Bill Loguidice's Blog, page 105

Review: DBPOWER BA-800 Bluetooth Transmitter and Receiver

Bluetooth has been one of the key technologies that has liberated us from wires. Unfortunately, not everything that should be is Bluetooth-enabled. That’s where something like the DBPOWER BA-800 Bluetooth Transmitter and Receiver comes in. As the name implies, this device can both transmit and receive Bluetooth data via wired 3.5mm audio connections.

The box.

You get the tiny transmitter itself, a short 3.5mm audio cable, a microUSB charging cable, and a thorough instruction manual. Selection of receipt or transmit mode is done by positioning the transmitter’s switch to either RX or TX, respectively, then pressing the Power button.

What you get.

In either mode, the fidelity is excellent, and on par with what you’d expect from a good Bluetooth headset or speaker. If you’re in need of a device like this, the DBPOWER BA-800 Bluetooth Transmitter and Receiver definitely delivers.

Thanks to DBPOWER for the review unit.

The post Review: DBPOWER BA-800 Bluetooth Transmitter and Receiver appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: FOCUSAM Outdoor Laser Lights

We first found out about outdoor laser lights when some of the houses in our development used them as holiday decorations for this past Christmas. We’re not particularly handy, so the idea of festive, attractive outdoor lighting without having to actually string lights seemed like a fantastic idea. With the FOCUSAM Outdoor Laser Lights, we can now bring that idea to reality for ourselves.

The box.

What you get.

In the package you get the green and red dual laser light unit, a ground stake, an indoor base, and a user manual. Once plugged in and focused where you’d like, the quality of the LED lighting is excellent, randomly displaying solid and flashing green and red lights, i.e., lots of dots. This functions kind of like a laser pointer though, so you’ll have to be careful where you point it, because this can cause issues with aircraft and of course, people’s eyes.

A look at the light attached to the indoor base.

While this obviously can be used indoors – and comes with a base expressly for that purpose – presumably, like me, you’ll want this primarily for outdoor use. While the unit itself is rated IP64 waterproof, the power supply is not, so you’ll want to be sure that’s covered when you presumably plug it into an extension cord since you probably won’t have a convenient outlet, wall, and projection distance combination when using it; the attached AC adapter is extremely short.

Photos or video can’t really capture how nice the light show is in real life.

There’s no power switch. Once it’s on, it’s on. There’s also no timer, so you’ll want to get one of those separately so you can turn it off automatically much like other light up decorations.

While the FOCUSAM Outdoor Laser Lights is far from perfect, they do put on an incredibly impressive light show. And it sure beats stringing lights.

Thanks to FOCUSAM for the review unit.

The post Review: FOCUSAM Outdoor Laser Lights appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: SENWOW LinBell G2 Self-Powered Wireless Doorbell

The SENWOW LinBell G2 Self-Powered Wireless Doorbell is a brilliant idea. As the name suggests, this doorbell has a transmitter that you can stick anywhere and requires no batteries to reach its receiver. You press the unit-sized button on the transmitter and as long as the receiver is plugged into an active AC outlet and is within approximately 500 feet in a typical household setting, the doorbell will chime.

The box.

The default ring is a pleasant double “bing-bong” sound, but there are 38 total sounds to choose from, some of which are musical ditties or crazy voice samples in different languages. Naturally, there are also different volume levels to choose from for all of these.

What you get.

In the package you get a transmitter and receiver, instruction manual, QR code, and an optional mounting plate and screws. Personally, I just used the 3M tape already on the transmitter to stick it onto my wall. While I’m using it as a basement doorbell for when someone wants to reach me, the transmitter is properly weatherproofed, so it’s suitable for outdoor use.

The battery-less transmitter.

I rarely declare a product perfect, but in this case, everything from the feature-set to the price point are nearly there. If you need a doorbell for just about any situation, this product is well worth checking out.

The receiver plugged into an AC outlet.

Thanks to SENWOW for the review unit.

