Category: Recommended Products

Honor PowerBank (AP007) 13000 mAh is a bang for your buck [Review]

We want to do so much with our smartphone, but often have to compromise our workflow to keep our smartphone alive till the end of the day. It gets worse when we are travelling and we cannot arrange a stable power source to recharge our phones. This is where a efficient PowerBank comes to rescue – but finding a right one is not always easy thing to do.

Honor PowerBank AP007 is not only cheaper but if we believe their specs, it also offers a way more than its competitor — is that so?

Unboxing

In the box you’ll find 3 items: 1 PowerBank, 1 USB cable (small), 1 user guide. There is no power adapter/charger provided out of the box.

Build Quality & Design

The PowerBank is one solid rectangular desing, with plastic casing at the top and bottom. The device looks really sturdy and strong at the first impression, and is on the little heavier side. The full metal body is robust, and can take some hit.

Top side has device specifications printed on it, which states that the PowerBank has Input and Output range of 5V — 2A. The capacity of the PowerBank is 13,000 mAh, which is manufactured in China by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Bottom of the device is the part which will handle all the input/output operations. It has two output USB ports, which is capable of charging two phones simultaneously. There is a microUSB port to charge the PowerBank, so that it can be used when required.

A round Power button is located at the right side of the panel, with 4 LED lights to indicate the power level when Power button is pressed. The function is pretty similar to the “Mi PowerBank”.

Operation & Ease of Use

The PowerBank is very easy to use, thanks to the minimalistic design approach. Electric circuit has intelligent sleep and energy saving mode to ensure optimized power consumption. The power bank has two USB slot with 5V – 2A output that lets you charge two devices at a time. There is a power button and LED indicators to show the charge. The power bank has gone through Reliability Testing that includes 1 m Height Drop Test, Vibration and Shock Test, Salt Spray and Shell Pressure Test, says the company.

The LED lights at the bottom of the rectangular casing, lit up when a device is connected to it, and indicates the current power level of battery of the PowerBank. You can also see the power state, when no device is connected by simply pressing the Big circular Power button on the device.

During our test we could charge a BlackBerry Z3 with bundled USB cable without any issues, and it took the same time to charge the device as it would with the official blackberry charger that came with the mobile. However, it didn’t faired well, when we tried to charge the mobile phone with other USB cable. We checked with other device connected simultaneously, and it worked great as well.

The device didn’t state anywhere whether 2A is the combined output, or it is being devided between the two devices connected to the port. We didn’t experienced slow charging or incompatibility issues during our test, so it doesn’t really have direct effect unless your device support higher than 2A charging.

We also tested Huawei Honor 6 Plus with the device and it was slower than the official charger bundled with the smartphone. But, the smartphone doesn’t really work well with any other charger — that is why it is bundled with Fast Charger.

See Also: [Review] We tested 5 Huawei Honor 6 Plus for a month, here’s what we think!

What we think?

Honor PowerBank doesn’t target high end consumers, but it does pack a massive backup option at considerably low price (Rs. 1,399 in India). The device works great, and does provide 90% conversion rate, given that we could charge our Blackberry Z3 upto ~4 times.

There are many other options available, but Honor has established itself as a brand that people has started to trust. The company is working hard to provide good after sale support, and is currently trying to win consumers who otherwise would choose other already established companies.

If you are looking for a PowerBank with bigger backup, you can go with it.

GENERAL

Brand Honor

Model Number AP007

Battery Capacity 13000 mAh

Model Name Honor

Output Power 5 V

Battery Type Li-Ion

Color Grey

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

Reliability Testing (1 m Height Drop Test, Vibration and Shock Test, Salt Spray and Shell Pressure Test)

IN THE BOX

Sales Package Power Bank

June 26, 2015
What is Airplay and how does it Work?

But there are certain limitations as you can stream media from Apple to Apple device only like iPod, iPhone or iPad. You can even use itunes to configure your computer with an airplay speakers set, Apple TV or a receiver. But the great thing is about wireless technology as you will be performing all this with wireless technology.

The wireless has the power to operate within the range of several hundred square feet. So, let suppose that you own an airplay speakers set and you want it to set these at one end of your house. The second speaker set has been idealized for the other end. You just have to configure both these speaker sets with your iPhone and you can play a single song at both ends while sitting in your living room.

It hasn’t yet finished here as you can derive more benefits out of Airplay, if you are using online media streaming. Suppose if you are enjoying a movie on your iPhone but you feel the sound little depressed then you can boost the sound with the help of airplay technology and get the real sound out of your airplay speakers.

