Avantree Saturn Bluetooth music adapter review

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I’ve noticed that many of the new audio gadgets are now Bluetooth-capable, but what can you do about those that aren’t or are legacy products?  Avantree provides a solution with their Saturn Bluetooth receiver and transmitter, a small portable device that can turn your wired audio device into a wireless device.

Specifications:

* Bluetooth profiles supported: apt-X, A2DP and AVRCP
* Operating Range: Class 2, 10 meters
* TX mode working time: 10 hours
* RX mode working time: 9 hours
* Standby time: up to 400 hours
* Battery: 270mAH rechargeable LI-polymer battery
* Product weight: 48.5g
* Size: 50mm(L)x37mm(W)X13mm(H)

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The package comes with all the cables you’ll probably need to connect to your audio device.  The USB cable is only needed for charging.

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There’s really not much to it.  On the front is a switch to select either transmit or receive mode.  The multi-function switch in the center turns the Saturn on/off and puts it into pairing mode.  On the top right is a LED that indicates what mode it’s in.

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On the other side is the connector for the charging cable and the 3.5mm jack for audio input or output.

The first thing I did was charge it.  The LED indicated red during the cycle until it was fully charged and then turned off.  A  nice feature of the unit is that it can be used while charging, so if you want to leave it attached to your sound system, for example, you can without having to worry about the battery running out.

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To test out the unit, I went searching in the back of my forgotten gadget closet and came up with a couple of audio devices including an old Bluetooth headset and two prior generation MP3 players.  In addition I have my LG soundbar which is Bluetooth compatible, and an iPod Touch.

Perhaps I’m losing brain cells because I had some trouble at first determining whether to put the unit into receive or transmit mode when connecting to an audio device.  After some thought, it’s really not that difficult.  If you’re going to be sending audio from a device to the Saturn, it should be in receive mode.  If the audio is being sent from the Saturn to a Bluetooth audio device it will be in transmit mode.  When in doubt, read the manual, which aside from the broken English, is helpful.

The first thing I tried is to use my Bluetooth headphones with one of our TVs so I can watch shows after the rest of the household goes to sleep.  I used the double-ended 3.5mm plug to connect to the headphone output of the TV and went through the pairing process.  When the Saturn is turned on for the first time, it will enter pairing mode.  The procedure to pair is detailed in the instruction manual, and I had no problems.  The Saturn will remember up to 8 paired devices so you only have to go through the process once.

At first when listening to the TV, I had a problem with the sound dropping out as I moved around the room.  I solved this by positioning the Saturn at the front of the TV with the 3.5mm audio cable.  Because the Saturn was behind the TV, the signal was apparently being attenuated, causing the dropouts.

I then connected the Saturn to one of my old MP3 players and paired it with the LG soundbar in the den.  Again everything worked well, and I heard two-channel sound without any distortion or noise.  I used the other old MP3 player and got the same results.

In the living room, I have another TV hooked to a Lepai amplifier and two bookshelf speakers.  I use this with the TV to get better sound.  The Lepai has no Bluetooth capability, so I connected the Saturn Music Adapter to the amp and streamed audio from my iPod Touch.  Again, it worked well, and I appreciated the ability to stream music in the living room.

One use that I really appreciated was the ability to turn a wired pair of headphones into a Bluetooth pair.  By using the double ended 3.5mm plug, you can easily adapt the headphones for use with Bluetooth audio music sources, such as an iPhone or iPod.

I tried various combinations of the Saturn with different devices and all worked well.  The Saturn will reconnected with the last-connected device, which caused me some confusion.  I was trying to connect to a Bluetooth speaker, but wasn’t having any success until I realized that my iPod Touch was in the same room with its Bluetooth enabled.  It was the last device I had connected to.  Turning off the Bluetooth on the iPod solved the problem.

If you want to connect to two audio devices that are not Bluetooth equipped, you can purchase two Saturns and set one to receive and the other to transmit, and you’ll have a wireless connection.  The Avantree Saturn Bluetooth Music Adapter is a smart purchase for anyone wanting to connect audio devices wirelessly.  This is especially true if you want to re-purpose devices that may be technologically out of date.

Product Information

Price:$41.99
Manufacturer:Avantree
Retailer:Amazon.com
Requirements:
  • Audio input or output
Pros:
  • Small
  • Flexible
Cons:
  • None

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Bluetooth Gear, Reviews

Tagged: , ,

Avantree Saturn Bluetooth music adapter review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 21, 2013 at 11:00 am.

