Lifeproof iPhone 4/4S case

I have another review for you guys today; the Lifeproof case for the iPhone 4/4S.  I am going to be reviewing the white version.

This case is truly a durable, take anywhere, do anything type of case where you do not have to worry about your phone getting wet, dirty, etc.  You can take it skiing, use it in the rain, use it in dirty/dusty environments and even in the shower!  It is waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof and shock proof.  

The first thing you will notice is it's slim design factor.  It is a lot slimmer than an otterbox defender.  As you would expect, all the ports are covered and has a built in screen shield; more on that later.  

The case is very lightweight but the construction appears sort of "cheapy" and "plasticy" in my honest opinion.  In the hand, it kind of has the same type of feel.  It may be okay for some, but I just wanted to point that out since that is the impression I got from the case.  

You are probably wondering how the speaker works if it is completely covered, right?  The case utilizes the back panel to amplify the speaker and does an okay job, but the sound is still dimmed quite a bit.  The screen does a fantastic job of getting the earphone sound through to your ear during calls however.  

Now getting back to the built in screen and it's functionality.  The clarity of the cover is very good and I didn't notice any hindrance of clarity. My major gripe here and my biggest problem with the case was the gap between the built in screen shield and the actual phone glass.  When I put the case on, there was a noticeable air gap but as I read, expected that to go away.  I ran a 10 day test on this case and the gap never went away.  I tried all of the techniques they recommended to alleviate the air gap to no avail.  This gap does not affect the functionality of the screen too much but it definitely does require you to push harder to make contact with the screen.  If you use the case in an office or quiet environment, it clicks like crazy every time you touch the screen i.e. typing an SMS or email.  This was a deal breaker for me but might be okay for hard users who use this on a construction site, skiing, or under harsh environments.    

My recommendation is mixed as I WOULD recommend it if you do not care about the air gap and are hard on your phone but would not recommend it for the reasons described above.  Price - $79.99

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Powerbag Business Class Pack

I'm going to be reviewing the Business Class Pack by a company called Powerbag.  I'm going to give you guys a quick cliff note before going into this review and tell you guys this bag is just plain NEAT!  Highly recommended gadget for techies.

My first impression of this bag when I opened the box was that this product is very high quality and is built with attention to detail.  The bag exterior is a nylon material that appears very durable and would be easily cleaned.  Some of the pockets have a soft microfiber style lining and the laptop compartment has adequate padding to protect your laptop during transportation. Let's talk pockets/compartments - this bag has so many compartments that you can fit all your items AND some!  I went back through this bag yesterday and found even more than I found the first time I looked at it!  The following pictures are showing the compartments progressing from the front to the back:

 These bags have a high capacity battery onboard (larger capacities can be purchased separately).  The included battery is 6,000 mAh which can be seen in the third picture of this blog.  The battery has a dedicated compartment that it installs into which then powers the entire bag.  This battery will stay installed when charging.  The charging is accomplished via the included charger which plugs into a water resistant charging port that resides on the side of the bag under the flap shown at the bottom:

The included charging cables that are wired inside are an apple 30 pin connector (5V, 1A), a micro USB and a mini USB (5V, 800mA combined).  There is also a direct USB connection right next to the battery pack that allows you to connect your own USB cable to charge gadgets that don't use the included cables.

The backpack straps are highly padded and I believe would be very comfortable even under heavy loading.

The bag is turned on by pushing/holding the "P" on the outside of the bag until the lights come on.  This will effective make the wires inside "live" and ready to charge all of your on board gadgets.  The indicator lights will display your charge percentage at a glance.  One bar equals 25%, two equals 50% etc. 

In closing, I would highly recommend this bag and I could not find any negatives.  The price of this bag is currently $179.99 and available here.

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Slingbox Pro HD

Today i'm going to be reviewing the Slingbox Pro HD.  Just a little background for those of you who aren't are of what this is  - the Slingbox Pro HD allows you to stream your full livingroom TV experience right to your smartphone and/or computer when you are away from home.  This new Pro HD version is HD capable, more on that later.  

In order to run TV programming to your smartphone/tablet etc, you will have to purchase the official app pricing here  - I'm a little bummed about the steep pricing that they have in place.  Running the software on your PC/Mac is free however.


The Slingbox Pro HD is a compact unit that is very sleek looking.  It will fit right into your media cabinet at home and will complement your stereo receivers, PS3's, etc.  

Like mentioned previously, this unit is HD capable (1080i).  There is one major drawback here, it does not support HDMI.  This is a big downside in my opinion.  It supports many connections; composite, component and s-video.  All of these cables are included in the box as well as an AC adapter, ethernet cable, coaxial cable, remote control IR cable and a stereo audio cable.  

Running the Slingbox Pro HD requires a connection to high speed internet and a capable unit on the other end also connected to the internet.  The setup is very easy and straightforward.  


Another downside that I encountered is that the Slingbox Pro HD must be hard wired into a network connection, wireless is not supported as of yet.  


The computer software interface is very sleek and will provide an on screen remote that closely resembles the one used on the cable box it is connected to.  Streaming is very dependent on internet connection speed and the capability of your connected device.  In order to get the absolute best picture quality and stream, you'll essentially have to be connected to the same network that the Slingbox Pro HD is on i.e. watching TV upstairs meanwhile the box is connected to a TV in your living room.  If you are viewing remotely via the internet, the stream speed and quality will be reduced similar to Youtube etc.  For basic streaming, I would go with the Slingbox Solo instead for half of the price.  


Price - $ 299.99

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Waterfield Laptop SleeveCase

Hi guys, today i'm going to review a nifty bag called the Laptop SleeveCase made by a company called Waterfield designs.  They make a variety of really cool bags and this one was a must have for laptop owners.

