I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
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Takeaway: Eliminates shaky movements and creates smooth motion video with your phone, but Bluetooth is unreliable and app crashes often. The Vimble 2 comes in a semi-rigid zippered carrying case that's got a handle on one side, though no shoulder strap. Inside you'll find the gimbal, a wriststrap, a small tripod with ¼"-20 screw that can be attached to the bottom of the gimbal. When folded up, it extends the length of the handle by several inches allowing for a better two-handed grip and when open you can stand the gimbal up hands-free. In the zipper pocket you'll find the microUSB charging cable and instructions manuals in Chinese and English. On my unit, the tilt axis motor's metal accent cover wasn't adhered properly and had fallen off, though I was successfully able to stick it back on. Other than that, the construction is mostly a lightweight plastic, with a rubberized phone grip that can accommodate phones with widths of 2.25" to 3.25" and with max weight up to 210g. On the side against the motor is another rubber bumper for your phone to rest against. There's a microUSB port covered by a rubber door on top of the mounting arm that's supposed to allow you to charge your phone off the gimbal's battery, but it requires a special cable which is not included. All three axes have a limit of 320° rotation and cannot continuously rotate in the same direction past a certain point, so you won't be able to get 360° pans or revolutions and may encounter resistance or odd behavior from the gimbal in certain positions that approach those limits.
The mounting arm can be extended about 1.5cm to allow you to balance the roll-axis depending on the weight of the phone you use. The positions are marked so that you can easily set it to the same spot each time you attach your phone. The mounting bracket can also be rotated 90° to put your phone in portrait mode for filming vertical video and panoramic photos. On the handle are the LED status light, 4-way joystick for manipulating the position of your phone, a mode key, and a Bluetooth shutter/record key. On the right side is a slider that allows you to adjust the zoom of the camera when the gimbal is paired to your phone over Bluetooth and on the left hand side is the microUSB charging port for the gimbal's battery covered by a rubber door. Opposit the thumb controls is a trigger accessible with your index finger for locking the orientation of the camera. Towards the bottom of the handle is a small bridge where you can attach the wriststrap for extra security. In the hand, the gimbal is pretty light at 0.5 lb and is comfortable to hold and operate. Charging takes several hours, and when the battery is full, it can run for 5-10 hours depending on usage. This gimbal also serves as a selfie-stick with a telescoping handle that adds an extra 7 inches of reach while stabilizing. The column extends and retracts by simply pulling and pushing the pan axis motor in and out of the handle.
Due to the restrictive size of the phone mount, for most larger phones you'll find that you need to remove your phone case in order for it to fit in the bracket. Another issue I found was that due to the camera and charging port placement on my phone, I wasn't able to charge my phone in landscape mode while using the gimbal. In portrait mode, however, charging the phone would not have been an issue. Before turning on the gimbal, you may need to do some minor balancing by adjusting the side-to-side position of the mounting arm to get your phone as close to level as possible; however, it doesn't need to be perfect. You'll need to download the Vicool app and pair to it via Bluetooth if you want to use all the features of the gimbal. Unfortunately, I found the Bluetooth performance on the gimbal to be inconsistent, sometimes pairing, and sometimes not pairing and oftentimes disconnecting at some point during use. Some features are not available if the gimbal isn't connected to the app via Bluetooth either, for example zooming with the slider on the handle, using the onboard shutter for snapping photos or starting and stopping video. Bluetooth is also required for adjusting the gimbal and camera settings like motor power and speed, calibration, and wireless updating of the gimbal's firmware.
In addition to normal photo mode in the Vicool app, there's also a panoramic and time lapse photo mode. For time-lapse videos, you can setup the pan and tilt speeds in the auto rotation menu. The time-lapse function worked well and resulted in a pretty cool fast-forward style rotating video clip. The other feature that I though worked well was the face tracking feature, although your face has to be well lit and you should be at least several feet away from the camera otherwise it may not follow you correctly. One feature that didn't work at all during my testing was the object follow feature. You would think that because face tracking worked, this would work just as well, however, I couldn't get it to capture or follow any object and most of the time the app would just crash when I entered the mode. In general the app doesn't seem to be entirely stable most times and in addition to the Bluetooth connection cutting out, the app would also crash fairly reguarly, like in the middle of filming which was frustrating.