The post Review: SENWOW LinBell G2 Self-Powered Wireless Doorbell appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: Iavo Super Energy Saving Mini LED Night Light

If you have old-fashioned nightlights, the kind with incandescent bulbs or the kind with switches, you need to replace those cumbersome energy hogs. If I had a nickel for every time I said “LED” on this Website, I’d have pocketfuls of nickels, but the Iavo Super Energy Saving Mini LED Night Light, as the name clearly indicates, is in fact LED-based (cha-ching!). I’m reviewing the two pack version, but these are also sold individually for about 60% of the two-pack price.

The box.

What you get.

What sets the Iavo Super Energy Saving Mini LED Night Light apart from the competition is the clean, modern look. In this two pack are a pure white light, as well as a light they call pink, but looks rather reddish to me. While I like the white light, the red is actually a really nice option because it helps to preserve your night vision.

The red light in action.

The white light.

Regardless of color, each light is just bright enough to light your way without being too bright. It’s a pleasant glow. As stated earlier, thanks to the LED technology and automatic light sensor, each light only uses about 1 KWH every month. For the average US home, that’s equates to roughly 12 cents in energy costs. Not bad.

Thanks to Jumplight for the review unit.

The post Review: Iavo Super Energy Saving Mini LED Night Light appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: Meyoung Pro Mini LED Projector (JT-GP5S)

Thanks to our friend the LED, there is a new generation of incredibly inexpensive, small footprint projectors that offer good brightness and decent image quality. I’m reviewing one such device, the black Meyoung Pro Mini LED Projector (JT-GP5S), but if white is your thing, it’s also offered in that case shade. Each model is selling for just north of $50 as of this writing.

The box.

What you get.

In the box you get the projector itself, a composite RCA AV cable that terminates to the single connection the projector needs, remote control that requires two AAA batteries (not included), approximately three foot long AC adapter, and a user manual.

A size comparison with the Apple iPhone 6 Plus.

A rear view.

The Meyoung Pro Mini LED Projector features a plethora of inputs: composite AV, VGA (60hz), SD, USB A, and HDMI 1.4. There’s also one 3.5mm audio output for headphones or external speakers.

A side view.

Native resolution of the TFT-LCD panel is only 320×240, but it still handles 720p (recommended) or greater input. Image quality, despite low contrast, is acceptable overall for non-text images (although pure text documents are OK), as is the brightness, which is rated at 100 lumens. Sound is about what you’d expect from a device this small with a 2W onboard speaker, but the 3.5mm audio output jack mitigates that issue for when you need something better. The controls, both onboard and via the remote, and onscreen display, are all reasonably intuitive.

Displaying a text file from a USB stick.

As noted by the SD card and USB ports, you can insert a full-sized SD card or USB stick with video, audio, photo, or document files for display through the projector. Supported formats are: MPEG, AVI, MP4, RMVB, FLV, VDB, MOV, WMA, MP3, M4A, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and TXT, so there’s a good chance this will play what you have.

Projecting Pac-Man Connect & Play 35th Anniversary Edition via the composite connection.

Since it’s LED-based, bulb life is rated at 20,000 hours, so that should easily last the lifetime of the product. Fan noise is rated at 32 dB, which is definitely noticeable, but not unexpected for a product of this type.

While the Meyoung Pro Mini LED Projector is clearly not a replacement for a higher end unit, as long as you’re aware of the obvious limitations, it is a nice casual option, particularly when its small size is considered. While the projected image is not particularly large or detailed, it’s still kind of neat to have a functional projector for this price.

Thanks to JIETIAN Technology for the discounted review unit.

The post Review: Meyoung Pro Mini LED Projector (JT-GP5S) appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: SinoPro Galaxy Constellation Night Light Projector

If you’re looking for a funky, portable night light that also works as a room projector, the SinoPro Galaxy Constellation Night Light Projector may be your answer. It’s a three piece unit, which consists of the base unit, black and clear moon and stars semi-globe, and a frosted semi-globe. The unit is powered via the included USB cable or with four AAA batteries (not included).

The box.

What you get.

The battery compartment.

When you use the unit without the frosted semi-globe topper, it functions as a room projector, meaning it will project the objects on the black and clear moon and stars semi-globe on the walls and ceiling. With the frosted semi-globe topper in place, it functions as a decorative night light since the four LEDs are muted.

As a night light.

The frosted cover removed.

