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Richard Solo Super Power Bank

April 2, 2012 in Accessories, iPad, iPhone, Lifestyle, Music Players, Phones, Product, Productivity, Productivity, Tablets, Travel, Travel, Travel, Utilities, Utilities, Utilities

 

I love to travel, but I hate feeling that I have to ration my remaining battery charge like it’s the Great Depression. Watching the battery percent drop is like watching the stock market in free fall. So, that is why I am always looking for a new portable way to keep my iDevices fueled. This is where the Richard Solo Super Power Bank comes in. This small device, about the size of a wallet, is sleek, sexy, and powerful.

The Design:

The Super Power Bank is a slim black box with a gorgeous chrome bevel, three ports, four light LED indicator, and of course a power button. The power button is flush to the device, making it hard to find without looking, but preventing accidental button pushes. The LED lights display when the Power Bank is charging or with a single tap of the power button. Four lights correspond to the amount of power available for withdrawal from the bank. 1 LED flashing = less than 20%; 1 LED solid = 20-40%, 2 LEDs = 40-60%, 3 LEDs = 60-80%, and 4 LEDs = 80-100%.

The Specs:

The Super Power Bank has three ports along it’s frame. One is the micro USB in, the other two are USB charging ports for iDevice, smartphones, etc. Charging port 1, labeled OUT 1A, is designated for smaller devices requiring a 1A connection, where as charging port 2, labeled OUT 2.1A,  is for larger device such as the iPad as well as the smaller devices. The Super Power Bank conains a 6600 mAh Li-polymer battery that is pretty kick-ass. I ran some trials to gauge about how powerful the bank is; here are the results:

Using only the Super Power Bank and moderate/ heavy usage I was able to bring my iPod Touch from 10% to 100% for a whole week until I need to deposit more energy into the bank. That is about 10 or so recharges. For just one recharge it took 10 minutes to charge the first 30%,  an hour to charge another 45% and my iPod was back to 100% within 2 hours of when I started. That is definitely a lot faster than my wall outlet can put out.

What Do You Get?

So when you open up the hard plastic from Richard Solo, what do you get? You get: The Super Power Bank of course, and a small coiled USB to micro USB connector. That’s pretty much it, but hey it is whats on the inside that counts right?

One More Thing:

If you order the Super Power Bank before April 30, which I highly recommend, just enter Plomonet into the coupon field for 20% off.

Overall:

Overall, The Super Power Bank by Richard Solo is an excellent portable charger. It has a great form factor, can charge two devices at once, and is quick and efficient. For the price of $59.95 it is definitely worth it. Check it out here

I give it 4.5 stars for sure.

Did you get it? Have an app or product you want me to review? Let me know in the comments below.

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Unboxing & Review: SwitchEasy NUDE Case for the iPad 2 [Video]

July 3, 2011 in Accessories, iPad, Main Blog, Product, Tablets, Uncategorized

SwitchEasy has been known to produce quality accessories for Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad. Probably one of the most popular cases made by SwitchEasy, are the Capsule Rebel case, Odyssey case and the NUDE case for the iPhone 4. In this article, we will review the NUDE case for the iPad 2.

For $29.99 (US), you will get the NUDE case itself, 1 screen protector, 2 stands (black & white), a squeegee and a few covers for the headphone jack and the 30-pin dock connecter (2 each).

The case we have the NUDE case in blue. The NUDE case also comes in clear, black, red, pink and yellow. My first impression of the case was that it is a very, very thin case. The NUDE case for the iPhone 4 (review coming up soon) is also an extremely thin case, defining its “NUDE” brand to be thin without adding any bulk. This NUDE case has a very glossy surface, and unlike many other cases, the case is also coated with UV coating, which means that the backside of the case is scratch-proof. In my own tests from normal usage, I have not managed to get any scratches on the backside of the case, meaning that the UV coating was actually effective.

One down-side of the NUDE case is that the dimensions of the case is not actually perfect for the iPad 2. Fitting the iPad 2 in the case was no hassle, however once it was inside the case, I noticed that the iPad was able to move around whilst it was in the case. This means that the case itself was slightly larger (only by approximately 2mm) in both vertical and horizontal measurements. This might not seem like a big deal, but it was definitely noticeable and it did bother me whilst using the iPad. Other than that, all the cutouts were perfect, all the buttons were accesible, and the speaker quality does not degrade whilst the case is on.

Now moving on to the peripherals. As I have mentioned before, we also get a screen protector in the box. This screen protector is good in a way that it is very tough, and does not deform easily, like cheaper protectors do. However, I actually prefer the iPad without the screen protector as the iPad has an oleophobic coating, whereas the screen protector does not have any coating. Meaning that after using the iPad, you will notice a lot of fingerprints and grease on your screen. Whereas this is kept minimal when the screen protector is absent.

