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I'm hosting a few samples here only because they are no longer published on TechBargains.com.
TYLT Tunz Stereo Earbud Headset
Overview
The TYLT Tunz earbuds may be spelled a little strangely, but this just accentuates the fact that they’re not your average earbuds. They come in 5 different colors (red, blue, green, black, and white) and have a big focus on durability, having been designed to cater to the needs of “extreme athletes.” They feature a unique flat silicone cable that not only increases the cable’s lifespan, but also make the Tunz extremely resistant to tangling. They come with 3 sizes of standard ear gels, and 3 sizes of their unique “Active Gels” that keep the earbuds from coming out of your ears during vigorous activity. The Tunz feature a built-in microphone and single-button controller that lets you do things like play/pause music and answer calls on supported devices. And, most importantly, they promise to deliver exceptional sound quality.
Notable Specs
Flat, tangle-free silicone cable (much more durable than traditional cables)
3 sizes of traditional earbud caps (ear gels), and 3 sizes of Active Gels
In-line microphone and controller, compatible with most modern personal music devices
20Hz-20KHz frequency range
8mm drivers
116dB sensitivity
16Ω impedance
Standard 3.5mm jack
1.2 meter cable
Box includes a cable clip, a flex-open carrying bag, and user manual.
What we liked
Awesome cable mechanics- TYLT’s flat silicone cable is something that should be included in every pair of headphones from now on. Just like they claim, it’s nearly impossible to get the cord tangled, even if you intentionally sit down and try to contort it into a tangled mess; if you tie actual knots in the cable, the flat design still makes it very easy to undo them. On top of that, the rubbery silicone cable is much more durable than traditional headphone cabling. Additionally, there’s a lot more surface area for attaching components to the cable (the earbuds, 3.5mm jack, microphone, etc) which means they’re much less likely to get internal wire breaks at these points (or anywhere else, for that matter) like earbuds with standard round wires are prone to do. Taking it a step further, TYLT incorporated flexible rubber moldings at the points where the wires connect to these components, further ensuring that these common stress points won’t create any issues down the road. And as if all that wasn’t enough, the whole design gives the Tunz a nice, unique look that visually sets them apart from other headphones in a subtle way.
Active Gel caps- If you like to listen to music while working out, but have issues with keeping your earbuds comfortably seated in your ears during your vigorous routine, these little guys are going to be your new best friends. They’re just like normal earbud caps, but with an extra bit of flexible webbing sticking out designed to anchor the earbuds in your ear without sacrificing comfort. And they work very well; unless the cable gets caught on something and yanks it out, they’re not going anywhere. Although the increased pressure that holds them in your ears actually can become a little uncomfortable after a while, it’s the kind of thing you could quickly get used to or easily ignore, especially since they do such a good job at keeping them in place.
Great sound quality- The most important aspect of any pair of headphones. All the build quality and extra features in the world won’t make up for poor sound quality, and with the Tunz, you don’t have to sacrifice any of it. It’s difficult to objectively qualify something as subjective as audio quality, so suffice it to say the Tunz have some of the best audio performance of any simple stereo earbuds we’ve used. The box they come in says they deliver “Deep rich bass with clear crisp highs” and we couldn’t say it any better than that.
Fantastic volume levels- To put it bluntly, you could blow your eardrums out listening to these when they have full volume levels pumping through them. In a quiet environment, you might even be able to set them on your desk and use them as makeshift personal speakers. Of course, this kind of behavior depends a lot on how loudly the device they’re connected to will output sound, but in tests with several personal music players, they were able to get loud enough to be heard relatively well at arm’s length. And even at these maxed out volumes, they maintained a high level of audio quality. So if you’re the kind of person that has to play music really loudly because you can’t hear very well due all the loud music you listen to, the Tunz certainly won’t disappoint you.
