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AtmosFX digital decorating kit review

My family and I love decorating the house during the holidays. Whether it’s animatronics, inflatables, or just good ole’ fashion lights, there are few things as fun as dressing up your home for the holidays.

On the flip side, there are few things less enjoyable than putting away all your holiday decorations. It’s time consuming and a terrible reminder the holiday is over.

One company, AtmosFX, has created a digital decorating kit that allows you to decorate your home without all the terrible cleanup.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play with the decorating kit for the last few weeks.

In the box

  • Standard definition projector
  • Mounting tripod
  • Remote control
  • Power adapter
  • Standard window projection material
  • Digital decoration SD card with 14 scenes

Specifications

  • Display Technology: 4” Single LCD Panel Display
  • Color: 16.8 million, 24-bit RGB
  • Brightness: 300 ANSI LM
  • Lamp: LED 24W
  • Contrast Ratio: 2000:1
  • Native Resolution: 800 x 480
  • Lamp life: 30,000 hours
  • Projection Distance: 3 feet to 20 feet
  • Projection Size (diagonal): 40” to 180”
  • Throw Ratio: 1.37:1
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3 / 16:9
  • Keystone Correction: + or – 15 degrees
  • Power Supply: 100-240 V
  • Power Consumption:  60 W
  • Input: USB/SD/HDMI/Composite
  • Audio Output: 3.5mm or built-in speakers
  • Projection Material:  4’ x 6’ — 86.5” diagonal

Design

The kit is essentially an A/V projector and an SD card with various scenes on it.

The projector resembles a typical, standard definition projector that you’d find in a school classroom.






The top of the projector has several function buttons and focus adjustment dials. The bottom contains a threaded input for a tri-pod. The front holds the projector lens, while the back contains several input ports, the power port, and an IR receiver. One side of the projector contains a second threaded tri-pod input and the other side has venting.




The kit also includes a remote control, a tri-pod, window projection material with adhesive, and an SD card with 14 digital scenes.

There really isn’t much to go over in regards to the design of the kit; as I said, it’s identical to just about every projector I’ve ever seen. The accessories are also pretty standard fare.

Performance

Using the digital kit is easy; you insert the SD card and plug in the projector. Once it’s powered up, you aim it at your “target” and adjust the focus.

“Advanced” setup involves placing the window projection material on your window. This takes a few minutes and requires you to fold the material to fit into your window and use adhesive to secure it. Once you’ve set up the material, you’ll have a surface perfect for projecting your effects onto.

The SD card I was provided contained 14 different scenes. Some scenes were for Christmas, some for Easter, but most were scary Halloween effects.

Using the effects is no different than selecting music to play on your phone or computer; you select the proper media and hit play.

Since it’s almost Halloween, I focused on the scarier effects. I recorded video of the effects from outside my house; unfortunately, the video doesn’t do the effects justice, but I’m going to post them anyway.



Close up




Far Away

After testing the kit on my window, I decided to try using it on my storm door. It was difficult to get the angle just right, but once I did, the effect was pretty amazing. Again, the videos I took don’t do the effect justice.




 

My only issue when using the kit was when trying to adjust the angle of the projector. The tri-pod that’s include in the kit isn’t very strong. If you try to use the projector at an angle other than perfectly level, the tri-pod “slips” and the projector ends up pointing straight up or down. Other than that I experienced absolutely no issues with the kit.

Conslusion

The AtmosFx is a really fun way to decorate your house for the holidays. The 14 scenes included with the kit are fun, but AtmosFx sells even more on their website.

The kit is easy to setup and just as easy to take down.

