Category: Electronics

I’ve never been a fan of the GoPro cameras so that’s why when I wanted to get an action camera a couple of years ago I ended up getting the Contour+ instead, it had some exciting features the Contour lacked as well as a slicker form factor. But, that wasn’t enough to overthrow GoPro since two years later, GoPro is still here while Contour collapsed last year due to financial difficulties. Now it’s Garmin’s turn to try and take on the GoPro with the new Virb action camera. Garmin are known for their navigation devices and this is their first attempt at an action camera so the local dealer in Kuwait passed me one to review.

I’ve had the camera now for around two months and I think I’ve got a clear idea of what I think about it. I’ve used it to record my bike trips, I’ve used it off roading in Lebanon and I’ve even tried using it as a dash cam. Generally I like the camera, it’s not perfect but it has some cool features that might make some people choose it over the more popular GoPros.

The biggest feature I think that will win people over is the durable water resistant rubber shell. The camera feels very well built and can take abuse which is why I wasn’t afraid of dropping it. Actually during this one trip the camera flew off my ATV while speeding on a rocky mountain trail. Not a scratch, not even on the lens. But even if I did scratch the lens it’s a cheap $20 part I could replace myself. Garmin wants me to put this camera in risky situations not be worried about damaging it and I love that.

Another great feature is the fact the camera has a large color LCD screen which you could use to help you frame your shots, for playback or to adjust any of the settings. The camera also has a large record toggle button similar to the one I used to have on my Contour camera which means I can turn on the camera and start recording by just moving the switch forward. Specs wise the camera can shoot 1080p at 30fps, 720p at 60fps and for extra slow mo, WVGA at 120fps. It also has GPS, wifi, bluetooth and even ANT+ so you could connect it to your heart rate monitor or other ANT+ device and overlay that information onto your video.

[YouTube]

I think the biggest issue with the Virb is the weight of the camera. Because the camera is built like a tank it’s heavier than the GoPro and that might turn some people off. Also the majority of the footage I shot was coming out slightly underexposed and desaturated as you can see in the short video above. Finally the color of the device turned out to be problematic. The Virb I received for testing was white but after having it for a couple of months now and the abuse its taken from me the white now has a bit of a brown tint where it fell into the dirt and I had difficulty restoring it. Getting the black version would be the easy fix here.

The majority of the people interested in an action camera will most likely get the GoPro because thats the one everyone gets. But, that doesn’t mean it would be the best option for you. If you’re looking for a camera that can take some abuse or a camera in which you could overlay data onto your video like the speed you’re traveling or your heart rate, then you should consider checking out the Virb. The price of the Garmin starts at KD85 for the normal Virb or KD109 for the Virb Elite which is the one I tested.

Turns out the Hurom brand of slow juicers isn’t the only option for slow juicers in Kuwait. I spotted the above two Kuvings slow juicers at SaveCo and although they cost more than the Hurom (KD124 and KD109 compared to KD99 for the Hurom), the model on the left does accept larger pieces of fruit and according to this comparison video, can also yield more juice than the Hurom. For those of you who don’t know, slow juicers are preferred by some people because they tend to retain more nutrients during the juicing process when compared to normal juicers.

Recently I went on a blender hunt since I wanted to replace my Philips blender which started to struggle making my smoothies. I started checking out the two best blender brands, VitaMix and Blendtec. Just like the great SNES vs Genesis battle there is a similar one between VitaMix and Blendtec. You have to choose sides, it’s either VitaMix or Blendtec and you can’t have both. Both brands have excellent blenders and no matter which one you choose you can’t go wrong. After watching countless videos on YouTube of people comparing the two blenders and basically just watching people blend stuff, I came to the conclusion that both blend extremely well but I was choosing Blendtec. Why?

• I liked the way Blendtec blenders looked like compared to the VitaMix blenders. Looks aren’t everything but if I was going to spend so much on a blender and bond with it then I wanted to like everything about it including looks. For people with low kitchen cabinets the VitaMix might not fit underneath because the VitaMix jars are tall and thin while the Blendtec jars are wide and short. The Blendtec blenders also look like modern kitchen appliances while the VitaMix have an old school look which is probably why they’re so popular with hipsters.