Convenient in-line controller- With specific support for iOS and Android devices, the in-line controller lets you play and pause songs, answer calls, activate voice commands, and if you’re using an Apple device, skip to next and previous songs with different click combinations. Android users can also use it to activate redial functionality. Sadly, these controls don’t work on a PC, but that’s really due more to a lack of hardware support on the computer’s end than an issue with the actual controller.
What we didn’t like
Doesn’t include a volume rocker- Basically, these headphones are so nice and well-rounded that we couldn’t find any significant drawbacks to using them. Everything they do works at or above the level of performance we’d expect to get from any good pair of earbuds worth using. Their worst “flaw,” therefore, is the lack of a built-in volume control alongside the microphone/controller button combo, which is a feature you can find on a lot of music-focused earbuds these days. But that’s really more of a suggested feature, rather than an actual issue with the Tunz.
Our Verdict
Despite being marketed towards and designed for athletes, the TYLT Tunz earbuds are a great choice for just about anyone, regardless of how often you hit the gym. Their unique flat cables make them extremely durable and virtually immune to tangling, and the built-in microphone and single-button controller make it perfect for people who want to use it to listen to music and/or answer calls on a smartphone. At a retail value of $40, they might seem a little expensive to people who usually go for the $10-15 options available at common retail stores like Walmart. But considering all their great functionality and features, we think they’re pretty reasonably priced (especially if plan to make good use of their Active Gels), and highly recommend them to anyone who wants a quality, durable pair of earbuds.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Tablet/Ultrabook Hybrid
Overview
Lenovo’s new ThinkPad Helix is an interesting new concept: it’s basically a high-powered Windows 8 tablet with a detachable dock that turns the tablet into a small pseudo-laptop when connected. This allows the Helix to take on the title of Intel Ultrabook, while still remaining a touchscreen tablet at heart.
The Helix runs Windows 8 Pro (not the RT version) which gives users the power to run anything that would run on a traditional Windows 8 laptop or desktop, and packs an Intel i5 CPU and 4GB of RAM. The tablet and base are both clad in black plastic that does a decent job of repelling fingerprints while still looking and feeling nice, and the whole thing is pretty thin and light for a laptop as an Ultrabook should be. The 11.6” touchscreen has a native resolution of 1080p, and there’s a MiniDisplayPort connector on the bottom of the tablet or back of the dock for video output.
Up to 10-hour combined battery life with tablet and dock
What we liked
Versatility and Portability- This is obviously one of the main selling points of the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix for a reason. Their marketing claims four distinct modes of operation: Laptop, Tablet, Stand (with the tablet facing backwards on the dock), and Tablet+ (tablet facing backwards and laying down on the dock). In its native mode as a tablet, it has plenty of power for the usual tablet tasks: web browsing, checking emails, light to moderate gaming, and many productivity tasks (drawing is especially fun with the Wacom-like pen) can all be handled without causing the Helix to break a sweat. And when you really need to get down and dirty with tasks that require a lot of typing, it’s fast and easy to snap the Helix onto the dock in Laptop mode and use the full keyboard and trackpad (or Lenovo’s trademark red TrackPoint) to get things done just like you would on a traditional laptop. Connecting the tablet to the dock gives you access to an additional battery source (adding up to 4 extra hours of use on a full charge), as well as 2 USB 3.0 ports on the back of the dock that aren’t available directly on the tablet. The tablet can be connected to the dock facing away from the keyboard (Stand mode, presumably for quick presentation purposes) and from there can be “closed” into Tablet+ mode, which lets it function as a tablet while still connected to the dock. Undocking it is as easy as pressing a small release lever on the left side of the dock and then lifting the tablet off, and doing so is quite easy. Being able to quickly and effortlessly switch between these different modes makes it easy for the Helix to perform tasks as a tablet or a laptop, depending on your needs and preferences at any given moment. [Helix Modes.jpg]