The kit isn’t cheap at $199.99, but you can purchase media for almost every holiday. If you can afford the kit, I would definitely recommend it.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by AtmosFx. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $199.99
Manufacturer: AtmosFx
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • None
Pros:
  • Easy to set up
  • Fun effects
Cons:
  • Tri-pod weak
  • Expensive

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AtmosFX digital decorating kit review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 22, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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SmartOmi ANT Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker review

Sometimes one portable audio is a bit more portable than other portable audio. What the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about little speakers, people. Really little. I’ve reviewed a few other portable speakers here at The Gadgeteer, and I’d had varying degrees of satisfaction with them, so I hadn’t really been looking to review another one. But when the SmartOmi ANT Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker arrived at my door, in its itty-bitty little box, I became much more interested. Let’s check it out. Gadget on!

Specs

Per the SmartOmi site and the included User Guide booklet:

  • Inputs
    • Bluetooth 4.1
    • 3.5mm Auxiliary port input
  • Battery:
    • 800 mAh battery for up to 12-hour play time on 1.5 hour charge time
    • Charge voltage: 5V DC
    • Charge time: 1.5 hours
    • Playback time: 12 hours
    • Standby time: 310 hours
  • 5-Watt speaker power
  • Frequency Range: 100Hz-20KHz
  • Operating Distance: 33 ft
  • IPX7 Waterproofing & 1.5m drop resistant
  • Built-in microphone

Options

  • Black (reviewed here)
  • Red, which it turns out is virtually identical to Black, but with a red port cover

Packaging

The SmartOmi ANT arrived in a very sturdy, stout cardboard box with a top lid/bottom tray configuration.  Internally, there was a foam block with a cutout to hold the SmartOmi ANT.

The only complaint I had about the packaging would be that the lib and base were very conforming, meaning they fit very tightly together.  To the point where I had to actually use a couple of screwdrivers to pry them apart.  Though this was probably user error, I doubt it.  Maybe a couple of small ribbon loops or tabs attached to the bottom of the package would have assisted with this.

Contents

  • SmartOmi Ant speaker
  • Micro USB charging cable
  • 3.5mm Auxiliary input cable
  • User Guide booklet
  • Promotional booklet

Features, Functions and Performance

First impressions: This little dude looks cool and is way small.  It has almost a tactical (“tacti-cool”?) look and feel to it.  I liked its appearance right out of the box.

With its all matte black color and its faux leather texture on one side it also seemed somewhat industrial looking.

The faux screws around the perimeter of both sides were a nice touch that added to the overall aesthetic as well.

There are three buttons on the top of the ANT: from left to right they are the power/play/pause, volume up/next track and volume down/previous track buttons.  All of these buttons are covered by a single silicone strip which protects them from bumps as well as contributing to the speaker’s IPX7 water-resistance rating. The body of the ANT is also made from ABS plastic, which contributes to its shock-resistance, which Smartomi reports as having been tested to a 3-meter drop height.

On the bottom of the ANT, on the side opposed the control buttons, is another silicone strip with the words “OPEN CHARGER” and an arrow on it.This silicone strip covers the micro USB charging port as well as the 3.5mm audio in auxiliary port.  The silicone cover helps seal these ports against moisture and there is a tether to keep it from falling out and getting lost.  The cover’s thickness helps it stays seated down into the body of the ANT, but it is fairly easy to remove it by gently prying it up with a fingernail.
In the above photo, I’ve plugged in both of the cables included with the ANT, the micro USB charging cable (left) and the 3.5mm audio in auxiliary cable (right).
As mentioned above, one side of the ANT features a faux leather texture that is actually molded into the body, along with the SMARTOMI logo.
Another useful feature of the ANT is a leather strap that can be used to attach the speaker to a bag or even hung up in the shower other places with a carabiner, or to help give you a better grip it when holding it.  Note that although it appears that is secured with a snap, it is actually a rivet that cannot be removed.
For a speaker of its compact size and shape, it puts out some decent sound.  Good enough for my teenage daughter to have commandeered the ANT within a day of it arriving at my house and using it constantly.  My daughter reported that she had the ANT paired with her iPhone in just a few seconds, and she was rocking and rolling (literally, since I’ve managed to get my children into some classic rock—parenting win!).

As mentioned above, the ANT is very small and compact.  Like, it could easily fit into a purse or backpack small (or possibly even in a pants pocket).

