December 2018 – Page 14

You’ll always have a pair and a spare of socks with SoloSocks

NEWS – When my daughter was younger, I bought her socks from a company called LittleMissMatched. Each set included three socks of different designs but with the same color combinations. You could use any two of the socks for a pair of purposefully mis-matched socks. They were really popular with girls back then, and I’m sure many mothers liked them as much as I did because it was easier when you didn’t have to worry about pairing up socks as part of laundry.

Well, now it seems two friends, Alexander Morabbi Wulsch and Adam Kuskner, got the idea that men could benefit from color-coordinated, purposefully mis-matched socks and created a line called SoloSocks. Their sets consist of seven socks in one color combination. The socks are made of 80% organic combed cotton, 17% polyamide, and 3% diabetes-friendly elasthane. They have hand-linked toe seams allow for a flat seam and a comfortable fit. They are one-size-fits U.S. men’s 7-12.

You’ll reduce waste because you’ll no longer have to throw out a sock when you lose one sock. The packaging even converts into a set organizer for your drawer, so you’ll reduce waste there, too. The socks are available in sets of seven in blue, navy, red, purple, or yellow combinations. A set of seven SoloSocks is $39.95 at The Grommet.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: Clothing

You’ll always have a pair and a spare of socks with SoloSocks originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 18, 2018 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Toffee Tokyo Work Bag review

REVIEW – When you need to carry more than just a wallet with you to your job every day, you need a bag that not only looks good on you, but can handle a few good knocks. And that’s exactly what Toffee is offering in their Tokyo Work Bag.

What is it?

The Tokyo Work Bag is a sleek waxed canvas and leather tote from Australia-based Toffee and features multiple pockets, rugged canvas and extra-long handles for comfortable carrying.

Big handles or shoulder strap? You decide.

Hardware specs

Fits laptops up to 14”
39 cm x 29 cm (37 cm w/handle) x 12 cm
Made from water-resistant waxed canvas and genuine leather
Detachable shoulder strap, leather handles
Padded quilted laptop compartment, separate smaller tablet pocket
YKK Japanese zips
3 year warranty

What’s in the box?

Tokyo Work Bag
detachable shoulder strap

Design and Features

I was happy to get my hands on another handsome offering from Australian-based Toffee. Their Tokyo Work Bag (many of their products are named after large cities) is what I would describe as a medium-sized tote bag. It’s mostly constructed from waxed canvas, offering some water resistance, with accents of leather on the side pockets and thick, comfortable handles.

There are a lot of nice little details on this bag.

Inside is a lovely black and white pinstripe pattern, found in many of their other bags. There is a large main compartment, a large padded pocket for a 14” or smaller laptop, and a smaller padded pocket that is the right size for a Kindle or similarly sized tablet. These two pockets are secured with a leather snap fastener. There is one zippered pocket on the opposite side of the laptop pocket. Just above this zipper pocket is a stitched-in name label, which is a nice touch.

There are several pockets on the outside of the bag as well. Two on the ends that are a good size for a small umbrella or phone or perhaps a narrow water bottle, two front pockets that are secured with interior snaps, and one tiny pocket on the back of the bag, which would be suitable for pens, keys or other small items.

The top of the bag can be closed with a large, smooth-action zipper. You can find four metal nubs on the bottom of the bag to protect the bottom material and make a lovely scraping sound on hard surfaces.

The large padded pocket easily accommodates my iPad Pro + keyboard.

The overall construction of the bag is excellent. Every stitch and zipper and snap are expertly implemented. It doesn’t feel too large, although I could have used a little more width, as I like to pack soups for lunch and the large Campbells Chunky soup cans, coupled with a laptop in the bag, tended to cause quite a bulge in the middle. That’s a highly personal instance, however… and don’t get me wrong, this bag can hold quite a bit.

In use, I preferred sticking to the large handles on the bag, rather than the shoulder strap. It’s nice that you can completely remove the strap. When placed on a surface, it’s a bit of a balancing act to keep the bag upright as one side is likely to be heavier due to the laptop pocket. It’s a typical problem, so I can’t fault them for that.

Metal nubs to protect the bottom from scratches. But not from fuzz.