Quality and Quantity of control options- There are 5 distinct ways of controlling the Helix: the touchscreen, the digitizer stylus, and the dock’s keyboard, trackpad, and TrackPoint. This means that the user can choose to use any combination of these options at any time, so you’ll always be able to work with whatever you’re most comfortable with to get things done as fast as possible. The 10-point multitouch screen is the main method of control in Tablet mode, and has great sensitivity and accuracy. In Laptop and Stand mode, the full keyboard makes typing easy, and comes complete with media keys (paired with the Function keys at the top) that let you do everything from adjusting the volume, to toggling external display options and activating the window switcher (commonly accessed with Alt-Tab). The trackpad has a very smooth texture, and its layout accents the rest of the dock design well. The nicest part of it is that the entire trackpad is one big button; instead of needing to double tap the surface to simulate a click like trackpads required in the past, you can press down anywhere on the trackpad while using it to click, and it feels completely natural. Clicking with the bottom right corner simulates a right click as expected, but when using the TrackPoint, the trackpad functionality changes to enhance its use: the right-click area gets moved to the top-right, and the top-middle area becomes a “middle click” that can be used for easy scrolling with the TrackPoint. And no matter what mode you’re in, the included stylus can be used directly on the screen. A small white dot is displayed directly under the tip (exactly like on Surface tablets) and the tip can sense up to 256 different points of pressure, so programs like Photoshop (or the free Fresh Paint program from the Store) can create lines of varying thickness based on pressure input. There’s also a small button on the side that can be pressed to turn any tap into a right-click, eliminating the need to press and hold it on the screen. No matter how you prefer to control your tablet or laptop, all options are made available to you for your pleasure with the Helix. [Trackpad Layout.jpg]
Long battery life- Part of being a computer in the Ultrabook line means that the Helix needs to have a higher-than-average battery life, and it doesn’t disappoint. During normal use, when attached to the dock and fully charged, you can expect 8-10 hours of use. More graphic-intensive uses, like mild gaming or watching HD videos, will give you around 6 hours of continuous use. And since the Helix is a tablet first and a laptop second, plugging it in always charges the tablet to full before charging the dock. Using it also seems to drain the laptop battery at a faster rate than the tablet, so you’ll always be getting maximum use out of the tablet’s battery.
Fast start-up- The time from pushing to power button to logging on and being able to use the Helix is a little over 20 seconds right out of the box, including 5 seconds to type a user login password. That’s even faster than a lot of dedicated tablets out there, and is no doubt thanks to the 128GB SSD included in the Helix. You should never have to worry about wasting time waiting around for your computer to turn on and start up before you can use it.
What we didn’t like
Small screen, high resolution- The native 1920x1080 screen resolution on the Helix sounds like a really awesome feature, and for most native Windows 8 programs it is. The problem is that for non-native programs, in addition to the desktop, there’s no up-scaling of content. Content that looks great on a 22” monitor at 1080p looks really small when scaled down to the 11.6” screen on the Helix. Everything is still extremely crisp and vivid, but it’s difficult to use your fingers to accurately select small things on the touchscreen, like the icons in the tray. You’ll be able to do it fine most of the time because the touchscreen is very accurate, but you’ll still have to consciously take a moment to carefully position your finger to make sure you click in exactly the right spot. Using the stylus can help a lot, especially with the small marker on-screen that shows you exactly where it’s going to touch. But it still requires a steady hand to tap the screen in the right place, since you usually won’t be in a position where you can steady your hand against anything without laying your arm across the screen, and a small amount of shaking can disrupt your accuracy.
Unusually high temperatures- The Helix is a supercharged tablet trying to perform at the same level as a high-end laptop. Since all of its internal hardware is packed into the tablet (with the dock containing only an extra battery and extensions for ports) it’s understandable that heat might become an issue for it. During normal use, such as watching videos, playing tablet games, or just heavy web browsing, the back of the Helix often gets hot enough to be somewhat uncomfortable to touch. But if you go for anything more intense than that, like playing big games designed for laptops and desktops (which it can’t handle particularly well), it doesn’t take very long for the back of the Helix to reach a temperature that’s almost hot enough to burn you. At that point, even the front screen of the Helix heats up enough to be uncomfortable to touch. Although to be fair, on the model we were given for review, the fans in the dock never turned on no matter how hot it got, so that might have been a software error that prevented it from cooling itself properly.