As for stabilization performance, the gimbal did a nice job with its primary function. There's a few quirks with setting the pan, yaw and tilt speeds just right and you have to try and avoid approaching the rotational limits otherwise the gimbal can change position unexpectedly, but with practice you can get pretty smooth shots. The deal breaker for the app though is that the video recorded in the app doesn't have great quality. The compression used dropped plenty of frames making footage look choppy. The video captured using the stock Android camera app with the gimbal was much smoother with a consistent frame rate, but the drawback is that you cannot use the onboard shutter and zoom controls. Overall, as a stabilizer the Vimble 2 will remove most of the shake and wobble from handheld filming with your phone. The Bluetooth connection isn't the best and the app could use a lot of work as it crashes a lot and doesn't capture great quality video. However, if you can live without the physical zoom and shutter controls, there's no reason why you can't use a different camera app while stabilizing with the gimbal.
Takeaway: Decent sound reproduction and battery life on a budget, lightweight, but occasional connectivity blips. You'll receive two individual ear pieces, one for left and one for right, a dual-charging microUSB cable, two extra sets of silicone eartips, and an instruction manual. The earpieces are made mostly of plastic with a rubber ear hook that is fairly flexible. Each earpiece has a microphone, status LED, charging port, and multifunction button on the outside of the driver. The earphones come pre-installed with the medium size eartips, but you'll also get a small and a large size. Before first use, you'll want to charge the headsets up using the included cable which can charge both units at the same time. This takes about 90 minutes and a full charge can last up to 6 hours of continuous playback, depending on volume level and up to 5 days of standby time.
To pair these together and to your phone, first select which earpiece you want to be the primary one that connects to your phone and press the power button for five seconds to enter pairing mode. The prompts are fairly loud so I recommend doing this while not in your ears. Then go to your phone's Bluetooth menu and pair with ‘S800'. Then, to pair the second earpiece to the first, simply power it on and it should connect to the first automatically; I found this operation to be quick and reliable, always within 1 second of turning on the second earpiece. After this, you can simply power on both earpieces and they'll connect with your phone automatically going forward.
When wearing the headsets, the large bulky side wraps around your ear in order to keep it in place during rigorous activity like running and working out. They're also sweatproof and water-resistant rated IPX67. I thought the main body attached to the hooks would be big and uncomfortable but I really didn't notice them much. I did notice that the passive noise isolation isn't impressive and even with the ear tips creating a good seal, I could still hear plenty going on around me. That is, until I started playing music. At moderate volumes, ambient sounds are blocked almost completely. In fact, the earpieces can get quite loud and I never had to turn it up to max volume, which could potentially damage your hearing. That said I never had the volume up high enough for there to be any distortion. Note though too, that there is no volume control on the earpieces themselves and volume is controlled solely by your transmitting device. I found the sound quality to be round and well-balanced with a full bass, although the mid ranges tended to sound slightly muffled. While enjoyable most of the time, the signal was occasionally unreliable with the sound periodically dropping from one or both earpieces for a fraction of a second before resuming, even while I was sitting still with my phone nearby. This resulted in a somewhat inconsistent listening experience.
Overall, these wireless earpieces did a decent job with sound reproduction and are light weight and comfortable to wear. If you can deal with an occasional blip in the audio they're not bad for the price since they give you freedom from wires and a decent amount of run time between charges.
Takeaway: All-around protection, doubles battery life, easy to use, wireless charging. The battery case comes with a tempered glass screen protector and a brief instruction sheet. The glass protector is simple to install though, a little tricky because you don't get any guide stickers to help you. However, once installed the glass is clear, durable, and scratch resistant. The case is a slide-in style shell case with a thick backside that houses the 4000 mAh battery (the iPhone X comes with a 2716 mAh internal battery). It just about doubles the thickness, weight, and battery life of the iPhone X. The back has a brushed nylon textured feel which is less slippery than the native glass back of the iPhone X. There's also a cutout for the camera and a power button in the left hand corner. Short pressing the button briefly displays the battery life of the case using 4 LEDs in the bottom right corner. Inside the case is a plain matte surface that is not padded. At the bottom of the inside is a flexible Lightning connector that plugs into your phone. This type of connector should be less susceptible to damage than a rigid connector which tends to bend, loosen, or snap over time. The case itself uses Apple's Lightning connector for charging but does not come with a charging cable; you'll need to use the one that came with your phone.
