Finally, a spiral-bound notebook lefties will love

NEWS – As the mother of a left-handed daughter, I’ve listened to years of complaints about regular ring binders and spiral notebooks.  The rings or the spiral gets in the way of her writing, making taking notes uncomfortable.  Especially in the earlier years, she had to have a spiral-bound notebook for each of her classes, so she was stuck using the notebooks she hated.

A couple of years ago, I found some top-bound spiral notebooks with college-ruled notebook paper inside.  She could finally use a notebook easily without the rings or spiral getting in her way.  Amazon has the Mead Cambridge top-bound notebooks for sale now.  The books are filled with 8.5″ x 11″ college-ruled, 20 lb. white paper, with 70 perforated sheets (140 pages) per pad.  The overall size is 8.55″ x 12.62″.  The notebook has a heavy-duty front cover and a stiff cardboard back for a sturdy writing surface even without a desk.

Amazon makes the Mead Cambridge top-bound notebooks available for $2.45 as an add-on to a purchase of at least $25.00.  If you need wide-ruled pages, Amazon offers a set of four wide-ruled, top-bound notebooks for $15.00.  See both options of the Mead Cambridge top-bound spiral notebooks at Amazon.

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Finally, a spiral-bound notebook lefties will love originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Harber London Nomad Leather Organizer iPad Pro case review

REVIEW – Recently Harber London introduced their new NOMAD organizer series for Apple’s iPads and MacBooks, to help you keep your EDC gear organized as you go about your day or while on travel. Designed to not only safely transport your iPad Pro, but securely hold your power cords, keys, credit and business cards, Apple Pen, etc. For this review, Harber London sent their medium sized NOMAD leather organizer meant to carry the 10.5″ & 9.7″ iPad Pros.

What is it?

The Harber London NOMAD Organizer is a modern-day tech-clutch designed to carry your iPad and other accessories securely zippered within. The NOMAD collection is handmade in Spain from full grain leather with many pockets to help keep your EDC gear organized and easily reachable.

Design and features

The NOMAD organizer is a modern version of an old-world design. It is a flat, zippered pouch meant to carry your iPad Pro and a decent amount of your EDC gear/accessories. This tech-clutch is relatively minimalistic and can travel with you around the office, on the weekend, or throughout the world.

The interior pocket layout is well thought out and designed to keep your tech accessories organized and all together. My 10.5″ iPad Pro slips in and out of the wool-lined main tablet pocket easily. The large slipper pocket has a leather strap that snaps the iPad in place so it can’t accidentally fall out when the NOMAD is open/unzipped. In addition to the main tablet pocket, the right side of the organizer has a medium sized zippered pocket with full spanning slipper pocket below. The left side has a spot to securely hold your Apple Pen, another large slipper pocket for paperwork/mail, smartphone pocket, business card and pen slots, plus a few spots for cables and the like.

The NOMAD can accommodate either the 9.7″ or 10.5″ iPad Pro and their keyboards. My 10.5″ iPPro and Apple Smart Keyboard fit well inside the main slipper pocket.

Features:

• Smartphone pocket fits iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, Google Pixel 2 and more.
• Tablet pocket fits iPad Pro 10.5″, iPad (2017) & 9.7″ With/without Smart Keyboard.
• Keeps everything organized in one place.
• Transforms into a Backpack or messenger bag if needed.
• Convenient Zip pockets.
• Handmade by expert craftsmen in Spain.
• Made with Full Grain Vegetable tanned cowhide leather.
• 100% Wool Felt Lining on iPad side.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 27x 21.5x 2.2 cm | 10.62″x 8.5″x 0.86″
• Weight: 1 lbs 6 oz.

As I mentioned above, the NOMAD is handmade from premium full grain vegetable tanned leather by Spanish craftsmen. While thinner than the leathers Saddleback and Colonel Littleton use, the NOMAD organizer leather is soft and supple with an exceptional look and feel. In addition to the leather, all of the materials used to make the NOMAD are top quality. The zippers work nicely, the stitching is well done, and the wool felt lining the main slipper pockets is soft and smooth.

There are two rectangular rings stitched into the back of the NOMAD that the shoulder strap can be attached to carry the NOMAD over the shoulder. These rings can be recessed back into their respective slots to store them out of the way when not in use.

