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Col. Littleton made the Yeti tumbler even better with leather

Yeti Rambler tumblers are nearly perfect.  They keep your drink at the right temperature for hours.  They are sturdy.  They hold a nice amount of beverage, and they still fit in a car’s drink holder.  The one thing they are not is easy to carry when you have an armload of other stuff.  Col. Littleton decided to do something about this shortcoming and designed the Traveler leather sleeve that makes it possible to carry your Yeti tumbler with one finger without spilling a drop.  After a year of testing, he’s decided that the Traveler sleeve is ready for the world.

The Traveler is available for both the 20-oz and the 30-oz Yeti Rambler.

  • Made of soft, dry-milled leather which has been ribbed on a hand-cranked embossing machine for a distinctive look
  • Polished leather trim
  • Nickel-plated hardware
  • Easy carry handle folds to the back when not in use

You can have the sleeve embossed with three initials for $8.00 extra.  Regardless of the size, the Traveler Leather Sleeves are $49.50.  Order them from the Col. Littleton website.

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Col. Littleton made the Yeti tumbler even better with leather originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2018 at 8:51 am.

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Jabra Bluetooth headset, North St. duffel bag, Xiaomi Mi Sphere Camera, and more – Weekly roundup

Grab your favorite beverage, find a comfortable seat, and enjoy a causal journey through an expertly crafted listing of all the news, reviews, and articles that we published this week on The Gadgeteer.

Reviews

HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame review

Leacarve Leather Briefcase Review

Wofalo Wireless Charger Power Bank Review

Nuheara IQbuds intelligent truly wireless earbuds with BOOST review

BESTEK 3 AC Outlets 2000W Power Inverter review

North St. Bags Scout 21 VX Duffel review

NazTech MagBuddy phone mount system review

Zyxel Multy X Tri-Band modular WiFi review

Xiaomi Mi Sphere camera review

Epson Expression Premium XP-6000 All-In-One Printer review

Jabra Elite 65e headset review

Denon C820 Dual-Driver In-Ear Headphones review

VAVA E-Touch Phone Holder for Car, Electric Auto Lock iPhone Mount review

Minger LED Smart TV Backlight kit with Camera review

Kitbeez True Wireless Earbuds with Power Bank review

Articles

Julie’s gadget diary – 5 lessons I learned from my last vacation

News

Carved wallets are as flexible as leather – but made of wood!

Cross and TrackR have another way to prevent losing your favorite pens

The Rolgear multi-bit ratchet screwdriver is buttery smooth and quiet

Give a little stability and extra leak-proofing to those indoor puppy training pads

The PLX Devices Kiwi 3 OBDII tool will allow you to just relax and drive

BIC pen with 3 colors of ink pens and a mechanical pencil built in

The Mount Genie Smart Home Shelf is smart decor for smart devices

KarTent is the king of cardboard camping!

With the Bruw you can use mason jars to make delicious cold brew coffee at home

Baron Fig Card Sleeve fits with simple, minimal style

Rid your home of hot and cold rooms with help from the Keen Home Zoning System

Linedock may finally be the right answer for photographers, videographers and filmmakers on the go!

This power cord uses witchcraft to light up when it gets near an outlet

Hate washing dishes by hand? Here’s a dishwasher that fits in even the tiniest kitchen.

Brydge bridges the gap between the iPad and MacBook with the new 12.9 Series II Bluetooth keyboard

Life is too short for dumb nightstands – Part Deux!

Maximize your shoe storage space with the elfa utility Door and Wall Rack for Shoes

Camera gear, wireless doorbells, retro keyboards, GoCube, and more – Notable crowdfunding campaigns

Nite Ize packs a lot of functions into a mini flashlight

Presidio Grip World Edition iPhone X cases may offer the best protection yet

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Jabra Bluetooth headset, North St. duffel bag, Xiaomi Mi Sphere Camera, and more – Weekly roundup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 23, 2018 at 3:00 pm.

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HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame review


Digital photo frames have come a long way since they were first introduced shortly after LCD’s in the late 1990’s. The HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame is no exception as it almost feels like a modern tablet.

What is it?

The HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame, as its name implies, is a photo frame. However, it has a few features that make it more than just a photo frame. This HP photo frame features a touchscreen, WiFi, mobile app ability, calendar, clock and the ability to play music.

