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Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack review

I have an admission to make. I’ve never owned a backpack in my adult life. I know, shocking right? Honestly, up until now I never felt the need for one. But owning a 13″ MacBook Pro, 10.5″ iPad pro and more chargers and cables then you can shake a stick at I figured it was time to give this backpack thing a try. So I decided to review the Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack. Here are my thoughts.

What is it?

The Belkin Classic Pro is a backpack with a padded interior pocket designed to carry and protect laptops up to 15.6”.

Specs

Backpack size: width x height x depth: 11.7” x 16.7” x 4.9” depth

Weight: 1.15lbs

Design and features

The Belkin Classic Pro Backpack has a really nice slim profile design. The heather grey polyester material and simple black accents give it an understated modern look. Perfect to go from commute to boardroom.

I really like how the one-piece shoulder strap design adds to the backpacks sleek-modern look, at the same time adding a little extra padding just below your neck.

There are pieces of polyester that span halfway up on either side of the opening. This accordion-style design makes opening the bag upright and finding items inside simple.

I like this feature because it gives you quick access to items even when you’re on-the-go. 

Other small things like the textured zipper pull, a protective water-resistant bottom and even the raised Belkin logo on the front pocket finish off the backpacks sharp minimalist design. 

Interior pockets

Inside the Classic Pro, there are two vertical organizational pockets and a zippered mesh pocket. The padded laptop pocket is located on the backside and can accommodate a laptop up to 15.6-inches. The placement of the laptop pocket takes advantage of the backpacks padded back panel. Meaning your laptop is protected on both sides.

A smaller vertical pocket perfect for carrying a tablet is stitched onto the front of the laptop pocket.

On the opposite side, there’s a 6.5″ x 11″  zippered mesh pocket that’s perfect for carrying chargers and cables.

 There’s even a small sleeve for a pen or in my case my Apple Pencil.

I was able to fit my 13” MacBook Pro, 10.5” iPad Pro, chargers, cables, and a portable battery pack using just the inside pockets. Leaving plenty of extra space inside for my headphone case and more. 

Exterior pockets

There are two zippered pockets on the outside of the backpack. A vertical pocket and a larger padded pocket. The 8” x 9” vertical pocket is accessible without having to remove the backpack, perfect for things you need quick access to like keys or a snack. However, if the backpack is loaded the vertical pocket is a tight fit and a little more difficult to access.

The dual-zippered horizontal pocket measures 6.5” x 11” and utilizes the same padding as the interior laptop pocket. 

The padding isn’t exclusive to the inside of the Classic Pro. The back panel, shoulder straps, sides, and front of the backpack are all padded.

The padded back panel adds comfort and also keeps items in the bag from pressing uncomfortably against your back. Both the back panel and shoulder straps have a mesh covering for breathability.

A thin layer of padding around the sides and front of the backpack provides just a little more protection for all your devices inside. The bags carrying handle is also padded and the luggage strap can be used to fasten it to a trolley or case.

Performance and fit

I wanted to see how comfortable this backpack would be during extended use. So, I decided to load it up and wear it while walking my dog. The walk was two miles and I can say that the backpack remained extremely comfortable the whole time. The backpack felt well balanced and the padded back panel and shoulder straps felt good. I liked how the backpack fit flat to my back and how the padded straps seemed to hug my shoulders. The best part is it doesn’t look or feel bulky.

Overall construction

The Belkin Classic Pro backpack is really well made. The polyester material used both inside and out makes the bag lightweight without feeling cheap. Stitching on things like the shoulder straps and zippers is clean and gives the bag a real durable feel.

What I like

  • Slim profile design
  • Lightweight
  • Padded back and  shoulder straps
  • Plenty of storage pockets inside and out
  • Price

What needs to be improved

  • Not waterproof

 Final thoughts

It won’t blow you away with a lot of extras but the Belkin Classic Pro is a quality minimalist laptop backpack with a nice design and plenty of built-in functionality, all at a very reasonable price. Not bad for my first backpack.

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Belkin.

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Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 20, 2018 at 10:30 am.

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Etekcity Voltson Smart Wi-Fi outlet review

Smart devices are becoming all the rage in the popular press. For many Gadgeteers, they are pretty much old hat, but if you’ve not yet taken the plunge, there may be no easier way into the world of home device automation than a smart plug. These are small wall warts that sit between your current non-smart device and the outlet they plug into and have a way to connect to your home wifi. Etekcity sent me a trio of their Voltson Smart outlets to run through the gauntlet.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

The Etekcity Voltson Smart Outlet is a controller for a single electric receptacle. Once connected to the building’s power and whatever Wifi is available, it will pair with your Android or iOS device and allow you to control the outlet via the app. You can monitor, schedule, and group devices, as well as act on them together.