Alternately, the case also supports wireless Qi charging and if you have a compatible wireless charging pad, the case will charge when you set it down on the charging surface. Installing the phone in the case takes only a few seconds and the flexible connector makes it easy to line it up with the phone's Lightning port. The case fits the iPhone X snugly and the ridged sides give your hands a bit of extra grip on the phone. To charge your phone using the external battery, just long press the button on the back of the case. The cutout for the camera does not obstruct the lens and the rubberized buttons are fairly easy to press to use the volume and sleep keys. Overall, the case works well. When used with the screen protector, it provides side, front, and back protection against drops, scratches, and drops and the battery delivers at least 1 full charge for your phone on the go. It is easy to use and charges fine wirelessly. It does adds a bit of bulk and extra weight but not a ton.
Takeaway: Thin, simple to install, protective and durable. You'll receive two glass screen protectors and two sets of the application accessories. In the accessories pouch you'll find a microfiber cleaning cloth, an alcohol wipe, and dust and application guide stickers. The glass screen protector is pretty thin and very clear. I wasn't able to scratch the glass surface using a pen or a set of keys which it will probably encouter in a pocket or bag at some point.
Installation is pretty quick using the included accessories. The only trouble I had was getting the guide stickers to stay on the glass when I was using them to "save" the position of the screen before sticking it down. The plastic film on the back of the protector was stuck on pretty tight and pulling it off unseated the guide stickers more than once which was a bit annoying. But, once installed the glass protector performed flawlessly. The glass looks and feels just like the original iPhone screen and fits in most cases that don't already have a built-in screen protector. Just note that it's not an edge-to-edge screen protector and it may leave a bit of a gap between the edge of the glass and the case that you're using. The 3D touch and sensitivity do not appear to be affected at all by this extra layer. There's also a cutout on top to allow interference-free use of the front camera and sensors. When combined with a case, you'll have all-over protection for your iPhone X.
Takeaway: Compact/portable, works great w/Android TV and powered antenna, mini antenna not as strong. The mini TV receiver comes with a pre-installed antenna and optional coaxial connector. The unit is super tiny measuring 2" x 1.25" x 0.25" thick. The antenna on the unit measures 1.5" when retracted and 6.5" when extended. The unit has a male microUSB connector that can plug into an Android phone charging port that supports OTG. On the other side is a micoUSB in port that you can use with a standard microUSB cable to connect to a full sized USB port like a PC or Android TV box. Swapping the connectors is pretty easy.
I was able to use the device with a microUSB to USB-C adapter for my LG G5 phone. With this receiver is that you don't have to use your WiFi or data plan to receive the content. It's completely free since it's over the air waves. I verified this by receiving content with my WiFi and Data turned off.
You'll need to download the LiveStation Player app to your phone which is available in the Google Play store. If you need the PC software, the manufacturer can email it to you on request. Scanning for channels takes about 10 minutes. With the mini antenna (indoors), I was able to find 11 TV stations and 1 radio station. If the signal isn't strong you might end up with a lot of digital noise and distortion in the video and audio. I wasn't able to get channel information like station name or program info. I also received some foreign language programming in my local area. The one thing that I didn't like is that the input USB cannot be used for pass through power. That means this device will eventually drain your mobile device of battery if you don't have a splitter for the OTG.
The unit performed better with a powered antenna connected through the coaxial connector. The picture and audio quality was a little more reliable but the initial loading of each channel always took about 15 seconds for the audio to catch up to the video. I tested the antenna with the computer software and received about 45 channels with fairly good quality for the video and audio overall. The difference here is that since my computer is powered, I don't have to worry about it running out of battery as I would using it with OTG on a mobile device.
Overall, the receiver worked a lot better than I thought it would using the indoor powered antenna and I think it could be a great supplement to my Android TV box since I no longer use cable service as most of my content is streamed via the internet. The mini built in antenna is more of a novelty but that could be nice to have for a picnic and it's something you can carry around easily.
Takeaway: A good sounding yet affordable wireless Bluetooth speaker, a bit large for travel, durable design. You'll receive the speaker, 21" flat microUSB cable, 41" USB DC cable, and an instruction manual.
The unit is large, measuring 10" W x 4" H x 3.5" D and weighing just over 2.5 lbs. However, it seems constructed of quality materials. The outer shell is a stamped aluminum with a brushed aluminum finish which comes in black or silver. It comes with an attached 17.5" leather carrying strap that is removable if you undo the clasps. The speaker has two 3 W drivers positioned in the front. On the bottom there's the subwoofer port, a built-in 3.5 mm gold plated AUX in audio cable with cable storage if you want to use a media device that doesn't have Bluetooth, and the six rubber feet help keep the unit in place on your desk. On the left hand side are your controls. On the right hand side is a hole for bass extension and the NFC area for touch pairing to a mobile device.Along the bottom you've got the power switch and LED indicators for when it's in play mode and charging, a pinhole mic for handsfree calling when paired to a mobile phone, a TF card slot for playing music loaded to a microSD card, a microUSB input port and 4 battery life indicator LEDs, a DC power port, and the USB output port. Note that both the microUSB port input and DC port can be used for charging. Then, on the top behind the strap, you've got the volume adjust/skip track keys, play/pause/answer calls button and the mode button to switch between input modes.