The one that I have is equipped with all the bells and whistles.  It has the suspension strap and the piggyback add on.  The outside of this bag is made of a ballistic nylon and the inside is cushioned with high grade neoprene.  It will definitely protect your laptop from every day bumps and bruises and the exterior appears it will last a long long time even as a daily bag.  The suspension strap is very padded and is very comfortable.  The piggyback add on clips to the D-rings and is perfect for your extras that you need to carry with your laptop i.e. MagSafe charger, phone charger, pens, etc.  With the SleeveCase by itself, there is no room to put anything other than your laptop in there so the piggyback was a must have and i'd highly recommend for you guys.

I am highly recommending this case, as this is perfect for users on the go that always need to have their laptop and gadgets with them daily.  The cost of this case, equipped as shown will run you $111 and can be found here:  Laptop SleeveCase

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What do YOU want to see reviewed?

Leave a comment below - what products would you like to see me review? 

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Klipsch X10i Headphones

Today, I would like to review a set of earbuds for you guys called the "X10i" by Klipsch Audio. These earbuds are designed to work seamlessly with the iPhone 4 and 3GS with the integrated apple chip. The functionality may be hindered with other cell phones but rest assured they will work flawlessly with your new iPhone.

Let me start off by saying these earbuds are shockingly light weight and are on par with the smaller earbuds on the market. I can't stress enough how light these are, it's almost unreal. They were designed to be as light as possible to put less pressure on your ear canal. The shape and design of the earbud allows it to adjust to the center of your ear canal which makes for a perfect fit. This design along with the oval shaped ear tips make them extremely comfortable to wear for long listening sessions. I was not able to test them out while exercising or running but I don't foresee any issues with them falling out.

There is a 3 button mic integrated on the wire at the point where the 2 earbud wires meet (called the yoke). It works flawlessly with my iPhone 4S and no issues with the mic were experienced. Users on the other end of a phone call had no issues hearing me.

Since these are high end earbuds, it is recommended to listen to your music in apple lossless format. If you are not listening to music ripped from this format, you may not be using the earbuds to their fullest extent but nevertheless, their sound is out of this world.

As for the review of the sound quality of these, it is immediately noticeable how crystal clear the mids and highs are. Every detail is very articulated and sharp. The lows are not over-powering but are present at just the right level. Under high volumes, they do not waiver at all and will easily take on the abuse if that's what you like. The sound is very well rounded and the highs/mids/lows are in perfect balance

The X10i comes with a 2 year warranty, a protective carrying pouch, 5 pairs of different sized ear tips, an ear tip wax cleaning tool, an airplane adapter, a 1/4 inch jack adapter and a clothing clip. The MSRP on these is $349.99 and they are available at Klipsch.com and authorized retailers.

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Mophie juice pack plus

Today i'll be reviewing an amazing battery pack case made by mophie called the juice pack plus (PRODUCT) RED. Before I go on with my review, I just wanted to point out that (PRODUCT) RED items donate 5% of the net profits to the global fund to help eliminate aids. Not to mention this case just plain looks coo.

The fit of this phone is absolutely perfect, one of the best fitting cases I own. I use it with front and back screen shields from SGP but it doesn't fit correctly with side skins so I had to remove mine which makes the fit perfect. This case is made of a soft touch black material on the front and back with a plastic red side band. All of the seams and edges/corners are nice and smooth which makes the case extremely comfortable to hold.

The sleep/wake button as well as the volume buttons are covered leaving the headphone port and silent switch open. The charging port is on the bottom right and the on/off switch for the battery is on the bottom left. The bottom of the case (where the 30 pin is) contains a button to illuminate the 4 white lights next to it which display the amount of battery power remaining. The only issue I see with these lights is that if you charge your phone near you when sleeping at night, the lights are very bright. My solution to this is leaving the phone on the floor next to my bed or you can stand the phone up so the lights are in the carpet. I'd like to see these lights integrated on the back of the case similar to the phone suit case. The case does offer lay-on-the-table design on the front so you can safely place your phone upside down and not have to worry about your glass screen touching.

The case packs a 2000 mAh battery On to my power usage experience, with my phone powered on, email pushing to 1 account and no user usage, I was able to take my iPhone 4S from 0% - 94%. I have not tested it charging from 0% with the phone off but I would presume it would charge to 100% or very close to it. Bottom line is that this is more than enough power for almost every iPhone user out there; effectively giving you 2 full batteries to last you through your day.

I would highly highly highly recommend this battery case to anybody in the market. I rate it an A+ and it is worth every penny. It retails for $99.95.

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Phone Suit Primo Micro

Today i'm going to review a cool little product of mine made by Phone Suit called the Primo Micro. It is a small battery pack used to bump charge your iPhone in those situations where you need a little more juice.

The Primo Micro is small and very light weight. You can take it along with you and pop it onto your iPhone (or any product that charges with a 30 pin connector) for a 800 mAh boost. It comes in both black and white gloss finishes.

In my testing, I was able to squeek out 35% worth of battery charge with this Primo Micro. I was lightly using my iPhone during this test so under conditions where you wouldn't be using it at all (or may leave it off), I suspect seeing 40% worth of charge with this battery pack.

I recommend this product for the iPhone user who needs a small bump in power to get their phone home at the end of the day. It retails for $34.95 and is available on Phone Suit's website or other authorized retailers.

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My new tech blog

Hey guys, I just started a new tech blog that i'll use to review new and upcoming tech gadgets, mostly centered around "i" products i.e. apple iPhone, Mac, etc.  I hope I can make this blog grow and help users choose the best gadgets for their money.  Stay tuned for more information.

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-George