Baron Fig Card Sleeve fits with simple, minimal style

I’ve been a fan of Baron Fig’s products since reviewing their Confidant Hardcover Notebook a while back.  Their products have a simple, minimalist style while beginning functional a durable.  Their successful leather notebook covers provided a natural segway into the wallet world, and their first product in this space is the Card Sleeve, a slim, handcrafted leather, three-pocket wallet that is perfect to carry a few cards and some cash in style.  Available in Charcoal, Fig Wine, Yellowgold and Rose Quartz colorways, each for $45.99.  Visit baronfig.com for more info or to order.

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Baron Fig Card Sleeve fits with simple, minimal style originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 20, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Zyxel Multy Pro Tri-Band modular WiFi review

With more and more connected gadgets arriving in our homes, WiFi bandwidth can become a huge bottleneck. Zyxel’s expandable Multi Pro tri-band modular WiFi helps to keep your signal strong, even in the furthest reaches of your home.

What is it?

Zyxel’s Multy WiFi system is comprised of one or more AC3000 wireless routers. The first unit connects to an internet connection and broadcasts a strong, stable signal. Adding one or more Multy units allows continuous daisy-chaining to enable home WiFi to reach the furthest areas of your home.

Hardware Specs

  • Fast, comprehensive WiFi coverage
  • Room-to-room roaming
  • Easy set-up within minutes
  • Guest network
  • Compatible with Alexa
  • Speed Rating (per unit)
  • Number of Bands: Tri-band
  • Coverage: Up to 7500 sq. ft./696 m2
  • Wireless Standard: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz – 256QAM support, IEEE 802.11 a/n/ac 5 GHz (Wave 2) – 256QAM support
  • Wireless Transfer Rate: (Transmit & Receive): 1733Mbps* for 5 GHz (dedicated backhaul),866Mbps* for 5 GHz,400Mbps* for 2.4 GHz
  • WiFi Features: Daisy Chain, Bridge Mode, MU-MIMO, Beamforming, Auto path selection, Single WiFi NameAP Steering, Band Steering, Optional to separate 2.4G and 5G WiFi network
  • Plastic housings
  • Dimensions: 7 x 2 x 9.3 inches
  • Weight: 1.96 pounds.

What’s In The Box?

  • Two Multy WiFi routers
  • Two power supplies
  • Two Ethernet cables
  • Two Instruction manuals

Design and features

Zyxel’s Multy Pro system arrives in handsome packaging. The two Multy routers are identical. I elected to locate the primary router in a centrally-located location on the first floor of my home. Connections were simple – Internet connection from my ISP modem and power. I downloaded the iOS app and followed the simple instructions and was up and running in minutes.

Next, I located the second Multy WiFi in a room with sporadic WiFi and continued with the set-up in the app. The second unit needs power only. The second unit daisy-chains WiFi, using the same SSID and password. Additional Multy units can be added to bring that elusive WiFi signal to all the deep, dark corners of your castle. Communications between the two Multy units is deliciously fast at 1733Mbps. Since the bases have 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports, using the full bandwidth is as easy as plugging in the cables.

After getting the system up and running, I ran several speed tests in different locations in my home with impressive results. Signal strengths even at the furthest reaches of my home were at worst, a very respectable -51dB. My daughter was the first to comment that she had experienced many fewer dropouts and faster speeds on her bedroom computer and iPhone.

Looking to tweak the settings I tried to find a way to change the default IP address of 192.168.212.1 to find there isn’t an easy way to do this. I contacted Zyxel Technical Support and was provided with a way to make the changes using Putty, but elected to just leave it at the default. Next, I looked for a way to plug in an 8TB USB hard drive into the “Master” Multy to use as a backup for all of the computers on my network but was unable to locate anything in the app to enable this capability. Zyxel’s technical support informed me that this is not currently a feature, but may be implemented in the future.

I’ve used Zyxel’s Multy Pro system over the past three weeks. I’ve experienced excellent performance, few dropouts and a very strong and stable signal everywhere. The system is even powerful enough to blast WiFi all through my property so I can listen to internet radio while mowing my entire lawn.

What I like

  • Attractive design
  • Easy configuration
  • Strong, stable WiFi
  • Crazy fast backhaul
  • 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports per hub
  • Capable app

What needs to be improved?

  • Configuration options are very limited. An advanced user configuration option would be welcomed.
  • The inclusion of  USB port functionality for storage

Final thoughts

Zyxel’s Multi WiFi system is ideally suited for large homes where configuration tweaking isn’t necessary. Its sleek design, intuitive setup, and solid performance have earned it a position as the ranking WiFi router in my home.

Price: $299.99 two-pack
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Zyxel.