Limited I/O ports- The Helix may be classified as an Ultrabook laptop, but it still has many of the limitations of being a tablet. The tablet itself has a USB 2.0 port, an AC input, a MiniDisplayPort, a standard headset jack, and a slot for a SIM card. It also has a unique port that connects it to the dock, which contains 2 USB 3.0 ports and an extension of the MiniDisplayPort and AC input. That’s it. No HDMI, no built-in card reader, not even an Ethernet jack, despite the claims on Lenovo’s website that one is available “With USB Dongle (Included)”. As far as Ultrabooks go, this is a little disappointing. We’d have liked to see a few extra USB ports and an HDMI at least (although some people may find the DisplayPort to be sufficient), and the lack of any way to get a wired connection to the internet is something that people looking to use this as a business solution, as it’s mainly marketed, might find unacceptable. Additionally, there’s no CD or DVD drive in the Helix, which is yet another feature that is usually available with laptops.
Several design flaws- Although the Helix looks pretty spiffy at a glance, there are some aspects of its design that make it hard to use. The one you’ll probably notice first is inherent in the power, volume, and rotation lock buttons on the top and side of the tablet. They’re all quite small, and they’re slightly recessed into the case. This means that you end up needing to carefully use your fingernails to press them, and they have a fair amount of resistance on top of that that makes they whole process pretty difficult. The Windows button on the front doesn’t suffer from the same problem, and there are always the easier-to-use volume keys on the dock, but this is nonetheless an issue that hasn’t really been a problem with other devices. Once you get past that issue and start using the Helix with the dock, you’ll find that it’s pretty top-heavy, just the opposite of how most laptops are balanced. The dock is extremely thin and light, and with the tablet docked to it, it doesn’t take much force to accidently tip the whole thing over backwards. The odd weight distribution also makes it difficult to “open” the tablet when it’s in the “closed” position; if you don’t hold the base down while you open it, the friction in the hinge is enough to keep it from opening and you’ll end up lifting the Helix off the ground when you try. The problem is compounded by the fact that the rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop don’t do much to keep it from moving around on flat surfaces like they’re supposed to, although this could be considered a feature or a flaw depending on your own personal preference. And although the Helix is touted as an expensive but worthwhile business solution for customers who need extra portability on top of what a laptop can offer, there isn’t a number pad on the keyboard to ease data entry tasks, which is something that a lot of businesses need.
Our Verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad Helix is a radical new device that Lenovo hopes will be appealing to people looking for the portability and simplicity of a tablet, combined with the productive power and specs of an Ultrabook. And while the Helix is definitely something new and exciting, it just doesn’t function quite as well as a traditional Ultrabook. At the end of the day, it’s still just a supercharged tablet with a detachable keyboard dock. It’s not that it doesn’t function relatively well; it’s just a bit underwhelming in its performance after seeing Lenovo’s marketing videos for it and considering its price range. And with a retail value starting at $1,679 on Lenovo’s website (just over $1,500 with an automatically applied eCoupon), it doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would be a worthwhile investment for a business or consumer, compared to traditional laptops or tablets that can be had for a similar price. Although we listed extended portability as one of the things we liked, it’s not the major game-changer Lenovo would lead you to believe. Pulling a tablet out of a laptop doesn’t seem like a huge boost to productivity or portability compared to just taking the entire laptop with you, especially if it’s already a super-light Ultrabook.
If you only have need of a Windows 8 tablet with a little extra “oomph” and some extended capabilities, the Helix definitely fits the bill, albeit with a pretty hefty bill of its own attached. Just don’t expect it to out-perform what a dedicated Ultrabook laptop could do at handling tasks traditionally reserved for a laptop computer.
