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Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger review


What is it?

The Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger is a 2 in 1 wireless charging pad with a kickstand that meets the QI fast charging technology standard.

What’s in the box

Package contents:

1 x Wireless charger
1 x Kickstand
1 x Micro USB cable
1 x Instruction booklet

Design and features

The Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger is a small and compact wireless charger that conforms to the QI wireless charging technology standard. It is made up of a wireless charging pad and a removable kickstand that can be neatly tucked away in the back.

On the side, there is a micro USB port that accommodates the included micro USB cable to supply power to the pad for charging.

On the front of the charging pad, there is a LED light. When the charger is first plugged in, the LED blinks red and then goes to a steady blue when it is ready to provide charging. The instructions suggest that you can place your phone in a horizontal or vertical position, but I found that with my iPhone 8Plus, it was awkward and would tend to want to tip over. The vertical position did not seem to allow the larger phone to make good contact with the charging pad. Horizontally, it fit well, but that is as far as the good news goes when trying to charge my iPhone 8Plus. Once I placed my phone to charge, it would initially charge for approximately 2 minutes with the steady blue LED light, and the blue LED would start blinking for about 90 seconds and then the LED would turn red and the phone would stop charging. After a few seconds, the LED would turn blue again, and start charging again. This cycle of events continued until I removed the phone from the charger, and occurred each of the dozen or so times I tried.
Now it is important to note that I have at least 3 other Qi wireless charging pads, 2 of which are cheap no frills pads, and one is a more expensive Samsung pad. Irrespective of the make, they all perform flawlessly. This issue that I experienced with this charging pad is unexplainable.

After deciding to no longer risk trying to charge my iPhone on this pad, I tried an old Samsung Galaxy 6 phone, and that worked without issue. In about 30 minutes, the Samsung charged approximately 30 percent.

What I like

  • Wireless charger is lightweight
  • Nice and convenient Kickstand

What can be improved

  • Wireless charger must be able to charge all cell phones that meet the QI wireless charging standards.

Final thoughts

There are numerous inexpensive wireless chargers available today, and each one needs to meet the basic criteria for wireless charging to be considered for purchase. While this charger is lightweight and has a nice compact form factor, the issues I experienced with it when trying to charge my iPhone 8Plus, make it a “no go” for me.

Price: $12.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Wofalodata.

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Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 3, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Give Mom a challenge for Mother’s Day

This double-sided puzzle is a great gift for people who love Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, jigsaw puzzles, or who just love a challenge.  The puzzle features a photo of Wright’s Fallingwater as it soars over the waterfall on one side and the building’s blueprint on the other side.  To help make it a little easier to sort the pieces before assembling, the photo side has a glossy finish, while the blueprint side is matte.

The 500-piece puzzle is 20-inches square when completed.  It’s made of cardboard and paper, and it’s suitable for ages 13+.  The Frank Lloyd Wright Double-Sided Puzzle is only $16.00 at UncommonGoods.

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Give Mom a challenge for Mother’s Day originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 3, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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The Nokia 6.1 is here and you can buy one on May 6th

Featuring ZEISS optics, the Nokia 6.1 has a 16MP back camera and an 8MP front camera. The enhanced Dual-Sight feature allows you to take two images at the same time aka a bothie instead of a selfie. The phone will also let you stream to social media from both cameras at the same time with Nokia spatial high fidelity audio surround sound.

The Nokia 6.1 has been updated with a faster processor (Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 630) that is a 60% speed boost over the previous model. More features and faster performance doesn’t mean a bulky device though. The Nokia 6.1 is housed in a sleek and compact two-tone anodized aluminum unibody shell.

Unlike some Android phone makers, the new Nokia 6.1 is powered by pure Android Oreo. That means you get all the stock Android goodness with none of the OS overlay junk that you don’t need or want.

The Nokia 6.1 joins the Android One family, offering a high-quality software experience designed by Google. The Nokia 6.1 will stay fresh over time with the latest Google innovations and regular security updates. Since it runs pure Android, the Nokia 6.1 comes with no unnecessary UI changes or hidden processes that would eat up your battery life or slow it down so you can enjoy your phone for longer. As with all Nokia smartphones on the Android One platform, the Nokia 6.1 will come with a limited number of pre-installed apps so that you’ll get more storage space.

The Nokia 6.1 will be available to purchase from Best Buy and Amazon for $269.99 starting Sunday, May 6, 2018.