• I’m a huge a fan of the Blendtec informercial series “Will it blend?“. In the show the company founder tries to blend random objects in their blenders and he’s blended everything from iPhones and iPads to glow sticks and McDonalds meals. If it can blend an iPhone, it can blend my smoothie.

• The local Blendtec dealer is Mabrook, the same dealer as KitchenAid and I’m already a customer there.

There really weren’t that many models to choose from at the VitaMix and Blendtec dealers and both of them carried only the business range. The Blendtec dealer had only three models, the Blendtec Xpress, the Q-Series which was their midrange unit and the Chef which was their top of the line model. I ended up going with the Q-Series because I loved the size of the unit, the way it looked and the soundproofing features. The fact that Starbucks also uses the same blender didn’t hurt either.

The blender came in a huge unmarked brown box with just a small label on the side describing the contents. Inside the large box was the blender, two jars, some manuals and a CD. Setting up the blender was as simple as plugging it in and turning it on. It works right out of the box just like a regular blender. The “Q” in the “Q-Series” stands for quiet since the unit has sound proofing inside the case around the motor as well as a noise preventing cover that closes down over your jar. It’s meant for coffee shops and juice bars where they have to keep the noise level down as low as possible so as not to annoy the customers. The controls are fairly basic at first glance, 6 touch buttons on the top and a large power switch on the front but the 6 buttons on top are all customizable and programmable. The blender has 9 blending speeds and 30 pre-programmed blend cycles. Using the supplied “Cycle Chart” you can set up any of the 30 available pre-sets to any of the buttons on the blender and if there is a specific custom cycle you want you can take the blender to the dealer and they will program it into the blender.

I use one of the factory set smoothie cycles that is just 23 seconds long and consists of the following cycle: Starts off at speed 3 then goes to 5,1,3,5,3,6 and finally ends at speed 7. During the blending process the units LCD display will show you what speed the blender is on and how many seconds left for the blending process to be completed. The same blue LCD screen also displays a smoothie counter, kinda like how your car has the odometer, the Blendtec blender has a lifetime counter. As of this post I have made 95 smoothies in the two weeks I’ve had my blender.

There is literally nothing this blender can’t blend and no matter what I’ve thrown at it the blender has never even given the slightest sign of a struggle. My Q-Series blender has a 3.8hp motor and I haven’t used anything higher than a speed 7 even though it goes up to speed 9. I really didn’t realize how much my older blender used to struggle when making smoothies until I tried it again a week after getting my Blendtec. Not only did my old blender struggle but it also used to take around a minute to blend a smoothie. On the other hand I had a smoothie party last week and I was blending smoothies left and right flipping between two jars like a pro and blending nearly 3 smoothies a minute. I love this blender.

There are some downsides though. First is the fact the blender came with the regular 4-side jars and not the newer 5-side WildSide+ jar which is supposed to blend even quicker. The other negative is the fact the lid of the jar leaks when I clean the jar. To clean the jar all you do is fill it up with a bit of water and add a drop of soap. You then mount the jar on the the blender and use the “Pulse” button until the jar is clean. Only issue is unless I’m really holding down on the lid really hard it ends up leaking water from the top. I haven’t had any issue when blending my smoothies just when cleaning the jar but still, it’s annoying to have to keep wiping my blender down after cleaning a jar. The last issue is the price.

Before I mention the price I have to say, this blender is not for everyone in the same way Subzero fridges and Viking ranges aren’t for everyone. If you want a really good blender at a great price then I highly recommend the Philips which I previously had. But the Blendtec is one of the best blenders you can buy period and it’s commercial grade which is why it costs a staggering KD375. Even the Blendtec Xpress which is the entry level blender at the local dealer is still KD193. But good blenders cost a lot of money and it’s not just Blendtec or blenders, commercial grade appliances be it a fridge or a toaster will cost considerably more than regular plastic appliances. The VitaMix blenders I checked out locally were expensive as well with their entry level Drink Machine Two-Speed going for KD260 while their Vita Prep 3 is for KD359.

I love my blender.

Update: So my Blendtec sadly died on me 7 years later. No biggie except for the fact that they discontinued the parts for it and to fix my issue (which is the motherboard), I need to swap out the whole blender innards for a cost of KD128. So not worth it obviously since I can get a new Vitamix for that price.