Pressing the A button powers on the white LED. With the unit on, pressing B once turns on the green LED, pressing B a second time turns off the green LED and turns on the red LED, and pressing B a third time turns off the red LED and turns on the blue LED. Additional presses of the B button turns on various combinations of the three lights, including all on at the same time (the white LED in the center is always on). Pressing C causes the the black and clear moon and stars semi-globe to rotate, creating an awesome moving projection around the room.

My three daughters were delighted by this light, and my wife and I were impressed as well. This is the kind of fun novelty that is not only good for practical purposes, like functioning as a night light, but is also something where you can just lay back, have fun, and enjoy the light show. It’s definitely recommended.

A closer look at the LEDs.

Thanks to SinoPro for the review unit.

The post Review: SinoPro Galaxy Constellation Night Light Projector appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: Satechi Aluminum Mini Universal Docking Station

Whether you have a desktop with too few ports remaining, or, more likely, a laptop streamlined down to the barest possible external connectivity options, a good docking station can make a huge difference in productivity. Unfortunately, there are a lot of choices in available docking stations, with some being little more than fancy USB hubs, some being overpriced, and some being eyesores, with seemingly little care given to design. Fortunately, the Satechi Aluminum Mini Universal Docking Station suffers none of those issues, providing an incredible feature set at a reasonable price point, and looks good while doing it.

The box.

A peak inside.

In the box you get the the compact aluminum dock itself, external power supply, USB cable to go from the docking station to your computer, instructions, and a CD-ROM with drivers. In regards to the CD-ROM and what to do if you lack an optical drive, you can also of course download the necessary drivers from the Web if your computer doesn’t automatically do so.

What you get.

The front.

The Satechi Aluminum Mini Universal Docking Station offers four (4) USB 3.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port (supporting 10/100/1000Mbs networks), a 4K-capable HDMI port (up to 4096 x 2160p Ultra HD resolution), DVI port (up to 2650 x 1600 resolution), and a 3.5mm audio port for speakers or headphones. About the only thing this doesn’t do is power your computer, which may only be a concern if you’re using it exclusively with a laptop.

The rear.

Naturally, you’ll want to plug the dock into a USB 3.0 port on your computer, although a USB 2.0 port will also work, just with reduced performance across the board. For testing purposes, I connected the dock to my Microsoft Surface Pro 3 through its single USB 3.0 port, and was thrilled with the overall performance, including minimal overhead on my processor. To say the least, there’s impressive power inside this dock.

A size comparison with my Apple iPhone 6 Plus.

Satechi’s docking station is a premium product and as such commands something of a premium price. Its single connection with your computer makes it well worth it, however, as your computer’s capabilities are so greatly enhanced for minimal effort. This is a definite recommendation.

How it looks on my desktop.

Thanks to Satechi for the review unit.

The post Review: Satechi Aluminum Mini Universal Docking Station appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: SouthMaker Sync Dock Station for Apple iPhone

The SouthMaker Sync Dock Station for Apple iPhone is an inexpensive charge and sync solution for Apple iPhone 5 and 6 series smartphones. The design not only accommodates larger iPhone models like my 6 Plus, but also iPhones with cases, which for me is a bulkier Rokform.

The box.

The back of the box.

In the package, you’ll just find the charger itself with hardwired USB cable. It’s four foot long (about 1.22 meters), which should be plenty for most situations. As you can see in the photos, the painted aluminum finish (silver) looks good, and nicely complements my desktop.

The cradle.

It even accommodates iPhones in bulkier cases.

From syncing to charging, all of my testing went smoothly. The one negative I’ll note is that the rubberized bottom does not reach the desk surface, so the cradle does slide around when it’s clearly designed not to (it’s also a bit on the light side). However, if you’re looking for a spare desktop charger or two that keeps your iPhone in a portrait orientation, SouthMaker’s offering is still a nice option.

How it looks on my desktop.

Thanks to AmazingWorks for the discounted review unit.