When you turn the unit on, you'll get prompts in English. To connect with your mobile device, select REMAX RB-H1 in your device's Bluetooth menu. The sound on the unit has good accuracy and a deeper bass than you'd get with speaker Bluetooth speakers. The focus for these speakers seem to be in the mid and high ranges which have good clarity and a clean crisp sound. The overall balance makes these speakers suitable for a wide variety of music genres. The sound can get quite loud and definitely fill a room easily. Note that the volume control is also the skip track control if you use long presses rather than short presses, but skip track only work in Bluetooth and TF card mode. Interestingly, when you have a micro SD card installed, if you connect the speaker to your computer using the microUSB port, you can read and write directly to card.
The USB power bank option is a nice feature so you can stream music from your phone and charge it at the same time. The 8800 mAh battery will give most phones between 3 and 4 full charges. The battery life of the unit when it's not plugged in is impressive and I've gotten over 10 hours of playback on a single charge with mixed use, though not using the powerbank feature a whole lot. This is due to power saving features like the use of the energy efficient Bluetooth 4.1 protocol and auto shutoff after 15 minutes of inactivity. Overall, this unit is feature packed and has great sound for this price point. It's a little large for frequently travel but still small enough to travel when you need it. The only part of the design I didn't like was that the strap covers some of the controls but it can be removed too, so it's not always a problem.
Takeaway: Longer than most selfie sticks, versatile, with a few quirks. The selfie stick is 19.5" when retracted which is fairly large for a selfie stick so it'll be tougher to travel with, but in exchange for compactness, you get a longer reach of four feet when fully extended. The telescoping portion is made of a lightweight and strong aluminum alloy, much like a camera tripod. It uses three tension snaps, also like a tripod, that can be set to any length in between max/min length. The phone mount on top has foam pads on the back and arms to help keep a firm grip on your phone and accommodates phones with widths between 2.25" and 3.5". The mount can swivel forward or back 180 degrees and is locked by a plastic thumbscrew. It's not my favorite phone grip because its core is light duty plastic versus sturdy metal. The arms don't wrap or bevel around the front of your phone for a better grip, so there's a chance it could slip forward and fall out. It's also pretty shallow so some phones will have to be removed from their cases to fit in it or stay firmly gripped.
What's interesting about this monopod is that the phone mount on top is removable because it's screw on using a 1/4" mounting screw. This is the standard screw used for most camera mounting holes and allows you to swap to a GoPro adapter mount, change the orientation of the mount from vertical to planar, or even mount a compatible digital camera to use with an infrared remote or Bluetooth if it supports it.
The USB port for charging and the power switch are located on the bottom of the handle. Pairing to the device was straight forward and quick by selecting LR-1288Plus in the Bluetooth menu. There are three buttons on this selfie stick, a shutter button and what I assume are two buttons meant for zooming ("+"/"-"). However, on my LG G2 Android phone, all three buttons resulted in a photo being taken, so no zooming capabilities. Also, I had to be careful not to press any button too hard or for more than a click or the camera would fire multiple times, and I'd end up with 2 or more rapid fire photos (one time 5 shots!). The selfie stick works for starting and stopping video too, as long as you are in video mode in you camera app when using it.
The main issue here is that the battery does deplete itself over time between uses, even if you never turn the selfie-stick on. I'm not sure how long this takes, since I don't use my selfie stick often (maybe a week?), so what usually happens is, if I know I'm going to need my selfie stick, like on vacation or for a shoot, I will charge it up the night before just to make sure it won't be dead when I go to turn it on. You can charge with any standard microUSB cable plugged into the base of the stick and make sure the power switch is set to off while charging. When charging the LED light will be a solid red. Depending on the output of the USB port you're using this can take anywhere from 2-4 hours.