Other peripherals include the stand. SwitchEasy includes 2 stands, one in black and the other in white. In my first try, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to actually setup the stand, however after initial setup, things went alright. The stand is capable of holding your iPad in both portrait and landscape mode without any trouble. And overall, I really liked the stand as it is also capable of holding the iPad, whilst the iPad is in other 3rd-party cases. The box also includes 2 30-pin dock connector covers, and 2 headphone jack covers. SwitchEasy might have included these to prevent dust building up inside the iPad, however, in normal usage, I did not find any practical use of these.

Overall, I can recommend the NUDE case people who only want a simple hardshell case to protect the back of the iPad. This case will not work alongside the Smart Cover, by Apple, as it covers all the edges of the iPad. The case does not add any bulk or weight to the iPad. However, like I said before, the dimensions did bother me whilst I was reviewing the case.

Pros:

- Glossy back does not scratch because of the UV coating.

- Comes in some nice colors.

- All ports and buttons are easily accessible.

- Screen protector included in the box

Cons:

- The dimensions of the case is not a perfect fit for the iPad 2.

plomonet rating: 6/10

Link to SwitchEasy’s NUDE case website:

http://www.switcheasy.com/products/NUDE_iPad2/NUDE_iPad2.php

About the Author: Kenta Arai is a tech enthusiast who was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. His passion towards technology began to develop as he grew up in Hong Kong, where technology had its solid place in the mass market. Arai became one of the most enthusiastic technophile student in his high-school, and was also well-known for consulting many of his school-mates when purchasing new computers. His expertise in the tech industry is focused on Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

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Are You Ready to Bring Your Tablet to School? [Video]

July 1, 2011 in iPad, Main Blog, Uncategorized

Many people have always questioned about productivity of the iPad. Many schools and institutions in the U.S have definitely considered the iPad as an educational tool, and it has turned out to be a success. As many of you might know, I am a student, and I was one of the first ones in my school to bring my iPad to school solely for work. I have carried my iPad, only, with me for at least 2 and half months, and overall I’m happy with my experience.

The apps I used the most were Safari, Mail, Evernote and the iWork suite. Safari in general worked totally fine. The only problem with Safari was the inability to view Flash content, however there were alternatives when doing research, so that wasn’t a big deal. Mail was also great as I was able to view and respond to emails on-the-go. You can also view email attachments properly with no problems. Evernote was used to jot down important notices, as well as homework. And the cool thing about Evernote is that it syncs over-the-air to all your devices with Evernote, so I could jot down my homework on my iPad in school, and find the same note on my Mac when I get back home.

Now on to the iWork suite. The apps I used the most was Pages, and the app worked perfectly fine for me until the iOS 4.2 update, back in November. Pages until then, worked smoothly with no lag on iOS 3.2, however after the iOS 4.2 update, the performance dropped dramatically. The transition from portrait to landscape orientation was very choppy. Even typing words out was very slow at times. This problem was only existent on the first iPad, and now with the iPad 2, I have no problems with Pages. As for Keynote, again, I believe I was actually the first student to do a presentation with the iPad in class. Keynote had worked perfectly fine on me and I’ve had no problems so far. The last app of the suite, Numbers. I have to confess that I have never really used this app in school, however it may be useful if you often work with spreadsheets.

The iPad is also great in a sense that the teachers can view what you are doing. Many students, if not, all of them are on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Many of them are even on IM clients such as MSN, Skype and iChat. Although the teacher might not find out, personally, I think this is a major distraction factor for your own education and learning. You are just simply wasting your own time. If you are on your iPad, especially for me – when I was still using iOS 3.2, you can only run one app at a time. Whilst that may not seem great, it’s actually perfect when learning in class. You have absolutely no distraction when working, and the teacher can actually see that you’re working. Also, since there is not distraction, you may actually become more productive.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my experience in school with my iPad and I can clearly say that I can replace my Mac with my iPad when going to school.

About the Author: Kenta Arai is a tech enthusiast who was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. His passion towards technology began to develop as he grew up in Hong Kong, where technology had its solid place in the mass market. Arai became one of the most enthusiastic technophile student in his high-school, and was also well-known for consulting many of his school-mates when purchasing new computers. His expertise in the tech industry is focused on Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

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Review & Discussion: iPad 2 [Video]

May 18, 2011 in iPad, Main Blog, Uncategorized

Here is my extensively long video review of the iPad 2:

The iPad 2. Probably the best tablet computer on the planet until today. Steve Jobs even said that none of their competitors are catching up with the first iPad. That may be true in some ways, and questionable too.

The iPad 2 definitely is thinner. It is noticeably lighter, and just so ever slightly faster. And in my YouTube video below, I talked about my experience with the iPad as a whole (which I think is very detailed and I still believe in what I said), however, I did miss out a few things – and I’d like to go through them.