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The Nokia 6.1 is here and you can buy one on May 6th originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 3, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Twelve South SurfacePad iPhone 7 Plus/8 Plus case review

As we mentioned in a recent news post, the SurfacePad for iPhone is a thin, minimal leather cover for your iPhone 7/8, iPhone 7/8 Plus, or iPhone X.  It protects the front and back of your phone from pocket hazards and from getting surface scratches from tables and countertops.  Twelve South was kind enough to offer a SurfacePad to The Gadgeteer for review, and I was selected to put the cover for the iPhone 8 Plus/7 Plus to the test.

Hardware specs

  • Ultra-thin, full-grain leather cover
  • Applies like a screen protector, with an adhesive pad instead of a shell case
  • Hands free viewing & display stand
  • 2 card slots to streamline your everyday carry
  • Qi charging compatible for iPhone 8
  • Thickness: .07 inches (2 mm)
  • Weight: 1.6 ounces (45.3 g)

Design and features

I received the SurfacePad for iPhone 7 Plus.  I requested and received the deep teal color.  The case is very well made, with even, self-colored topstitching.  The phone’s screen is completely covered;  a cutout on the back leaves the back camera, flash, and microphone uncovered.  The double-row topstitching on the back acts as a hinge for using the SurfacePad as a horizontal stand for the iPhone.

Setup

There really isn’t a lot of “setup” involved, but you should make sure that the back of your phone is clean and dust-free for best adherence of the sticky pad.  Luckily, the adhesive that holds the case in place is removable, repositionable, and reusable, because it took me a couple of tries to get the phone centered and affixed to the case just as I wanted it.  There’s a video at Twelve South to show you how it’s done.

Performance

There are two slip pockets for IDs or cards that aren’t filed in your iPhone’s Wallet app.  You can see more of how the back is attached so it can be folded into a horizontal stand, which we’ll see later.

The front of the case is embossed with the Twelve South logo.  The interior of the front cover is branded with the SurfacePad name, and the Twelve South logo is under the adhesive pad flap.

You can see the interior edge with the silence slider and the volume buttons.  The leather is soft enough that you can operate the volume buttons through the closed case.  You’ll be able to adjust your playback volume while listening to music, or you could even trigger the camera release through the case if you don’t need to see the screen while you’re taking photos.

When I was taking photos with the back camera, I let the front cover hang down and I held it like a camera grip in my left hand while I operated the on-screen camera release “button” with my right.

You can see that some of the metal side is left uncovered by the leather hinge.

Even when closed, you can see that the entire side with the power button is left uncovered.  This of course makes it easy to access the power button, even when the case is closed.

The metal of the top and bottom is also left uncovered, which leaves a lot of metal open to scratching, but it also means you can hear the speakers and use the charging cable unimpeded.

The leather hinge is flexible enough that you can fold the case completely to the back to hold and use the phone one-handed.  I found it comfortable enough to hold for a couple hours on a call.

The case was also useful as a horizontal stand.  It was nicely stable in this position.  I could even tap on the screen while it was standing like this without fear of it tipping over.

What I like

  • Attractive leather case that protects the screen as well as the back
  • Front cover folds to the back for one-handed holding and use
  • Can be used as a horizontal stand
  • Room for two cards if you like to use your phone case as a minimal wallet
  • If your phone allows it, the cover is Qi-compatible for wireless charging
  • Adhesive pad adheres strongly to the back of the phone, and it can be removed without residue

What needs to be improved

  • Not really a needed change, but be aware that folding the front cover back will block the back camera

Final thoughts

The Twelve South SurfacePad is a beautiful, protective cover for the Apple iPhone 7 Plus.  It protects my screen in my purse, it serves as a horizontal stand, and it looks good doing it.
Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Twelve South and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Twelve South

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Twelve South SurfacePad iPhone 7 Plus/8 Plus case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 2, 2018 at 1:32 pm.

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Zerotie shoes tighten and loosen the laces without using your hands

Did you catch Howard’s post about the Kizik handsfree shoes last week? I was surprised when he posted it because I’d been sitting on a handsfree shoe post of my own for Zerotie Shoes. Like the shoes that Howard wrote about (and will be reviewing soon), the Zerotie shoes don’t require you to bend down to manually tie or untie the laces.

The shoes look like traditional sneakers and are available for men, women, and kids in a variety of styles and colors. But they differ from traditional shoes because they feature a unique wheel mechanism on the heel that tightens the laces when you roll back on the heel. Here’s a video that demonstrates how the Zerotie shoes work.

The concept is interesting to me but I’m not sure how robust it is and then there’s the question, what if you break a lace? Do your shoes become “broken” and unusable?

As mentioned, Zerotie shoes are available in different styles and colors and they are priced from $98.80 and up per pair. Visit zerotie.com for further details if you’re interested in checking them out.

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Zerotie shoes tighten and loosen the laces without using your hands originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 2, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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