Mpow® Cobble Bluetooth 4.0 Headset Wireless Headphone Car Earpiece for Smartphones and Bluetooth Devices by Mpow

This is Mpow's newest version of an old classic - the Bluetooth earpiece. This unit features the classic Bluetooth earpiece design - no extending microphones or any wires going to your ear.

The sound is very clear and it stayed connected more than 20 feet away from my phone in my house. The single speaker is designed for voices so if you are an audiophile and you like to listen to music through your smart phone in between calls you are bound to be a little disappointed. I mean, it's not bad, it's just like listening to music on your car stereo if it has one of those "talk radio" settings for the graphic equalizer. On the other hand, it is really a phone - the music is just a nice bonus.

This earpiece will not last an entire workday - it is designed to work for 5 hours straight. But, that is really quite a long time considering how small the battery must be in this lightweight device.

The earpiece comes with two optional over-the-ear hooks and two extra inserts that go into the ear. The over-the-ear hook might not be necessary if you are not moving too much. This earpiece fits me pretty snugly without the hook.

At the time of this review Amazon.com did not have a price for this earpiece. But, you can check here to check for current pricing: Mpow® Cobble Bluetooth 4.0 Headset Wireless Headphone Car Earpiece for Smartphones and Bluetooth Devices

I rate this Bluetooth earpiece 5 stars out of 5.

Note: I received an earpiece for evaluation purposes in exchange for an honest review.

KingTop Optical Gaming Mouse

   My New Go-To Mouse

I was offered this mouse to review by KingTop and I jumped at it, not because I am a gamer (far from it) but because I am a teacher.

You see, we have Chromebooks at my school and I use mine all of the time in class for various things and I use a mouse rather than the mouse pad (I detest mouse pads). But, while my Chromebook is relatively safe in my building because we can track them, the mice are not. I lost a mouse with a retractable cord thanks to a freshman that kept pulling on it to get it to retract and eventually the USB plug came off. I also lost a wireless mouse because someone stole the mouse but not the dongle that makes the mouse work with a computer. So, now we both have two useless pieces of electronics.

So, when I was offered a mouse I figured that chances are I would need it sooner rather than later. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is now my "go-to" mouse rather than just a back up mouse. 

Why is it now my "go-to" mouse at home?

There really is only one reason - it is very, very comfortable to use and it works without being jerky. 

It certainly isn't the look of the mouse. At best, you could say that it looks like it was designed by the team that designed the Batmobile in the last Batman trilogy - it looks kind of wicked. It has a spider on it and it pulses blue, pink, red, yellow, green and turquoise. 

Even though I am not fond of its looks, my hand just rests so comfortably on this mouse. The design was more concerned with how it feels rather than how it looks. In the end, that is what most important is the feel of the mouse and how it works. This teacher gives both this mouse an A+ in both of those categories.

As of the time of the writing of this review this mouse cost $12.99 on Amazon.com. Click here for current pricing:  Kingtop Gaming Mouse

I rate this mouse 5 stars out of 5. 

Kinzd® Ultra Thin Aluminum Metal Wallet - RFID Blocking Credit Card Wallet Holder for Men & Women

Normally, I would not review a wallet on this blog but since it is an anti-RFID wallet it sort of counts as a piece of tech, or at least I can call it anti-tech.

If you are not aware, it is technically possible for a bad guy to steal information from some credit and debit cards with a reader without even having to look at the card or even take the card out of the owner's wallet.

So, what about this wallet?

Pros:

-Aluminum does block those readers so this aluminum wallet should do the trick.

-It securely holds up to six cards in the wallet. Once they are in there, they are in there tight.

-Additional spending cash can be folded into thirds and tucked in with the cards where it fits snugly.

-The corners are rounded so that the metal does not wear holes in pockets so easily.

Cons:

-It only holds six cards and it is fairly bulky for holding so few cards. I cannot make the move from my leather wallet to this wallet.

-The online description claims that it can be used to hold business cards. Regular business cards do not fit in this wallet.

The short version: It does what it is designed to do, but it's just not big enough to be used as an everyday wallet.

As of the time of this writing this wallet cost $7.49 on Amazon.com. Check here for current pricing: Kinzd® Ultra Thin Aluminum Metal Wallets - RFID Blocking Credit Card Wallet Holder for Men & Women

I rate this wallet 4 stars out of 5.

Note: I received a free wallet in exchange for an honest review.

Zoom Power Bank Z-6000 and Zoom Power Bank Z-12000

Extra battery power is almost a must nowadays. So much more is accessible on tablets and phones but the batteries on most phones don't have enough juice to make it to the end of the day. 

Both of these Power Banks fix that problem, it's just a matter of how much extra power you want to bring with you. I am reviewing both of these because they operate the same in every way except that one is twice as powerful and twice as large as the other.

Both units have a simple interface that tells you how "charged up" it is. Zero lights = no charge, one light = 25% charged on up to 4 lights = fully charged. 

Both chargers with a pen for the purposes of size
comparison. 

The Z-6000, the smaller of the two chargers (it is about the size of a typical smart phone), can recharge your cell phone 4 times before it is exhausted. This would be perfect for that long flight when you have to do a lot on your phone and you don't have access to a wall plug.

The Z-12000, the larger of the two chargers (it is about the size of a battery for a small laptop), can recharge your cell phone 8 times (!) before it is emptied. We use this on vacations. It is too big to carry around in your pocket but if you travel with a backpack you can easily carry the Z-12000 around with you.