While considering about the compatibility of airplay speakers and airplay software, you should not forget that you can even configure your airplay software with third party speakers. Although it may not be an easy job at first hand but with little effort you can configure the airplay technology with third party speakers. Many third party manufacturers have been granted with Apple license and they can use their software while making compatible with Apple software.

It is not a difficult job to connect your device with Airplay speakers and you can broadly use two methods. The first and one click method will be using your wireless router for creation of home network. You just have to connect your speakers with the router and then connect your device with wireless network to enjoy the fun.

While the second method will require Apple airport express to connect your airplay speakers and your device. You can find a quick guide on the brochure and start making fun. Good luck!

June 24, 2015
Beats is selling cheap $17 plastic headphones at $200

Beats, which is often recognized by its brand symbol ‘b,’ is nearly impossible to be spotted near you, when you are on a train, flying on a plane or walking down the street. The brand got wider exposure when it fell under the Apple brand name.

So what it really is, that they are selling at steep price of $199? Is it only the name and how it is presented to us, or there really are some premium materials inside which is worth the price? After reading the analysis, you would probably conclude that – beats by Dre headphones are simply garbage.

According to some new in-depth analysis published over on medium by PopMech — The headphones are incredibly cheaply made. The compnay cuts corner everywhere it can; gluing pieces together instead of using screws, and reducing the amount of tooling wherever possible.

After a precise teardown of a $199 beats headphone, Avery Louie figured out that they use metals to increase the weight of the earphone, 1/3 of the entire weight of the headphones comes from metal weight. This is somewhat common trick to make products feel more substantive.

Louie figures that a pair of Beats headphone, which claims about precision sound design, the headphones use freaking off-the-shelf drivers! What is most shocking of them all is, the entire cost to produce a pair of headphone is only $17 — with most expensive of everything that they offer, being the outer package, manual, soft case, box and sleeve run that costs $7.

So why they are selling this cheap product at a insane price of $199? Mostly, they spend most of the extra $$ on agressive marketing and making consumers think that they are opting for a premium product, which is totally worth every buck.

At the end, they are saving a hefty amount of money that shows directly into their Quarterly profit charts.

Dr Dre once mused, “if you aint in it for the money then get out the game.” So, this is what he meant.

June 20, 2015
Why do I love my Kindle Paperwhite?

Being an avid book reader, books have been my love since childhood. Trust me, I can’t go to sleep without reading. However, this love for books suffered whenever I travelled. Thanks to space constraints, I had to be satisfied with only a few books to carry. So, when I heard about EBook readers, my joy knew no bounds. I immediately decided to buy one and then ended up with my partner in crime, Kindle Paperwhite. In this article, I am going to tell you why I love my Kindle and don’t prefer to part ways with it.

Convenience:

The first thing that comes to my mind is convenience while holding thousands of books in such a lightweight and tiny device. It hardly weighs around 200 grams (depending on different models) and can store over 1000 books at one time. The thinner-than-pencil device can be easily held using one hand. Did you know that the feather light Kindle is almost 30% lighter than iPad mini?

Your bedtime partner:

What happens when one family member wants to read till late at night and others want to sleep? They won’t even allow a tiny flicker of light in the room. That’s when the Kindle Paper white comes handy. With its built-in front light, which you can control and adjust as per the darkness, it is a boon for nocturnal readers who can now read without disturbing anybody. The latest system doesn’t strain your eyes and they won’t tire even while reading in the dark.

Charging power:

Kindle definitely wins my love and trust when it comes to charging. Being a gadget freak, at times, I do get fed up with carrying different chargers wherever I go. The site of hanging chargers everywhere at my home makes me cringe. So I absolutely love the charging capacity of Kindle that can hold a single charge till 8 weeks, depending on how much you read each day and on which light setting. It absolutely doesn’t need to be charged daily. So you can just charge it once and then forget about the charging for days at a stretch.

No disturbance:

If you’re thinking of buying one for your kids but scared that they might start to surf the net or play games, worry no more! Kindle Paperwhite is specially designed for book lovers like you and me who doesn’t like any other distractions while reading. It doesn’t have facilities like exploring the internet or checking emails. Hence it is a dedicated e-reader who supports your love for reading.

Build your word power:

This feature can come handy for the kids who are trying out new words. Now they don’t have to check their dictionaries anymore. Kindle Paperwhite comes with a built-in dictionary that lets you check the meaning of any new word immediately and make notes.