The ANT also has a tiny microphone hole on the side which enables it be used for hands-free phone calls.

Conclusion

I really like the Smartomi ANT speaker.  It is very small and compact, puts out good sound for its size, and looks cool. To me it seems to live up to its namesake, an ant: tiny, black and strong for its size (in sound, anyway).  It’s definitely my favorite portable, water-resistant speaker that I’ve tried thus far.  Now if I can just get my daughter to let me use it once in a while…

Source: The sample for this review was provided by SmartOmi. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $99.99
Manufacturer: SmartOmi
Retailer: Amazon
Requirements:
  • A device with a Bluetooth connection
  • A USB port for charing
Pros:
  • Very small and lightweight
  • High waterproof rating
  • Good sound for such a small device
  • Looks tacti-cool
Cons:
  • None

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SmartOmi ANT Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 21, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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Danny P. Leather Messenger Bag review

There are times when you want your bag to be more than simply a sack to carry your laptop or loose items. You want it to act as a true accessory and complete your look, the way a nice belt or pair of shoes does. Nothing says sophistication like fine leather, and few do it better than Danny P.

I’ve been using a bag of some sort to lug my everyday carry items ever since college. Whether it be a backpack or satchel or messenger bag, I’ve been on a constant hunt for my next favorite bag. I find that the older I get, the more I care about the quality and longevity of the items I use in a daily basis, so when I was asked to review this fine leather messenger bag from Danny P. I was thrilled. Could this finally be the bag?

Yes, it smells as good as it looks.

Quick Specs

  • Fits laptops up to 15”
  • iPad pocket – could fit 10” tablet or Kindle
  • an umbrella holder and a bottle holder
  • 3 small compartments
  • outside zippered pocket
  • removable & adjustable shoulder strap
  • protective metal studs on the bottom corners
  • dimensions: 16.06 x 11.69 x 3.5 inches (408x297x89 mm)

The Feel

Right off the bat, this bag exudes simplicity, minimalism and timeless style. The leather is smooth and supple and moves easily while retaining its rigidity. The bag itself is skillfully handmade that shows in every little stitch and fold. All of the elements — zippers, snaps, interior cloth, thread — are very high quality. The color, dark brown in the case of this review bag, is rich and seems to go with everything.

I love the thread color they went with.

This is the first bag I’ve used that I’m honestly a little self-conscious about carrying around because it’s exactly the sort of bag that gets noticed. Even in my short commute from the parking lot into the office, and in the office itself, I received several compliments on the bag. Nestled on the passenger seat of my car in the morning, I found myself saying “Jeez that’s a nice bag.”

I love this thing, in case you couldn’t tell.

It came with a removable shoulder strap, which I didn’t use much. But it’s a nice strap. Almost a shame not to use it. I’d consider adding it back on if I had to walk further than across a parking lot.

I was almost sad to not use the shoulder strap.

I like the large, stitched-on handles, and prefer to carry the bag like an old doctor’s sack. It just feels right.

Showing off those long handles.

If I had one minor quibble about those handles, it’s that they sort of stack vertically when carrying the bag, as the handles are just a bit too wide to comfortably squeeze them side-by-side in your hand. The handles are a bit tapered, so they do naturally slide into that vertical arrangement.

Nibbles hands that dig too deep.

There is a single small zipper pocket on the outside that’s deep enough to make it a little hard to snag a chapstick from the bottom. I wouldn’t want to keep anything too thick in that pocket for fear of stretching a shape into the outside of the bag.

On the Inside

Danny P. put just as much thought to the inside of the messenger bag as the outside. Their fabric choice — a brown plaid — is complimentary and safe, which I can appreciate. It wouldn’t surprise me if the interior was some crazy florescent orange, but I’m really glad it isn’t.

An understated pattern, but classy.

In the large side pocket, I can easily fit my iPad Pro with the smart keyboard case and a folder, which is secured with a snap. It would handle an average 15” laptop or smaller.

