Home 2018

Gift guides, deal posts, – Weekly roundup

NEWS – If you’re reading this then you survived Thanksgiving without spontaneously combusting from all the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin munchage chaos. I have one important question for all of you – Whip cream topping on your pumpkin pie or plain? I’m firmly in the whip cream camp, but I prefer Redi-whip to Cool Whip. Ok, now that we have that out of the way, it’s time to check out all our posts from the past 7 days. You definitely want to read this one because it includes our holiday gift guides and a TON of deal posts, some of which are still valid. So go forth, read, and shop!

ARTICLES

REVIEWS

NEWS

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Gift guides, deal posts, – Weekly roundup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 2018 at 3:28 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.

EDC toilet paper in easy to carry tablets

NEWS – Here’s something that EVERYONE needs for their emergency preparedness kit, bug out bag, or EDC. Toilet Paper. Say what you will about your fellow humans, but one thing that we can all agree on is that we all have to go to the bathroom and when it comes to #2, we all like to clean up afterward. But how do we do that when we’re hiking, or in another situation where a bathroom with toilet paper isn’t available? You can use leaves but ick, right?

Check out Wysi Wipes. Wysi Wipes are tablet sized compressed toilettes that are hypo-allergenic, unscented and made of cellulose (pulp fiber) which is 100% biodegradable.

To use a wipe, you just moisten it with a little bit of water and it instantly expands and is ready for use. Depending on what you intend to use it for, you can rinse it and reuse it several times.

Wysi Wipes come packaged in resealable bags in several sizes. The 9 x 12 wipe size comes in a bag of 100 tablets for $11.95 from Amazon.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

EDC toilet paper in easy to carry tablets originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 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.

Caavo Control Center universal TV remote & home theater hub review


NEWS – The combination of me being a gadget nerd and a TV junkie means that I have multiple streaming boxes and other such devices all connected in some form or fashion. My main TV only has 2 HDMI inputs, but I have been getting along because my Tablo and AirTV boxes are connected via ethernet and work via their respective apps. However, I just bought the new Roku 4K Premiere + stick and the new Amazon 4K Fire Stick and along with my Android box and DVD, I am out of HDMI ports. What is the possible solution you might ask? ………………Enter the Caavo Control Center.

What is it?

Caavo is an all-in-one solution for television entertainment that allows you to connect up to 4 devices and control them all with one remote. You can watch your cable TV, DVR, your streaming devices and online apps like YouTube and Netflix. It supports 4K UHD, HDR and Dolby Sound, Google Voice & Amazon Alexa, and it also works with sound bars and audio/video recorders.

What’s in the box


1 x Caavo
1 x AC Adapter
2 x AAA Batteries
1 x Quick Start Guide
1 x Warranty Info
1 x Remote Control
1 x Double Headed IR Blaster Cable/Sensor
2 x Adhesive Pads

Design and features

Specifications:

Main Unit Size: 263 x 150 x 35 mm
Weight: 1.0kg
Connectivity: HDMI: 4 inputs, 1 output. HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2; IR: 3.5mm IR out
Power Adaptor: 110-240V 50-60Hz AC. Draws up to 700mA; Set: DC 12V 2A
Ethernet: 100Mbps
Wireless: 2.4 and 5 GHz (802.11 2×2 ac) and Bluetooth 4.0
Supported Audio Formats: PCM, 8 Channels, 24 bits, 192 kHz, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos up to 8 channels and up to 192 kHz; DTS and DTS-HD Master Audio up to 8 channels and up to 192 kHz
Supported Video Formats: max RGB/YUV444/YUV422/YUV420 4K (3840×2160) 10-bit at 60Hz, HDR pass-through (HDR 10)

Looking down at the top of the Caavo from above see this beautiful, sleek device with the brand name in the middle and the power button on the right lower corner. There is an on/off LED light in a circle around the edges of the power button.

On the back of the Caavo from left to right, there are 4 HDMI input ports, the HDMI output port to your TV or recording device, the ethernet port, the IR port, and the AC adapter port.

The all-inclusive remote includes buttons for controlling streaming boxes like Roku, etc, audio for sound bars, power on/of for TVs, a microphone button for voice control, etc.

Performance

When you first connect the Caavo, you have to connect it to your network. At first, I connected it to my wireless network just to see how easy the process was, and it was easy. However, I then used an ethernet cable to hardwire it to my network. I prefer a wired connection.

Once you power up the Caavo, it goes through an initial process that includes restarts and updates. The onscreen prompts and instructions are very intuitive and very easy to follow. Once it finished its startup process, it then started to identify the devices connected to its HDMI ports. It very quickly identified the Roku and Amazon Fire Stick and while it saw my Android streaming box, it was not able to identify it by make and model.

The next step of the setup process took me through setting up each attached device to ensure that the remote was able to assume the functionality of the original remote for each device. This process was a success for the Roku and Amazon devices and my Samsung TV. However, it could not complete the same for the Android device. For that device, it then instructed me to plug in the IR Blaster to the IR port on the back of the Caavo and to place the sensor in front of the device. Once I did as instructed, it was able to successfully communicate with and operate that device. However, since I truly hate using IR Blaster cables, I opted to control that device with its original remote.

In the next step, it asked about audio, and it was able to successfully take over control of my Zvox AccuVoice Sound Bar.