The strap itself is made from the same vegetable tanned full grain cowhide as the organizer but Harber London stitches a layer of wool felt onto the back of the strap. The two layers are stitched together and all the hardware is stitched and riveted for greater strength.

As mentioned above, the NOMAD’s leather has a great feel and at less than 3 pounds (fully loaded) carrying it around isn’t much of a burden. Wearing it over the shoulder is even less so.

The back spine has a reinforcing piece of leather that can be used as a handle, stitched and riveted to the main body of the organizer for greater strength. There are d-rings looped into the leather on both ends for carrying the organizer as a backpack which I personally never seen doing myself.

Positives

  • Handmade in Spain
  • Excellent craftsmanship and material quality
  • Made from gorgeous full grain vegetable tanned cowhide leather
  • Well thought out minimalistic design for some but not all your EDC gear

Negatives

  • Expensive

The NOMAD collection is available in tan, black, and navy with sizing for the iPad mini, 9.7″/10.5″ iPad Pro, and 12.9″ iPad Pro/13″ MacBook Pro.

Final thoughts

The Harber London NOMAD organizer is very well made by Spanish craftsmen from fine leathers and excellent materials. The NOMAD is designed to securely carry your Apple tablet and accessories with a bit of European style and quality. Though it has good functionality, it does not have the capacity to carry all of my EDC gear within its zippered confines. Overall, the NOMAD is great for carrying your iPad Pro from meeting to meeting and keeping all your cables, Apple Pen, smartphone, etc organized in your travel or EDC bag.

Price: £239.00 / ~$325.00
Where to buy: You can buy direct from the Harber London web site.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Harber London.

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Harber London Nomad Leather Organizer iPad Pro case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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The Kwilt Shoebox Plus just made storing your personal memories even better

NEWS – A few days ago, I tested and reviewed the Kwilt Shoebox. This little device connects to your network via wifi and is controlled via an Android or iOS app. It allows you to transfer all of the photos and video from your Smartphone or tablet to local storage across your network. The Kwilt has a USB port where you can add a flash drive or a USB hub with multiple drives to create virtually unlimited storage. Once your files are transferred, you have the option to either keep the original files on your mobile device or to delete them. The beauty about deleting them is that the Kwilt Shoebox allows you to access your stored files from anywhere at any time via the app. You can also add pictures and videos that were never on your device to the storage attached to the Kwilt, and you can access them via your phone/tablet as well.

I absolutely love the Kwilt Shoebox, albeit that I would prefer if it has a built-in Ethernet port to provide a more reliable connection, and the ability to add multiple drives without having to buy a hub to do so.

I guess the folks at Kwilt must be reading my mind because they just announced the Kwilt Shoebox Plus. This updated version of the shoebox had a built-in Ethernet port, 4 USB data ports for adding storage and still keeps the HDMI port and all of the original functionality.

If you are as interested in the Kwilt Shoebox Plus as I am, you can purchase one for $119 on Amazon or from the Kwilt website.

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The Kwilt Shoebox Plus just made storing your personal memories even better originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 17, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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It’s Prime Day and here are some deals!

DEALS One day (and a half) each year, Amazon 1000’s of their sellers put on an extravaganza of shopping for Prime members and today happens to be the start of that event. I’ve gathered a collection of shopping deals to share with you, so go crazy!

DJI deal

Save $210 off the DJI Mavic Pro drone – I’m really tempted by this one. This popular drone comes with the remote control and the $210 savings brings the price down to $789.

Instant Pot deal

Save over $40 on an Instant Pot Duo – If you’re going to buy anything today, consider this deal on the Instant Pot Duo which brings the price down to an affordable $58.99. I LOVE my Instant Pot and use it all the time. The one I have is a different model, but they all work about the same so check out my Instant Pot Ultra review for more info.

Amazon devices and services deals

Get six FREE months of Amazon Music Unlimited with the purchase of a select Echo family device at a bundled price. You will have unlimited access to tens of millions of songs, thousands of playlists and stations through Amazon Music Unlimited. Plus, you can enjoy hands-free listening with Alexa and offline listening – all ad-free.