I have a remote control I use to control my media server which I’m very used to since I’ve been using it for a number of years now. It’s not an expensive remote, it costs around KD7 on Amazon with an IR receiver but if you include shipping as well it comes out to around KD12. Recently it just stopped working for no reason and I really didn’t feel like ordering another one online. Other than the fact it would have taken around two weeks to get to Kuwait I just didn’t want to pay KD12 for a remote which shouldn’t have stopped working in the first place. So I headed to Hawalli looking for a place that would fix it and after asking around I was pointed to a building and told to go down to the basement.

It had to be the dodgiest basement of a complex I had ever been to. There was no lighting, most of the shops were closed and the only light available in the basement were from the few stores that were open. One of my favorite things about Kuwait is how all the stores that sell the same thing are always open next to each other. So you have all the video game stores in Rihab, all the car dealers in Al Rai and here you had a basement filled with small stores that just fixed electronics.

From all the stores open one stood out because they specialized in selling just remote controls which I found fascinating. I ended up going into one of the repair stores and after opening up my remote the repair guy told me two chips on the remote needed replacing. Originally he asked for KD4 but I was able to haggle my way down to KD2. Took him around 5 minutes to fix it while I watched.

So if you ever need a remote or any small electronics repaired this is probably the basement to visit. The basement is located in Hawalli past the Fire Station in a complex called Al Hajiri. Here it is on [Google Maps]

The new QX series cameras from Sony are part of their new range of mobile phone cameras.Sony realized that camera phones in general are pretty limited with the majority for example lacking any kind of optical zoom. Phone cameras also have really tiny sensors so the photos aren’t very sharp or detailed neither do they do so well in dimly lit situations. Thats why Sony came up with the idea to create a new line of cameras that would clip onto your current phone giving it a big boost. I picked up both the Sony QX10 and the slightly larger QX100 from the Sony dealer for this review.

Both the QX10 and QX100 follow the same principle, they both don’t have any screens and other than the power, shoot and zoom buttons, both cameras don’t have any other controls. The Sony QX10 is the smaller and cheaper of the two, it has a sensor delivering 18MP and it has a 10x optical zoom. The QX100 on the other hand has a large size sensor that delivers 20MP as well as an added bonus of having a bright F/1.8 lens. On the downside, the QX100 has only 3.6x optical zoom, it’s double the size of the QX10 and it’s also a lot more expensive.

Lets get something out of the way. Both these cameras perform much better than your mobile phone cameras. Between the two cameras the QX100 was obviously and clearly the better of the two because of the larger sensor and better lens optics. Because of the fact both these cameras easily out perform camera phones I decided this post wouldn’t focus on the quality of the photos but instead I’m going to focus on the practicality of the cameras.

Because these two cameras lack a screen you need to connect them to your phone. That’s a fairly easy process, you turn on the cameras and then you connect your phone to the cameras wifi. You then need to download the Sony app “PlayMemories” which will allow you to control the camera and take photos. Every time you want to use the camera, you launch the PlayMemories app and turn the camera on and wait for the two to connect. This is where I start having issues.

When it comes to capturing a quick moment both cameras fail miserably. If the camera isn’t already on and connected to your phone then you’ll most likely miss your shot because turning it on and then connecting it to your phone is a process that can easily take over 10 seconds. By then whatever moment you were trying to capture is long gone.

My biggest issue is that fact the cameras really aren’t that compact.Between the two the QX10 fits into my pocket but it’s still thick enough to create a bulge, a similar bulge to one I would have if I had a slim full featured point and shoot camera in my pocket. Actually the Sony DSC-TX30 is even slimmer so I would have less of a bulge with that. The QX100 on the other hand won’t even fit into my jeans pocket.

Now both these cameras do have one very cool feature that no regular point and shoot can compete with. The QX series cameras don’t have to be attached to your phone to work. If you’re at a concert you can hold the camera in your hand way above your head and while checking and taking photos from your phone at your eye level like a periscope. You can also set up the camera on a table in front of you and then use the phones screen to setup your selfie. You could even setup the camera in one room while taking photos from another and the reason you can do all this because the cameras work over WiFi. This I think is the coolest thing about these two cameras.