WaterField Designs CitySlicker iPad mini case review

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It’s no secret that I am a big fan of San Francisco based WaterField Designs bags and accessories. I’ve been carrying one of their zippered wallets for over 7 years and have yet to find another one that I like better. That’s why I was more than happy to accept their offer to review their new CitySlicker iPad mini sized case. Let’s see if this case lives up to the quality I’ve come to respect from WaterField.

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

The CitySlicker is available for the full sized iPad, Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and now the iPad mini, which I’ll be reviewing here.

The snap leather flap comes in your choice of several styles including distressed, naturally-tanned Black, Chocolate, Grizzly, Nubock, or Peruvian leather. I was sent the Nubock version which has a luxurious soft suede-like feel, that causes me to caress it every time I pick it up.

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The flap is two sided, with Black leather underneath. Two metal snaps hold the cover closed.

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The case itself is constructed of Black Ballistic nylon with stretchy knit pockets for storage.

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You have an option of adding a handle and/or D-rings for a shoulder strap. I went with just the D-rings. The rings are nice and small, so they don’t get in the way if you only want to attach a shoulder strap every now and then.

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Other than the inside compartment for the iPad mini, the next largest sized storage area is the zippered knit pocket on the back side of the case. You can’t really see it in the image above, but the pocket is semi see through. The pocket is about 6.5 wide x 5 inches tall. The YKK zipper used to secure the contents of the pocket opens and closes smoothly and easy to use.

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When you lift the leather flap, you’ll see the main compartment that has been designed to protect your iPad mini. It offers three layers of protection—impact-resistant plastic + high grade neoprene + padded liner.

This case cradles the mini in a padded fur lined pocket which will protect it from every day travel abuse. Although I don’t want to try it myself, I bet I could drop my mini (while in this case) from shoulder height and it would not sustain any damage.

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My iPad mini fits very snuggly in this case. So snuggly, that if you use a play through case with your device, you’ll have troubles getting it to fit into the CitySlicker. I tried it with the KHOMO Super Slim Smart Cover which Janet and I reviewed a few days ago. That’s the thinest full case I have and it added too much bulk to allow the mini to fit into the CitySlicker pocket. However I did find that Apple’s Smart Cover is acceptable – barely. It is a tight fit though.

As you can see in the image above, there are 2 more storage pockets under the leather flap. These are open topped pockets and are made of the same semi see through stretchy knit material as the zippered pocket on the back of the case. The two pockets are about 4 inches wide by 3.5 inches tall. If I had my way, I’d remove the stitches down the center and make it just one large pocket. I think it would be more useful as one pocket instead of two. As is, they can’t hold much because they aren’t tall enough to accomodate a full sized pen, a Field Note or Cahier notebook, iPhone or wallet.

Other than my complaint about the two pockets under the flap, the CitySlicker is a very well made case that will protect your iPad mini from whatever rough treatment you can dish out. It’s also an eye catcher and will have people asking you where you got it.

WaterField Designs continues to impress me with their products and I have no problems recommending the CitySlicker.

Product Information

Price:$89 ($99 for iPad version)
Manufacturer:WaterField Designs
Pros:
  • Padded and protective
  • Offers 3 additional storage pockets
  • Available with handle and/or shoulder strap attachements
Cons:
  • Pockets under flap are almost too small to be useful

Filed in categories: Cases, Covers, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Reviews

Tagged: ,

WaterField Designs CitySlicker iPad mini case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 19, 2013 at 11:00 am.

Tips And Tricks For Your iPad

Apple have designed the iPad to be easy to use, in fact even a two year old can use this device without any problems whatsoever. This makes it a very attractive option for people who are used to using an iPhone or for those who are not. However, there are still a few things about the device that do need a little bit of explaining.

Soft Reset Explained:

Although the iPad is pretty robust in so far as there are not actual moving parts in it, there are still a few things that can go wrong. With this in mind Apple have incorporated a ‘soft reset’ function into the device. This is particularly useful if the system ever freezes. By just holding the top or the power button at the same time as the Home button for a few seconds, allows users to reset the device.

Cut and Copy Pasting Explained:

Copying long texts on an iPad is a long and tiresome process. With this in mind Apple created an easy solution to the problem. Users can copy a whole paragraph without having to stretch the blue knobs on their screens. All they need to do is tap any of the text four times and this automatically highlights the whole paragraph. However, this only works on text that can be edited.

Importing Free eBooks Explained:

Users can benefit from free e-books on their iPads and this includes books that are no longer copyrighted.

Easy Mute Explained:

This is an easy to use function on an iPad that allows you to automatically turn off the volume on your device. Just by pressing the volume down button for a couple of seconds, users can turn off the volume on their devices.