Hardware specs

Display Size 10.1 inch TFT LDC Screen
Screen Resolution 1280 x 800px
Aspect Ratio 16:10
Internal Memory 8GB
Storage Media SD (SDHC) Card up to 32GB (Class 10), USB Memory Stick
Touchscreen Yes
Speakers 2x 2W
Sensors Light
Photo Format JPG, BMP, PNG
Music Format MP3
Power AC 110~240V 50/60Hz, DC 5V/2A
Color Black, Rose Gold, White

What’s in the box?

  • HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame
  • Power Cord
  • Quick start instruction sheet



Design and features

The HP Photo Frame is designed to sit on a flat surface, unlike some photo frames that can be hung on a wall. The initial setup included selecting the language and connecting to my WiFi. After displaying instructions on where to get the mobile app, the device detected that a firmware update was available, and was able to download that and update it without connecting the device to a computer as some devices do.



Connecting a mobile device is as easy as downloading the app, signing up for an account, and entering the device ID, or scanning the QR code on the tablet screen.

The display of photos on the screen is really nice. The colors are vibrant and the brightness is adequate. You can manually browse photos in the internal memory where the cloud photos are, or the SD card.

The photo frame and app work pretty much as designed, and for the most part they are probably adequate for most people. However, I found several things that I did not like.

The mobile app is quite basic, and poorly written. There are numerous instances of poor English and misspellings. For example, “Account” is spelled “Accout” in several places. When registering a login for the app you’re prompted to enter “Account, Password, and Nickname” – “Accout” is an obvious misspelling of “Account”, but if you leave it empty and try to create an account you’re prompted with “Username can’t be empty” – so it’s really your username. However, on the login screen of the app, it shows Username and Password. There is no password length enforcement for security either. Account and Username are used interchangeably in various messages.

If the wireless is turned off on the frame and you try to add the device via the app, the device list in the app displays “Req..erify” which is probably short for “Require Reverify” based on the poor English in the app.

Choosing the Forgot password option in the app presents you with a screen titled “Change Password”, and fields named “Please enter the device code”, “Please enter a new password”, and “Username”. This is a completely non-standard way of handling a forgotten password.

After you have selected photos on your phone and sent them to the device, there’s no indication of which photos you have already uploaded. If you select a duplicate photo you’ll have two of the same image on the device. There’s also no way of undoing a transfer so if you send the wrong photo to the device, it can only be removed from the photo frame using the photo frame user interface.

On the photo frame itself, there is an option for a screensaver, where you can set hours for it to display a clock at night for example. However, when the screensaver turns off at the end of the set period of time, there’s no way to make it automatically display the photos on an SD card, only the internal memory.

There is also a calendar option, which I thought was a really nice feature. Built-in stereo speakers and a music player provide for playing MP3 files.

The photo frame also has an alarm feature, which took me a little while to find the settings for. You have to tap the clock on the menu screen to access the alarms. After which you can set up multiple alarm times, alarm ringtones, and which days to repeat the alarm. There 7 ringtones for the alarm, but two of them sound identical.

What I like

  • Responsive and nice looking touchscreen
  • Additional features such as alarm and clock

What needs to be improved

  • Mobile device app needs much work
  • Advertises 8GB internal storage, but only 5.6GB is free to use for photos
  • In settings, if the current time is between the times set for the Night mode, you can’t change the screensaver type
  • No wall mount

Final thoughts

The mobile app needs much more work to make this photo frame a family and friends device. There needs to be a way to manage photos remotely from the app. I had thought about putting one of these at my mom’s house so I just load my most recent photos automatically to the frame but without the ability to remotely remove photos that option is not realistic.

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Idea Electronics.

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HP df1050tw Wi-Fi Photo Frame review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 23, 2018 at 2:05 pm.

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Leacarve Leather Briefcase Review

The nature of my business requires me to carry things with me every day.  Laptops, papers, writing instruments, folders, cables, portable batteries, and on and on.  So having a bag that is utilitarian is important.  And it wouldn’t hurt to have a bag that looks good too.  I have always been partial to leather bags because of the look, feel, and aroma.  So when I saw the Leacarve leather briefcase I was excited to try it out.  Would it fit the bill in my daily life?  Let’s find out.