Being constructed mostly of black waxed canvas, it didn’t take long for lint, cat hair and other bits of fuzz to start collecting on the outside of the bag. It’s not difficult to remove, most of it brushes right off, but anyone with a pet might want to opt for the mustard color as it will absolutely carry some of Fluffy with you to work.

What I like

sharp looks and rugged materials
nice, big handles, making it more of a tote
pockets aplenty

What needs to be improved

a bit pricey
canvas picks up lint and hairs easily

Final thoughts

The Tokyo Work Bag is a perfect commuter carryall, provided you’ve got room for a lint brush along with your laptop. All joking aside, this bag is top quality, through and through, and would well serve even the roughest daily trips through the city.

Price: $158.69 (when converted to USD)
Where to buy: You can purchase the Tokyo Work Bag in black or mustard directly from Toffee’s website.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Toffee. You can check out their whole line of bags, wallets and cases on their website.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bags

Toffee Tokyo Work Bag review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 17, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Turn almost any pole into a selfie stick

NEWS – It’s called the Selfskie, and it’s an all-in-one mount that you can attach to the stick you’re already using such as a ski pole, hiking stick, marshmallow roasting stick, golf club, etc. to give your smartphone or action cam a farther reach for a perfect selfie.

Why carry around a dedicated selfie stick when you can use the Selfskie to lighten your load and turn any stick or pole into a selfie stick? It even comes with a Bluetooth remote capture button for easy image capture. Want your own Selfskie? Make sure that you have $28.12 ready and head over to Selfskie.com to place your order. Bonus: Use the code: CHRISTMAS40 at checkout and you’ll get a 40% discount on your order until Christmas.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: Camera gear, Photography

Turn almost any pole into a selfie stick originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 17, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

AKG N700NC Over-Ear Foldable Wireless, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones review

REVIEW – For many years, I have used and purchased several models of the same noise canceling over-the-ear headphones from a famous brand/manufacturer. I have compared several brands of a similar product within the same price range and always ended up purchasing that brand. Now I have the opportunity to review the recently released AKG N700NC Over-Ear Foldable Wireless, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones. I wonder if these headphones will suffer the same fate as the others or can they finally give me a reason to switch brands. Let’s see!!

What is it?

The AKG N700NC Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Wireless Headphones feature wireless Bluetooth connectivity as well as wired connectivity which comes in handy especially if using the flight adapter to listen to in-flight programming, or if using a legacy device that does not have Bluetooth capability. In addition, it has built-in active noise-canceling technology that tunes out ambient noise so that you get a fully engaged listening experience. This technology includes the ability to let in ambient noise with the push of a button which activates the TalkThru capability. This is great for listening to announcements or if you have the need for a short conversation.

What’s in the box

1 x AKG N700NC Adaptive Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Wireless Headphones
1 x Carrying Case
1 x Flight Adaptor
1 x Micro USB Charging Cable
1 x Straight Cable
1 x User Manual

Design and features

Specifications:

Impedance: 16 ohm
Sensitivity: 98dBSPL/1mW @1kHz
Max Input Power: 30mW
Bluetooth type: 4.2
Frequency Range: 10-20 kHz
Weight: 261g

The AKG N700NC headphones feature Bluetooth connectivity to work wirelessly with most Bluetooth enabled mobile devices and it also offers the ability to connect via hard wire to legacy devices or devices without the Bluetooth capability. According to AKG, the built-in battery can provide up to 20 hours of listening with noise canceling engaged when being used via a Bluetooth connection. In addition, if you decide to connect to an audio device via the included straight cable, the battery life goes up to 36 hours per charge with noise canceling active.

On the right side earpiece of the headphone, there is the power/Bluetooth button, the Smart Ambient button and the Micro USB charging port. The correct side for wearing is also indicated on the hinge of each earpiece.

Bluetooth LED Indication:

Smart Ambient LED Indication:

On the left earpiece, there is the 3.5mm port for the wired connection, the + and – buttons for track forward and backward and in between the track buttons, there is the play/pause/call answer/hangup/reject/voice assistant button. For the track selection, you press and hold the – or+ button for 2 seconds, for the call functions and play/pause you press the button once and for the voice assistant (Siri/Google Now) you press the button once.