Save $40 Off on Kindle Paperwhite. Get your hands on Amazon’s best-selling Kindle for only $79.99. This Paperwhite has twice as many pixels as the previous generation, built-in adjustable light, no screen glare, and Prime members read free with unlimited access to over a thousand titles.

Four months of Amazon Music Unlimited for $0.99 for new Amazon Music Unlimited customers. They will get four months for only $0.99 (regularly $7.99 per month for Prime members and $9.99 per month for non-Prime members)!

Save up to 42% off Blink XT 1 and Blink XT 2 home security cameras. Blink XT cameras have built-in motion sensor alarm, a two-year wireless battery life, and no monthly fees or service contracts. Plus, you can control the camera with your voice through select Alexa devices. Check out my review of the Blink cameras for more info.

Huawei smartphones and watch deals

Save $300 off the Huawei Mate 10 Pro smartphone (MSRP: $799.99; PD price: $499.99)

Save $30 off the Huawei Mate SE smartphone (MSRP: $249.99; PD price: $219.99)

Save $80 off the Huawei Watch 2 Sports (MSRP: $299.99; PD Price: $219.99)

Save $80 off the Huawei Watch 2 Classic (MSRP: $369.99; PD price: $289.99)

Save $20 off the Huawei Band 2 (MSRP: $69.99; PD Price: $49.99)

Honor smartphone deals

Honor View10 – $100 discount for a final price of $399 USD. The Honor View10 offers a dual camera setup with one color 16MP camera and a second monochrome 20MP camera, which work together for true colors and clarity.

Honor 7x –  $30 discount for a final price of $169 USD. The Honor 7x represents an impressive value for the wide array of leading features, such as dual cameras, a 5.93” FullView display, a long-lasting 3340mAh battery and cutting-edge security with fingerprint and facial unlock.

Keysmart and FIXD deals

KeySmart Pro: the compact key organizer with Tile smart location, phone locator, flashlight and bottle opener; originally $59.99, will be marked down to $38.99.

KeySmart Rugged: the bigger version of the original KeySmart, able to hold 2 – 14 keys, complete with a bottle opener, loop piece, and removable pocket clip; originally $35.00, will be marked down to $24.99.

KeySmart: the original KeySmart, ultra lightweight and able to hold 2 – 14 keys; originally $22.98, will be marked down to $13.99.

FIXD Sensor: the OBD-II plug-in sensor that diagnoses all your car’s problems; originally $59.99, will be available for $39.99.

Jabra deal

Save $30 on Jabra Elite 45e wireless headphones for $69.99 (regularly $99.99). The Elite 45e offers the best combined voice and music experience in a headset with a discreet design and great fit. This soft neckband (with memory wire) headset has a lightweight form factor and a unique box microphone solution that delivers the clearest voice communication on any stereo wireless headphone. The headset offers 8 hours of battery life and one touch access to Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Read our Jabra Elite 45e review.

Catalyst iPhone case deals

Save 25% off a Catalyst iPhone 8 Impact Protection Case – all colors, the final price will be $29.99.
Save 25% off a Catalyst iPhone 8+ Impact Protection Case – all colors, the final price will be $37.50.

Master & Dynamic headphone deal

Master & Dynamic will be offering its MH30 On-Ear Headphones for $199 which is $100 off their retail price using code “MH30FLASH”

The perfect travel tool, the foldable, lightweight MH30 On-Ear Headphones are built with the finest materials including cowhide, lambskin, forged aluminum and stainless steel. Tuned to provide a rich, warm sound, the MH30s are tools to help focus, inspire and transport your mind.

AUKEY deals

AUKEY Dual Ports Car Charger with Quick Charge 3.0  – $11  valid from Jul 16 to Jul 18
AUKEY Portable USB Wall Charger with Quick Charge 3.0 – $12.59   valid from 5:20 AM to 23:20 PM Jul 17
AUKEY Mini Flexible Camera Tripod with Wide Compatibility – $21.59   with code  DL3BIZKL valid from Jul 15 to Jul 18
AUKEY Touch-controlled Table Lamp with Color Changing RGB  – $21.99   valid from 5:20 AM to 23:20 PM Jul 17
AUKEY Mechanical Keyboard LED with 104 Keys Metal Plate Anti-ghosting  – $42 with code PRIMEAUK  valid from  12:01 PM Jul16 to 11:59 AM Jul 19
AUKEY USB Hub with 3 Charging Ports & 4 USB 3.0 Data Ports – $25.5  with code  MNCVTS4W valid from Jul 17 to Jul 20
AUKEY USB C Cable 3ft Fast Charge [2 Pack] – $6.29  with code DL3BIZKL valid from Jul 15 to Jul 18
AUKEY 2.5″ Hard Drive Enclosure – $10.19  with code  MNCVTS4W  valid from Jul 17 to Jul 20

