Joyetech EGO-T e-Cigarette review

Quick hands up please, how many Gadgeteer readers smoke?  Another quick poll, how many have tried to give up?  I know I have, multiple times. :)  I’ve tried Nicotine Replacement Treatment (NRT) in the form of gum, hypnotism, cold turkey (not smoking, not the meat :) ) and Zyban. Yet after 30 years I’m still smoking.  Well I’ve now been cigarette free for quite a while now with the help of the Joyetech EGO-T e-cigarette.  From day one of receiving this item I haven’t picked up a smoke or even been tempted.  Want to know more ?  Read on.

Disclaimers

  • I am not a medical professional 
  • I have written this article without trying to make it an anti/pro smoking , anti/pro tobacco company or anti/pro government article.  :)
  • The information supplied here based purely on my own personal experience.

Introduction

It’s funny how things happen sometimes isn’t it? I was reading a thread on e-cigarettes on another forum and even though I’d read about them before I put up a quick post asking a question. I then found out that there was an e-cigarette seller in the same city as me. Within three hours I was having a coffee with the owner and walked away with a starter kit.  After doing a bit more research I discovered I wanted a different kit and swapped it over with him in a supermarket carpark at 9:30pm.  The wonders of buying locally :) And since that night, I haven’t had a cigarette.

Is smoking tobacco really  bad for you ? :)

According to the CDC, smoking tobacco exposes you to around 7000+ different chemicals, hundreds of which are toxic and 70 of which are known to be carcinogenic, and that’s without even considering other  factors like the tar that coats your lungs.

Besides the health concerns there’s also the cost of regularly buying cigarettes, the smell, the burn marks in your clothes, the list just goes on and on.

Those of you who do smoke or have given it up will know that it’s not just the chemical addiction that’s hard to give up but also the behavioural habit as well.  Isn’t that first smoke with your morning coffee fantastic?  :)

It’s worth noting here that unlike many NRT options like patches or gum, e-cigarettes aren’t actually recognised by Governments in many countries as a means of reducing/quitting smoking.

E-Cigarette

E-cigarettes come in all shapes and sizes; however, the basic principle remains the same. A battery supplies power to an atomizer which transforms glycerin, nicotine, and flavour stored in a cartridge to vapor.

Batteries are available in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colours and charge capacities. A single 900 mAh EGO-T battery lasts me about a day and a half and they’re easily charged via a USB charger. It’s worth having two so that you can still vape while your other one is charging.

I’m using Vision Star Dust clearomizers, which integrates the atomizer and the chamber.  This makes it easy to use and gives me a solution that’s foolproof and more importantly leak proof.  I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. The Star Dust will hold about 1.6ml of e-liquid and most people use around 3ml per day. They can be cleaned, but in the end are a disposable item and should last at least a couple of weeks or more.  They cost around $4.90 to replace, and newer versions allow you to rebuild them at a cheaper cost.

If you go down the rabbit hole, getting into vaping can be  expensive as you upgrade into all the different mods and models that are available.   The entire starter kit you see in my header picture set me back just over $50 or just over one week of tobacco. To this I’ve had to add some juice and nicotine, probably around another $60 worth.  That’s still only about 3 weeks worth of tobacco and I’ve now got enough equipment to last me around 5 -6 months, I’m guessing.

e-Juices

e-Juice can be had in almost any flavour you can imagine. You can either purchase pre made e-Juices or make up your own with or without nicotine.  While many try to stay with a tobacco type flavour, it’s possible to be vaping Key Lime Pie, Roast Chicken and Potatos  or  Bourbon and Cola.  Makes it quite interesting and you can vary as much as you like. I can load up different Star Dusts with different flavours for a bit of variety during the day. My current favourites are Whisky and Butter Rum :)

Nicotine

To the flavour you add nicotine though it is an option to vape without the nicotine content.  Nicotine can be ordered in different concentrations with the intention that you gradually reduce the amount of nicotine until you ween yourself off it completely, well at least that’s the plan. :) At the moment I’m vaping 18mg/ml (1.8%), and I’ve already made up some 12mg/ml  (1.2%) nicotine e-juice ready to go down to. You do have to find the right level initially though.  I started off with 12mg but still had thoughts about smoking a cigarette, changing to 18ml has fixed that.  My research seems to point to the fact that those who try and give up smoking using e-cigarettes without nicotine seem to fail.

Usage

Here’s my e-cig assembled, it’s around 5.5″ (14cm) in length. It doesn’t really physically emulate a cigarette, though it is possible to get e-cigarettes that do.  You remove the mouth piece, drop some of your e-Juice into the chamber, screw the chamber to the battery and you’re good to go. The battery can be locked or unlocked by pressing it 5 times quickly, so it doesn’t “discharge” in your pocket or bag unintentionally.  The e-Juice is wicked up into the atomiser, and as you push the button, you basically draw back and breathe in the vapor produced. The only by-product when exhaling is water vapor, which is odourless and dissipates quickly.