Which brings me to a question, who would prefer these two cameras over Sony’s other cameras? I honestly don’t know, I guess it’s for people who would take advantage of the fact you don’t have to have the camera connected to your phone. Price wise, both cost nearly the same price as Amazon with the QX10 costing KD69.9 and the the QX100 KD147.9 at the Sony dealer. If I was to choose between the two I would go with the QX10, its cheaper, its smaller and it has the added benefit of a 10X optical zoom.

The 32nd InfoConnect exhibition starts tomorrow and will be running till February 2nd at the Kuwait International Fairgrounds. You can usually get some great deals on phones and internet subscriptions at the exhibit and theres already a thread in the Community listing some of the offers.

For more details including the exhibition timings click [Here]

Note: Their website says January 26th to February 1st but their flyer says January 27th to February 2nd.

According to a recent news article, Microsoft is claiming that the Windows Phone outsold the iPhone in Kuwait. Thing is I don’t know anyone who has a Windows Phone. I think the last time I saw someone using a Windows Phone was a few years ago and it was a friend visiting from Dubai, but even he’s back to the iPhone. [Article]

Thanks Tuan

If you’re a tea drinker then you should check out this kettle before they get sold out. I first spotted it maybe around a month back at Xcite but I didn’t get it and I’m glad I didn’t because they’re currently heavily discounted and are being sold for a lot cheaper than Amazon.

The reason I was checking out kettles in the first place is because I was looking for one which would allow me to select a specific heating temperature instead of just boiling it to 100° like my regular kettle did. For some teas like green tea, pouring boiling 100° water on the leaves can scald them leaving a bitter taste. That’s why for green tea for example, it’s recommended to heat up the water up to just 80°. This Breville BKE820 Smart Kettle allows me to do just that. There are a five preset temperatures ranging from 80° to 100° and I select the one I want and click on start. Very easy and very cool to use. By cool I mean lots of nice flashing lights and beeping sounds.

Now the reason I’m posting about this is for some reason Xcite have dropped the price of the kettle from KD47 down to KD28. It’s a ridiculously good value considering my other two alternatives were a Cuisinart and KitchenAid kettle, both of which cost over KD60 at Williams-Sonoma. Last time I found a good deal like this was for my Breville juicer. They don’t have the kettle listed online and I’ve only seen it at their AlRai branch off the 4th Ring Road, so that’s where you need to go to get one.

The Ecoxbt is an interesting little speaker since it’s completely waterproof. While I use my Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12 on the shore, once I get into the water the Ecoxbt takes over. It’s a small lightweight speaker that not only is waterproof but also floats on the water. I’ve been using it now for three weeks and it’s really made chilling in the sea more entertaining.

The first time I took the Ecoxbt to the beach I literally threw it as far as I could into the sea. I didn’t have a specific reason other than the fact I could do it knowing the speaker would still be ok. The Ecoxbt pumps out just 6 watts of sound which isn’t much but surprisingly it’s more than enough when you’re out in the water. It’s a bluetooth speaker and I use my iPhone with a waterproof case to stream music onto it. When I’m home I have the speaker setup in my shower and I could stream music to it from my iPhone which would be charging in the adjacent room. So give or take around 10 meters apart. Out at sea though the distance drastically drops. Water kills the signal so if you have your phone in your back pocket under the water the bluetooth signal won’t get to the speaker.

Another downside is the Ecoxbt floats away if you leave it floating in the water. If you want to just leave it in the water like that then its best to do it in the pool where there are no waves. What me and my friends have been using the Ecoxbt mostly for is listening to music while relaxing and tanning in the shallow waters near the shore. I just dig the speaker into the ground and then dig my iPhone into the sand right next to it and they’ll both stay there until I take them out. These are small speakers so don’t expect any kind of thumping bass but they more than do the job. The rechargeable battery also lasts a ridiculous 15 hours so we’ve never run out of juice.

I’ve really been enjoying this speaker and it now has a permanent spot in my beach bag right next to my Beolit 12. The Ecoxbt costs KD42 and is available to purchase online from [Blink] and [uBuy].