Bag Specifications

  • Material: Genuine High Quality Leather
  • Compartments: 3  Large Compartments
  • Pockets: 2 Pen Pocket, 1 Card Holder, 1 Wallet Section
  • Laptop Size: Perfect for 15.6″ or Smaller Size Laptop
  • Lock: Exclusive Swiss Lock
  • Straps: Detachable And Adjustable Shoulder Strap
  • Handle: Sturdy Top Handle
  • Closure: Zipper Closure
  • Space: Broad space inside to keep notebooks, magazines and A4 Files
  • Size: 16.5″ L x 11.8″ H x 5.6″ W

Design and function

With the Leacarve leather briefcase, I have found my daily-carry bag.  No matter where I am going, or what I am wearing, the bag looks great.  The function is exceptional.  With 3 large compartments I can load it up with lots of items and segregate them as needed.  Each compartment expands to enable you to store a bunch of stuff, or collapse them to make the bag appear slender if you aren’t carrying alot.

There are regular and zippered pockets inside that can hold the little things that you don’t want scattered everywhere, like USB drives, post-it pads, keys, paperclips, pens, and so forth.  I hate it when those things roll around the bottom of the bag and make it a hassle to fish them out.  So keeping everything secure is always a plus.

The center compartment is where your laptop goes, with a vertical padded divider with a Velcro closure.  The bottom of the bag doesn’t have a padded layer, so I wouldn’t just drop the laptop in there and let it hit the bottom of the bag, so be careful about that.  The center compartment also has the ability to use a small padlock to secure the 2 zippers when you zip that compartment closed.  That won’t prevent someone from just walking off with the bag, but it would be at least a simple deterrent to someone grabbing your laptop and walking off.

There are brass feet on the bottom that enable the bag to stand on its own, and brass fittings all around from the zippers to the loops that connect the shoulder strap.  The handle on the top of the bag snaps close and it is soft and supple so it’s a joy to carry.  The outside zippered pocket is also very handy for storing the things you might need when traveling and don’t want to have buried in the bag.  Things like your wallet, passport, boarding pass, and so forth.

Finally, there is a wide leather strap that is attached to one side of the bag and folds over the top of the bag to connect to the lock that sits just above the zippered pocket.  It’s a Swiss combination lock that has 2 small wheels with numbers on them that rotate.  You can close the lock without having the numbers set to your combination but you can’t open it without having the numbers set properly.  Again, this won’t prevent someone from walking off with the bag, but it does provide at least a simple level of protection from someone rummaging through the bag without your approval.  I will also mention that the numbers are so small that I couldn’t see them without my reading glasses.  The hazards of getting old I suppose.

What I like

  • The quality of the leather and workmanship is top notch.
  • The seams appear to be quality and I imagine this bag lasting for years.
  • The insides of the compartments are lined
  • The zippers are sturdy and glide smoothly

What needs to be improved

  • I wish there was padding under the laptop compartment to cushion it in the bag.
  • The Swiss lock numbers can be difficult to see for those of us who normally need reading glasses

Final thoughts

This leather briefcase by Leacarve is the briefcase that I have been looking for.  It is big enough to carry everything I need, yet can be small enough to not be bulky.  It has a multitude of pockets and compartments to handle all my needs, and I can secure the compartments if I want.  The brass feet on the bottom allow the bag to stand on its own, the handle and shoulder strap enable multiple ways to carry the bag, and it smells divine.  This bag has the quality and design of a much more expensive bag, so $149 is a great deal.  I highly recommend it.

Price: $149.00
Where to buy:  Leacarve
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Leacarve

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Leacarve Leather Briefcase Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 23, 2018 at 9:30 am.

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Carved wallets are as flexible as leather – but made of wood!

Carved makes wallets like you’ve probably never seen before.  Although they are styled like leather wallets and are as flexible as leather, these wallets are made of wood.  Carved finishes the wood with their own mixture of oils and waxes to protect it.  As a bonus, their finishing method, as they say, makes the wallets smell amazing.

The wood is backed with Tyvek and the wallets are hand-stitched.  They are made using cherry, walnut, walnut burl, ebony, or padauk woods.  Three styles are available:  minimalist, bifold, and card carry.  The minimalist wallets are for the person who only needs 3-4 cards and 3-4 bills (though you could squeeze in a couple more, if you really needed).  The bifold has two slots to hold a couple of cards each and a full-length section to hold bills, and the card carry wallet has four sections to hold cards and some folded bills.

Carved wallets are handmade for you in Indiana.  Prices are $35 – $60, varying with the wood type and the style.  Learn more at the Carved website.

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Carved wallets are as flexible as leather – but made of wood! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 23, 2018 at 8:24 am.

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