I hope that everyone’s new year has started out on a positive note and that you are excited about new projects and adventures. As always, we’ll be bringing you a handful of news posts and a couple reviews each day to keep your gadget addiction under control. And each Saturday about this time of day, I’ll post a handy list of all the articles, news, and reviews from the past week. Enjoy!
If your cooking skills are better than nuking a Lean Cuisine microwave meatloaf in the microwave, then you might want to check out this adjustable measuring spoon that will let you ditch that ring-o-spoons that you can never seem to find in your kitchen drawers.
This one-piece spoon will let you measure precise portions of dry and wet ingredients in 5 – 20 ml, .25 – 1 oz, 1-2 tablespoons, and 1/2 – 3 teaspoon increments.
The Advanced Adjustable Measuring Spoon is made of plastic and is priced at $9.45 from Living Chic.
Do you ever watch a movie on your phone or use a Bluetooth keyboard with your phone? How do you prop up the phone at the optimal viewing angle? One way is to use a device stand like the SmartStand360. Let’s take a look.
What is it?
The SmartStand360 is a universal smartphone stand with a simple but effective design that attaches to your phone with 3M tape.
Design and features
The SmartStand360 is made of plastic and is available in several colors but I was sent the black version of the stand.
The stand is made of three pieces that are connected together in such a way that the pieces can fold into different orientations.
The base of the stand even swivels 360 degrees, which is where the name SmartStand360 comes from.
Installation on your phone
Installation of the SmartStand360 is simple. All you do is stick the 3M sticker on the back of the phone or case and then peel the backing off the 3M sticker attached to the stand.
Next, you stick the SmartStand360 to the sticker that you stuck to the back of your smartphone or smartphone case. I didn’t want to stick something to the back of my phone, so I stuck the SmartStand360 to the back of the Pitaka Aramid Pixel 2 XL case that I recently reviewed. That’s it, you’re done.
You can then unfold the stand to create different ways to prop up the phone on a flat surface.
Even with the pointy “kickstand”, the SmartStand360 keeps the phone steady.
The stand works just as well with the phone turned sideways.
Turn the “kickstand” 90 degrees for a proper stand.
The SmartStand30 can also fold into different configurations.
The hole in the “kickstand” allows you to hang it from things like fingers or hooks.
You can even fold the SmartStand360 into a loop and slide your finger through it to provide better grip on your phone.
And when you’re not using the stand, it can fold up into a small block.
One thing to be aware of is that if you want to remove the SmartStand360, you’ll need to pry it off with a flat tool like a butter knife. That 3M adhesive is strong stuff, so it does take a little effort and that’s why I do not recommend attaching it directly to the back of your phone as it will be really easy to scratch your phone when it comes time to remove the stand.
What I like
Simple to install
Inexpensive
Can be used in different orientations
What needs to be improved
Gets in the way when you’re not using it
Can block fingerprint scanner on some phones
Removing the stand can be tough
Final thoughts
If you don’t mind attaching the stand to the back of your phone or as I recommend, a case, then this inexpensive universal stand should serve you well. It can be used in a number of ways and orientations, which is nice. But just be aware that it can get in the way and removing it can be a bit scary.
Price: $8.00 Where to buy: SmartStand360 Source: The sample for this review was provided by SmartStand360.
The OtterBox Symmetry case is one of the slimmest case designs that they make. It is a one piece design that provides coverage around the back and edge for drop and scratch protection and has a raised front bezel protect the screen surface from contact. OtterBox has created a new series of cases embellished with graphics based on the film, Star Wars: The last Jedi. Compatible with the iPhone 7, 8, 7 Plus, and 8 Plus, these five new cases will protect your iPhone from the dark side of phone ownership while remaining slim and sleek in your pocket. The Star Wars Collection includes the style you see here. I got the BB-8/BB-9E version to fit my new iPhone 8.
Hardware Specs
Featuring an ultra-slim profile (the slimmest OtterBox case to date) and OtterBox Certified Drop+ Protection, Symmetry Series stays true to your phone’s sleek design.
Highlight your personal style with a selection of lively graphics.
Ultra slim one-piece design slips easily in and out of pockets and purses.
Case slips on and off your phone in a flash
Made from carbonite polycarbonate and synthetic rubber.
What’s in the box?
The case is the only item included in the box.
Design and Features
The ports, switch, speaker and front glass are all exposed. Since the iPhone 7 and 8 are IP67 rated, additional protections on the case aren’t as beneficial as they used to be for earlier models, when a simple drop in a puddle may require several hours of the phone taking a rice nap.
The one piece construction fits onto your phone like a glove. When not installed you can see the rubber inside.
And the intellectual property statement as well as the production run and country of origin information.
The rear of the case is a highly polished plastic. The picture here clearly reflects the electrical receptacle on the wall in the distance. The glossiness of the back is good looking at first, but the design is likely to pick up a number of scratches. It’s made of the same material as a DVD, and we all know how scratched those get… The graphics are applied to the underside of the polycarbonate and will not scratch off.
In this picture, you can also see the OtterBox name is imprinted into the base of the rear.
Around the edge, it can be seen that the rubber rim and the glossy back don’t quite touch. There’s a 1 mm grove that I can only assume is for impact absorption.