On the opposite wall, there is a medium pocket that was apparently made for an iPad or tablet, but I’ve been using it for cables and my headphones. Next to that is a stack of 3 accessory pockets. There is also a pen holder in between them.

Get organized. Note the water bottle loop folded against the side. It feels like a strange appendage in there if not in use.

The width of the main compartment is enough to fit my Nintendo Switch case, can of Progresso soup, honey crisp apple and a pair of gloves. The bag does bulge out a bit when necessary… the leather feels like it’s already broken in and wasn’t stiff at all.

Hello, dedicated umbrella loop.

Stitched into the inside of the short sides are two thick fabric loops which act as an umbrella holder and a water bottle holder. I am making use of the umbrella holder, and that’s come in handy more than once during late-afternoon autumn downpours. The water bottle holder, I’m not much of a fan of, mostly because all my bottles are too fat for it. That loop is easy enough to fold flat against the inside of the bag.

Conclusion

I’ve used a lot of bags over the years and this is unequivocally my favorite. I’m having a hard time finding many negative things to say about it. If anything, this review feels like a long-winded justification of its cost.

The leather messenger bag by Danny P. is available on their website for $489 and comes in black, brown or dark brown.

While that price is a fair bit of money to invest in any one thing, I feel it’s comparable to other leather bags I’ve drooled over. This bag could easily last you 10-20 years, perhaps even longer with care, and will only look better with age. It could easily become an heirloom piece.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Danny P. Visit their website for more information or to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $489
Manufacturer: Danny P.
Pros:
  • Very high quality leather
  • Plenty of interior pockets
  • Heavy-duty handles
  • Not too big or too small
  • Will last a very long time
Cons:
  • One caveat: price

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Danny P. Leather Messenger Bag review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 20, 2017 at 10:00 am.

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Jackery Explorer is a “Jack of all Trades” generator

During the recent Florida hurricane, I spent a lot of money on a gas generator to run our fridge and a couple of fans. I had charged up our small chargers to help keep our iPhones and iPads going. but they didn’t last long. During our week without any power, we could have used something like the Jackery Explorer / Powerpro 500Wh Portable Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Quiet Generator. That certainly would have helped!

The Jackery Explorer / Powerpro is a massive battery generator that will charge a smartphone 40+ times, a laptop 3-6 times and a mini fridge for 9 hours-all at the same time, yet only weighs 12.5 lbs. It can be recharged in 6-7 hours either by AC adapter or optional solar panel. But that’s not all. The Explorer sports a 110V outlet, 2 12V DC ports, a DC cigarette lighter socket, 2 USB ports, a built-in flashlight, and an LCD display. The LCD displays battery consumption, charge and discharge status. It also shows how much power in watts is coming in and how much load is on the battery.

The built-in Battery Management System (BMS) improves battery utilization, prevents over-voltage, over-current, over-temperature with advanced safety procedures, giving complete protection to your connected devices.

If you live in an area which can lose power for extended periods of time or want a long-lasting power source for camping, The Jackery Explorer / Powerpro may be what you need. Visit www.jackery.com/power-family/power-pro for more information and it sells for $599.99 on Amazon.

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Jackery Explorer is a “Jack of all Trades” generator originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 20, 2017 at 9:00 am.

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quip electric toothbrush review

Do you brush your teeth at least two times a day, preferably right after you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed at night? If you answered yes, good for you. If you answered no, I foresee dentures in your future. Seriously though, how do you make dental hygiene a habit and can the right toothbrush be the answer? I’ve been testing a quip electric toothbrush for the last couple of weeks. Let’s see if it has made brushing is my new favorite hobby.

What is it?

quip is a compact electric toothbrush that has been designed to ditch gimmicks like Bluetooth connectivity, USB charging, reminder LEDs to change the heads, etc., in favor of creating an easy to use toothbrush that will help keep your teeth and gums healthy.

What’s in the package?