Hardware specs

  • Works with Alexa for voice control (Alexa device sold separately).
  • Track power usage for connected devices and figure out which devices use the most energy. You can effectively cut your usage so that you can save money on your next electric bill
  • Easy to install and stable connection. Controlled from different devices and manage your home on your smartphone or tablet from anywhere
  • Get ready to have a smart home and create customized schedule to automatically turn on and off any home Electronics or appliances such as lamps, Christmas Lighting, coffee maker, etc
  • NOTE: A secured 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network is required, 30-Day money back, 2-year warranty and lifetime support.

What’s in the box?

  • 3 Voltson Smart Wifi outlets
  • quick start guide

Design and features

The Etekcity Smart outlet is a 2.25” diameter puck with a small bump on the rim. It sticks out of a regular North American outlet 1.5”, which is barely more than the blades of the plug it takes in. On the back, there is a three-prong connector, and on the face, there’s a three-prong socket, as well as an LED light and a power button in the aforementioned bump.

Setup

Setup is done by connecting the device to a power outlet, and then allowing it to start its own internal wifi hotspot. You join it with your phone through the app you have to download to use it and pair the two. This forces the outlet to restart, and your phone then reverts to your home WiFi. When the device wakes back up and grabs your phone, it will be connected to your home network. From there it is controllable, renewable, and groupable. You can also assign it to a cylinder-that-you-talk-to if you have or purchase one of those.

Performance

Once I had the smart outlets configured to my home network and renamed (Winking, Blinking, and Nod), I could control any outlet I plugged into them. Lamps are a big issue in our house since several of our rooms have no overhead light or one that we prefer not to use. I tested with several lights, and found pretty consistent results – you turn it off in the app, and the lamp turns off. There is an icon that changes to show whether it’s powered or not.

I have a power cord that controls my photo studio lights through a three-way connection. I plugged the controller between the wall and the extension cord and now can fire up most of my studio lights with a single switch. Sure, I can do this from a power strip, but it’s cooler with a phone app, right?

What I Like

  • Fairly easy setup
  • The app is light and doesn’t require onerous setup.
  • Works as expected

What needs to be improved

  • These guys are still expensive, and I think artificially so. If 6 cost $90, then why can’t 1 cost $15, rather than $21?

Final thoughts

While I enjoy having these outlets, it’s still strange to have to open an app on a device to turn on lights, but the fact I can do it from the driveway or from another point in the house makes it a powerful tool.

I remember my parents had a timer on their lights in the living room that came on at 6 in the evening and turned off at 11 PM. They couldn’t change it unless they were at the house, and if the power went off for two hours during the day, the times would be offset by that amount. The improvement with smart outlets is that not only are they controlled or programmed from remote servers, but they can also be edited and maintained from anywhere in the world. What you can’t do, however, is see that the items you’re wanting to remotely power are plugged in and switched on or not. For that, you’re going to have to add remote cameras, which is usually step two of the Smart Home takeover!

Price: $24.99 for 1, $38.99 for 2, 58.99 for 3, or $74.99 for 4 (slightly less at Amazon)
Where to buy: Company website or Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Etekcity

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Etekcity Voltson Smart Wi-Fi outlet review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 19, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Rowkin Surge Charge earbuds, Keysmart Pro, Bellroy Duo Tote, and more – Review updates

We have seven review updates for you today. We think that you’ll appreciate our regular updates to our reviews days, weeks, months, and even decades after the original post. These updates let you know how a product stands the test of time. You’ll find the updates at the bottom of each page.

Keysmart Pro key holder plus Tile finder review By Steve Holt

OtterBox Symmetry Series Star Wars iPhone case review by Howard Sneider

Rowkin Surge Charge wireless earbuds review By Julian Perry

Star Wars — The Last Jedi Portable Battery Charger with Laser Pointer review by Bob Patterson

Bellroy Duo Tote Pack review by Bob Patterson

United By Blue Lakeland Laptop Bag review by Bob Patterson

Mission Workshop Rhake Backpack review by Bob Patterson

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Rowkin Surge Charge earbuds, Keysmart Pro, Bellroy Duo Tote, and more – Review updates originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2018 at 4:37 pm.

