens does a very good job of producing clean and clear images, and has the versatility to do so both for macro and portrait photography. It can also be used for other types of photography as along as the distance to the subject can be managed.  In my opinion, when compared to a revered lens like the Canon 100mm macro lens, the Sigma comes in at a very close second. If overall quality and price are the main considerations, it would be a better purchase than the Canon, since it is now available at a newly discounted price.

Price: $569
Where to buy: bhphotovideo.com and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was purchased with my own funds.

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Sigma 105mm macro lens review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Leave your smartphone behind with the Light Phone 2

Modern smartphones have basically become the equivalent of someone tapping you on the shoulder every 10 seconds. If you don’t meticulously manage app notifications, your phone quickly devolves into a hyperactive toddler of a distraction machine. Sometimes, you’d love to just chuck it into the deepest pocket of your backpack, but what if someone really needs to get a hold of you?

The Light Phone 2 is a barebones, “secondary” 4G phone with an e-ink display that piggybacks off of your existing mobile number to serve as a basic communication device. No social media, no email, no distractions. Just basic voice and text messages in a simple typographic-based operating system. The Brooklyn-based creators call the experience of leaving your smartphone behind and pocketing this device instead “going light.” Hence the phone’s name.

That e-ink display, though. Yum.

The Light Phone 2 is an updated, improved predecessor of the original Light Phone which had roughly 10,000 users. It’s currently in prototype stage, but as of today it is 328% funded on Indiegogo and slated for an April 2019 release.

You can fund the team’s efforts and get a Light Phone 2 of your own (next year) for $250. Visit their Indiegogo page for more details.

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Leave your smartphone behind with the Light Phone 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker Review

As smartphones have become more prevalent, people have become used to having all of their information and entertainment with them 24/7. That growth has sparked a surge in portable wireless speakers. I always found these wireless speakers to be a bit too “single use”. If I’m going to haul around a device, I prefer to have it able to do more than just one thing. The iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker is just such a device.

What is it?

The iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker is a wireless speaker that implements Amazon Alexa and several other streaming services to provide a very well rounded listening experience. The rechargeable battery allows for portability at home or on-the-go.

What’s in the box?

  • Concierge Speaker
  • Micro-USB to USB cable
  • 3.5mm Audio cable
  • User’s Guide

Design and features

One of the main features of this speaker is that it can connect to your the internet via WiFi. The free iLive app is then used to control the device over WiFi instead of using Bluetooth, which provides for much more range than Bluetooth.

The iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker can also play music from your phone music library and also has a 3.5mm auxiliary audio input jack that can play audio from just about any source.

If you are away from home or don’t have access to WiFi, the speaker can connect to your devices via Bluetooth.

The iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker looks and feels like a quality product. It features a nice tweed speaker grill over much of the speaker, indicator LED’s and ring, as well as well understood rubberized buttons and a non-slip foam base.

The full feature list is well rounded:

  • Wireless speaker
  • Voice-activated Amazon Alexa
  • Bluetooth wireless
  • Built-in Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct & multi-room play
  • Multi-user capable
  • Aux in (3.5mm audio input)
  • Stream from iHeartRadio, TIDAL, or audio stored directly on your device
  • Built-in microphone
  • Micro-USB port for battery recharge
  • Play/pause/pairing button
  • On/off switch
  • Digital volume control
  • LED light ring
  • LED function indicator
  • Charge indicator
  • Wireless range: Bluetooth – 33 feet, Wi-Fi – 98 feet
  • Cloth speaker grill
  • DC battery power: built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery
  • Battery life using WiFi: ~1-2 hours at 50% volume
  • Battery life using Bluetooth: ~5 hours at 50% volume

The Amazon Alexa service is voice controlled, and all of the other services are controlled through the iLive app on your smartphone, however, Amazon Alexa does play the music on your phone.

