Add a whiteboard to your phone or laptop

NEWS – It’s not exactly a whiteboard, because you write on it with ballpoint pens, but Notepad adds a writing space to your phone or your laptop for quick notes.  When you want to clear up the board for new notes, simply erase it using any eraser.  It’s like keeping a paper pad at hand, but better, because there’s no waste with Notepad.

Notepad has an adhesive back, so it can adhere to a phone, laptop, or tablet.  There are special cases designed to fit the iPhone X or the iPhone 8.  If you don’t have one of these phones, choose from a smaller rectangle (2.5″ x 2.8″) or a larger rectangle (2.7″ x 3.5″) for use with your device, with or without a case.

Notepad is $10.00 for either case or either size rectangle.  It will ship on October 7.  Use the code WHOWRITESTHISSTUFF for 15% off your next order.  Go to the ILOVEHANDLES website to order.

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Add a whiteboard to your phone or laptop originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2018 at 4:47 pm.

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Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel review

REVIEW – The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel can keep your rechargeable items fully powered even when you’re off the grid. The lightweight, thin, water-resistant design features two USB charging ports with optimized power output. Read on to see what I think!

What is it?

The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel is a gadget that you can use to charge rechargeable devices by converting solar energy into electricity. The solar panel generates power when it is exposed to direct sunlight. The circuitry in the panel ensures that the power delivered to each USB port is optimized to minimize the charging time required. The panel features an ETFE coating to protect the solar cells from the elements and rubber caps to protect the USP ports from water and debris. The panel comes with carabiners and nylon ties to support the panel from trees and equipment, as well as an easel with sun finder to point the panel directly at the sun.

What’s in the box?


Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel
User Manual
2 carabiners
2 1 meter long nylon ties
solar finder stand

Design and features

Specifications

solar cells – 14 watt monocrystalline silicone
cell coating – ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE)
output – 5V/2.8A (14W) max
open size – 38 x 27.4  x 1.6 cm
folded size – 29.4 x 19 x 2 cm
weight – 0.38 kg

Unboxing

The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel comes in a no-frills cardboard box. The front, back and sides are printed with the product, specifications, suggested applications (tablet, mobile, 90’s iPod, a camera – with viewfinder, and a Sony PSP).

Design of the Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel

The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel is a folding solar panel design that resembles a restaurant menu: a roughly 7.5″ by 11″ folded design opens to a roughly 11″ by 15″ surface when being used.

The outside back appears to be nylon coated. On one side of the panel’s rear is a small interface box with the USB ports on it and an LED indicator light. The area adjacent to the interface box is labeled with various compliance markings including the CE, RoHS FCC, WEEE, and recycling directives. Below the symbols, the device is marked that the country of origin is China.

On the front of the unit, the Suaoki brand label is centered above the product name: “Solar 14 charger”

When the unit is opened, the inside appears to be coated with fiberglass; the surface has the texture of a cast woven mat.

However, the inside is coated with ETFE. This material has superior tolerance, compared with PET, to high temperatures that solar cells are exposed to and will outlast PET when exposed to salts, acids and bases. The cells are encapsulated within the coating. The corners of the cells have been mitered to provide more resistance to cracking. Even though the outer rim and hinge is flexible fabric, the cells are made of silicon crystal. This gadget is designed for outdoor use, but it is still fragile and must be treated with care. It would be beneficial to include a warning on the unit, such as: “caution, handle with care!”

The manufacturer states that the plastic coating and rubber boots for the ports give this gadget an IPx4 rating. Per the International Protection Marking this corresponds to protection against splashing and is tested to verify that water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect, utilizing either: a) an oscillating fixture for 10 minutes or b) A spray nozzle with no shield for 5 minutes.

There are six eyeholes around the perimeter of the unit: one in each corner and two along the center. These can be used along with the ropes and carabiners to mount the gadget just about anywhere the sun will hit it. The ropes are really shoelaces but will do the trick.

The supplied stand has a locking hinge that can be used to set the angle of the unit. The sun finder is located at the lower front of the easel. A clear plastic window with a small painted dot in its center sits about a quarter inch above a white target with black crosshairs. When the shadow of the painted dot is in the center of the crosshairs the solar panels are perpendicular to the sun. This is an important consideration since the power efficiency drops as the angle the panel makes with the sun changes from perpendicular to parallel.  the stand may be stored against the unhinged side of the panel when not in use. I did find that the label on the push button which releases the stand lock was easily removed.

The manufacturer states that the conversion rate for the panel is up to 20%, which is below the expected maximum conversion of 26.7%, but around the maximum conversion for compting technologies. This means that based on a cross-section of all technologies currently available, this panel is one of the most efficient.

