iGo Everywhere PS00252 0003 Universal Wall AC and Auto DC Charger with Retractable Cable Charger Only Tips Not Included
April 2, 2009 by DigiBliss · Leave a Comment
Keep all your gadgets charged while at home or on-the-go in your car with the iGo Everywhere, which includes both a wall charger (AC) for the home and an auto charger (DC) that plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter power port. With iGo’s patented tip technology, a single iGo charger can rapidly charge all your gadgets using interchangeable power tips. These tips automatically configure to ensure each gadget gets the precise amount of power it requires. The Everywhere Charger compatible only with A-series power tips.
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The iGo Everywhere is compatible with over 3,000 mobile devices including today’s most popular brands as well as iPod/iPhone, most cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, portable gaming devices, GPS systems and more. Visit the iGo Finder to make sure your device is compatible .
Features and Specifications
- Combination AC and DC functionality utilizes any standard wall or in-vehicle outlet, allowing user to power at home or on the road
- Convenient, all-in-one power solution rapidly charges virtually all gadgets up to eight times faster than standard USB and trickle chargers
- Interchangeable power tips allow you to power/charge multiple devices with a single AC/DC power solution (iGo power tips sold separately)
- Works with multiple gadgets including mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets, martphones/PDAs, MP3 players, portable gaming devices, digital cameras, GPS devices and more
- No need to buy a new charger when upgrading your devices–compatible with the latest models
- Compact and lightweight design with retractable output cord and convenient travel organizer–easy to pack and carry
- Power Output: Up to 5 Watts continuous
- Cord Length: 5 feet
NOTE: Power tips for use with this adapter are sold separately.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Yes you need attachments
Yes, yo do need to buy the tips for this to work. Obviously it isn’t reasonable to expect it to come with tips, since the company doesn’t know which products you own. I have this charging set and four tips (Kindle, Ipaq, Creative, and Motorola) and didn’t spend any more than I would have buying car chargers for all those devices, in fact I spent less.
The tips and charging heads all fit on very securely. I have not had any problem with either popping off. Actually, sometimes I have a hard time getting them off.
I was able to fit all the pieces, including my tips, into the included travel case, but it is a tight fit. I would have preferred some kind of zippered case to go with it. The included case is just a pouch with two mesh pockets. The pouch holds the charging heads, and then the cable fits in one of the pockets and tips in the other. Since most my tips are pretty large it takes some creativity to get them all to fit.
The kit is compact enough that I can throw it into my bag and not have to worry about it taking up a lot of space. Could you imagine if I tried to carry all the chargers around for those devices? It would be a nightmare. That’s what makes this device so useful. It gets everything you need in one compact size.
If you carry a lot of devices and want to be able to charge them on the go, this is what you need. But don’t forget the tips!
1 Star Something of a rip-off
The product itself seems to be ok. The problem is Amazon allowed them to offer it under Kindle accessories when in fact it does not come with an adapter that will attach it to the Kindle. The adapter costs another $9 for a small tip to connect it. Buy one of the other chargers that will actually connect to the Kindle.
2 Stars “Needs attachments to work”
I thought I needed this for my Kindle to work. I didn’t. Then I found out it needs attachments. If I can find another use for it I may keep it.
1 Star I-Go charger
I think it was very silly that this product was recommended to be purchased along with the Kindle, but it does not have the proper linkage (tip?) that matches! So, there it is, in the box along with the kindle, and totally useless.
1 Star Not For Kindle 2
This is really misleading for two reasons:
1. This charger purports to be universal, but only if one buys the tips,
which are sold separately.
2. There IS no tip currently made for the Kindle 2.
Aliph Jawbone Noise Shield Bluetooth Headset Black Retail Packaged
March 30, 2009 by DigiBliss · Leave a Comment
These days, it seems that wireless Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen, but Aliph’s Jawbone stands apart from the pack due to its unique look and some seriously amazing noise canceling technology. Originally developed for DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to create a communication headset that would pick up voice in hostile environments, the Jawbone offers some of the best clarity from a Bluetooth headset we’ve experienced. This version comes in black, but it’s also available in red and gray.
Sophisticated modern industrial style meets the next step in audio technology with the Jawbone Bluetooth headset. |
It can be worn on either ear, and you can customize your fit by choosing from one of the included earloops and earbuds. |
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The first thing you notice about this headset is its rather chunky size and cheese grater-like texturing on the exterior. Designed by Yves Behar, an award-winning industrial designer who also contributed to the design of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child, aka the $100 Laptop), the Jawbone certainly has that iconic modern look that will be copied for years to come. It’s also a bit large on the face (due to the embedded technology and speech sensor), which reminded us of Lando Calrissian’s assistant, Lobot. But then there’s no easy way to disguise a Bluetooth headset, and it’s probably an advantage as passersby won’t think you’re just muttering crazily to yourself.
