usb – SoFun

How to Check the Power Output of USB Ports

Are you worried that your USB ports are either underperforming or out of spec? Does it seem like you are not getting the amount of charge you need from these ports? You can use the built-in capabilities of Windows, a third-party app, or a voltmeter to detect the amount of power available in one of three ways. Using Windows You can check the power capabilities of the USB ports using the device manager in Windows. To find the data in Windows 10: 1. Type Run in the search box in the taskbar. 2. Type devmgmt.msc in the window that opens. 3. Double-click on the Universal… Read more

Use Cheap USB Audio Adapters to Enhance Your Headphone Experience

If you’re an audiophile, chances are that you might be dissatisfied with your headphones or earphones and wish them to be better. Of course, you can gift yourself a top-notch model which has more sensitivity and rich sound effects. There is a problem, though: if you browse online, you will notice that your favorite headphones are getting more expensive. Brands such as Sennheiser and Bose can easily go into several hundreds of dollars. On the plus side, they do come with features such as noise cancelling, active equalization, Bluetooth interface and padded ear cushions, so there’s no reason why you wouldn’t want to buy one…. Read more

Use Cheap USB Audio Adapters to Enhance Your Headphone Experience

If you’re an audiophile, chances are that you might be dissatisfied with your headphones or earphones and wish them to be better. Of course, you can gift yourself a top-notch model which has more sensitivity and rich sound effects. There is a problem, though: if you browse online, you will notice that your favorite headphones are getting more expensive. Brands such as Sennheiser and Bose can easily go into several hundreds of dollars. On the plus side, they do come with features such as noise cancelling, active equalization, Bluetooth interface and padded ear cushions, so there’s no reason why you wouldn’t want to buy one…. Read more

iStorage datAshur PRO USB Flash Drive review

If you are in a hurry and dropping in to get the bottom line on the passcode protected datAshur PRO USB 3.0 USB Flash Drive from iStorage here it is: it’s by far the best flash drive I have ever had and probably like you, I have had dozens upon dozens of them. It protects your data with a personalized passcode, can be used on any computer, is encased in a waterproof aluminum body and can even be personalized with your name, company name, etc.

For the rest of you who have a little more time, I will get into the details of my new favorite data storage device. I can honestly say I go into each product review I write for the Gadgeteer with a completely open mind and put each product through its steps, keeping in mind what our audience will want to know about the product and the tasks I need the product to perform. That being said, I take assignments that fit my life, work or interests and are something I can speak on with a modicum of intelligence about and when this product popped up I was very excited to see if it backed up the claims made by iStorage.

Before I opened the package, I could see that the drive had been personalized with my name on the aluminum case. This is a very nice touch for something that I have been taking into meetings, have in my pocket and have been using daily. For a modest £5 per location on the drive, you can add laser etching to the top or side of the sleeve or the side of the drive (the etching on my drive is on the top of the sleeve). You can also upload fonts to personalize your text or upload your logo in outline form to be etched onto the top of the sleeve, also for £5.

I have bought password protected flash drives in the past, only to learn the hard way that not all of them function the same way when it comes to where the flash drive can be used. I have two password protected drives that I cannot access because they are linked to a computer that I no longer own. This is not an issue with the datAshur PRO. The password is held directly on the flash drive, not a computer so this device can be used on any computer since it is OS and platform independent. Just enter your passcode, plug it in and you are ready to save/retrieve your information.

I bought my first password protected hard drive a few years back after my company had some safety and emergency training. We were taught what to pack in an emergency “go bag” in case we had to leave the house without notice. A password protected thumb drive was one of those items that I would have never thought of. Now I have a scanned copy of our passports, drivers licenses, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. on a drive in my go bag. I have been using the datAshur PRO for work and use it every day. The rugged case allows me to toss it in my bag or pocket and not worry about being damaged or dust getting into it and the protection of having a PIN on the flash drive keeps me from worrying about my information being in the wrong hands should I accidentally leave it behind.

There is a rechargeable battery within the flash drive that charges when it is plugged in and allows the user to enter their personalized 7-15 digit PIN onto the keypad. Your data is encrypted in real time with its onboard hardware encryption engine and is completely protected in the event your device is lost or stolen. The datAshur PRO automatically locks when it is disconnected and can even be set to lock after a predetermined amount of time, making for an extremely secure place to store your sensitive information. It can be programmed with independent user and admin PINs making this a great option for corporate use in addition to the personal applications mentioned above. There are additional safety features that can all be found on the product page.

The datAshur PRO is offered in 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 GB models, is USB 3.0, has AES 256-bit hardware encryption (no software required), is IP57 certified as water and dust resistant, can be used on any OS and platform and has a number of certifications and validations that can be found on the product page. Prices range from £49 to £129 ($75 – $135 US from Amazon) for the different capacities with the personalization options of £5 each.

For the security, durability, and peace of mind you get I think this is well worth the investment and should be seriously considered by anyone who wants to keep their data secured and private. I don’t think I will be going back to an unprotected flash drive ever again after using this. I highly recommend this product and have already recommended that the IT department at my company looks into these for those of us who handle sensitive information. iStorage also offers a wide range of secure data storage that will fit all of your capacity needs.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by iStorage. For more information please visit their site and you can order one from Amazon.