Supersized Screenshots Explained:

Users can increase the size of a screenshot by simply holding the power and home buttons down simultaneously for half a second.

Bringing the Virtual Keyboard Back

Many people thought this would be difficult to achieve on their iPads but in fact it is easily done. All users have to do is touch the eject key on the real physical keyboard to get the virtual one back up.

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/tips-and-tricks-for-your-ipad/

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Apple Removed a Photo App from the App Store Because Artistic Nudity Is the Devil or Something

500px, one of the best iPad apps for finding great pictures, was pulled from the App Store today because Apple is Tobias Funke never nude-levels of prudish when it comes to the naked body. Apparently, the app made it too easy to find pictures with nudity in them so it got kicked out. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LRnKS68UnXI/apple-removed-a-photo-app-from-the-app-store-because-artistic-nudity-is-the-devil-or-something

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It's a Rocky Road for Alternative Powertrain Cars

Hybrid and electric vehicles have marketed as the "cars of the future," but consumers just aren't getting in gear with alternative powertrains; neither hybrids nor electrics are rolling down the road in great numbers. Although each year sees the introduction of new hybrids at auto shows, the most notable being the North American International Auto Show currently drawing crowds in Detroit, most consumers are still buying proven, well understood gasoline-powered autos rather than hybrids.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/27c704af/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C771370Bhtml/story01.htm

MANTECH INTERNATIONAL L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH IN MOTION YAHOO JACK HENRY and ASSOCIATES

Apple Removed a Photo App from the App Store Because Artistic Nudity Is the Devil or Something

500px, one of the best iPad apps for finding great pictures, was pulled from the App Store today because Apple is Tobias Funke never nude-levels of prudish when it comes to the naked body. Apparently, the app made it too easy to find pictures with nudity in them so it got kicked out. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LRnKS68UnXI/apple-removed-a-photo-app-from-the-app-store-because-artistic-nudity-is-the-devil-or-something

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Banshee music player now works in Windows, supports Amazon MP3 downloads

A few moments ago, version 2 of the Banshee music player for Linux was released, bringing with it a whole slew of new features, and the addition of an official -- but alpha-quality -- Windows build. The Mac OS X build of version 2 is due later today.

The most notable new feature is support for the Amazon MP3 store -- you can buy and download music from within Banshee -- but unfortunately it's only available in the Linux build at the moment (OS X and Windows support are planned, however). There have also been some significant improvements to artist, album, and queue interactions -- and yes, you can finally right click a track, album or artist and select 'play after' to insert it into the queue.

Beyond actual playback, the user interface has been tidied up -- it now looks a whole lot smarter -- and the Ubuntu One Music Store and SoundMenu extensions have been made official. For a complete list of changes, additions and bug fixes, check the change log.

When Windows support initially appeared in February, we found it rough around the edges and fraught with stability issues. With version 2, Banshee for Windows is still a bit unstable, but it's shaping up to be a good alternative to Winamp, iTunes, or whatever other music library manager you use. It's almost as attractive as its GNOMEish brother, too!

Download Banshee 2 for Linux and Windows (Mac OS X coming soon)

Banshee music player now works in Windows, supports Amazon MP3 downloads originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/banshee-music-player-now-works-in-windows-supports-amazon-mp3-d/

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Here Are the Business Cards of Famous People

Even though business cards seemed like they would be one of the first things to get killed by some fancy techwiznology, they've managed to survive even though the use of dead paper is dying. Everybody has business cards—even the super rich and super famous. Here are a few business cards from people you definitely already know. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/IOJJGSK2aD4/here-are-the-business-cards-of-famous-people

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webOS 3.0 beta now available to developers

hp touchpad webos 3.0
With the webOS 3.0 SDK available for almost two months, HP has now given developers access to a beta download of webOS 3.0 -- which powers the upcoming TouchPad and will likely ride along on HP desktops and laptops in the form of an emulator.

Right now, the webOS 3.0 beta is only available to Early Access developers. The crew at PreCentral states that HP appears to have eased up on access restrictions, however, so hopefully more devs will get on board and those of you who are planning to buy a TouchPad in the next couple months will have plenty of slick webOS 3.0 apps to install on your new tablet.

webOS 3.0 beta now available to developers originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/webos-3-0-beta-now-available-to-developers/

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These Painted Optical Illusions Are Amazingly Beautiful

I love the work of Shintaro Ohata. His canvases are beautiful on their own but, when he mixes painting and sculpture, he creates optical illusions that take his art to a whole new level. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uLMeaqXMaKA/these-painted-optical-illusions-are-amazingly-beautiful

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