SoundSOUL U10 Noise-isolating Sport In-ear Headphones by SoundSOUL

 Great entry-level earbuds.

The SoundSOUL headphones come in on the inexpensive end of the headphone/earbud market. At a little less than $10 these are not in competition with a set of Dr. Dre's Beats but they are a great option for someone who does not want to put an expensive set of earbuds to risk at the gym or while taking a trip. 

The earbuds, case, clip and extra rubber pieces next to my
Bic pen for size comparison purposes. Photo by DWD.

These earbuds have a nice little hook that can hook over your ear to help keep them in your ear. They do not have to be worn that way, though.

The earbuds come with a little hard-sided case to pack it away in. The case has a little stretch pocket inside to hold three additional sets of the rubbery pieces that hold the earbuds in your ear. It also comes with a little clip that can be attached to the wire so that you can clip the wire close to your body.

But, how do they sound?

They sound great, especially for their price range. The music sounds crisp and clean and it gets plenty loud. Great entry-level headphones. Well worth the price.

Note: I received a pair of these earbuds for free in exchange for an honest review.

These earbuds can be found on Amazon.com here: SoundSOUL U10.

I rate these ear buds 5 stars out of 5.
Reviewed on November 25, 2014

iSound PopDrop Wireless Speaker by iSound

There are a lot of small Bluetooth speakers out there and some can get quite pricey and not very mobile. The iSound PopDrop is a great addition to the lower end of the price range and it is all about being mobile.

Weighing less than six ounces, the PopDrop is the easiest product that I have ever hooked up to my phone's Bluetooth. The speaker has a pleasant "on" tone when it powers up, makes a a different tone when it connects to the Bluetooth and a third tone when it powers down. It has a blue LED light on the front that blinks if it is not connected to the Bluetooth and is continually on when it is connected.

The iSound PopDrop with my Bic pen  for size comparison

The PopDrop fits in the palm of your hand and comes with a wrist strap that I never used to as a wrist strap. Instead, I hung it by the wrist strap in various places as I used it around the house. It has very good range - I got out to about 20 feet away from my phone as I wandered around the house. Very little of that distance was sight line - the signal had to travel through walls, pipes and appliances most of the way.

The sound is sort of tinny if you let it just hang there in open space. But, a little creative arranging can make coax more bass sound out of it. For example, if you place it in a corner or in a box you can make a megaphone effect and it helps a lot. 

The PopDrop comes with a feature that allows you to answer the phone and still remain hooked up via the Bluetooth. This is the weakest feature. When I tested it, I could hear the person I was talking to very clearly. But, it was very hard for the person that called me to hear me because of a host of strange noises. At best, you could answer the phone and let your caller know that you would need a few seconds to turn off the Bluetooth and use your phone in the normal way.

The PopDrop comes in six different colors and would make a great stocking stuffer.

This speaker can be found on Amazon.com here: iSound PopDrop Wireless Speaker. 

Note: I was sent this product for free in exchange for an honest review as part of the Amazon Vine program.

I rate this product 4 stars out of 5.
Reviewed on November 24, 2014.

Lomui® 2nd Gen Astro 6000mAh (2.1A Output) Portable Charger External Battery Pack Built-in Wires with Smart Technology

Extra battery power for cell phones and tablets is a hot new market since batteries never seem to last long enough, especially if you are a heavy user of apps or Instagram or the like. If you can't leave your phone plugged into a computer or into a car's electrical socket than you could easily run out of power before your day is done.

The Lomui external battery fits this bill perfectly. It is a powerful battery and it comes with its own plugs attached (that tuck away neatly) so you don't have to keep track of a lot of wires. The Lomui also has two USB "female" plugs so that you can plug devices in with another devices with their own plugs. There is also an alternate place to plug a mini-USB into the battery to charge. I have only used the attached plugs, however.

The Lumoi battery charger with a Bic pen for size comparison

I charged my battery up and then let it sit for three weeks. It still registered a full charge but I tried it out to make sure. My Samsung Galaxy 3 was nearly dead and the Lomui battery quickly charged it to 100%. I then plugged it into my power-hungry Kindle and it took it from near 0% to 50% before it finally quit (this Kindle takes several hours to completely charge when plugged into a wall charger).

The charger comes with a little leather bag to carry it and an incomprehensible instruction book that is almost completely written in Chinese. The sharp packaging won't be much help either since it is almost entirely written in Chinese as well. But, the device itself is easy to figure out and labeled. You could also look to the Amazon page for a detailed description and instructions. 

So, what's not to like here? Tons of power, cool look, convenient plugs, plenty of power. This is the real deal.

Note: I received a free battery in exchange for an honest review. This is a good product and I have handed it off to my high school-aged daughter who can use up power like nobody's business on a cell phone. She loves it.

I rate this device 5 stars out of 5.