Keyport keychain organizer deals

Keyport key organizers are on sale up to 30% off through end-of-day PDT on Tuesday, the 17th. Here is how it works. Fill up your cart with Keyport products and automatically receive the following discount:

  • 15% OFF @ $10
  • 20% OFF @ $25
  • 25% OFF @ $50
  • 30% OFF @ $100 or more

Survival Hax gear deals

Save 30% on Survival Hax gear by clicking this link or entering the code 30SRVVALGEAR at checkout.

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It’s Prime Day and here are some deals! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 16, 2018 at 3:51 pm.

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Sony Xperia XZ2 review

REVIEW – It’s been almost 4 years since I reviewed a Sony smartphone. The last one was the Sony Xperia Z3v. How has the Xperia evolved since then? I’ve been testing the Sony Xperia XZ2 for the last few weeks so let’s find out.

What is it?

The Sony Xperia XZ2 is Sony’s latest smartphone which is powered by Android and features a 19MP camera capable of 4K HDR video recording, high-resolution audio, and more.

Hardware specs

Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 845 Mobile Platform
Operating System: Android 8.1
Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB UFS internal memory5, microSDXC support (up to 400GB)
Display: 5.7″, 18:9 Full HD+ (1080 x 2160) HDR display
Network: GSM GPRS/EDGE (2G), UMTS HSPA+ (3G), LTE (4G) Cat18 with up to 1,2Gbps
Camera (rear): 19MP, f/2.0 aperture
Camera (front): 5 MP, f/2.0 aperture
Connectivity: Bluetooth: 5.0, WiFi, Miracast, NFC
Positioning: A-GPS, A-Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
Battery: 3180 mAh
Qi wireless charging
Dimensions: 153 x 72 x 11.1 mm
Weight: 198 g

What’s in the box?

    • Sony Xperia XZ2
    • USB-C Cable
    • USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter
    • Earbuds with several earbud sizes (3.5mm wired)

Design and features

The XZ2 is available in two sizes. The larger one that you see here and a compact version that has a 5.0-inch display. The XZ2 comes in four colors including the dark green (I think it looks blue) one that was sent to me. It has a 5.7-inch display that has slightly curved edges. The XZ2 doesn’t have the newest fad in smartphones. There isn’t a notch at the top, but there is both a “forehead” and a “chin” at the top and bottom, but very minimal size bezels.

At the top is the front-facing camera, ambient light sensor and a tiny status LED that is used for notifications and battery charging status.

At the bottom is a front firing speaker that is almost hidden in the area where the display meets the metal rail along the bottom edge.

The back of the phone is made of glass that is polished to a high sheen with a bulging pillow look and curved edges. Let me just say right now, that the XZ2 is slippery. I’m talking crazy slippery. I will say that it’s easily the most slippery phone I’ve ever hand my hand before. Unless you have the hands of a tree frog, you will want a case for this phone because otherwise, it’s going to end up shattered on the floor.

Now that I’ve given you that public service announcement, back to describing the back of the phone. It’s very pretty and feels nice in hand and it has a fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone, which is my favorite location for fingerprint scanners. However, the location of the fingerprint sensor is lower than on other phones I’ve reviewed, so it can sometimes take more than one try to locate it with the tip of my index finger because it’s almost completely flush with the case.

Above the fingerprint scanner is the camera and above the camera is the LED flash.

The right side of the phone has three buttons. The top button is a one-piece volume button, the center button is the power button, and the lower button is a dedicated camera launch/shutter button.

On the bottom edge is a microphone and a USB-C port.

Flip the Xperia around to the top edge and you find another microphone and the SIM card/MicroSD card slot. Unlike 99% of the phones on the market, you don’t need a SIM tool to open the tray. It pulls out easily with your fingernail.

There are two SIM slots or you can put a microSD card in the extra slot.