Operation

The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel has two USB ports. One is optimized for iPhone but may also charge Android devices and the other port is optimized for Android only. The directions give no indication of which port is best for charging a battery pack. The charging circuit starts as soon as the panels are exposed to sufficient light to power the unit.  The circuit will automatically regulate the current supplied based on the available sunlight. A LED mounted on the interface box will illuminate green if there is insufficient current available for charging, red if there is less than 0.5 A available and blue if there is more than 0.5 A available.

Performance

I used the Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel with an iPhone, Android (LeEco Le Pro3), J7-t safety tester and a Drok USB intelligent electronic load.

I tried charging each device with the safety tester in line and I could not achieve a continuous power greater than 9.8 W indicated on either the Drok or the J7-t. When charging two devices the most I could get was 8.3 W combined.

These measurements were made on a bright, sunny, cloudless, haze-free day so conditions could not be more optimal. I used the stand with the solar panel so that the orientation was perfectly aligned.

It seems that getting 14 W in the field isn’t something I was able to do. Maybe I’ll try in the summer on the equator, but for now its more of a “Solar 10” than a “Solar 14”,

What I like

  • Easy to use
  • Many mounting options
  • Efficient
  • Built-in current indicator

What needs to be improved

  • power output
  • fragility warning

Final thoughts

The Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel is a great option to keep your gear going in the outdoors. Using this along with a well-performing USB power pack will permit you to always make sure your power reserves are topped off.

Price: $59.99
Where to buy: Suaoki and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Suaoki.

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Suaoki 14W portable solar charge panel review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2018 at 1:21 pm.

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Gadgeteer Team EDC 2018 updates – Jacob Haas

ARTICLE – Below is a list of EDC gear I carry daily on my person.

1. BeatsX earphones
2. iPhone 7 Plus in a black Jisoncase Leather Slim-Fit case
3. Spyderco Ambitious G-10 knife
4. Herschel Felix Wallet
5. Lip balm (currently a stick of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula)

And below are the items I typically carry in my bag. I currently use the Danny P. Leather Messenger bag, which I reviewed previously. Although I’m really taking a hard look at Adam Savage’s EDC Two… it looks awesome.
1. 12.9” iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard cover
2. Herschel Settlement Case that charging cables, adapters, an iPad SD card reader and many types of pens and highlighters
3. Lihit Lab Smart Fit Actact Wide Open Pen Case that I use as a dopp kit / first aid kit
4. a protein bar
5. Word Dot Grid notebook

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Gadgeteer Team EDC 2018 updates – Jacob Haas originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Print yourself a new face with the Contour 8000

NEWS – Forget taking 30 minutes or more putting on makeup before you start your day.  With the Countour 8000 makeup printer – the first of it’s kind,  you can have a full face of  powdered makeup-like foundation and eye makeup in 30 seconds.  You use the app to choose the look you want, insert the correct makeup cartridge in the printer, bend over the printer, and you’ll have perfectly applied, blended, and contoured makeup.  You’ll only need to add mascara and lipstick, and of course the printer includes a mirror to use for those applications.

The Contour 8000 connects via WiFi to your mobile device and the Contour app.  You’ll take a photo of your face for the app to map.

The printer uses the biometric information it measures for your face with electrostatic spray disposition to give you a perfect makeup application.  The application is said to accurate within 1000th of a millimeter.

You’ll never need to worry about packing your own foundation and eyeshadows into the printer; you just need to use Contour makeup cartridges.  Each make-up look is pre-packed into a cartridge which allows for up to 10 applications.  You’ll receive some cartridges with the purchase of the Contour 8000, so you’ll have everything you need to get started.

The exact release date is yet to be determined.  The Contour 8000 is set to be priced at £800 (about $1038 USD), with cartridges priced at £25 (about $33 USD) each. A starter kit will be available for those who choose to sign up to the mailing list, containing three cartridges of their choice for just £50 ($65 USD).  Sign up now to be notified when the Contour 8000 is ready for the market and to qualify for the above rewards at the Contour 8000 website.

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Print yourself a new face with the Contour 8000 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Kong Jr. Gym Bag review

REVIEW – I have always been in search of the perfect bag.  That means I own many bags for the different types activities in which I participate.  The one activity that I have been unable to find the perfect bag for is for when I go to the gym.  I go to the gym after work so I need it to be able to hold my gym gear plus the occasional small item or lunch bag I may take to work that day.   Let’s see if the Kong Jr. gym bag by the King Kong company worked out for me.

What is it?