Rating- 3.5 stars
Sandisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive
Overview
Most people who keep up with the latest and greatest gadgets are familiar with (or have at least heard of) network storage drives. They range from simple backup stations accessible over your home network to complex media centers that can share and stream all of your movies, pictures, and other files to any device in your home. The Sandisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive (WFD for short) is basically a pocket-sized portable version of the latter. You can load media onto it just like a standard flash drive, but when you turn it on, it generates its own wifi network that pretty much any wirelessly-enabled device can connect to in order to stream, download, or upload files to and from the WFD. Sandisk provides free apps for iOS and Android devices to simplify the process and provide a familiar interface to access the files on the WFD, but most of the basic functions can still be accessed from a web browser, providing support for pretty much every wireless device on the market.
Notable Specs
Functions as a standard USB 2.0 flash drive
Storage via a MicroSD slot, preloaded with either a 16 or 32 GB card
Compatible with pretty much any wireless device with a web browser (laptop, kindle, etc)
App available for iOS 5.0+ devices, and Android 2.3+ devices
USB access support for Windows XP and later, and OSX 10.6 and later (works fine on Linux too)
Up to 4 hours of streaming on a single charge
Generates an 802.11 b/g/n network that can be password protected (WPA2)
Can connect to existing home networks, making it accessible over them.
What we liked
Lots of bandwidth- If you’re going to be streaming videos wirelessly to multiple devices, you want a streaming device with as much bandwidth as possible. The WFD doesn’t disappoint. We were able to get three 1080p video streams going (from separate ~1.8 GB MP4 files) to three separate devices and still had some bandwidth left over to give them all a substantial amount of video buffer. Of course, your experience will vary based on file sizes and video resolution, but the WFD gives you pretty much all you could ask for on the bandwidth front for this kind of device.
High capacity and interchangeable storage- One of the things we like most about the WFD is that the all the storage capacity comes from a little MicroSD card slot in the side. Currently, Sandisk is selling them pre-loaded with either a 16 GB or 32 GB card (which is already quite a lot of storage), but you can pop that one out and use any MicroSD card you want (assuming its formatted correctly; use FAT32). So if you feel like taking your entire media collection and streaming it wherever you go, it’s as simple as loading your stuff onto different MicroSD cards and changing them out as needed. Of course, we recommend you power the device off before removing the card to avoid any problems like accidental corruption.
Support for all wireless devices- Sandisk provides an app for iOS and Android devices that makes it easy to view the files on the WFD, while also allowing file uploads and downloads, as well as streaming for video formats supported by your device. This makes it incredibly easy to share the pictures and recorded videos on your device with any other device that can connect to the WFD, even across different platforms. And because there are lots of other mobile devices out there (laptops, Windows tablets, Kindles, etc), the WFD also provides a web-based interface for downloading and streaming files from the device.
Streaming limit can be avoided- Sandisk states that the WFD supports up to eight simultaneous connections, with three simultaneous video streams. Although we couldn’t pull together enough wireless devices to see what happens on the 9th attempted connection, we were able to test the 3-stream limit, and were pleasantly surprised. When accessing the WFD over the web browser interface (instead of the app), there was no limit to the number of devices we could stream to. Of course, 3 devices streaming HD content did take up nearly all the bandwidth (the 4th HD stream was far too choppy to enjoy), but if this streaming limit does exist, it must only apply to devices streaming via the Sandisk app.
Good battery life- Sandisk claims you’ll get up to 4 hours of battery life, streaming a single 720p video at 2mbps. That’s pretty respectable for a device this size, and even streaming full-tilt on three devices should get you through at least the standard 2 hour films, pushing 2 ½. And if you don’t want to have wait ~2 hours for a complete recharge after you’ve drained it, you can plug it into a standard USB wall or car charger and use it indefinitely.
