SoundPEATS B10 3.5mm Headphones In-ear Wired Earphones Earbuds - Black

I teach high school and all day long I see students wad up their ear buds and shove them in their pocket. Later, they reach into their pocket and fish out some part of the earbuds and then yank them out. They also let the ear buds bounce along the ground behind them while they are walking around staring at their text messages. Knowing that this is fairly typical behavior and not good for the long-term well-being of a set of ear buds, the SoundPEATS B10 are an affordable alternative to most name brand sets.

Most importantly, these ear buds produce quality music. No matter how affordable, I would have to count down if the performance was not there. This is not a case of "These headphones produce good music considering how affordable they are." No, they produce good music. Period.

I have been using them for the last six weeks to listen to a variety of sound such as music, streaming video, and audiobooks. They have a rich sound. The bass is strong, but not overwhelming. The highs are strong, but the music does not sound tinny. They can easily get loud enough to completely drown out the outside world if you choose to do so. Entry level personal headsets have gotten so much better in the last few years and this set demonstrates that well.

These are extremely light weight and very comfortable.

The package comes with one plug and play set of ear buds and three different sizes of ear tips. I have continued to use the small box it came in as a storage container in my briefcase.

At the time of this review this headset cost $9.99 on Amazon.com. Check here for current pricing: SoundPEATS B10 3.5mm Headphones In-ear Wired Earphones Earbuds - Black.

Note: I received a free set of these ear buds in order to make a fair and honest review after testing them out. In this case I used them for six weeks and will gladly save them back for one of my own children to use after they destroy a set of ear buds with the behaviors I described above in the first paragraph.

RUBAN White 2.4G Wireless Optical Mouse

I have a Chromebook and I just hate using the touchpad. A mouse is a must. I was using a wired mouse but I was working in a tight space and the wire just kept getting in the way. So, this wireless mouse filled an immediate need for me.


This is an inexpensive mouse but I have been very pleased with its performance over the last three months. There is no lag, no skipping - no problems at all. This thing is as solid as it is affordable. The fact that it matches my white Chromebook is just a bonus.

This mouse comes in 10 different colors.

Note: I was sent a free mouse in order to evaluate this mouse to create an honest review. I have used if for three months and I think that it is a great product.

At the time of this review this mouse cost $8.90 on Amazon.com. Click here for current pricing: RUBAN White 2.4G Wireless Optical Mouse.


I rate this mouse 5 stars out of 5.

Smart i9 Bluetooth 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headphones by SmartOmni

Great Set of Entry-Level Bluetooth Earbuds.

The Smart i9 Bluetooth 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headphones by SmartOmn come with a USB cord to plug into a charger or a computer, two sets of earbud tips. But, the biggest thing that they have is a different approach to how you store them when you are not using them. 

Usually people sort of gently wad up their Bluetooth headsets and stick them in a pocket even though it makes no sense to do that if you think about it. The wires get bent too much, the earbuds get pulled on too much when you pull them out of the pocket and can come lose. And those earbud tips! They get pulled off and then you can't even listen to your headset until you get them replaced. 

Everything that comes in the box. The magnetic tips
are attached to one another in this photo.

LG came up with a giant plastic U-shaped device that sits around the neck that is fairly popular. I have tried that type of headset twice and I just wasn't impressed either time. After a while it gets on your nerves hanging there. This device features the best of both worlds. You can take it off, wad it up and stick it in your pocket. But, you can take the two ear pieces and stick them together with their magnetic tips and leave it around your neck. The entire device weighs next to nothing so, likely as not, you'll forget that they are around your neck and wander around the house wondering where you left them. When you attach the magnetic ends to each other the music you are playing goes into pause mode.

This headset is not designed to be a workout headset. The earbuds fit nicely into your ear and are extremely comfortable but would quickly work themselves loose if you wore them running.

The instruction book has good graphics but the text is very small so you have to squint a little to read it. The English is clearly written and easy to understand, although it is obvious that it was not written by a native speaker of English.

The Smart i9 Bluetooth 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headphones syncs very easily with my Samsung Galaxy 3 and an Android tablet. 

The sound is very good. It has a very rich sound. Almost deep, approaching the sound you get with much more expensive headsets. I was truly surprised when I first heard it.

This set of Bluetooth earphones has excellent range. I had no problem going 20-25 feet from my phone with no skipping out.

The device comes with an excellent built-in phone.  I did not use the headset's phone features (the buttons on the headset). When I use Bluetooth to talk on my phone I always use the phone itself rather than the headset features to interact (meaning I answer using the phone and hang up using the phone, etc.) because I just find it easier than blindly pushing buttons.

They come in two colors schemes: Dark Slate Gray with black wire and Gold with white wires.

Note: I received a free sample of this set of ear buds in exchange for an honest review.

I rate these earbuds 5 stars out of 5.

As of the time of this review, these Bluetooth earbuds cost $29.99. Check for current pricing here:Bluetooth 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headphones Smart i9 by SmartOmni Dark Slate Gray)

USB Charger by KMOTech 6 Port 12 Amp 60 Watt Auto Detect USB Smart Charger

Fantastic for travel and at home

The multiple USB wall charger is billed as being great for travelers (which I am sure it is because 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 was not built to charge up all of the rechargeable devices that you have accumulated over the last few years. There just are not enough outlets in convenient places to charge up everything. This "travel" wall charger has quickly become an indispensable part of my daily tech life. It sits right on my work desk at home and is currently charging my Kindle, my Bluetooth headset, a set of speakers and my Samsung phone. 

Weighing in at less than half of a pound, roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes and coming with an almost 5 foot long detachable cord, this device is very simple to operate and would not be difficult to pack along on a trip.  Just plug it in to the wall, plug in up to  USB chargers and voila, you are charging. You do not have to make any adjustments or use certain plugs for certain devices. 

The wording in the product description says that it can charge up to 2.4 amps per port or up to 12 amps overall. That means that overall charging speed can be slowed down if you plug in more devices (depending on how many amps they pull). This is unlikely to be an issue if you are charging overnight, like me. If you are plugging into an airport plug and trying to quickly charge 6 devices that pull higher amps simultaneously (iPads/iPhones and tablets pull 2.4 amps, most other devices, like Android phones, pull less than 2), you will notice the performance loss. Of course, if you do the math, you should be able to charge 5 high-pulling devices at full speed (2.4 amps x 5 = 12 amps).

The operators manual (really just a page) is well-written and easy to read. 

As of the time of this review, this device cost $23.95. Please follow this link to obtain current pricing information: 6 Port USB Charger by KMOTech

I rate this device 5 stars out of 5.

Note: I received a free sample of this device so that I could try it out and write an honest review.