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Zyxel Multy Pro Tri-Band modular WiFi review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 20, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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

I’ve mentioned before that my home tends to have uncomfortable rooms regardless of the season.  As I’ve said:  “Because of the location of the thermostat and the long shape of the condo, our bedrooms tend to be chilly in the winter and hot in the summer while our living and dining rooms are uncomfortably hot in the winter and cold in the summer.  Because of the age of the building, the cement walls and ceilings, and the neighbors above and below us, there isn’t much we can do to remedy this situation by rerouting ductwork or moving the thermostat.”  However, if I had a Keen Home Zoning System, it could monitor the temperatures in my rooms and redirect airflow throughout my house to equalize the temperatures without needing major restructuring of my HVAC system.

The Keen Home Zoning System consists of three components:  the Smart Bridge, Temp Sensors, and Smart Vents.  The system will also work with Lowe’s Iris Smart Hub or SmartThings Hub, if you already own one of those.  You’ll need the following to use the Keen Home system:

  • High speed Internet connection (DSL, cable, fiber, satellite)
  • Mobile device running iOS 8.0+ or Android 4.4+
  • Forced air central heating and/or cooling system

The Smart Bridge connects your home to the internet, so you can check or control your home’s temperature from anywhere you have an internet connection.  Keen Home recommends one Smart Bridge for each floor of your house.  The Temp Sensors “monitor the temperature and humidity of any room in your home. Temp Sensors work together with Smart Vents to control individual room temperature by allowing you to set specific temperature goals using the Keen Home app.”

The Smart Vents replace your existing vent covers.  The vents are available in four standard sizes for $110, or you can select from seven oversized vents for $140.  Features of the vents include:

  • Embedded temperature and pressure sensors to monitor the performance of your HVAC system
  • Airfoil louvers designed for precise and quiet operation
  • Interchangeable faceplate is easy to clean and paintable
  • Wireless vent-to-vent communication via Zigbee network
  • 2+ year battery life with included 4 AA batteries
  • Works with Nest, ecobee, Lowe’s Iris, and SmartThings

You can purchase individual components to customize a system for your entire home, or you can purchase bundles to help you get started.  A Starter Kit for 1 or 2 rooms has 1 Smart Bridge, 2 Temp Sensors, and 3 Smart Vents; it starts at $379 if you choose standard vent sizes.  A Multi-Room kit for 3-5 rooms starts at $599, and a whole Home kit with 12 Smart Vents, 10 Temp Sensors, and 2 Smart Bridges starts at $1399.

The Keen Home system isn’t cheap, but the savings potential in energy usage and the benefit of having comfortable rooms is great.  Unfortunately, the Smart Vents aren’t available in a size large enough to replace the giant old vent covers used in my condo.  Maybe they’ll add more vent sizes in the future.

Learn more about your potential energy savings and comfort gains at the Keen Home website.

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Rid your home of hot and cold rooms with help from the Keen Home Zoning System originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 20, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Xiaomi 360 3.5K Sphere camera review

What features do a stand-alone camera need to make it compelling enough that you would want to buy one when the cameras in our phones are already so good? How about the ability to capture 360-degree images and videos? Let’s take a look at the Xiaomi 360 3.5K Sphere camera to see if it should earn a spot in your gear bag.

What is it?

The Xiaomi (pronounced as: show me) 360 3.5K Sphere camera is a small stand-alone dual-lens camera that can capture 3.5K 360 degree images and video.

What’s in the box?

Xiaomi 360 3.5K Sphere camera
Pouch
Tripod/selfie stick
micro USB charging cable
User manual

Hardware specs

23.88 MP
Dual 1/2.3″ Sony image sensors that support up to 3456×1728/30fps or 2304×1152/60fps
6-axis electronic image stabilization
microSD card slot – requires U3 cards
Built-in microphone
1600mAh lion battery for up to 200 photos or up to 90 minutes video recording
Operating temperature is 14℉ to 113℉ (-10 degree Celsius to 45 degree Celsius)
IP67 water/dust rating
WiFi connection to mobile device
1/4″ threaded socket

Design and features

The Xiaomi Sphere Camera has a unique form factor compared to other standalone action cameras. It’s about 3.0 x 0.5 x 2.7 inches. Both sides of the camera have a bulging 190-degree wide-angle fisheye lens that helps to eliminate blind spots that other 360-degree cameras can suffer from.

One side of the camera surrounding the lens is made of a matte black plastic with a logo at the top and nothing else.

The other side of the camera is also matte black plastic and has the other lens and two status icons that light up in blue to show the current camera mode, which is either image capture mode, or video capture mode. Either icon will light up in blue when that mode is active. The camera will remember the last setting and will power up in the last mode that you used.

The frame of the Xiaomi Sphere Camera is made of aluminum and the top edge of the camera has a microphone, a power button which doubles as the mode selector, a WiFi button, a capture button, and another microphone.

The buttons have some tactile feedback when you press them, but they aren’t very “clicky”. It’s also pretty easy to accidentally toggle power on the camera without realizing it and/or switch modes since the power button is used for both actions. One good thing is that as long as you’re not in a noisy environment, you’ll know when the camera powers on, powers off, and the mode is changed because the camera plays a 4 note tone when powering on and off and a 1 note tone when changing modes. Note that it is possible to adjust the volume of these audible notifications and even turn them off.