So now never be without books wherever you go. With Amazon’s amazing book collection, you can download your favorite titles within seconds and start reading, anywhere, any time!

Image courtsey cnet.com

June 18, 2015
How to transform your iphone into a cool iPhone Desktop phone?

Desktop phone is one such product that never can be replaced with any technology. But yes, if you wish to transform your simple iphone into a cool iPhone Desktop phone then it is really easy and you can do it quite efficiently without any problem. So, you can use your iphone while at home or in office just like your desktop phone. You just need to purchase an iPhone desktop handset and this handy device will transform your iPhone into a comfortable handset. You can use your transformed desktop phone to enjoy the hand free, feature navigation, and enjoy the calls. So, you can use different applications, send emails, and browse the internet as well as enjoy the chatting with your family and friends.

For transforming your iphone into a cool iPhone Desktop phone, you need to place your iphone above the stand and plug in the headphone jack into the headset. The headset works on charging so you can use the wall socket to charge your handset. Moreover, if you are unable to find a wall socket nearby then just use your computer USB port to charge the handset. The iPhone desktop handset has been produced from anodized aluminum and it contains four silicon non-slip pads fixed on the underside of the phone. You can place your smartphone vertically or horizontally according to your ease and enjoy the new transformed desktop handset.

The importance of desktop phone can never been neglected for a business concern and even in the era of high technological devices, it is necessary for business personnel to have a desktop phone. There are many companies out there with smart accessories to transform your iphone into a desktop phone. With the help of these accessories, you can transform your smartphone into a cool iPhone Desktop phone within minutes.

Moreover, you can enjoy the most innovative business applications like facetime or skype while sitting before your new transformed desktop phone and you don’t need to turn on your computer for this purpose. It will help you to minimize the operating cost as well as enjoy the increased advantage of uninterrupted communication. Now, you don’t need to send an application for a landline and don’t wait for the service.

Just explore the market to purchase an iPhone desktop handset and convert your smartphone into an attractive and cool iPhone Desktop phone. It is easy to receive calls on this transformed desktop phone and you just need to pick up your conventional handset or through the iPhone. So, the conclude the features of iphone desktop phone, you can list first of all the transformation from an iPhone into a corded desktop phone, enjoy the hands free, can be used as speaker dock, you don’t need batteries and it is compatible with all iPhone or iPods.

June 15, 2015
Do you know your gadgets might be interfering with your sleep?

Approximately 100 million Americans suffer from having a difficult time before falling to sleep or sleeping soundly, not considering how tired they might be, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While poor sleep is one of the reasons of less efficiency at work, the harm doesn’t stop there! The less shut eye makes its presence felt in other arena of your life too. While you have less energy next day, less hours of sleep are also becoming potential factors for obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression and many more diseases. According to one of the professors working on such kind of research, having less than seven hours of sleep is not good for health. Getting less sleep than the recommended hours might cause a plethora of problems from the weight gain, heart related diseases to even the deadening sickness of cancer.

As you might know, all kinds of phone, eBook readers and tablet screens give off blue light of short wavelength. This light gets in the way of melatonin production which is a hormone related with our sleep quality. Due to the use of gadgets before sleeping time, many are not able to get sleep peacefully at night. Hence make sure that you put your gadgets away, preferably in other room before at least an hour prior to your sleeping time. If you are keeping your gadgets in the same room you sleep, it’s always advisable to switch them off to avoid the exposure to blue light released from the gadget. According to a study published in 2011, scientists at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and NASA, found that blue light induces alertness and interrupts with sleep. [9 Odd Ways Your Tech Devices May Injure You]

However parting with your gadgets before your sleep time is easier said than done. At times, workaholic people find it tough to say ‘bye’ to their laptops or smart phones. After a hectic day at work, So many people use few hours at night to read, chat with their friends or family or to simply pay bills. Some even prefer to reply emails once the kids are tucked in! Putting away the devices hardly work for them. Experts also suggest trying out blue-wavelength-blocker glasses. These glasses help in improving the sleep quality.

But researchers have also come up with a solution to make sure nothing comes up between you and good sleep. Today most of the devices like phones, tablets and e-book readers like kindle come with a backlit display which helps you read in the dark. A study recommends that by simply lessening the brightness of such smart phone screen or tablet settings and holding the device few inches away from the face while reading can stop the glow from prying with a good quality sleep.

June 14, 2015