To me this covers off 3 of the habits/addictions you’ve developed from smoking; the nicotine, the inhaling and exhaling smoke and the hand to mouth action.

Conclusion:

So since starting I haven’t had a single smoke. Yes I’m still taking in nicotine, the most addictive part of smoking, but considered “harmless” in itself in the amounts that I’m vaping. Because I’m mixing my own juices, I can slowly reduce the amount of nicotine I take in until I’m completely weened off it. The best thing,  I haven’t subjected myself to all those 7000+ other noxious chemicals.

Other advantages I’ve found so far:

  • Being a roll-your-own smoker, I (and more importantly, the wife) don’t find particles of tobacco on benches, in pockets and all over the place anymore
  • My sense of smell and taste are slowly repairing themselves
  • I don’t smell anymore. One of my smoking mates came around the other night, after he went out for a smoke he stunk. Wowsers did I smell like that? :)
  • I took the dog for a walk the other day up and down hills, and while I won’t be running the Boston Marathon in the near future, I certainly didn’t get anywhere as out of breath as I used to.
  • Have a look at my “motivational” sig below (it’s live updating) .  It’s not the  financial details that really blow me away but look how many cigarettes I HAVEN’T smoked :)

The only thing to mention here is that there’s been no long-term studies on the effects of e-cigarettes, but in my own mind if I’m avoiding all the effects of smoking tobacco, any side effects will be minimal in comparison.

As anyone who’s ever tried to give up smoking will know, it’s not easy. I know; I’ve tried multiple times before. Besides the chemical and habitual addictions, you have to want to give up smoking. Well I just fell into this solution, no fore-thought or pre planning.  It just worked.  If you’re thinking of  giving up it may well be a good option for you. Heck, it even involves gadgets :)

Product Information

Price:$52 for the Starter Kit above with 2 X 900 mAh battery, charger, 3 x Stardust clearomizer, carry case and 10ml flavour
Manufacturer:Joyetech
Retailer:Ecig Quality in Tasmania Australia or various resellers around the world
Requirements:
  • USB port to charge your batteries
  • Nicotine Juice ( not mandatory but highly recommended)
  • Flavours
Pros:
  • Stop smoking tobacco almost immediately
  • Cheaper than smoking tobacco
  • Healthier
Cons:
  • No long term studies on effects of e-cigarettes

Filed in categories: Health Related Gadgets, Miscellaneous, Reviews

Tagged:

Joyetech EGO-T e-Cigarette review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 21, 2012 at 11:01 am.

The Airship graphic novel was printed on a 90yr old printing press and hand bound by author Todd Thyberg

I think Todd Thyberg is cool. He’s kind of like Ben Franklin (printer), Jules Verne (sci fi writer), Betsy Ross (seamstress) and a smartphone geek all wrapped up in one person. Todd has written The Airship, a 12 page, 3 color illustrated sci fi graphic novel that has been printed on a 90 year old Vandercook letterpress. Todd then hand cuts and binds the pages into a booklet.

The Airship is a science fiction story and first in a trilogy of planned letterpress graphic novels. In it, I seek to draw a literary analogy between the dichotomy of using modern day digital design tools to create works that are produced on vintage analog equipment. In this story, set in a fictional past, one of the characters is transported to another dimension in space and time. His attempts to communicate across this gulf are indecipherable to the reader without access to a smartphone. I hope to entice readers into seeing new possibilities for tying two disparate mediums together for a more interactive and unique experience. Readers must use their smartphone to scan QR codes so they can see video messages and explore The Airship.

The Airship is available now for pre-order. The hand stitched booklet version is priced at $150 and the hard bound version which includes extra images is priced at $350. Pricey for sure, but I can appreciate the work he put into it and would be interested in checking it out.

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous, News

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The Airship graphic novel was printed on a 90yr old printing press and hand bound by author Todd Thyberg originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm.

Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home

Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home

You might remember Google's unveiling this spring of the Street View Trekker, a seeming cross between a backpack and Van de Graaff generator that lets the mapping team produce 360-degree imagery where even trikes dare not tread. The portable camera ball is just going on its first trip, and Google has chosen the most natural destination for a novice tourist -- the Grand Canyon, of course. Staffers with Trekkers are currently walking trails along the South Rim of the canyon to provide both eye-level points of reference for wayward hikers as well as some breathtaking, controllable panoramas for those who can't (or won't) make it to Arizona. Once the photos make it to Street View sometime in the undefined near future, it'll be that much easier to turn down Aunt Matilda's 3-hour vacation slideshow.