On the bottom edge of the camera is a standard sized threaded tripod socket and some electrical contacts for an optional charger or another accessory which does not ship with the camera.

One side of the camera has a cover that protects the charging connector and built-in memory card slot.

The Xiaomi Sphere Camera charges with a micro USB cable and it uses microSD cards to store the captured images and video. Note that the camera does NOT come with a microSD card. It’s up to you to provide your own memory card.


When the camera is charging, a battery status LED will light up in red. When charging is complete, the LED will turn blue.

The Xiaomi Sphere Camera has a nice build and a quality look and feel.

Capturing images manually and with the mobile app

After charging the Xiaomi Sphere Camera and inserting a microSD card, you can immediately start using the camera just by pressing the power button and then using the capture button to capture an image or start recording a video. Of course, the camera doesn’t have a built-in display, so you can’t preview your shots or watch any of the images or video that you’ve captured until you connect the camera to a computer or remove the microSD card and use a card reader to view the files.

If you want to be able to preview your shots, view captured images and video, and adjust the camera’s settings, you will need to use the Mi Sphere Camera app (compatible with iOS and Android) to connect the camera to your smartphone.



The app’s interface is pretty self-explanatory. There’s a red capture button, a mode button and different types of capture modes like time-lapse and slow motion.


Here are all the camera settings that you can adjust using the Mi Sphere Camera app.



The app does make it easier to set up your shots, but I didn’t use it that often as a way to capture video and images while I was testing the camera. I mainly just used the buttons on the camera itself along with the default settings.

Let’s check out some sample images and video

Unfortunately, WordPress does not natively support embedding 360-degree photos and videos directly into articles. You can install a plugin to display them, but I don’t want to install a plugin just for one review, so I shared some of the images and videos to my Facebook account. They are public, so you can click and enjoy without needing your own Facebook account to view them.

360 of the Indianapolis airport.

Posted by Julie Strietelmeier on Tuesday, June 19, 2018

 

360-degree pic

Posted by Julie Strietelmeier on Monday, June 18, 2018

 

360 video in Kings Canyon National Park in California.

Posted by Julie Strietelmeier on Tuesday, June 19, 2018

 

360 on beach in Carmel CA

Posted by Julie Strietelmeier on Tuesday, June 19, 2018

In the app, you can view the captured images in different styles like pano, flat, crystal ball, and tiny planet style pics (shown below). But as far as I can tell, you can’t share the images in these specific types of view modes though.


There’s a button on the share screen that is supposed to let you choose the view mode, but it is greyed out and nothing happens when you press it, so all of my images are shared as flat 360-degree images that you can pan around in with your mouse like the ones you see above.

What I like

  • Simple to use with basic controls
  • 360-degree image and video capture is unique and fun (for a while)

What needs to be improved

  • No live streaming
  • 75-minute video capture limit
  • No built-in  display to preview shots, requires a WiFi connection to a mobile device

Final thoughts

360-degree images and video are obviously cool and are fun to capture and view. But are images and video like this worth paying $286.99 to capture them? That’s the main question, isn’t it? Other than taking it with you when you go on an epic vacation, I can’t imagine using a camera like this one on a day to day basis. Maybe that’s only because my day to day life isn’t epic enough to justify a camera like this one. So I’m not going to judge if you want a Xiaomi Sphere Camera 360 because it is pretty cool and maybe your life is morning 360-degree worthy than mine is.

Price: $286.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Xiaomi.

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Xiaomi 360 3.5K Sphere camera review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 19, 2018 at 5:05 pm.

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


As a Photographer/Videographer/Filmmaker, I am constantly faced with workflow data-related challenges, especially when on location. Whenever I discuss these challenges with my follow media creators, the main issue/challenge always seems to be about the amount of gear that we have to carry when we go into unpredictable scenarios and locations. Apart from carrying around the various camera bodies and lenses, there are also “a ton” of the accessories that we must pack to make sure that we can power, charge, and back up our work. It is critical that we ensure the integrity of the data we capture, as well as create some sort of redundancy while maintaining the capacity to continue shooting until the gig is over.

I have continuously searched for an effective all-in-one solution for charging, data storage, and data backup, and I may have just found the solution in a device called Linedock.

Linedock is a slim and sleek device that provides multiple charging ports, data transfer ports, pass-through charging, a SD card slot, a HDMI port, a DisplayPort and docking capability all in one. It allows you to access up to 7 devices at once. This device seems like it would be a “dream” device for my workflow, and it could adequately address most of the related challenges that we in the industry battle with at each gig.

The Linedock is currently available for purchase in three models that offer no included storage for $299, 256GB of included storage for $399 or 1TB of included storage for $749. You can head over to the Linedock website and pick one up today.

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Linedock may finally be the right answer for photographers, videographers and filmmakers on the go! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 19, 2018 at 1:00 pm.

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