The back bows out at the center. You can see that the ends are not resting on the table in the picture below. One thing this does is concentrate the scratches to the center, so one of the BB-9e’s is going to get treated a lot worse than all the others. This design also lets you spin the phone. This is useful to play with while its on a table. It is also useful if a bunch of Stormtroopers need to figure out who takes off their helmet first.
My iPhone is new and I haven’t got a screen protector on it yet, so I still have the Apple applied screen protector on it. That being said, the phone case gets very close to the protective sheet – about 0.7 mm.
The power button and volume buttons are completely covered but they are easy to press. The pop of each button is still present even though it is covered by the case. The rubber edge and details around the volume buttons and below the power button make the phone and case easy to grip.
The opening for the mute switch and the power are generous. The mute switch may even be accessible to a gloved Stormtrooper but probably not a Wookiee.
Positives
OtterBox quality
Good-looking durable design
Buttons work well
Openings for power and mute switch are big
Negatives
Glossy polycarbonate rear is likely to quickly show its age.
Final thoughts
If you really want to add top-notch protection to a phone then OtterBox is one of the best choices available. The symmetry case is very slim and still provides great protection to the hardware inside. Getting the case with one of five graphic designs based on the Star Wars films is a no-brainer for any Star Wars enthusiast.
Price: $44.95 to $54.95 Where to buy: OtterBox Source: The sample of this product was provided by OtterBox.
Back in the day, the only way you could see a picture that you had taken with your camera, was to have the film processed and prints made. Today, most images that we take are passed around digitally via email, and social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Is there still a place in this digital world for physical prints? KODAK sure hopes so and have created the Photo Printer Mini to get the job done fast and easy. Let’s see how well they’ve done.
What is it?
The KODAK Photo Printer Mini is a portable wireless color photo printer for Android and iOS devices that uses a WiFi connection instead of a Bluetooth connection.
Design and features
The Photo Printer Mini is about the same size as a large backup battery at 6 x 3 x 1 inch. Included in the box is an all-in-one print cartridge and a micro USB charging cable. The printer is available in white, black, and gold. As you can see, I was sent the white version.
There are 2 status LEDs on the top of the printer. One status LED is for power and printing, and the other one is a battery status LED.
On one side of the KODAK Photo Printer Mini, you’ll find a power button.
The micro USB charging port is located on one end of the printer along with a reset switch.
On the opposite end, you’ll find the print eject slot.
And on the other side is the print cartridge door.
The door opens to provide access to the all-in-one print cartridge. The cartridges combine paper and ribbon in one package and come in 20, 30 or 50 prints per cartridge.
The cartridges are easy to insert and remove.
An 8-print cartridge is included with the Photo Printer Mini. This is the only consumable that you need to worry about with this printer. I think KODAK cheaped out by only giving you a cartridge with 8 prints instead of a 20-print cartridge. You can find refills on Amazon where the price ranges from $19.99 each for the 20-print cartridge, up to $35.73 for the 50-print cartridge. The 20-print cartridge is also available with sticky backed prints so you can use them as stickers.
The app
Before you can print your first picture, you’ll need to install the app on an iOS or Android device. I did my testing with a Google Pixel 2 XL. This printer uses a WiFi connection instead of Bluetooth, so you will have set up the WiFi connection including the password.
If you have an Android smartphone, you can also tap the phone on top of the printer to quickly launch the app. But I still had to manually connect the printer to my phone each time by going into the WiFi network list.
If you look at the two images above, you can see that the app is trying to connect to the printer. I saw this message quite often and found the connection between my phone and the printer to be very fiddly.
Once connected, you can access photos from your phone’s camera roll, Facebook, Instagram and a couple other social media platforms, Google images, or even screen grabs from your videos.
The KODAK Printer app has some built-in editing features that allow you to crop, rotate, add frames, stickers, and do other rudimentary adjustments to the image before printing.
After you have chosen and edited the image, all that is left to do is print it. Printing is relatively quick and the print is dry and ready to handle immediately after printing is finished.
See it in action
As you can see, the print time is pretty quick.
The credit card sized 2.1 x 3.4 inch (54 x 86 mm) photos are printed in seconds and dry instantly.
I don’t quite understand the purpose of the small perforated tab that tears off the image though. It leaves one side of the print with a fine serration.
I’ve reviewed other wireless printers over the years like the Polaroid ZIP which use dye-incorporating paper (ZINK) and I find the KODAK Photo Printer Mini’s image quality to be superior in sharpness and color. That’s because the KODAK printer uses dye sublimation thermal transfer with 256 gradations and 16.7 million colors. It also puts a laminated protection layer over the print that is fingerprint and water resistant.
What I like
Sharper and more colorful prints compared to other small printers that use ZINK paper
Quick and easy to use when the WiFi connection is behaving
Fingerprint and water resistant prints
What needs to be improved
WiFi connection is too fiddly
Only comes with an 8-print cartridge
Final thoughts
Except for the problems that I had with the WiFi connection dropping between the printer and my phone, I would say that this is the easiest portable wireless printer to use and prints the best-looking prints. As long as you remember that you’ll need to buy extra printer cartridges, the KODAK Photo Printer Mini will let you have fun bringing your favorite digital prints into the physical world.
Price: $99.99 Where to buy: Amazon Source: The sample for this review was provided by KODAK.