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the beach this summer and one of my most important summer accessories I’ve been using is my iPhone5 LifeProof case. It’s my need-to-have accessory since it allows me to use my iPhone on the beach or in the sea and not worry about sand or water ruining my phone. The size is perfect and so far I haven’t had a leak but the case does have its shortcomings. Firstly the case doesn’t have a wrist strap nor a place to connect one. When I went paragliding I was worried I would drop my phone so didn’t take any risky shots, if I had a wrist strap I would have taken a lot more interesting photos. A wrist strap is really a must on a take everywhere case and it sucks the LifeProof doesn’t have it. The other issue I have with the LifeProof is the fact they recommend submersing it to a maximum of 2 meters for 30 minutes. This means I can’t keep my phone in my back pocket the whole time I’m in the water since I’m usually in the water for a lot longer than 30 minutes. Finally, even though I’ve never had a leak I’m always worried I will since the case is pretty thin and the only thing that’s stopping the water from getting into the case is a flimsy o-ring which seems to always get loose when I open the case.

The Hitcase Pro wasn’t available back when I purchased the LifeProof case and I didn’t even know they released an iPhone5 version until the local dealer contacted me asking if I would be interested in reviewing it. I quickly checked the specs of the case online and emailed the dealer back with a big yes and to send me the case before the weekend so I could try it out. That was three weeks ago and since then I’ve used the case a number of times and it has now officially replaced my LifeProof. I love it.

I don’t know where to begin this review since there a bunch of cool things about the Hitcase Pro. I’ll start with the case answering the shortfalls of the LifeProof. The Hitcase Pro comes with a wrist strap, that alone would have convinced me to jump ship even if it didn’t have any other advantages but it does. The Hitcase Pro can be submersed down to 10 meters so it can basically stay in my back pocket all day under the water and I won’t be worried about it leaking. The Hitcase Pro also feels and looks heavy duty so when I put the phone inside it and close it I don’t have any of the confidence issues of the LifeProof. So already without going any further the case has already solved all of my issues with the LifeProof and there are two more additional features that were interesting to me.

The Hitcase Pro has a built in wide angle lens for the iPhone camera. This was a bonus feature I didn’t think would make a big difference to my shots but it has. Other than the fact I could fit more scenery and people into my shots, the wide angle lens has made selfies a lot easier to take and the very slight fisheye look has made the shots a lot more interesting looking. The other cool feature of the Hitcase Pro is the fact it turns your iPhone into an action camera. The case allows you to use GoPro mounts or mounts that use the tripod socket. This means all my Contour+ mounts now work with my iPhone case so I could mount the camera on a jetski, a car or my bicycle. I’ve actually decided to sell my Contour+ now since I wasn’t using it much and if I do need an action camera I can just use my iPhone 5 now.

The Hitcase Pro does have two shortfalls though when compared to my LifeProof case. The Hitcase Pro is a lot more bulkier than the LifeProof case which doesn’t make it practical to use as a day to day iPhone case. I only use my LifeProof at the beach but I know a couple of people who use it as their everyday case. The second issue is you can’t charge the phone without removing it from the case. With the LifeProof there was a little latch at the bottom which when opened allowed me to access the Thunderbolt lightning connector. I don’t usually charge my iPhone while at the beach but I do connect it to my Bang & Olufsen portable speaker. None of these issues are major though and I’m willing to sacrifice them for all the other advantages the case provides.

The Hitcase Pro costs KD39 which is the same price as Amazon and is available to purchase online from [Blink] and [uBuy]. According to the dealer it will also be available soon at GoSport, Extreme Sports and Explorer’s Base.

I noticed Lakeland at Marina Mall is selling Roombas. They had two models, the Roomba 630 and the Roomba 390 which washes floors. Sadly, both models are ridiculously priced. The Roomba 630 is being sold for KD200 (KD99 on Amazon) and the Roomba 390 is for KD269 (KD142 on Amazon). Amazon ships the Roomba internationally and it will cost you just KD28 to ship the Roomba from the US to Kuwait via DHL. So that’s a considerable saving compared to buying it locally.