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PAPAGO GoSafe S37 dash cam review


I had the opportunity to review another Papago! dash cam not long ago, so I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect. When the less expensive Papago! GoSafe S37 Dash Camera arrived, I was still surprised by the quality of this camera.

What is it?

The GoSafe S37 Dash Camera is a Sony sensor based dash cam that records high quality 1080p HD videos at both day and night. Even though it doesn’t have quite the specifications as its more expensive sibling cam, the S780, this one still has a quite a few nice features.


 


Hardware specs

Screen 2.0″ color LCD display screen
Chip Professional Sony image sensor chip
Angle View Front: 140 ° ultra- wide-angle lens F1.8.
GPS Supports GPS-Antenna (Sold separately)
TPMS Supports PAPAGO! TireSafe D10E TPMS (Sold separately)
Video Format 1920X1080P30, 1280X720P30, 640x480P30 .MOV format
Storage Device MicroSD card (Class 10, 8GB or above. Supports up to 128GB)
Battery Built-in super capacitor
Weight .10 lbs
Dimensions 2.2″ x 2.2″ x 1.2″

What’s in the box?

  • GoSafe S37
  • Car Charger
  • Suction Cup Mount
  • 8GB Micro SD Card
  • User Manual
  • Warranty Card

Design and features

The Papago! GoSafe S37 Dash Camera turns on automatically when power is applied and begins recording immediately. It records 5-minute segments of video, replacing the oldest files when the memory card is full. Embedded supercapacitors provide enough power to save the recording when power is lost, either from turning off your vehicle or in the event that a crash disrupts power to the camera. A 16gb memory card holds approximately 90 minutes of video files before the files are overwritten, depending on the file format that is chosen.

While recording you can press the down arrow button for 3 seconds to capture a picture without interrupting the video recording. These are saved to a separate “photos” folder on the memory card and are not overwritten.

There’s also an emergency mode, which is activated by pressing the far left button while the device is recording. This mode will lock the current file so that it is not overwritten when the memory card is full. The locking of the file will also occur when the g-force sensor detects a crash – something I declined to test.

The camera features a SONY Exmore sensor and a 140-degree ultra-wide angle lens. The lens has an anti-reflection coating as well to eliminate flaring when facing bright lights.

The unit supports a GPS antenna (sold separately) to record speed and for GPS logging on your videos, to automatically correct the time, and for other related functions. Also available is an optional accessory called the TireSafe D10E (sold separately), which enabled the unit to display your tire pressure and temperature in real-time. However, you can only use one of these at a time.

Many of the Papago! cameras have the Papago! Driver Assist Features, which include Stop Sign Recognition, Stop and Go, Driver Fatigue Warning, and Headlight Reminder to help you stay safe on the road. For example, when the unit “sees” a stop sign, it will display a stop sign on the screen and give an audible beep. These features are able to be turned on and off in the settings. The stop sign feature worked well, picking up every stop sign, but if you’re going over 25mph you won’t stop in time. I would be nice if it could pick them up a little farther away. The stop and go feature worked well also, giving a lower toned beep when it detects the car in front of you has started moving, but you haven’t.

The S37 has three recording modes: Automatic Recording (Loop recording), Monitor Mode (1 picture per second to save storage space), and Motion Detection(motion-activated recording). The monitor mode is useful to make a hyperlapse video with, as it saves the pictures as frames of the video.

What I like

I’m not sure if the Sony Exmore sensor isn’t quite as good as the S780’s Starvis sensor or if it’s the difference between the S37 using a .MOV file format instead of .mpeg, but the video wasn’t quite as clear as the S780. However, I think for what it’s designed to do it performs extremely well.

I really liked was the extensive menus and settings, if there’s one thing I like its options and more options. Disabling features you don’t want is really nice.

The S37 comes with its own power plug and separate USB cord, which allows you to use an existing plug if you happen to have one that has a couple of ports on it. The cord is 13 feet long, plenty long enough for you to route it behind panels and out of view.

What needs to be improved

  • The Monitor Mode starts a new video every five minutes, instead of every five minutes of recorded video time. This results in a ton of 10 second video clips.
  • I felt the buttons on the camera were a little too hard to push. Being that the camera is normally going to be mounted up and out of the way, I think they could have gotten by with buttons that were a little easier to push so that the unit didn’t move when pressing them.

Final thoughts

Overall I thought this was a really nice dash camera. It’s really a set it and forget it type of device, with subtle audio cues to let you know it’s working.

Price: $139.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Papago!