As a software developer, I’m pretty particular when it comes to apps. If there’s one thing I can do that would be finding bugs and user interface discrepancies in apps. I’ve been writing commercial software for over 20 years so I have seen my share of bad software. This is where the iLive app really impressed me. Starting from the step-by-step setup all the way through to the main operation of the app, the iLive app was easy to use and understand.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing features of this speaker is the ability to pair up to 6 of these speakers together and have them all play simultaneously and synchronized. However, when they are paired only the primary speaker can be used to control Amazon Alexa. To add or pair more speakers you simply slide left to reveal the Device List tab, then tap the plus icon and follow the on-screen prompts, just like setting up a device for the first time.

Once the device is added it can be controlled separately, or you can simply drag the device in the list onto another device to pair it. Once it is paired you can select which speaker is the left channel, right channel, or have each speaker play the same. If you don’t remember how to do this, simple tap the “How to switch between solo and multi mode?” text and you’ll get an instruction screen.


I really like the fact that the iLive app also has the ability to update the firmware in the speaker – wirelessly. Normally most devices require you to use a USB connection with a desktop computer to update the firmware.

Initially, Amazon Alexa had an almost unbearable 8-second delay in providing answers or responding, which was quite a bit more than other Amazon Alexa devices, but an update for the iLive speaker firmware fixed that so it’s now only about 2 seconds or less which is right on par with Amazon’s own devices.

Verbal requests to Amazon Alexa are handled seamlessly, muting what ever audio is playing while Alexa responds to your requests.

Another thing that really impressed me was that the specifications state 1 to 2 hours of battery life on WiFi, but I found that it operated much longer than that. For example, after four and half  hours of streaming music and podcasts via WiFi at 50% volume the app showed that the battery level was still at 64% – wow!

What I like

  • Excellent Printed Quick Start Manual
  • Surprisingly good smartphone app
  • Very nice FAQ guide
  • Rechargeable battery, I can carry the speaker to another room with me and not have to pause music or miss what I’m listening to on live radio.
  • Longer than advertised battery life.
  • Built-in services within the iLive App: Amazon Alexa, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, TIDAL, plus all of the music on your phone.
  • You can search for stuff in the other services (like TuneIn) while your previous audio continues to play.
  • Responsive customer support. I contacted iLive with a question in the late afternoon about the different models and received an e-mail response in less than 20 hours.
  • The Bluetooth mode is extremely useful for playing audio through the speaker while watching video on my phone. I often find myself in a room other than my office watching and listening to a video while doing something else and the phone speaker is not loud enough. This speaker is definitely loud enough.


What needs to be improved

  • Although not a big issue, it would be nice if there was a desktop version of the app.
  • Audiophiles may not like the quality of the sound on the device. For me, it sounds good enough, although it could use a little more bass. It’s extremely good for listening to podcasts and talk radio.
  • There’s a device tab in the app, but there’s no indicator that it’s there. Swiping left reveals the Device List, which shows all of your devices (speakers) and for each one you can see what’s playing, pause, play, pause all, play all, and access the settings for that device as well as view the battery level. If you have multiple devices, this is where you can select the device then go to the services list and choose audio to play on it.

Final thoughts

I’ve seen many devices in my time that were great on the hardware side but severely lacking on the software side of things. This iLive speaker excels at providing a great app that makes operating the device simply a joy.

Price: $65.00
Where to buy: iLive Electronics and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by iLive Electronics.

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iLive Voice Activated Amazon Alexa Portable Wireless Fabric Speaker Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Time is etched on the surface of this sculpture

Or time is at least “etched” on the face of this clock.  The Etch Clock has a dark peacock-blue elastomer face that displays the time with numerals that appear to have been chiseled into its surface.  Using patent-pending technology, the surface reconfigures itself with each time update.  The 16″ x 16″ x 2.5″ Etch Clock and its aluminum bezel can be hung on a wall or can stand on a tabletop.

Using the app (iOS and Android), you can set the clock to display 12- or 24-hour time.  You can also have the clock wipe to a smooth surface every 30 seconds before displaying the updated time, and you can have it do the wipe/update only when it senses sound or movement.

The Etch Clock is serious artwork, and its price reflects that.  The MoMA Design Store sells the clock for $1950.00 or $1755.00 for MoMA members.

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Time is etched on the surface of this sculpture originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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