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Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/24/google-trekker-goes-to-the-grand-canyon-takes-street-view-photos/

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Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

For what seems like an eternity, Download Squad readers have reacted to news of security exploits targeting Adobe Reader with a common sentiment: why doesn't Microsoft build its own secure PDF reader into Windows? Apparently the Windows 8 team agrees, and they're working away at an application called Modern Reader which is exactly that.

From the handful of screenshots Paul Thurrott has shared, it's clear that Modern Reader has been built with Metro in mind. You can see the Reader back button in the top-left corner of the yellow image and the minimal page navigation bar on the right. We've posted some larger images we managed to scrape from Google's cache after the break.

Thurrott also mentions that Modern Reader is the first program spotted which is built using AppX -- a packaging technology that may allow developers to roll a single build to both Windows 8 desktops and Windows Phone 8 mobile devices.

Continue reading Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/windows-8-getting-a-built-in-pdf-reader-finally/

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Dutch court rules that Samsung didn't infringe on Apple multi-touch patent

Dutch court rules that Samsung didn't infringe on Apple multi-touch patent

Once again, a decision has been made on an Apple versus Samsung patent dispute. This time, it's a Dutch court in the Hague, ruling that Samsung does not infringe on a Cupertino patent relating to certain multi-touch commands that the Korean firm implements in some of its Galaxy phones and tablets. This isn't the first time that the Netherlands-based court has found in favor of Samsung, and Apple had already lost a preliminary injunction on this same patent last year. Reuters also reports that the Hague court's decision comes in the same week that the International Trade Commission is expected to decide about further patent disputes between the two firms, which went in favor of Apple the last time around. At the very least, this long and bumpy ride isn't over yet.

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Dutch court rules that Samsung didn't infringe on Apple multi-touch patent originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 08:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/rhvotUEZEa4/

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Windows 8 vs. iPad Mini: Smackdown of the Decade?

There is probably no battle we will see that will better define the futures of the new post Steve Jobs Apple and Steve Ballmer's revitalized Microsoft than this week's dueling launches. Apple is defined as the company that focuses tightly and drives people to its products, while Microsoft's strength is in the breadth of partners that collectively have the power to obliterate all challengers. For most of the past decade, using company valuations as a metric, Apple's approach has clearly been stronger, but in the prior decade, the opposite proved true.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/24be08d9/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C763990Bhtml/story01.htm

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Fitbit One Review: A Great Way to Monitor Your Wretched Laziness

Last month we reviewed the Fitbit Zip, which was basically a glorified pedometer. The Fitbit One is the Zip's big brother, and successor to the very popular Ultra line. Is the feature-filled gadget worth a hundred bucks? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nsdNZiUYcC4/fitbit-one-review-a-great-way-to-monitor-your-wretched-laziness

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Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices

DNP Sprint Direct Connect Now app brings pushtotalk to Android devices, where you at

Sprint announced on Wednesday the availability of its new Direct Connect Now Android app, which brings push-to-talk capabilities to the Kyocera Rise and LG Optimus Elite with support for other devices "coming soon." Compatible with both Nextel and Sprint Direct Connect devices, this free app features group calls for up to 21 people, touchscreen controls, call alert notifications and contact synchronization. While we appreciate this advancement in push-to-talk communication, we can't help but shed a tear reminiscing about the good old days of Boost Mobile's "where you at?" campaign. Please join us as we pour one out and celebrate faded memories of the chirp.

Continue reading Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices

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Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/24/sprint-direct-connect-now-android-app/

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MIT researchers use algebraic equation that improves WiFi and LTE data streams: boosts speed, reduces network congestion

MIT researchers use algebraic equation to weave WiFi and LTE data streams to boost speed, reduce network congestion

Dodging the issues of spectrum auctions and more cell towers, researchers at MIT have discovered that they can use an algebraic equation to improve data speeds by reducing dropped packets. It's these dropped packets that can build up congestion across a wireless network, as devices attempt to recoup these missing data nuggets. But instead of sending typical packets, MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics created an equation that describes a series of packets. If a packet fails to deliver, then the receiving device is apparently able to "solve" the missing chunk, with the processing load on phones, routers and base stations apparently negligible.

The tech, which can also seamlessly transition a data stream between wireless internet and LTE, has already been tested on WiFi networks over at MIT; when two percent of data packets were dropped, speeds were boosted from 1Mbps to 16Mbps. If five percent of packets were being lost, the researchers then saw bandwidth increase from 0.5Mbps to 13.5Mbps. Companies are apparently already licensing the tech, although MIT isn't revealing more on this just yet. Muriel Medard, project lead, said that there were currently "very severe inefficiencies that should be remedied before you consider acquiring more resources" -- namely more spectrum and hardware, although the gains seen in these early tests are yet to be replicated in real life. There's more on the science and development at the source link below.

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MIT researchers use algebraic equation that improves WiFi and LTE data streams: boosts speed, reduces network congestion originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/24/mit-researchers-algebraic-equation-to-weave-wifi-and-lte-signals/

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