I used to have the really older model back in 2003. If you don’t know what a Roomba is click [Here]

[YouTube]

I know of two friends so far who have this Dji Phantom drone. It’s ridiculous and you can get it for around KD200 from eBay [Here]

Yesterday I got a phone call from Xcite telling me they launched their iPhone and iPad app. I checked out the iPhone version and it’s not bad although the main page for some reason makes me feel very claustrophobic. I think its because of all the icons squeezed into the bottom 1/3 of the screen. Anyway if you want to download it and check it out just search for Xcite in the App store or click on this [Link]

A few months back I upgraded from the entry level Kindle to the Kindle Paperwhite and although I hated it at first I’ve grown to like it, a lot.

Literally 10 minutes after getting the Kindle Paperwhite in the mail I was offering it up for sale because I hated it so much. I found it incredibly sluggish and hated the new graphical interface. I just couldn’t see myself using the Paperwhite without hurling it out the window 2 minutes later and I just wanted to get rid of it right away. Thankfully I didn’t. Some of my followers who found the Paperwhite frustrating at first told me if I used it for awhile I’d get used to it and a week later I was.

Once you get used to the Paperwhite it’s actually a pretty good ereader. First of all the biggest improvement over my entry level Kindle is the fact the Papwerwhite is backlit which means I can use it in complete darkness. The second improvement is the fact the Paperwhite has no buttons and uses a touch screen. At first this annoyed me but after using it on the beach a few times I now appreciate the fact the Paperwhite doesn’t have any buttons where little grains of sand can hide under. The Paperwhite is slightly larger and heavier than the entry level Kindle but I no longer notice the difference. Battery life is still extremely long, even with the backlit on it still lasts over 2 weeks with me per charge, maybe even more.

Yes the interface is still sluggish specially when compared to other touch devices like the iPad or any touch screen phone on the market, but I’ve really gotten used to it and it doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I’ve now given my older Kindle away because I can no longer go back to it and yesterday when a friend asked me which Kindle to get I recommended the Paperwhite to them. Even with whatever little faults it has, at KD35 it’s a really good deal. [Amazon Link]

This review turned out to be tougher than I expected since I was expecting the Big Jambox to easily come out on top but the Soundlink put up a pretty good fight. Both speakers are similar in that they are compact and very portable, run on rechargeable battery and connect to your music player wirelessly using bluetooth.

From the two speakers right off the bat I’ll say the Big Jambox is the better sounding of the two. There is no question about that. I played a variety of music ranging from Mumford & Sons and Zulu Winter to 16 Bit Lolita’s and Guy J when testing the speakers out. Switching between the two speaker was very easy using the iPhone and so I was easily able to compare the same songs on both speakers. In each and every case the Big Jambox topped the Soundlink when it came to the sound quality. The Jambox always sounded richer, had deeper lows as well as clearer highs. To top it off the Jambox could also go a lot louder than the Soundlink.

So you’d think there was a clear winner here but there isn’t. The thing is although the Big Jambox did sound better than the Soundlink the difference isn’t that dramatic in most cases. Because I was switching from one speaker to another instantly I was clearly able to distinguish the differences but if I had heard the two speakers on different days for example it would be a lot more difficult to distinguish the differences.

What I think clearly separates the two really depends on what you’re planning to use the speaker for. A friend of mine was looking for a speaker to take when traveling and use in hotel rooms, the Bose Soundlink would be the one to recommend in this case because although slightly taller its lighter and more compact so will fit easier into a suitcase. On the other hand if you have a gathering and want a portable speaker you could move out onto the balcony or onto the beach than the Big Jambox is the one I’d go for.

Design wise I personally prefer the colorful and chunky Big Jambox over the Soundlink. It comes in a variety of colors and it just looks funkier than the classier and more conservative looking Soundlink. The Soundlink has a 6 hour battery life while the Jambox has an astounding 15 which is why I’m guessing the Jambox is much heavier. Both speakers are selling for the same price of KD99 here in Kuwait.

So which one is better? Sound and design wise the Big Jambox is the clear winner for me. But the Soundlink does sounds pretty good as well and comes in a more compact and lighter package. For my needs though, I’d go with the Big Jambox.

Jawbone Big Jambox is available at Blink [Here]
Bose Soundlink is available at Xcite [Here]