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Videos by Andy Slye

Category: Reviews (Page 10 of 15)

RAVpower-savior-battery-review

Best Portable iPhone Charger? RavPower Savior Review

February 4, 2015 / / 0 Comments

RAVPower RP-PB18 Savior 9000mAh battery review
Click here to buy on Amazon

If you’re an iPhone user you probably realized by now that iPhones don’t have the best battery life. What can you do about that? For me I like to carry around an extra battery pack so I can charge my phone wherever I’m at in case the battery starts to drain down.

That’s why I wanted to do this review over the RavPower RP-PB18 Savior 9,000 mAh external battery pack with the built-in lightning connector specifically made for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) but you can also charge other USB devices with it as well.

I’ll quickly go over the contents of the box. Of course there’s the main battery pack itself. We also have a user guide, warranty card, USB to micro USB charging cable, micro USB to Samsung 30-pin connector, micro USB to mini-USB connector, and a cool little travel pouch.

The main battery pack has a really solid build to it. It has a nice matte suede-like finish to it, and it’s supposed to have a scratch-resistant surface. It does feel really soft. I do like the way it’s built. The size is pretty portable. It’s small and lightweight, just over 8 ounces.

You may be asking yourself “Why is this 9,000 mAh battery a little bit more expensive than say a 12,000 mAh battery sold by the same company?” That’s because the Savior has all these built-in features such as the built-in AC power plug on it so you don’t have to carry around any other cables or accessories. It just plugs right into a power outlet and charges itself.

It’s also mainly made for Apple devices: iPhone, iPad or iPod. It has an Apple lightning cable on it so again you don’t need an extra cable to take with you. All you need is the battery pack. It has everything you need and if you do have another USB device it comes with the cables that you need to charge it.

Like many other external battery packs this has built-in overcharge protection and auto shut-off. It has a USB port on the bottom so you can charge other USB devices. It has a power button on the front along with the power indicator light so if you press the power button once it will show you how much battery is left on the pack (4 lights is 100%, 3 lights is 75%, 2 lights is 50%, and 1 light is 25%).

Let’s talk about some of the results I’ve seen using this RavPower Savior battery pack with my iPhone 6. The first time I charged my iPhone 6 with the battery pack it was at 42% and it took it to 96% in 57 minutes. The second time I charged it I went from 41% to 90% in 47 minutes so that gives you an idea of how fast the battery pack charges the iPhone 6. After those 2 charges I still had 75% of the battery left on the Savior.

With that 5 volt output it’s not going to be the fastest charge, but it is pretty decently fast in my opinion for a battery pack of this size. The iPhone 6 battery is 1800 mAh so the Savior can charge it about 4 times from 0 to 100% so it does pack a pretty good amount of power.

In my opinion if you own an Apple device: an iPhone, iPad, or iPod then the RavPower Savior battery pack may be one of the best options that you can get for an external battery because it has everything built in and it is way more convenient than other battery packs. It’s portable, small, has a nice finish to it, and I see it lasting a very long time.

nodus-access-review-iphone-6

Nodus Access Case Review for iPhone 6

December 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

The Nodus Access case is a sleek wallet case for the iPhone 6 and 6+, and it is super classy. As a not so manly guy this case really makes me feel more like a gentleman. I just need a cool British accent to go along with it.

The outside of the case is made of full grain Italian leather, and the inside is made up of a soft micro fiber lining. The leather does feel like a premium material. It’s smooth and shiny. The micro fiber interior also feels nice, and the case is pretty thin and flexible. On the inside it has one large slot so you can store some cash and a couple of cards, but you’re not going to fit much more than that as it is a pretty tight fit.

Not only does it look appealing, it has a very useful feature that I haven’t seen on any other case before. And this feature is the reason why I agreed to do a review of this case for Nodus. It’s the way the case stays on the iPhone.

This case is equipped with micro suction technology. Yes, little tiny suction cups. The inside of the case has a thick strip of micro suction cups that has a sticky feel to it, and when the iPhone is pressed down onto the strip it gets suctioned on and stays put. It’s pretty amazing. The iPhone does not fall out. I’ve been using this case for over a week, and it hasn’t started coming off at all.

On the inside of the flap there is a smaller suction pad that allows the flap to close onto the iPhone by suctioning onto the screen. Pretty cool, so you are able to remove and re-apply your iPhone, but it is a bit difficult to remove and it does take a little bit of force. But once it’s off it doesn’t leave any residue on the iPhone because there are no sticky materials involved, just tiny suction cups.