I can truly say that the Caavo remote operates flawlessly when controlling my TV, sound bar, Roku and Amazon devices. I am so happy to just use the one remote, and the voice commands and search functions make the process easy and fun.

App
The Caavo app provides access to TV and movie guides. Here are some things that you can take advantage of and enjoy:

  • Have access to and browse content recommended by editors and others
  • You can save the shows and movies that you like at any time to your “My Lists”
  • Perform universal searches across apps like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.
  • Launch your selections on local apps
  • Use Airplay or Chromecast

Here are some screenshots from the app:






What I like

  • The all-in-one design and functionality
  • The build quality
  • The all-inclusive remote
  • The ease of setup
  • The sleek look
  • The connectivity

What can be improved

  • I personally dislike the use of IR cables, so anything that can be done to eliminate the need to use them

Final thoughts

When I first heard about Caavo, I was immediately intrigued. I am also a TV junkie, and I have several different streaming boxes connected to every TV in my home. Except for the IR cable connectivity, I really like Caavo. The one remote that actually functions really well both manually and by voice really works for me. In addition, the design and sleek look make it an easy and aesthetically pleasing addition to any decor. Well done and two thumbs up!!

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Caavo website and Amazon
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by Caavo

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: , , ,

Caavo Control Center universal TV remote & home theater hub review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 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.

The Expain heated neck & shoulder massager looks as good as it feels

NEWS – The holiday shopping season is upon us and so is the tension and stress that can come from a long day at the mall. This Christmas give your sore muscles the gift they deserve with the Expain heated neck & shoulder massager.

Inspired by Nordic design, the massager not only soothes your sore muscles, it looks good while doing it.

This heated neck and shoulder massager has four rotating heads with two angles which give a hard massage or soft massage depending on the rotation direction of the massage heads. And the massage heads are gently heated to help soothe sore muscles.

Removable hand straps allow you to control the amount of force the massager puts on your neck and shoulders. You can even use it to target your calves.

 

A built-in rechargeable battery allows the massager to operate cordlessly for up to an hour.

The Expain heated neck & shoulder massager sells for $120 and is available from The Grommet.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The Expain heated neck & shoulder massager looks as good as it feels originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 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.

ClipDifferent Pro automatic fingernail clipper review

REVIEW – When was the last time you thought about nail clippers and their worthiness as a gadget? Never, right? I’m going to change that with this review of the ClipDifferent Pro automatic nail clipper. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The ClipDifferent Pro is an electric powered fingernail clipper.

What’s in the box?

ClipDifferent Pro
AC power adapter

Design and features

The ClipDifferent Pro is a round white plastic device that has a large easy to toggle power switch on the top back edge.

On the front is a narrow slightly curved slot with blades inside it. The clipper part is made of surgical quality stainless steel blades which are designed not to dull. Below the cutting slot is a small drawer that holds the nail clippings.

On the back is the power cord socket which you use to charge the internal batteries which will run for months on a charge. On the bottom is a non-skid base. The unit is pretty basic as far as design and style, but it feels well made and is heavy enough to stay put on a table without sliding around.

Let’s get clipping!

I like to keep my nails very short, so for me, the nails in the image above are ready to be clipped. I usually use a cheap pair of Curell clippers purchased from Walmart. Clipping my nails with traditional clippers works fine, but I have to do it over a trash can and I have to see what I’m doing to make sure that I don’t trim them too short, at the wrong angle, etc.

With the ClipDifferent Pro automatical fingernail clipper, I just flip the switch and stick my nail in the slot with the blade that is continuously moving up and down. You can only insert your fingernail in the slot until the flesh of your finger presses against the front of the unit. As you do, that section of the fingernail is clipped and the clipping is deposited in the clipping drawer inside the unit.

You slide your fingernail side to side in the cutting slot to round off all the edges, and then switch to the next finger, and so on until you’re finished. It usually takes me several minutes to manually trim my nails, but with the ClipDifferent Pro I was done in less than a minute and there wasn’t anything to clean up.

Here’s the same hand as before, but with freshly clipped nails. I’ll admit that my fingernails do not look like I’ve gone to a nail salon, but I was surprised that the edges of the freshly clipped nails did not feel sharp or snaggily. You really don’t need to use a file to smooth them, but doing so doesn’t hurt anything.

Then when you’re finished, you can pull out the little clipping drawer and dump the clippings in the trash can. That’s one of the nice things about using the ClipDifferent Pro – there are now rogue clippings on the floor after you’ve clipped your nails.

What I like

  • Very easy to use
  • Portable – has rechargeable batteries
  • Safe, won’t cut your fingers
  • Can use even if you can’t see
  • No clean up

What needs to be improved

  • Pricey

Final thoughts

You might wonder why anyone would pay $150 for a fingernail clipper even if it does clip automatically. Well, what if you have arthritis or other dexterity issue and can’t use a clipper without pain? What if you’re blind and don’t want to ask someone to clip your nails for you? What if you only have one hand in the first place? These are just some of the reasons why the ClipDifferent Pro Automatic Fingernail Clipper is a useful product. It might be expensive, but it’s built to last. I’ll definitely follow up with updates as time goes by.

Price: $149.00
Where to buy: ClipDifferent and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ClipDifferent.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

ClipDifferent Pro automatic fingernail clipper review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 23, 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.