Home 2018 December

WaterField introduces leather office accessories

NEWS – WaterField usually makes fine leather accessories, wallets, bags, and organizers that you take along with you.  Now they’ve introduced some leather accessories that stay at home on your desk to keep your workspace neat and tidy.

The Leather Charging Valet is made of premium, vegetable-tanned leather in brown.  It measures 9.5″ X 7.5″ at the bottom, 11.25″ X 9.5″ at the top, and stands 1.5″ tall.  It has room for your pocket stuff, and there’s even a cutout on the back for charging cables.  The Leather Charging Valet is $59.

WaterField has two leather pads:  a mousepad and a desk pad.  The Leather Mouse Pad is made of distressed, full-grain leather and measures 10.38″ x 9″ x 0.7″.  You could even throw this in a bag to take with you if you’re a dedicated mouser.  The Leather Mouse Pad is $29.00.  The Desk Pad is also made of the same distressed, full-grain leather.  It measures 18.5″ x 13.75″ x 0.7″ – big enough to protect your desktop from scratches and to provide a smooth surface for writing or a stable laptop base.  The Leather Desk Pad is $79.00.

You’ll also notice the Stylus Pencil Case in the top photo.  This case is sized to fit the Apple Pencil (2nd gen) or the Microsoft Surface Pen, with room for other writing implements.  The Stylus Pencil Case is available in leather ($59), or ballistic nylon or waxed canvas ($29).

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

WaterField introduces leather office accessories originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 5, 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.

The Zanco S Pen can replace your phone, your camera, and your stylus

NEWS – Do you remember the Gi Joe sized Zanco Tiny T1 phone that I reviewed a couple months ago? Well, I’m excited to let you know that Zanco is back with a Kickstarter project that launched today for something even more awesome than that tiny phone. It’s the S Pen (I wonder how long it will take for Samsung to contact them about that name choice?) and it’s a phone in the form factor of a stylus. No, I’m not kidding. But that’s not all this multi-functional wonder can do.

The S Pen packs a GSM phone, a Bluetooth headset, an FM radio, a camera, voice recorder, laser pointer, music player, and…

…a stylus, and more into a pen-shaped device that’s not really meant to replace your smartphone, but can be used as an accessory to it.

The Zanco S Pen campaign launched today on Kickstarter and they’ve already met their funding goal of $10,000. You can pre-order an S Pen starting at $49 for their super early-bird pricing which is still available. After the S Pen campaign ends on 1/18/19, rewards are estimated to start shipping in April 2019. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details. They plan to send me one of the first test units, so stay tuned for my review coming in a few weeks.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: , ,

The Zanco S Pen can replace your phone, your camera, and your stylus originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 2018 at 4:57 pm.

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.

Yohann MacBook wood stand review

REVIEW – It should go without saying that I love tech products. But it might surprise some of you to know that I love products made of natural materials like wood and leather as much and sometimes more than products made of synthetic materials. That’s why I like to use handmade accessories with my gadgets. The newest such accessory that I’ve had the opportunity to check out is a wood stand for the MacBook from Yohann.

What is it?

Yohann is a company based in Switzerland that makes sustainably crafted wood stands for MacBooks, iPads, and the Apple Pencil out of solid blocks of Oak and Walnut that are harvested from Italy and then physically disabled people package and ship the stands.

Design and features

I was sent the Oak version of the stand which as you can see, is just gorgeous. The rich golden wood has a strikingly beautiful grain that reminds me of furniture.

Each stand is made of a solid block of wood that is cut and sanded to be smooth with no sharp or rough edges and definitely no splinters to be found.

The stand’s shape has a ledge at the bottom that holds the front edge of the laptop (or tablet) and a backrest that keeps the display at an optimal angle.



The stands are designed to be used with post-2008 Unibody Aluminium MacBook models (MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro) with a screen size of 11 – 15 inches. I tested the Yohann stand with my 12in MacBook and it worked perfectly as you can see from the images above. The stand remains perfectly balanced with the laptop lid closed.


And also works perfectly when the display is opened too. The stand creates a minimalist work setup when used with an external keyboard and mouse like my original Apple wireless keyboard and a Logitech MX Master 2S wireless mouse.

The Yohann stand provides excellent air circulation on all sides so that your laptop won’t overheat.



I’m happy to report that the same Yohann stand works great with my Huawei MediaPad M5 tablet and my Samsung Galaxy Tab S3. The back of the stand even functions as a holder for a wireless keyboard when you’re not using it which is kind of cool.