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PAPAGO GoSafe S37 dash cam review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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VentiFresh small space air purifier review

Do you have any small spaces in your home that are stinky? Maybe it’s a trashcan in the kitchen, a closet where you keep your sneakers, or maybe it’s your cat’s litter box? How do you get rid of odors without burning candles or spraying aerosol air fresheners that just cover up the stink with a new odor? That’s what I was wondering until I received the VentiFresh air purifier.

What is it?

The VentiFresh is a very small air purifier that uses photocatalyst technology which is the same tech used on the international space station. According to the VentiFresh website:

Put simply, the UV catalyst core inside VentiFresh decomposes odor through natural photosynthesis and produces clean air as a result.

What’s in the box?

VentiFresh air purifier
Mag dot steel mounting button
micro USB power cable
USB AC adapter

Design and features

Compared to 99.9% of the air purifiers that I’ve seen, the VentiFresh is absolutely tiny at only 2.5 x 2.0 inches.

It has a white plastic housing with a light sensor on the front and on top is an open blue covering over the built-in fan inside the unit.

On the back of the air purifier is a micro USB connector for power and a power switch.

The VentiFresh air purifier is so small, that it can be placed almost anywhere. You can set it on a flat surface or you can use the magnetic base and the included metal button to mount it on thin material like a trashcan lid or a litterbox cover.

It looks cute, but does it actually work?

I was excited to see if the VentiFresh air purifier would help with cat smells. To give you a little background, I share a house with a 15lb cat named Max. Max is mainly an indoor cat so we have a litter box in our spare bathroom which is now his bathroom. I don’t like going in there because he kicks litter on the floor. That is when he actually takes time to dig in the box.

Jeanne and I spend evenings downstairs on the couch in front of the TV. We’ll be watching a show and all of a sudden we’ll hear Max running around upstairs like a maniac and then he’ll come flying down the stairs. This is his “I just pooped and I’m amazing” celebration.  At this point, we will almost immediately notice the smell wafting its way downstairs because he almost NEVER covers up his mess. In the past, we’ll have to stop what we’re doing, go up the stairs, clean the litterbox, and spray a bunch of air freshener to cover up the poo smell which only masks the smell and doesn’t truly get rid of it. Ick!

As soon as the VentiFresh arrived, I plugged it in and set it up in Max’s bathroom.

We don’t have a cover over the litter box so I just hung the VentiFresh from an outlet next to the box like you see in the image above.

The VentiFresh didn’t come with much in the way of instructions. Just a small business card sized quick guide that showed how you can mount the unit using the magnetic base and that the unit is supposed to be used in a small space about 1.5 cubic feet in size. Max’s bathroom is tiny, but it’s obviously much larger than 1.5 cubic feet, but I set it up anyway.

Once you plug it in, it will start running when the room is dim. Light will cause the VentiFresh to turn off. But since I have the unit hanging with the light sensor pointed down, it runs continuously. When it’s running you’ll also see a blue light emitting from the vents in the sides and top of the unit. This is UV light and the instructions advise you not to look at it. The unit also has a slight fan noise as it’s running. I didn’t find it loud enough to be annoying, but I do notice it when I walk past the bathroom.

The million dollar question is: Does the VentiFresh actually work? I really didn’t think I was going to be impressed, but I have been very surprised just how well it has tamed Max’s litter box smells. If you have a cat and a litter box, you know what they can smell like even if you clean them every day like we do. With the VentiFresh next to the box, I’ve not smelled any of Max’s “presents” even when he doesn’t cover them up. I’ve even walked into the bathroom done a sniff test right over the box of uncovered “presents” and I can’t smell anything. I think it’s witchcraft and I love it and so does Jeanne. Max doesn’t seem to mind it either.

If you’re wondering about power consumption, it only uses 3W per hour and according to the VentiFresh website, even if it runs 24hrs a day, it’s only going to cost you about 50 cents per month.

What I like

  • Tiny size
  • No consumables
  • Doesn’t use much power

What needs to be improved

  • Nothing needs to be improved except that I want a bigger one for the whole house!

Final thoughts

The VentiFresh air purifier is amazing. No more litter box smells means I don’t have to worry if visitors can smell something bad when they come in my house. I love this little thing. I’m thinking about ordering another one just to have on hand if the one I have now ever decides to die on me. I’ll definitely update this review after a couple of months to let you all know how it’s standing the test of time.

Price: $64.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by VentiFresh.

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VentiFresh small space air purifier review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 17, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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