Now, the protection of the case is not as good as some of the other hardcore cases, but it provides decent protection as long as the flap is closed and stuck to the iPhone. In that case it actually gives the iPhone full front and back protection when dropped but the top, bottom, and side of the iPhone are still slightly exposed so keep that in mind.

The only downside about this case is it’s kind of awkward to actually talk on the iPhone with this case on it. The flap does peel back all the way, but it’s just kind of difficult to hold the iPhone up to your ear when you have to hold the flap back like that.

Other than that, this is a super good looking case that I got a lot of compliments on. People noticed the aesthetics right away, and I definitely like having it on my iPhone 6. If you want to get this case for your iPhone, the link will be in the description below. So thank you for watching my review of the Nodus case for the iPhone 6, and thanks to Nodus for the opportunity to review this case.

By Andy Slye

Zoom-H1-review

Zoom H1 Portable Digital Recorder Review

December 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments

The Zoom H1 is a popular device when it comes to beginners looking to improve their audio quality. It’s great for podcasters, YouTubers, musicians, vloggers, and journalists. It has good quality audio that you can use as a microphone or as its own portable digital audio recorder. At the end of the review we’ll do an audio quality test so you can hear what the Zoom H1 sounds like.

If you’re watching this review you’re probably looking for a cheap microphone or audio recorder, and the Zoom H1 is one of the best that you can get for the money. It’s versatile and can be used for many different situations. It’s affordable at just $99, and it’s perfect for beginners or amateurs.

First off, the build quality isn’t great. It feels cheap because it’s made out of plastic. I don’t think it’s as durable as the more expensive options, but I’ve never had a problem with mine. The good thing about that is that the plastic makes it lightweight. It can fit in your pocket. It’s small and compact, and that’s what I love about the Zoom H1. It’s portable. You can take it anywhere.

It’s also easy to use. It’s not too complicated. It doesn’t have very many features like the Zoom H4N for example. The H1 is very basic.

On the front you have the LCD display and the big record button. On the right side you have the USB port, hold and power button, delete button, play, pause, forward, back, input level buttons, and the line in so you can connect an external microphone.

On the other side there’s the line out for headphones and the volume up-and-down buttons for playing back your recordings. There’s also a microSD slot. On the bottom there’s the speaker because you can actually play back your recordings and listen to them on the device itself. On the back is the battery slot (powered by one AA battery) and three buttons: lo cut, auto level, and the recording format. It supports WAV and MP3. There’s also a tripod mount.

On the top there is the X/Y stereo microphone. Now I’ll show you how the Zoom H1 works and sounds. If you want record in WAV or MP3 you can adjust the format and bit rate. You can also adjust your input control (or gain). To start recording just press the record button on the front.

Watch the video above and towards the end I do a mic test so you can hear the audio quality on the Zoom H1. In the first half of the video I recorded the audio with my Rode VideoMic Pro shotgun mic on my DSLR. When I switch over to the Zoom H1 it’s about 2 feet away from me with the input level set to 60, and I’m recording in the 320 kbps MP3 format.

It sounds good. I’ve used this for a lot of my videos. It does work perfectly and produces some great quality audio for $99. I do recommend the Zoom H1 accessory pack. It’s another $25 and comes with an adjustable tripod stand, padded shell case, foam windscreen that works as a pop filter, mic clip adapter, AC adapter, and USB cable so you can use this as USB microphone and you can use it to transfer all the files to your computer so you can edit in post. So that’s my Zoom H1 review. A good budget microphone that’s highly recommend it.