These are both powerful chargers - they carry a lot of power and can take up to 12 hours to completely charge. If you are using these on a trip, make sure you plug these guys in as soon as you get back to your room. 

Both chargers come with a three-headed USB cord. One is for the older style iPhone plug, one for the new iPhone plug and one is a mini-USB like androids and kindles use. There are two USB ports on each Power Bank. One for iPhones and tablets, one for androids.

Both chargers are sharp-looking but if you are like me you value actual battery power over how good it looks. These are the real deal.

I rate these Power Banks 5 stars out of 5. 

As of the time of the writing of this review the Z-6000 cost $24.77 on Amazon.com. Check here for current pricing: Z-6000(Electric Blue)

As of the time of the writing of this review the Z-12000 cost $44.77 on Amazon.com. Check here for current pricing: Z-12000

Note: I received a free sample of both power banks in exchange for an honest review. 

iPow Selfie Stick with Adjustable X Clamp Phone Holder & Built-in Remote Shutter by iPow

If you have ever wanted to take a group selfie or just wanted to get you and a whole lot of the background in a selfie, a selfie stick is the thing you want. This particular selfie stick stretches out to 40 inches - that doesn't sound like much but it can really add a lot to your picture.

The set up is easy. Your phone locks into a sturdy spring-loaded butterfly clamp and you screw the clamp onto the end of the stick (like you would to a tripod). Large devices such as a tablet will not fit into this clamp. 

The camera can swivel left and right and up and down and so you can pick the best angle and then tighten everything down. The extension works like an old-fashioned radio or TV antenna and it is very sturdy. 

On a newer Apple phone the white cord plugs into the earphone plug and makes the camera snap pictures. Now you can take pictures with a button in the handle of the selfie stick. Aim it at yourself or maybe turn on the video and stick your camera up into your very scary attic.

But, if you have an Android or another operating system you will have trouble. The manufacturer promises on the Amazon website that it will work with Samsung Galaxy 4 and above. I have a Galaxy 3 so I just used the 5 second delay feature and held the stick up and took my picture. It worked just as well and I was pleased with the results.

The selfie stick comes with a cloth drawstring bag to store the stick.

As of the time of this review this selfie stick cost $12.99 on Amazon. You can click here to check on current pricing: iPow Selfie Stick.

Note: I was sent a selfie stick for review purposes so that I could write an informed review.

Pack of Two DE 14500 Li-ion Button Top Rechargeable Batteries with Charger in Retail Packaging - 750mAh, 3.7V by DE

  Momentarily confused, but I figured it out.

When I first opened this battery charger I was confused. There is no cord. But, on the side I found a micro-USB jack and realized that you were expected to provide your own. If you are like me, you are awash in micro-USB cords of all sorts of different sizes and colors, so finding a cord was not a problem. I am used to chargers that plug directly into a wall outlet and I think that this is a superior plan. Most computers have multiple USB ports and there are so many multi-port chargers out there that this certainly beats tying up an entire wall outlet with just one wall charger. Plus, you can charge them from you car, which could be helpful if you are traveling.


Secondly, I had a heck of a time getting the batteries placed in the charger to charge. The charger is designed to accommodate AA and AAA batteries and, as I have recently discovered, not all rechargeable batteries are the same size - they vary in length and width just a bit (the ones included with this device are just a tad long) so this charger's spring loaded "bottom" takes care of those differences. All of this ability to be slightly flexible means that it takes a little time and attention to get those batteries into place to charge. 

While it is charging there is a red indicator light. When it is charged it turns green. The charger is pretty fast, although I must admit I have not put it to a timed test. 

The batteries work well. The manufacturer suggests that these batteries be used with devices such as laser pointers, flashlights and other devices "that require lots of power in a short period of time." Be prepared that these particular batteries may not fit well in your device (like my daughter's digital camera) but fit fine in other devices (like my flashlight) because they are larger than a AA. But, the charger can accommodate other sizes of batteries.

At the time of this review, Amazon sold this charger for $19.99. Click here for current pricing: Pack of Two DE 14500 Li-ion Button Top Rechargeable Batteries with Charger in Retail Packaging - 750mAh, 3.7V

Note: I received a sample copy for review purposes in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this charger 4 stars out of 5. 

DE 6 Port USB Charging Station and Surge Protector Strip by DE

             A Necessity!

The concept of a multiple USB wall charger is great for travelers since it is certainly hard to find enough outlets to plug in chargers for GPS systems, phones, kindles, travel batteries and Bluetooth headsets in a hotel room, especially if you are sharing your room.

But, if you are like me than you are quickly discovering that your house and your office were not built to charge up all of the rechargeable devices that you have accumulated over the last couple of years. There just are not enough outlets in convenient places to charge up everything. The multi-port charger has quickly become an indispensable part of my daily tech life.

This particular charger is not really designed for travel since the cord is not removable and it is fairly bulky. But, if I had extra room in a bag, this charger would be great for travel because it is designed like a traditional surge protector and its casing is physically tough so it can be bounced around in a bag without fear of it coming apart.

When this review was written, this charger cost $29.99 on Amazon. Click here to check on current pricing:  DE 6 Port USB Charging Station and Surge Protector Strip.

I rate this multi-port charger 5 stars out of 5.