When the unit is done charging the LED will shut off. When you turn the power switch to on, the light will flash blue indicating that it is in Bluetooth pairing mode and looking for a device to pair with. After a device is paired with the selfie stick the light will turn off. In general the selfie stick worked fine, has a long reach and allowed me to take photos that I wouldn't have been able to without it. I like that it's adaptable with the changeable mount and orientations, but it's a large unit and cumbersome to carry, the battery doesn't last long between charges, and there are a few quirks in the software, and it potentially has some compatibility issues with some devices.
Takeaway: High capacity, waterproof, rugged with emergency solar charging. This battery pack is built for travel with its hardshell construction and rubberized sides and back panels. It feels solidly constructed and is sealed for watertightness. In addition to the charger, you'll get a 24" microUSB charging cable and aluminum carabiner to clip this to your belt or backpack. The unit measures about 6.5" H x 3.25" W x 0.75" D thick. It weighs 10.5 oz and has a 12000 mAh capacity that will provide about 4 full charges for most smartphones.
First and foremost, you should note that while this powerbank CAN be charged via the solar power, the manufacturer recommends that this should NOT be used as the default charging method. Rather, charge it like a normal powerbank using the included cable and plugging it into your computer's USB port or appropriate wall adapter. You should only charge the unit via the solar when absolutely necessary and only if the battery life of the power bank is below 75% as doing otherwise may damage the battery. I noticed that while charging via the solar panel the sun, the unit gets extremely hot which is part of the reason why it should not be used on a regular basis or for long-term charging. Also, it takes a really long time to charge the unit using just the sun, and if you have your device plugged in, it will only act as a trickle charge to maintain or slow the drain of your device's battery.
There are 4 charge indicator LEDS, each representing 25% of battery life. The left most LED will be green when the battery pack is charging via the solar panel. The two standard USB ports on each side output up to 1 A each. This unit also has a built in LED flashlight that you can turn on/off by pressing the power button twice. This battery can charge two devices at the same time if it has sufficient power. It functioned well for charging my devices, and I was able to charge it up using both the USB cord and via the sun. As a power bank it works well and has the added bonus of being able to charge up via the sun in emergency situations and when you are away from a wall outlet.
Takeaway: The size, shape and finish means that this battery travels well in a laptop bag and can be stowed easily in the glove compartment for emergencies.
Takeaway: Share photos and videos stored on an SD camera card wirelessly. The device also can act as an access point to boost the wireless signal in rooms that are far away from my router. These are handy features, though I'll mostly just use this as an external battery pack to charge up my phone or tablet on the go. Everything was plug and play from directly connecting to it via WiFi, to linking it up to my network over WiFi. Accessing the device via static IP address was quick and painless. You can also connect to it to use as WiFi storage on your phone or tablet if it doesn't have a card slot to add additional memory. It's a nice travel accessory to toss in the laptop bag because it can replace several devices with just one unit that's compact and functional.
Takeaway: Lightweight and portable, get clear digital copies, fast. The Visioneer RoadWarrior Lite Portable Scanner (model #S8X1100) is a lightweight and high resolution scanner that makes it easy to keep track of receipts and scan individual documents on the go. Lightweight and portable, get clear digital copies, fast... As long as you're fine doing it one page at a time.
This is exactly the kind of scanner I was looking for to travel with. The scanner is powered by USB, so I don't have to hunt for another outlet and it's pretty much plug and play. The one touch scanning is a great feature since once the unit is on I can insert a new page without having to click or press any buttons between sheets. The black and white settings and OCR text recognition work great on receipts and documents and the quality of the color scans isn't bad either. The only thing you wouldn't be able to scan versus a flatbed would be book pages or thicker media. You should be able to get business cards and heavy card stock through it though. By default, the scanner saves each page as its own file, but you can change the setting to aggregate multiple pages into one file without having to take a break in between pages. The software that came with it is also impressive. It will automatically "clean up" your images, straighten AND crop them! My all-in-one printer/scanner combo doesn't even do that. Just be sure to remove any paper clips or staples before feeding your pages through. You should probably stick with only putting single sheets through this one. The footprint is so small that I keep this on my desk at home even when I'm not traveling. It beats having to stand by the printer just to scan a few items.
Takeaway: Easy to use, charges quickly. A great travel accessory to keep your devices powered while you're on the go. If your phone battery is always dying in the middle of the day, check out RavPower's Dynamo On the Go Power Bank (model #RP-PB07W).
Charges in about 2.5 hours with a 10400 mAh capacity; enough to charge my phone up about 4 times. It also shuts off by itself when it's done charging. Compact, lightweight and comes with a carrying case and two short charging microUSB cables.