RAM (Random Access Memory): In my view, due to the boost in RAM (although it’s only 512MB when the rest of their competitors have 1GB), my experience with Safari has become so much better. Even if you have 9 pages opened at once (not really “opened” but “loaded”), you never have to wait for it to reload every time you want to go back to the “loaded” page. This was one of my main complaints with the first iPad, where every time I loaded a website in Safari, and I wanted to go back to another site that was still “opened”, the page reloaded itself. I’ve had no problem with the iPad 2 so far in terms of memory.

Battery life: As for the battery life, this thing is still a beast, and just blows every other tablet computer away with its whopping 10 hour battery life. In my own tests, I was able to get 11.5 hours of normal use (WiFi on).

Camera quality: Many people don’t understand, the iPad is not a “camera”. The camera is just a feature of the iPad. Whilst you are able to take photographs, the photo quality is somewhat poor. The HD video recording is decent, but very poor in low-light conditions – despite sporting a backside illuminated sensor which was also a feature of the iPhone 4′s camera (and the low-light photographs on the iPhone 4 is fantastic). Another issue I had with the iPad 2 camera is the app itself. It felt bizarre to have the record button on the bottom of the display when holding the iPad in landscape mode. Does the iPhone do that? No. Even if you tilt your iPhone, the record button stays in the same position of the screen. Why do we have to let one of our hands off the iPad just to press the record button. It would’ve been so much better if the record button stayed on the side so that it’s much more easily accessible. it would’ve also been nice to be able to “tap to focus” with the iPad, as now we can only adjust the exposure – just like the iPod touch. Even Apple’s competitor – RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook shoots HD video at 1080p at 30fps and the low-light quality is a little better (although not that much to be honest). However, the video quality outdoors is actually very good. Apple really needs to catch up, if they do want to make this camera feature and actual feature. But, despite all that, the camera works perfectly fine with the FaceTime app. Video quality seems to be clear on both sides of the conversation.

Pros:

- Very thin, light and portable.

- Sports 2 video cameras – front and back (mainly for FaceTime).

- Includes the FaceTime app for video conferencing. Other new apps like PhotoBooth and Camera is added.

- Has a faster A5 dual-core chip. Speed is slightly faster. Graphics is said to be 9x faster, however this can only be observed once developers have optimized their apps to take advantage of this chip

- Extremely long battery life. In our tests, just slightly longer than the first iPad.

- Includes magnets for Smart Cover, and other upcoming 3rd party cases with magnets.

Cons:

- Launch of iPad 2 didn’t meet our hopes for the preview of iOS 5. It still runs iOS 4, although, an updated version of iOS 4.3.

- Camera quality is poor, especially when taking photographs. The camera app itself is also bizarre to use due to the awkward position of the recording button. The video quality is decent. But not as good as that of the iPhone 4.

 

plomonet rating: 9/10

 

My full review of the Smart Cover will be coming soon.

If you like our videos, please subscribe to us at STUDIOaraikenta on YouTube!

 

About the Author: Kenta Arai is a tech enthusiast who was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. He passion towards technology began to develop as he grew up in Hong Kong, where technology had its solid place in the mass market. Arai became one of the most enthusiastic technophile student in his high-school, and was also well-known for consulting many of his school-mates when purchasing new computers. His expertise in the tech industry is focused on Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

 

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Unboxing: iPad 2 & Smart Cover [Video]

May 12, 2011 in Accessories, iPad, Main Blog, Product, Tablets, Uncategorized

 

Isn’t it funny? I thought I made a video just a few weeks ago, titled “Why I am NOT Getting The iPad 2.” Well…

Here I am making an unboxing video of the iPad 2. The story is, I was dragged into an Apple Reseller by my good friend, one who craves after the iPad 2, and fortunately the store had stock of the iPad 2 WiFi only model. Once we got into the store, I realized how my friend was nagging me because he didn’t bring cash in for purchase, as he was not expecting stock to welcome him. So, I took my card out, paid for his 64GB Black iPad 2, and moved along to the iPad corner where I tried out an iPad 2 in my own hands. The second I held the tablet in just one hand, I already noticed the vast difference in thinness, but more importantly the weight. It was actually much lighter! So, quick story, I decided to get one for myself as well, and I am absolutely loving my second iPad.

 

Review of this product will be posted up on the channel in a few weeks time. If you like our videos, please subscribe to us at STUDIOaraikenta on YouTube!

About the Author: Kenta Arai is a tech enthusiast who was born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan. He passion towards technology began to develop as he grew up in Hong Kong, where technology had its solid place in the mass market. Arai became one of the most enthusiastic technophile student in his high-school, and was also well-known for consulting many of his school-mates when purchasing new computers. His expertise in the tech industry is focused on Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

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