Product Information

Price:	$75 – $135
Manufacturer:	iStorage
Retailer:	Amazon
Pros:	Sturdy construction; hardware password protected; water and dust proof certified; can be used on any computer or system; personalization options for name or company logo; easy to set up out of the box; rechargeable internal battery; great value and piece of mind for protecting your data in a standard sized thumb drive.
Cons:	I honestly have no criticism or cons for this product. It is only available in blue at this time so some may wish for other color options but this is hardly a con for me.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Flash Memory, USB

iStorage datAshur PRO USB Flash Drive review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 17, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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Alxum 10-Port USB Smart Charging Station & Organizer review

I really love products that help me to organize my house and thus when the Gadgeteer was offered the Alxum 10-Port USB Smart Charging Station & Organizer, I jumped at the chance to review it. I have a side table in the living room that has been functioning as my kids’ gadget depository (four iPad Mini’s, two phones, and three over-ear headphones) that sorely needed some organization and the gadgets needed charging. The Alxum 10-port charging station worked like a charm.

Package Contents

Alxum 10-Port USB Smart Charging Station & Organizer (AX-10 PCS031)
5 large brackets
6 small brackets
AC adapter and power cord
User Manual

Design & Build Quality

The Alxum 10-port charging station is made of matte black hard plastic and the brackets are made of a hard transparent gray plastic.

There are 10 USB-A ports in this smart charger which will detect your devices automatically and will provide up to 5V/2.4A each based on the demands of your devices (there are no Qualcomm Quick Charge ports). This charger provides a maximum of 108 W of power total and will charge up to eight iPads at their full rate simultaneously (and up to 10 less-demanding devices simultaneously)

The charger is equipped with intelligent power management technology that will place the charger in sleep mode when not charging. It also provides protection against over-voltage, overloading and short circuiting, and over-heating.

Each bracket has two tabs located along the lower edge that fit perfectly into slots on the top of the charger. The brackets are easily adjustable and at the same time stay in place such that when removing your device from the charger, they don’t come out.

The charger is about 9.375″ L x 5.25″ W x 3.25″ H with the large brackets installed (24 cm L x 13.5 cm W x 8 cm H).

Each side of the charger has vents to disperse heat and one side has a DC port to connect the power cord.

The bottom of the charger also has vents to disperse heat. In addition, it contains six rubber pads to help prevent the charger from moving around on furniture and from scratching the furniture as well.

Use

Here is the current setup of all the gadgets connected to the charger. We have two iPad Mini 4s, two iPad Minis, two Motorola Moto E (2nd gen) phones, and three sets of over-ear headphones – nine devices total. This setup is so much tidier and organized and now all of the devices can be charged at once (I did have to purchase the short 8″ cables separately).

When this iPad Mini 4 was connected to the Alxum 10-port charger via an OEM Apple Lightning cable, it was able to charge at 5.07V/2.02A/10.24W.

You’ll also notice that the charger has a blue LED light that is illuminated when the charger has been plugged in (illuminated LED does not mean that it is charging a device).

This is the same iPad Mini 4 as the previous one, only this time it was connected to the charger using an off brand Lightning cable. As you can see, the tablet was still able to charge at approximately the same high rate (5.07V/2.18A/11.05W) using this cable and charger.

This is another iPad Mini 4 that was connected to the charger. The charger was able to provide 5.07V/1.51A/7.655W. The difference between this iPad Mini 4 and the previous one already mentioned is the fact that this one’s battery started with a higher battery level than the previous one and thus charged at a lower rate than the other. NOTE: the smart charger alters (decreases) the amount of power to devices as the batteries of each approach full charge; this is typical when charging any device using their OEM chargers or smart chargers.

The charger was able to charge our Phiaton BT 460 headphones at 5.18V/0.19A/0.984W…

…and our House of Marley Liberate XLBT Bluetooth headphones at 5.17V/0.28A/1.447W.

When several devices were plugged into the charger and charging at the same time, the charger was still able to provide the maximum power to the device that it needed (above photo: iPad Mini charging at 5.04V/2.28A/11.49W; iPod Touch 6G charging at 5.13V/0.65A/3.334W).

There were a couple of potential drawbacks that we noticed about the Alxum 10-port smart charger. The charger has a large transformer in line with the power cord to convert AC power to DC before being connected to the charger. This may be cumbersome to some people. Also, my kids noticed a faint high-frequency sound being emitted from the charger at various times (not all the time). This appeared to occur when the devices were fully charged but still plugged into the charger. I did not notice the sound because of my high-frequency hearing loss so it must be over 15,500 Hz.

Final Thoughts

The Alxum 10-Port USB Smart Charging Station & Organizer did what I expected it to do. It organized my kids’ nine devices and allowed all of them to charge simultaneously at the rate that each device needed to charge. The power cord does have a transformer that may be considered cumbersome to some people and there is a faint high-frequency sound that the charger emits periodically when devices are fully charged but still plugged into the charger. Overall, we found the 10-port charger to be a wonderfully useful addition to our gadget accessories.

Source: The sample used in this review was provided by Alxum. Unfortunately, I cannot find this product on their webpage and it is no longer available on Amazon. I have contacted Alxum about when it will become available and if I hear back, I will let you know. At this time, the 96 W white version of this 10-port charger is available from Amazon.

Product Information

Price:	$64.99
Manufacturer:	Alxum
Retailer:	Amazon
Pros:	Organizes up to 10 devices Charges up to 8 iPads simultaneously (and up to 10 less-demanding devices)
Cons:	Emits high-frequency sound when devices are fully charged but still plugged in Has large transformer in line with the power cord

Filed in categories: Cables, Batteries and Chargers, Reviews

Tagged: Charging station, USB

Alxum 10-Port USB Smart Charging Station & Organizer review originally appeared on on April 14, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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