The Kong Jr. gym bag is a multi-compartment bag made specifically to carry your gym clothing and accessories to the gym.

What’s in the box?

The only thing in the box was the bag itself as you can see in the picture above.  It came wrapped in a plastic sleeve in a standard cardboard shipping box.  The bag is advertised as being 30% smaller than their standard King Kong gym bag.  The dimensions of the bag are 11 inches tall, by 18 inches wide and 11 inches deep.  The original bag has an extra inch on the height and depth and is 20 inches long.

Design and Features

The bag has several pockets and features that allow you to really organize your gym paraphernalia.  The bag is made of  1000D nylon.  It seems very well constructed with #10 YKK zippers and heavy duty buckles.   Each zipper has a really nice pull tab on it in addition to the standard zipper pull.  That makes it really easy to pull the zippers.  They don’t use plastic on any buckle piece.

From the main picture at the top of this review, you can see that the bag comes with two pockets that run along the front side of the bag.   One is a zippered pocket and the other is a Velcro flap pocket.  The picture above shows both pockets open.  The small black strip you can see at the top of each pocket is where the bag handles are sewn into the main body of the bag.  In the Velcro pocket bag I have my weightlifting gloves and in the zippered pocket, I have some Beats headphones.  I like the separate pockets so I know which pocket has what I need depending on the type of workout I am doing that day.  I don’t wear headphones when strength training so when I do that, I know I just need to go to the Velcro pocket.  There is more room for other stuff in the zippered pocket, but I just did not have anything to put in them.

One one end of the bag is a shoe holder.  The first picture on the left shows my size 9 /12 women’s shoes in the pocket.  The next picture shows my husband’s size 11 shoes.  You can see there is still a bit more room for a larger shoe in the pocket.  The shoe pocket is made with water-resistant 1000D nylon.  King Kong advertises the pocket as a place to store wet clothing in there if you wished to keep your other gym items dry.   My only complaint with the shoe pocket is there are no ventilation holes of any kind in the area.  I have been using the bag now for several weeks and have not had any odor issues, but I see where this could possibly be an issue depending on what you put in there.

The next picture above shows inside the main compartment of the bag.  On the left side are my gym clothes for the day.  I have shorts, tights, shirt socks, and sports bra in there.  The blue bulk on the right-hand side is the shoe pocket with my shoes inside.  Obviously, the larger your shoes, the more internal room they will take in the bag.  I still had plenty of room in the bag to place in there my lunch bag holding a sandwich and chips.  I know on the larger bag folks talk about putting weight belts and other things inside the bag,  There would certainly be room for that if you wanted to use that extra room for more things like towels or the weight belts if you did not put a lunch in there as I did.

Above the shoe pocket, there is a smaller zippered pocket.  I put my Beats case in there so you could get an idea of the depth.  Basically, this pocket takes the top half of the side and the shoe pocket takes the bottom half.

The opposite side of the bag has two nice external mesh pockets you could slip your keys or wallet to if you wished or anything else you might want.

Inside that side zipper is a full sized pocket that has a small zippered mesh pocket where I stored deodorant and comb.    There was more room in that pocket for other things.  This is a nicely sized pocket and could easily hold a gym towel or any other similar sized item.

Finally one of my favorite things about this bag is the carry handle.  Every gym bag I have owned has always had a Velcro-based handle to hold the two carry straps together. I have had gym bag handles fail over time as the Velcro eventually wore out.  The King Kong bag uses a pair of magnets.  At first, I was skeptical thinking it would not really hold the handles together very well. Well, I am happy to report I was wrong and they do a great job.  I also love how quite they are.  I often open my bag at work to get things out of it and it is nice not to let the whole office know I am opening it due to no loud Velcro sound.

What I like

I love the size of this bag.  It has worked out perfectly for me in that aspect.  Only a couple of times I have wished I had a larger bag, but that was because I was bringing something extra into the office that I would normally not bring that was big and bulky.  This bag will hold just what I need and not feel like I am lugging a big piece of luggage to the gym.  I love the magnetic handle and the large shoulder strap with removable padding.   The shoulder strap is held on with heavy duty swivel buckles so I don’t spend a lot of time untwisting the shoulder handle as I do on bags with fixed shoulder straps.

What can be improved

The only suggestion I have is for King Kong to add a couple of ventilation holes on the zipper flap of the shoe compartment.  I feel that would really help keep the bag smelling fresher in the long run.

Price: $109.95
Where to buy: King Kong Apparel and Amazon
Source: The sample was provided by King Kong

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Kong Jr. Gym Bag review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 4, 2018 at 9:08 am.

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