You can purchase a quip toothbrush with or without quip toothpaste. quip sent me a kit with the brush and a tube of their mint toothpaste paste.

The toothbrush is available in six colors. I was sent the copper version.

Design and features

The quip toothbrush is very compact for an electric toothbrush. It’s barely larger than a traditional plastic handled toothbrush.

The quip brush has a CNC’d aluminum handle with a bead-blasted matte finish.

The brush is made of plastic with a small flat brush head at the end of the handle, that has soft rounded DuPont nylon bristles that are surrounded by a row of rubber “fingers”.

The back of the brush head has a rubber covering with the quip logo and short nubs that can be used to clean your tongue.

As you will notice, there isn’t an obvious charging socket or USB connector built into the handle of the quip toothbrush. You might notice the power button though. It’s built into the white part of the brush head where you see the q. Pressing this button turns on a 2-minute brushing timer.

The brush head can be removed when it needs to be replaced after 3 months. It can also be removed if the AAA battery in the handle needs to be replaced. Rubber O-rings keep the mechanism water-tight.

A toothbrush holder is included with the quip. This holder has an adhesive strip on the side so it can be attached to your bathroom mirror or wall. It can also be used as a travel cover like you see above.

Let’s brush!

Since the quip toothbrush runs on one AAA ordinary alkaline battery, you don’t have to worry about charging it up for your first brushing session. All you need to do is remove it from the package, rinse the bristles, add a pea-sized blob of toothpaste, press the q button on the handle and brush your teeth.

If you’ve used other electric toothbrushes, you won’t be impressed with the way the quip feels against your teeth. Although you can feel the vibration in the handle, the bristles don’t spin or even move at all.

The vibration sensation might cause people to think that they can just hold the bristles against their teeth to clean them without actually moving the brush back and forth across their teeth and gums.

Even though the brush bristles don’t move, the vibration feature is useful because the toothbrush pulses every 30 seconds to prompt you to move to the next quadrant of your mouth. After 2 minutes, the brush pulses twice and stops vibrating to let you know that the brushing session has ended.

One thing I noticed about the quip’s aluminum handle is that it gets slippery after toothpaste and spit start running down your hand.

The toothpaste

I was also sent a tube of quip mint toothpaste. I normally use Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste and found the quip toothpaste to have more grit than what I’m used to but the taste of the paste was just fine and it cleaned my teeth fine as well.

Final thoughts

Do I think that the quip toothbrush cleaned my teeth better than a manual toothbrush? No, not really. But I do think the quip helped me brush longer than a manual toothbrush? Yes, the 30 seconds per quadrant pulsing feature really does help you do a more thorough job of cleaning your teeth and gums.

But here’s the thing. You can go to Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, or one of many other stores and buy a manual toothbrush (with a small head and soft bristles – because that’s the best for your teeth and gums) in a pack of 4 for only $5 or so. That’s much less than what you will pay for the quip toothbrush.

A quip toothbrush starter set without the toothpaste costs $45 and you’ll then be billed $5 every three months to receive a replacement head. That works out to $60 a year. You can save $5 if you prepay $55 for a full year. You’ll also need to replace that AAA battery 3 times a year because quip doesn’t include a battery in their brush replacement kit. So let’s add another $4 for a pack of batteries to make a yearly cost of $59 a year assuming that you go the prepaid route. That means the quip will cost you $54 more a year than buying a 4 pack of manual toothbrushes for $5. The only features missing when you go with a manual toothbrush are the holder/travel cover and the 2-minute brushing timer.

While I like the look and feel of the quip, I don’t see it as a better value than a traditional toothbrush.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by quip. Please visit their site for more info.

 

Product Information

Price: Starts at $40 for a set, $5 – $10 every 3 months
Manufacturer: quip
Pros:
  • Built-in 2 minute cleaning timer
  • Compact and comes with a travel cover
  • Powered by a replaceable AAA battery
  • Replaceable head
Cons:
  • Not convinced that the vibration contributes to better cleaning

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quip electric toothbrush review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 19, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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