By Andy Slye

logitech-c920-review

Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam Review

October 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

This is my Logitech C920 HD Pro webcam review and test video. So I’ve had this webcam for a year and I believe it is the best HD webcam you can get because of the value and quality. It has full 1080p HD video recording with autofocus for less than $70. It has a nearly perfect 5 star rating on Amazon, and the link to the best price on Amazon will be at the top of this description so you can click that and order it for yourself whenever you’re ready. Let’s quickly go over the features and what I like about this webcam, and then I’ll show you some test footage. First off, the Logitech C920 is small and lightweight. It comes with a 6-foot long USB cable, and it is compatible with both Mac and Windows right out of the box. To record HD videos with the C920 on a Mac you can use QuickTime, and on a PC you can download the free Logitech software. Some of the main features include full HD 1080p video recording, Carl Zeiss optics with 20-step autofocus, H.264 encoding for faster and smoother HD, dual stereo microphones, and it can capture 15-megapixel photos. So having all those features on this compact webcam is awesome. It is universally tripod-ready and can be mounted to any tripod that has a standard tripod screw. It also has a fold-and-go design, so you can fold it in many different ways depending on how and where you are mounting it. It has the ability to be mounted on different size monitors or laptops and the folding arm has a rubber surface to increase grip and prevent it from falling off. The camera can be tilted back and forth to customize the angle as well. I love the HD video quality that this webcam produces so let’s switch over to the C920 so you can see what it looks like. Alright so now I am recording the video and audio through the Logitech C920 webcam. You can see that the video looks great. It’s got great detail. I’m recording in 1080p HD through QuickTime on my Mac, but you can use this with Windows as well. But the audio is a little lacking. I’m not a big fan of the built-in microphone on the C920. That’s why I do recommend using a USB microphone so you can get better quality audio. Once you pair up a good quality USB microphone with the Logitech C920 webcam you’ll have a great looking video and a great sounding video. Full 1080p HD video as long as you got a decent amount of light coming in. This is a great camera to use for recording videos or going on Skype video sessions. And here’s a quick look at how well the autofocus works and how close it can focus. So if you produce web videos or participate in Google Hangouts or make a lot of Skype video calls, I highly recommend getting the Logitech C920.

By Andy Slye

iphone-6-review

Apple iPhone 6 Review

October 5, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Transcript:

This is the iPhone 6, one of two new Apple iPhones in 2014. Let’s start off with the new design. I wasn’t a big fan of the new design when I first saw it online because of the two awkward horizontal antennas on the back, but since I’ve owned it, the design has definitely grown on me. Even though I do still believe the 4s and 5s are the best looking iPhones to date. The iPhone 6 has new curved edges which I personally like, but it does make the phone more slippery so it’s a good idea to put a case on to prevent the phone from slipping out of your hands. The iPhone 6 is super lightweight. It’s lighter and thinner than the 5s, but since it is so thin the camera sticks out a little bit on the back, but again a case will make this a non-issue. Apple also changed the location of the power button. It’s now on the side instead of the top which makes it easier to press because of the phone’s larger size. Of course the most important new feature of the iPhone 6 is the new screen size. It has a 4.7” Retina display with a resolution of 1334×750. So it’s not sporting a full 1080p display like some other smartphones on the market which is kind of a bummer, but don’t get me wrong this screen is still very very crisp. Colors look vibrant and I can’t see any pixelation no matter how close I get. The larger screen definitely comes in handy when I’m reading and responding to emails, even though currently a lot of apps are just blown up to fit the larger screen. Hopefully these apps will get updates soon. The 4.7” is definitely the sweet spot for me. The phone fits perfectly in all my pockets, and it doesn’t consume half of my face when I’m talking on it, or when I’m just talking to myself. The iPhone 6 is faster with its new 64-bit dual core A8 chip. iOS 8 runs beautifully. Apps open and load pretty quickly. There’s no lag whatsoever even for spotlight search which is probably the first time an iPhone has done that. And a lot of people forget how useful and fast Touch ID is on the new iPhone 6. I mean, seriously. It also has new and improved WiFi along with built-inNFC for Apple Pay. The iSight camera is one of the best new features of the iPhone 6. It’s still an 8-megapixel camera but it has a new sensor with a new feature called Focus Pixels which is also known as phase detection AutoFocus. But whatever you choose to call it, we can all agree that it’s awesome. The camera focuses so much faster than the 5s, and it takes some great looking photos even in low light or pitch black situations. The camera is also able to record videos in full 1080p at 60 frames per second and super slow-mo 240 frames per second in 720p. It also has cinematic video stabilization which makes shaky videos look smoother and more cinematic. Also has a cool time lapse mode too. If this wasn’t an iPhone it would almost be worth it just for the camera itself. I just wish they would have made the front facing camera better than it is. Still pretty crappy for selfies in my opinion. Finally, let’s talk about the battery. It’s not that it’s bad, but it’s just not that much better. On a normal day of pretty heavy usage I can make it through my normal 16 hours without having to charge it, but it still needs to be charged every night, just like with my 5s. I can start off with 100% at 7am and by 8pm it’s at less than 20% but that’s after going through the day streaming Spotify over LTE, web surfing, checking email, listening to music over Bluetooth, all that stuff. So it lasts long enough for a day, but I was just hoping for a little bit more. Should I get rid of my 6 for the 6 Plus to get more battery life? No, I’m okay with charging every night and I can truly say, at least for now, that I’m happy with my iPhone 6. I think you’ll be too.

By Andy Slye

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