Connect to an existing network- This feature is incredibly powerful, and really impressed us. Not only can the WFD create its own, independent wireless network, but it can connect to an existing wireless network and let you access files on the WFD from either network, simultaneously. This feature is touched on in Sandisk’s documentation, but doesn’t really let on to how much you can do with this. From a device running Sandisk’s app, you can enter the credentials for an existing network, which the WFD will then connect to (after a restart). This was designed to allow your mobile device to still see and access the WFD via the app while connected to your main Internet-enabled network. But it has the side effect of allowing ANY device on your network access to the WFD via its IP address (which you can look up on your router’s DHCP table; ours appeared the device name of *). Unfortunately you have to use the IP address to do this, because using the standard sandisk.com/wfd web browser method employed when connected to the WFD’s network doesn’t work when on a different network. Although this may seem like a pretty complicated process, it means that you can use the WFD as a network drive from any device while connected to your home network, which is a really convenient feature, especially since the WFD’s network still remains active and usable. This also provides wired devices on your network access to it, which would be pretty much impossible otherwise. There are a couple of catches though: first, it seems that the only way to connect to the WFD to an existing network is though either the iOS or Android app; if you don’t have a device that will run one of these apps, there doesn’t seem to be any other way to set it up. Secondly, anyone on your existing network can access files on the WFD without needing to know the password to the WFD’s network, as long as they know/can find its IP address. Regardless, it’s a really handy feature, and we’re surprised Sandisk doesn’t emphasize it more.
What we didn’t like
Wireless turns off when connected to computer- Although we understand that allowing access to the WFD wirelessly and over USB at the same time could lead to problems if the same file was changed by two different devices at the same time, it’s still a bit of an annoyance. Plugging the WFD into a computer disables all wireless networking capabilities and enables USB access, which is kind of inconvenient if you want to charge the WFD while still using it. Fortunately, you can still charge it via a standard wall or car USB charger without disabling its networking protocols, but this can just be an extra hassle to deal with when you’re on the go.
Buggy app- The main issues we had with Sandisk’s WFD came from using their app, rather than with the device itself. First of all, the app performs terribly for devices on iOS 5, despite supposedly supporting that OS. To be fair, that’s a pretty outdated OS at this point, but if they say they support it, that shouldn’t matter. The app would crash before it even started on an iPad 2, video streaming didn’t work on a 4th gen iPod touch, and crashes were infrequent but still there. All that aside, the user interface is usable but not particularly eye-pleasing. The Android app has a similar look, but seemed a lot more stable. Alternatively, the web interface has a very “bare bones” look to it, but is a lot more stable and reliable than the apps, albeit with not all the same features available.
Random shutdowns- The WFD does have a standby timer that can be set for 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or turned off. However, even when that setting was turned off, it still had an annoying habit of powering down on its own every now and then, despite having plenty of battery power and being in use streaming videos. It’s a simple matter to power it back on, reconnect devices (where necessary) and reload videos, but it’s still the kind of thing that’s just annoying and shouldn’t happen.
Can’t upload over web browser- Because the app leaves quite a bit to be desired, and because there isn’t an app for every device, we found ourselves using the web interface most of the time. The biggest drawback to doing so is that the web interface doesn’t provide any way to upload files to the WFD, even when accessing it from something like a laptop. It seems that the only way to do so is by using the app, or plugging it into your computer’s USB port and using it like a flash drive.
Our Verdict
At the end of the day, Sandisk’s Wireless Flash Drive is a pretty solid piece of hardware in an emerging consumer market. It’s super easy for the average user to set up and use, and offers some advanced features that more tech-savvy people will appreciate. Available from Sandisk for $60 ($50 for the 16GB version), we consider it more of a luxury device than something you won’t be able to live without. Still, if portable streaming is something you would really benefit from, we think it’s a pretty reasonable price for one of the first devices of its kind on the market, and sets a pretty high standard for competitors to match.
Rating: 4/5 stars
(More samples of my academic writing are available in the Code Samples topic.)
Some content has been changed or removed from the original paper for privacy reasons