What I like

  • Beautiful and beautifully made
  • Can be used with MacBooks and tablets

What needs to be improved

  • Price

Final thoughts

The Yohann stand is expertly crafted, works as intended, and looks elegant. I love everything about it except for one thing. It’s expensive. Very expensive. At $159 for the oak version of the stand and $179 for the walnut version, this probably won’t be a spontaneous purchase for most people. But then you have to add an extra $19 to have it shipped from Switzerland to the US and, well… ouch. Is it worth that price when you can buy a plastic or metal stand for much less money? I think anyone interested in buying a Yohann stand has to answer that for themselves because it’s like shopping for a dining room table. You can buy one from Lowes or one from a furniture store. It all depends on the style you prefer and the price you’re willing to pay for that style.

Price: $159.00 – $179.00 depending on wood type
Where to buy: Yohann
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Yohann.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: , , ,

Yohann MacBook wood stand review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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.

Restrain your big dog properly in the car with the Big Dog Seat Belt

NEWS – Dwayne Caruth spent 10 years as a firefighter/EMT, and he saw far too many dogs injured or killed because they were improperly restrained during a car accident.  He was inspired to find a better way to protect dogs in the car after an accident he responded to where the driver was alive and in relatively good shape after her vehicle rolled twice, but her dog, who had been buckled into the back seat, was missing.  The back window was broken out, there were signs that the dog had been injured, but the dog was never found.

He found that the harnesses that clip the dog to the car’s seatbelt or to a tether in the car left the bottom two-thirds of a dog, especially big dogs 35+ pounds, unrestrained in an accident and free to keep moving and cause a severe shock or whiplash type of injury.  The travel harness styles found in pet stores are designed to keep a dog in a seat in a controlled environment, with the dog sitting in a certain manner, not standing or lying down.  These products aren’t regulated or tested for safety in the US.

“Big Dog Seat Belts are designed to support the chest, shoulders, ribs, and torso, protecting more of the dog simultaneously during an accident or hard braking event.  The Big Dog Seat Belt secures the animal using the OEM seat belt in your vehicle, protecting the dog while allowing it to sit at an angle or to lie down.  Big Dog Seat Belts are both strength- and crash-tested to simulate a 110 pound dog involved in a 30mph frontal crash scenario (over 3310 pounds of momentum force).  No other company on the planet has passed this testing.“

Most of the travel harnesses/restraints you see in a pet store are made of webbing, but Big Dog Seat Belts are made of top-quality, 2″ automotive seat belt webbing.  Seat belt webbing will stretch during impact, reducing the kinetic energy of the accident by 20%.  Automotive belting is tested to over 6000 pounds during an accident; a 75 pound dog in a 35mph crash has 3075+ pounds of momentum force and a 110 pound dog has over 4500 pounds of force.  Actual seat belting material has the strength to protect your big dog.

Each Big Dog Seat Belt is custom built to your dog’s size and weight.  The normal price is $119.00, but you can order for $99.00 right now.  Get out your tape measure and order a custom fit seat belt for your dog (35 pounds minimum) at the Big Dog Seat Belts website.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: , ,

Restrain your big dog properly in the car with the Big Dog Seat Belt originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 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.

This pour-over coffee filter makes a cup or a pot of coffee

NEWS – This, of course, is not the only pour-over coffee maker on the market, but it is the first I’ve personally seen that doesn’t require a disposable paper filter.  Paper filters add to the waste you produce, especially if you use one paper filter for each cup of coffee you make.  This reusable Pour Over Coffee Filter doesn’t require any wasteful paper filters.  It’s made of 18/10 (316) stainless steel, with a double-layer mesh that retains all coffee grounds while letting all the flavored oils through for a delicious cup of coffee.

It comes with a stand that’s designed to sit on a cup as the coffee brews a single serving.  Without the stand, the metal filter can replace paper filters in Chemex, Hario V60, and other coffee makers.  (Chemex seen at bottom, right.)  It has a silicone grip to prevent burning your fingers.  Cleanup is easy; simply dump out the grounds, then clean the filter using warm running water and the included brush.  Every 2-3 weeks, descale the filter with a solution of vinegar and water.

The Pour Over Coffee Filter by Walkbon is available for $15.89 at Amazon.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

This pour-over coffee filter makes a cup or a pot of coffee originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 4, 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.