The post Review: SouthMaker Sync Dock Station for Apple iPhone appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

News: A New Commodore 64 is Coming Out (and a healthy dose of skepticism)

An attempt at a modern Commodore 64 (C-64) computer and gaming handheld was revealed this morning on Indiegogo, ahead of what was previously supposed to be an April 19th announcement. Headed by a company called Retro Games Ltd., who are out of Knaresborough, United Kingdom, the plans are to release THE 64 computer and THE 64SX gaming handheld some time in December of this year (2016) for the former and April of next year (2017) for the latter.

I tend to be a bit more skeptical of Indiegogo campaigns, because their rules are looser and more forgiving than even Kickstarter‘s notoriously repercussion-free structure (although Kickstarter has improved in that area in recent years). For instance, for this campaign, the developers are using Indiegogo‘s flexible goal option, which means that they get to keep whatever portion of the $150,000 target amount they reach, regardless of whether or not they meet or exceed that amount. Of course, perhaps the most important difference between Indiegogo and Kickstarter these days is that the former does not require a working prototype, something that the latter now thankfully does.

As an original Commodore 64 owner and as someone who still has a huge Commodore collection as part of my all-too-large greater collection of computers and videogames, this should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, having the experience I have as a backer of dozens of crowd funding campaigns in the past, I’ll be exercising extreme caution on this one. For one thing, the lack of demonstrable prototypes is disturbing. Right now we have renders and an art model. For another, the lack of specifics related to the technology that’s supposed to be driving all of this is suspect. Now, with all of that in mind (and knowing a bit how production schedules run), stating a December 2016 target for the computer portion seems overly ambitious, essentially leaving the team with about seven months from the end of Indiegogo funding to worldwide delivery of actual units.

The renders sure do look nice, but right now that doesn’t mean much.

To keep with the lack of specifics theme here, I’ll quote from the Indiegogo campaign itself: “THE 64 ™ project is being designed, built and marketed by a team of people who are utterly passionate about the Commodore 64 ™ and retro gaming. The team were previously involved in bringing to market consoles and products such as the C64DTV ™, and the Nintendo Wii ™ C64 ™ games.” Now, we know that Jeri Ellsworth – who I have no reason to believe is involved in this in any way – was the primary engineer on the C64DTV, but the identities of the rest of the team are more or less a mystery to me. So who really are these people and why not let us know exactly who’s on the team rather than beat around the proverbial bush?

Finally, there’s the target price of $150 (plus shipping) for THE 64 computer. Putting aside the December 2016 target delivery date, I question how they’re producing a computer with a C-64-like case and keyboard, as well as cartridge and other ports, for so little money. If true, that will be a stunning accomplishment, since no such product has gotten anywhere near such a price point. If true indeed.

So the question is, is this more Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega or more Retro VGS/Coleco Chameleon? Right now, it seems like the latter, and anyone who knows even a little about that story knows that that’s not a good thing.

Now, despite what I’ve written above, I genuinely personally hope for and wish them success and will absolutely dutifully stand in line after successful delivery of working units. However, as it stands, I have no reason to think that will happen. Here’s hoping the team can release the type of details something like this so desperately needs on their Website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.

The post News: A New Commodore 64 is Coming Out (and a healthy dose of skepticism) appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Review: Amsam Microsoft Surface Pro 3 / Pro 4 Car Charger Adapter

I love my Microsoft Surface Pro 3, but third party accessories are sometimes hard to find. Microsoft themselves doesn’t even make a car charger, which, thankfully, Amsam has addressed.

The package.

The Amsam Microsoft Surface Pro 3 / Pro 4 Car Charger Adapter accepts 12 – 24V input and outputs the expected 12V, 2.58A. As you would expect, there is short circuit and overload protection built-in. Compatibility is with the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4, although not with the Surface Pro 4 with M3 processor.

Now, for a negative. While the cord is of sufficient length, the magnet that holds the cord to the Surface Pro is a bit on the weak side, so it doesn’t stay in quite as securely as it probably should.

It works, but really needs a stronger magnet.

While the Amsam Microsoft Surface Pro 3 / Pro 4 Car Charger Adapter is not perfect, the unique value proposition still makes it worth considering for keeping your Surface Pro charged in the car.

Thanks to Amsam for the review unit.

The post Review: Amsam Microsoft Surface Pro 3 / Pro 4 Car Charger Adapter appeared first on Armchair Arcade.