The headphones are built with memory foam earpads and a padded headband that makes them very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They also include hinges right above each earpad that allow each side to be folded. The headband is also adjustable.

AKG includes a cable for wired listening. The cable has 3.5mm male plugs on each end and a button remote in the middle that controls phone call and audio functions. To control using the button remote you press once to answer/hang up on calls and to play or pause music, press twice to move to the next track and 3 times for the previous track. The picture below on the right shows the included flight adapter.

AKG also provide a very nice braided and branded micro USB cable for charging the headphones.

Performance

The headphones fold to become very easy to carry either in the case or otherwise. They are adjustable to create the perfect and very comfortable fit over my head, and the earcups make a nice seal over my ears.

These AKG headphones perform amazingly well in every area. I love listening to Contemporary Jazz with them because it is a nice audiophile experience and they do not cost the $1000s that many of the audiophile headphones that I have tried retail for. I love the Smart Ambient feature that allows you to adjust the Automatic Noise Cancelation (ANC) so that there is a really nice balance between the noise cancelation and the ambient environmental sounds. What is even more impressive, is that you can change the assignment of the Smart Ambient button from the default ambient feature to the Talkthru feature that allows you to have a conversation with others without removing the headphones.

While I prefer listening to music wirelessly, I love that I have the ability to use these headphones as wired as well. I actually do like the wired sound a bit more, since from my perception it has a bit more of an audiophile quality to it.

I have also used these headphones when editing video and they also work great as a studio option and especially when I am working and I don’t want to be distracted by the noise that the kids are making in the background.

Phone call quality is great including clarity and solid connectivity when using Bluetooth.

App

Below are some screenshots from the app that allows you to manage a few features like performing firmware updates, customizing equalization settings and reassigning the Smart Ambient button function.

If you would like even more information and operational details on these headphones, you can click here to download the user manual.

What I like

The build quality
The fit and finish
The sound
The balanced noise canceling
The weight and size
The features

What can be improved

Compared to other headphones in this price range and how the ones that I have tested measure up, I have no complaints

Final thoughts

After many years of using one specific brand of over-the-ear noise canceling headphones, I am happy to have found a new brand that does an amazing job at not only accomplishing the same goal but in my opinion, does it better. Sound and fit are all individually subjective features, and different people can and do have different opinions, However, I believe that those that try these headphones will not only be very pleased but will also agree with most of if not all of my experience with them and review of them. I love the Smart Ambient feature that creates the right balance between noise canceling and the common sense application of it to be able to hear in an emergency. I have experienced using other noise canceling headphones when I was on a train that got canceled, and because my eyes were closed, I did not see everyone leaving their seats. Another passenger had to nudge me to tell me what had occurred. The design, features, and sound of these headphones offer true performance and versatility and they get two thumbs way up from me. Well done!!!

Price: $349.99
Where to buy: B&H Photo Video or Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Samsung.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth headphones

AKG N700NC Over-Ear Foldable Wireless, Active Noise Cancelling Headphones review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 17, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Don’t let your small car stymie your DIY projects

NEWS – Ever run into the problem of having to pay the hardware store to deliver something like a few boards or some wood trim because you have a sedan or a truck with a short bed and can’t fit your supplies in it? Well, with the Sidekick VSC side-mount car carrier system, you’ll never have to pay big sums for small deliveries like that again. The Sidekick VSC is simply temporarily added to the passenger-side doors of your vehicle, so you can transport over-sized items over short distances.

The kit consists of :

2 Z Brackets
2 pins
2 bolts
2 wing nuts
2 bungee cords
2 side supports with protection pads to protect your car’s finish

Just keep the kit in the trunk of your vehicle, and you’re ready to bring home supplies whenever you need them. The system is designed to work with lumber, trim, or plastic pipe up to 16 feet long. The SideKick VSC system is normally $99.95, but it’s $79.95 at the time of writing. Purchase at The SideKick VSC website.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: Car Gear, Do-It-Yourself, Tools

Don’t let your small car stymie your DIY projects originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 17, 2018 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.