The Sony Xperia XZ2 looks nice and passes my Gadgeteer squeeze test, but it’s hard to get past how insanely slippery it is. I don’t have a case for it, so I have to constantly pay attention to where I place it. If the surface is even slightly uneven or unlevel, it will slide off in a second, like a drop of mercury. It’s so slippery that I had trouble getting photos of it in my Shotbox lightbox because it would start spinning all by itself like it was alive. And speaking of spinning, it doubles as a fidget spinner when you’re bored!

Jokes aside, the phone does feel solid in hand. Solid and heavy. The curved back is there to disguise how thick this phone really is, but its weight can’t be hidden. It weighs 198 grams compared to my Pixel 2 XL which has a larger display and weighs in at 175 grams.

Display

The XZ2’s display bright, crisp, vivid, and clear. I have no complaints as far as what it looks like, viewing angles or touch sensitivity. The only feature it lacks is an always on clock like my Pixel 2 XL and Samsung phones. I rely on that feature since I don’t wear a watch and really missed while reviewing this phone.

Fingerprint reader

Except for the fact that the fingerprint sensor located to low on the back of the phone, it works great for me. I tend to have issues with scanners not registering my touch, but this one works 9 times out of 10 as long as I actually touch it the first time instead of the camera lens!

Camera

The Xperia XZ2 has a nice camera. It’s a little disappointing that it doesn’t have a dual camera the iPhone X, Huawei P20, and others, but for what it is, I was happy with the shots I tool. Check out some samples below that are straight out of the camera.







I was pretty happy with the pictures that I took while using this phone. But, I did run into a strange issue which you can see in the examples below.



Notice the strange color bands/glare on the first two images above? I only noticed this with a handful of pictures that I took and there were only two things that were similar between the images: it was a sunny day and I shot the images with the phone in portrait orientation. If you check the two images on the right, they were taken within seconds of each other and the one with the glare was taken in portrait orientation and the other one in landscape orientation. I’m not sure what caused the glare/bands.

Audio quality

The Sony’s front firing speakers sound good when listening to music or watching videos without using headphones. Even at full volume, audio sounds clear and crisp.

The phone has an interesting Dynamic Vibration feature that vibrates the phone depending on the type of audio that’s playing so it’s kind of cool for games and watching video.

Using the Sony Xperia XZ2 for phone calls

For the most part, I’ve had no issues making and receiving calls on the T-mobile network with this phone except when I’m in the basement of my house. For some reason, this phone seems to have issues holding on to the cell signal down there and on several occasions, people have tried to call me and gotten voice mail.

As far as call audio quality, the volume level and clarity on both sides of conversations have been just fine.

Software and user interface

The XZ2 comes with a collection of Sony-made camera tools for video editing, 3D creator, Bokeh, AR Effects, and others. They are all standalone apps which is odd. I think they should have been features added to the camera app. Besides those apps, there are a few others that come pre-installed like Facebook, AVG Protection, Playstation app, News, Xperia lounge, and a few others. Unfortunately, you can’t uninstall these apps to free space.

Overall performance and battery life using the Sony Xperia XZ2 for day to day tasks

This phone has a 3180mAh battery that kept it running for a full work day of normal use and with wireless charging, it is convenient to keep it topped off. With my typical usage level, I had no problems with battery life.

As far as performance, I think the Sony XZ2 does very well and felt comparable to other phones I’ve recently reviewed.

What I like

  • Wireless charging
  • microSD card slot
  • Dedicated camera shutter button

What needs to be improved

  • No 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Weird location for the fingerprint scanner
  • Slippery

Final thoughts

The Sony Xperia XZ2 makes a nice smartphone with almost every feature on my smartphone wishlist including wireless charging and a microSD card slot. That said, I couldn’t quite love this phone because it lacks the always-on clock display that has become a must-have feature for me and it’s just so darned heavy and slippery. Yes, I can put a case on it to help with grip, but that would add more weight to an already heavy phone.

I’m rooting Sony on, but I think they have an uphill battle ahead of them if they want to compete with the likes of Huawei, Samsung, and Google when they are pricing their Xperia phones at the same price level.

Price: $799.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Sony.

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Sony Xperia XZ2 review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 16, 2018 at 10:14 am.

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