The Jawbone can be worn on either ear, and it comes with four earloops of varying sizes to fit your lobe. Made of solid metal with a rubber cover, they’re fairly comfortable around the ear. The trick, however, is getting it on over the ear, and this is the Jawbone’s biggest disappointment. Because it’s so stiff, you literally have to use both hands to try to slip it on over your ear. And since we don’t wear our headset constantly, we missed a few calls while performing this dance. Also, the metal frame does bend (as we found after carrying it in our pocket), which can be viewed as an annoyance or as a feature–enabling you to form-fit the frame to your ear. It also comes with five ear pads of varying shapes and sizes, and we tried one of the teardrop shaped pads to secure the Jawbone inside our ear sans metal frame–it was comfortable and worked for awhile, but isn’t a solution if you’re moving around a lot.
As with Steve Jobs, Behar is not a fan of protruding buttons. Thus, the Jawbone’s two controls are hidden within the headset, requiring you to press either the front or back of the unit to answer calls, adjust volume, or turn on/off the noise cancellation function. While we’ve read some reviews that complained about these hidden controls, we had no problem in accessing them and appreciated their tactile response. The Jawbone also comes with a custom-fit recharging cable that can either plug into a PC’s USB port or into the included wall jack. We enjoyed the flexibility of the USB charging, but wished the cable could have been a more standard USB mini-jack (for those times when you forget to bring the cable along).
But the true test of the Jawbone is how its “noise shield” performed. First, a little about this technology. The Jawbone has a small piece of rubbery plastic that protrudes from the bulbous microphone and sits flush against your face, and this sensor tells the Jawbone whether or not you’re speaking and can remove background noise from your ongoing speech signal. It can also dynamically adjust the volume of the incoming audio from your call.
We tried the Jawbone in a number of different situations, and for the most part it worked flawlessly. Sitting at our desk with the stereo volume cranked up while playing The Chemical Brothers, our call partner was none the wiser. She didn’t hear any of the music coming through, and our voice came through strong on her end. While standing on a street corner, the undulations of traffic noise never made it through to our caller, while we noticed an uptick in volume with an increase in traffic noise.
However, the Jawbone wasn’t perfect, as it doesn’t do a great job in windy situations. Still, for the good majority of situations you’ll find yourself in–from busy airports to talk-heavy coffeehouses to traffic-laden city streets–the Jawbone should perform very well, masking the surroundings to improve fidelity for you call partner as well adapting your ear volume to the surrounding environment. We just wish the ear frame was a bit more flexible.
Pros:
- Amazing background noise masking capabilities–even when faced with loud, thumping music
- Outstanding adaptive volume as the environment around you changes
- Options for customizing the fit
Cons:
- Metal earloop frames are hard to quickly put on
- Non-standard USB connection is a bummer if you forget the cable at home
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Making it fit your ear
I out it on and try calling from outdoors on a very windy day. The person on the other end couldn’t hear me. I was very down thinking I bought another piece of garbage. I read the directions and found out that there is a white knob on the end that has to be in contact with your face. So after 4 trys and finally bending one of the supplied ear loops to fit my ear properly i got it perfect. I then made a call again from a noisy place and it was amazing. The noise reduction was awesome and I had no problem hearing even in a crowded noisy environment. And on the other end my friend was so impressed he bought one to. So the moral to the story is it’s worth the fight to get it to fit the end result justifies the struggle.
2 Stars hard to get a good fit
The over-the-ear piece is a not a good fit for my ears. Moreover, they are extremely fragile and prone to breaking. Within 5 minutes of getting the phone out of the box, I broke the ear piece just trying to get the headset over my ear. I put the headset in my piece and bent the second piece. The plastic piece covering the control buttons seemed very cheap also, and I think it would be a matter of time before that broke as well. I generally take good care of my headsets and electronic equipment, so if the headset seemed fragile to me, it probably will for most. Also, as a woman with a small head, the headset just felt clumsy and big. On the upside, the acoustics seemed decent, but then I only used the headset once and decided to return it.
1 Star It did not sit on my ears at all
Even though, personally I think it’s look is the best, I bought this blue tooth headset since it was rated best and importantly it had noise canceling feature. However when I received it I could not make it sit on my ears (I have normal ears, in case if you are wondering). I felt like it is always dangling from my ears and can fall off any moment. I returned it with in a day. I wish this one worked out for me.
5 Stars What a great Bluetooth headset!
Clear reception, loud, and ease to intialize with your cell phone. Not as easy to slip on your ear as most Motorola headsets I have used. I would recommend it to anyone and buy it again myself.
3 Stars Jawbone Bluetooth Headset
The Jawbone bluetooth instantly connected with my iPhone and has worked reaonably well, allowing me to talk and be understood when there is background noise. It has some disturbing features which is the reason for the low score. The ear pieces are likely to fall off due to activity such as running because they fit so loosely on my ear. In addition, on occasion the pin has slipped out of the retainer hole allowing the Jawbone to drop on the ground. This is due to the retainer hole in Jawbone that is apparently too big to retain the pin at the end of the earpiece if it is knocked. In addition, the wire that connects the ear piece to the Jawbone easily snaps. Fortunately, four ear pieces came with the Jawbone. Of these, three pins have snapped, making them useless. I now have one earpiece left and only use the Jawbone in my car to save it for as long as I can before it too snaps and I need to make other arrangements. I am hoping that the ear pieces can be purchased separately when this time comes.
