UV Cellphone Sanitizer

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Gadgets

Our smart phones are filthy. Wiping off the screen improves the view. UV light is a good option to get rid of bacteria and viruses. Using chemicals or soaps on a smart phone can damage the phone.

The Soeland UV cellphone sanitizer is one option of a product designed to rid our devices of bacteria and viruses.

The UV radiation from the Soeland UV cellphone sanitizer is about 2000 μW / cm2, which can effectively fungi, viruses and so on. Under ultraviolet light, oxygen in the air decomposes, producing a small amount of ozone. Ozone is a strong oxidant and also effectively remove various pathogens.

If you want to fit larger tablets, remotes, keys (or different items altogether – baby bottles etc.) the Baby UV Sterilizer is another option.

Update: Apple posted an update on cleaning your iPhone that says it is ok to clean your iPhone

Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the hard, nonporous surfaces of your Apple product, such as the display, keyboard, or other exterior surfaces. Don’t use bleach. Avoid getting moisture in any opening, and don’t submerge your Apple product in any cleaning agents. Don’t use on fabric or leather surfaces.

They specifically are saying isopropyl alcohol wipes are ok; they are not saying that spraying anything onto your phone to clean it is ok.

Telephone Zoom Lens for Smart Phones

Posted on November 24, 2018 by Gadgets

This new 58mm lens for iPhone, pixel, and Samsung galaxy camera phones provide 4x optical zoom from moment. Camera phones have become very good for what they do. The biggest problem I see is the lack of decent zoom options. Even this 4x optical zoom is limited but it provides a decent tradeoff of a quality zoom lens in a small package. You just don’t get the great zoom capabilities of full cameras like the 65x optical zoom I have on my Canon PowerShot SX60 HS Digital Camera.

You need the proper phone case to mount the lens to your phone (like this case for an iPhone X.

Apple Watch

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Gadgets

The Apple Watch is likely the most popular gadget of the year. People are still figuring out what benefits excite them about the watch. It seems to me the potential is huge but this initial effort is not quite amazing.

[Apple broke the link, so it is no longer available 🙁 jeez even companies with spending hundreds of millions on marketing don’t have people in charge that understand that web links must live.]

I embedded Apple’s promotional video for the watch which is obviously a sales piece but they do a very good job of showing what the watch offers.

There are many good reviews of the watch: The Apple Watch (Daring Fireball) – Apple Watch Review: The Smartwatch Finally Makes Sense (WSJ) – A Week on the Wrist: The Apple Watch Review (Recode) – Apple Watch Review (Verge

My opinion is it is very expensive for what you get. But I can see the potential for some very wonderful things down the road. The health kit options I think will be a killer feature (maybe not right away but within a couple years).

Another feature that will be quite valuable are paying with a swipe from the watch (which seems to be less than perfect so far), but it will be very nice. Apple Pay is a very smart system given the relative ease at which consumers credit card details continue be stolen using conventional means (Apple Pay doesn’t turn over you credit card number so hackers can’t get it from poor IT systems at retailers).

The quick interactions with friends I think will be a big feature, again it may take several interactions to get this to be wonderful. The “tap” notifications seems to physically be done very well. Figuring out the right settings to properly filter what should generate that touch seems to take a bit of work (and not surprisingly apps are defaulting to too much bothering the user).

Being able to just speak to leave yourself notes is a nice feature, though my guess is one that isn’t used as much as people would think it would be.

Personally I see more potential for the watch that I see actually delivered thus far. I am more positive about the long term success of the watch today than I was when it was first announced.

I stopped wearing a watch years ago. And I don’t have any plans to start again anytime soon. But if I do, the Apple Watch is a likely candidate. It sure isn’t cheap but hopefully I can just use a bit of profit from Apple stock when the time comes to pay for one.

Save on Phone Charges When Traveling – Sim Card Savings

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Gadgets

Roaming charges on cell phones are ludicrously expensive. When I travel I normally just get a local sim card but that does have hassles (you don’t have your normal cell phone number attached to your phone).

A new service provides much better roaming rates by directing your roaming traffic to their network instead of your cell phone carrier. The cool gadget that allows this is a sticker applied to your sim card.

You phone must be unlocked for this to work. It works with iOs (iPhone and iPad), Android and other systems and all sim types (micro, nano and mini).

There is an option to get a local number to let people easily call you locally.

When applied to your home SIM card, the KnowRoaming sticker can detect when you are at home or abroad. When abroad, the KnowRoaming Sticker takes over and switches you onto the KnowRoaming network, enabling you to connect to our local partner networks worldwide. After returning home, the KnowRoaming sticker switches you back to your home mobile network and remains dormant.

They take your balance after 15 months of no activity which is unnecessarily hostile to customers. But for the right people it might be worth looking into if this option would benefit you.

PulsePoint App Gets Medical Help Where Needed Quickly

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Gadgets

Ok this isn’t really a gadget but it is my blog so I get to do what I want 🙂
PulsePoint is a crowdsourced iOS app that locates nearby help for a cardiac arrest and helps get help to those in need quickly.

view of PulsePoint screen cardiac notification

Life-Saving Crowdsourcing App Expands Reach to Stop Cardiac Arrests

[PulsePoint] on his phone warned him that someone nearby needed CPR. Brawner reportedly raced around the gym, trying to find the victim, before heading to the parking lot, where he saw a man sprawled on the pavement. He began giving the man CPR until fire and rescue units showed up.

The man’s survival wasn’t just a blessing for his family, it was a huge victory for the PulsePoint Foundation, a Bay Area nonprofit whose app is making it easier to alert CPR-trained people that someone nearby needs help.
…
PulsePoint’s free app connects to local 911 call centers and alerts users when there is someone nearby in need of CPR. PulsePoint users get an alert the same time as local emergency responders.

It also shows the location of the closest automated electronic defibrillator (if there is one nearby) as well as a reminder about how to do CPR, just in case the user has an adrenaline-induced brain-freeze.

Very cool. It is great to see us find ways to help improve the health care system.

Asus Padfone: Tabet with Plugin Phone

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Gadgets

Smart phone from Asus that plugs into a 10.1″ tablet that runs Android. It looks kind of cool but honestly doesn’t seem that special. Still, even just the size of the tablet is good.

Macro Lens Band for Phone Cameras

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Gadgets

Easy Macro Cell Lens Band [link broken so it was removed] is a neat tool to let you have macro photo capabilities on you camera phone. Only $15.

[embeded link broken so it was removed]

This lens will transform your cell phone photos from meh to awesome by giving you stunningly sharp details. See the curious detail of your own eye, get a close-up of the sprinkles on your ice cream cone or see what an ant’s face really looks like!

Droid Incredible

Posted on December 19, 2010 by gadgets

The Droid Incredible really is a great gadget. I am too cheap to get it but if I were to use a cell phone much I think this is the one I would get. I personally prefer more open software like Android (which the Droid Incredible uses) to Apple (though Apple’s user experience is great, I admit).

The Droid Incredible by HTC features a body design that measures 4.63 x 2.3 x 0.47 inches (HxWxD), making it easy to slip into your pocket. A large, 3.7-inch HD screen with 480×800 resolution graces the front of the device. The responsive OLED touch screen features rich colors and is easy to use.

With a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal flash memory, the Droid Incredible delivers incredible performance, letting you run multiple applications. It includes an 8-megapixel camera with auto focus and 2x power LED flash, and also Google Maps Navigation, which provides GPS-based turn-by-turn voice guidance to get you where you need to go.

Curious Cat Gadgets

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