Motorola 89036J H500 Bluetooth Wireless Headset Soft Pink
March 21, 2009 by DigiBliss · Leave a Comment
Motorola’s H500 headset is a member of Motorola’s 3rd generation of Bluetooth headsets. Like the RAZR styled H3 headset that it shares many components with, the Bluetooth v1.2 compatible H500 is rated for up to 8 hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby time. However, the H500 is both smaller and lighter than the more industrial looking H3, weighing only .6oz (17.6g) and having a body length of only 2.3″ (58mm). As such, it can easily fit in a shirt or pants pocket without trouble. Since it is very solidly built and has no easily breakable parts, you won’t have to worry about it getting damaged, either.
 Recharge your H500 with a miniUSB cable. |
Ergonomically, I find the H500 to be the most comfortable and secure fitting of the current lineup of Motorola headsets. The ear-loop is thin enough for use with eyeglasses, yet has a rubber surface that is grippy enough to hold the headset’s minimal heft in place for most people. While the ear-loop can be easily removed and flipped for use on either ear, it is not adjustable beyond that. However, when it is flipped, a sensor inside the headset reconfigures the two volume control buttons so that the up volume button is always on the top side, and the down volume button is always on the bottom.
The only other control on the H500 is the multi-function button on the outside face of the H500. The button does not require a lot of pressure to activate, thankfully, and handles power on and off, as well as all of the call control features - excluding volume. Those include answering and ending a call, as well as 3-way call control, hold, and mute functionality. Pairing the headset with a phone is a simple task: just hold the multi-function button for an extra few seconds when turning the H500 on, and the blue LED call indicator will turn on. This means that the headset is ready to be paired, and can be discovered with any phone, PDA, or computer that supports the headset or hands free Bluetooth profiles. As is the case for most headsets on the market, the PIN code for the H500 is “0000″.
The previously mentioned blue LED status light can even be turned off if you don’t wish to draw any undue attention to yourself. Normally the LED cycles on and off slowly during a call, and will flash briefly once every few seconds otherwise to indicate that it is powered on.
 Click the image to see the H500 in action. |
In terms of audio quality, the H500 offers great inbound sound and reasonable outbound performance as well. The only issue with the outbound sound is that it is missing some high frequency response, which makes the otherwise full audio sound a little muffled at times. It is a much more pleasant sound than that which many other handsets offer, but is not necessarily as easy to understand. But with that said, the overall audio performance is still quite good. When using the H500 with various mobile phones and PC Bluetooth adapters the connections remained completely static free.
Like most of the newer Motorola handsets that we’ve seen released in the past year or so, the Motorola H500 makes use of a miniUSB connection for power. As such, the headset can be recharged with a Motorola miniUSB power adapter as well as with a regular miniUSB cable connected to a desktop or laptop personal computer, which is often much more convenient.
Pros:
Cons:
The Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset is available in a multiple colors, including a bright pink version that perfectly matches the color of the pink Motorola RAZR V3c that is sold by Verizon Wireless. For as little as the H500 costs, you can hardly ask for more. You won’t be disappointed with it.
–Reviewed by Michael Oryl, editor in chief of www.MobileBurn.com
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars No Surprises Here…
Pros: (These were expected to begin with so no surprises) Comforting material where it comes in contact with the ear. Easy to use with step by step instructions. Comes with simple charger/adapter. Headset works well with my Motorola Razr L7 cell phone. Sound is loud and clear on other end, and person on other side can hear me (indoors -> Not sure about outdoors yet).
Cons: Metallic silver color on headset easily began to rub off after only 3 uses (that area is made tacky with cheap material.) Ear loop is slightly big for my small ears so it tends to feel like its falling off. In comparison with many Motorola headset models, this one is quite big in size. That is why it’s heavier than I expected. Thickness it’s about two of my fat fingers placed together (wider than my thumb) and height, it’s about the length of my whole thumb. Buzzing sound when I turn the volume louder to hear person on other side. (can be dealt with)
4 Stars blue tooth ear piece
The blue tooth works well. The product is just what I wanted. The voice come in clear and it is easy to set up with my phone.
1 Star motorola
i never received the product. i wrote an email two weeks after purchasing it and still did not receive a phone call or a email back. Last time buying from you.
3 Stars Moderately OK.
I purchased this bluetooth as a gift for a family member’s Sony Ericsson cell phone. We had to play around with it at first to get it working properly. She still has minor issues with the headset, but overall she likes it.
We decided not to return the headset because I did pair it with my iPhone 3G, after three attempts, without using the passcode. I was able to use most features easily, with clear reception. So the earpiece isn’t defective. The price was to good as well.
Buyer beware, and do the research on the pairing capibilities with your electronic device and this bluetooth.
4 Stars Bluetooth headset Motorola H89036J
I ordered this headset for my wife after she had her pervious set in her pant pocket in the washing machine, so far no complaint from her. However, unlike the H850 that I have, this one does not “flip out” to turn on, instead you push a button. It’s sometimes difficult to know if the unit is ON or OFF.
