Hiya I have something for you music-aholics today I was kindly sent some gadgets to show you from the lovely guys at Rebelite
Rebelite are one of the largest distributors of cellular phone/tablet accessories in the US. Their state of the art product line is rigorously tested for the best possible performance.
See after the break for more details on this gorgeous Bluetooth speaker. With an unboxing and review video too.
The WAVEstream arrived in a solid box well protected and with fab clean designs to show it off. the underneath clearly showing the parts of this adorable speaker.
Inside well packaged so no worries if like me your speaker is coming across the pond.
In the box you get your Soundbar, charging USB to micro USB cable and an auxillary cable for those who do not have Bluetooth on their device they wish to use; just wire it, but its great to get the choice.
The beautiful shape and sexy curve.
Description
Ive reviewed alot of speakers with Gadget Girl over the years and so many are designed as a square or rectangle (which is absolutely fine of course, afterall its the insides that count); but its so nice to see something slightly different and I love the super sexy curve of this soundbar.
Dont you think its sexy...?
So on with the design your WAVEstream is made of pink ABS plastic which has a slightly soft touch to it...slightly rubberized. This gorgeous almost neon pink is bright, fun and adds a fun colour blast to any room.
It comes in 4 colours; black, red, blue and of course my pink.
The front part of the speaker has a jet black aluminum grill protecting the two 1.5W stereo speakers.
Speaker unit is 40mm x 2 at 4 ohms.
Frequency Response 150Hz-20KHz.
On top of the speaker is the Xtreme logo and indented 3 plastic black buttons to operate your speaker.
First button is to play and pause, the larger central rocker button fast forwards or rewinds, and the third button answers or ends calls. You can also see 3 LED holes which flash blue, green and red depending what the speaker is doing. Above them is the Xtreme patented logo. These 3 buttons sit slightly in an indented dip making it quite touchy feely to use them...nice design touch.
The back gently curves backwards so it angles the speaker forwards...if that makes sense..well you can see the design in my video.
At the back you have your on/off slider button, charging port and auxillary port.
Underneath is your battery compartment and 4 rubber feet.
I love that the feet lift the speaker a good 2mm clear from the surface and had amazing grip on shiny surfaces. It stuck so well to my kitchen worktop.
The battery compartment slot comes completely off which could get lost, its sometimes best to have it hinged.
You have a supplied li-ion replaceable battery which you put in yourself. It has a clear plastic tag to help you remove it as its a tight fit inside. Speakers with built in batteries have to be thrown away if the battery dies...what a waste of money and waste of great technology; but not with the WAVEstream you simply buy another rechargeable battery. Although this is more specialized to replace unlike normal batteries.
Measurements
Approx 22cm in length, 5cm high and 7cm wide at its widest due to the curve and taper.
USB to micro USB Charging cable
Charging
The Xtreme WAVEstream Bluetooth soundbar...is such a long name...is rechargeable via the supplied USB cable from your PC or plug USB port.
The red LED comes on while charging; I found my speaker was more than half charged and was ready within an hour to use; great for those impatient like me and dying to use it. Usually it takes approx 4 hours to fully charge from flat.
Pairing with Bluetooth
Next I paired the WAVEstream with my S4, this was so easy, simply turn on your speaker and you will see a blue LED flashing by the buttons, this means its looking for Bluetooth. To connect to your device simply open up your Bluetooth settings and click scan.
My Samsung S4 found it in seconds as you will see on my video. This speaker also has audible beeps letting you know when it has found Bluetooth or lost it; it also has low battery beeps too....what a clever WAVEStream!
I have recorded a quick video to show you how fast it pairs and what great sound it has.
I also found it has an easy 33ft Bluetooth range although its easily dropped if going from room to room. Or a tree is in the way between the speaker and device. I had my phone outside and walked easily 34 ft from the speaker without dropping connection, but indoors was slightly different as we do have foot thick cottage walls.
Its perfect for listening indoors in the same room or outside during a barbeque etc.
NOTE: You do not have to have Bluetooth on your device to use this speaker as it comes supplied with an auxillary 3.5 jack cable. This is perfect for my Laptop as its a bit ancient and has crappy speakers so I can simply plug this in while gaming or listening to YouTube videos and listen at a comfortable volume, clearly and easily.
Unboxing, pairing and sound samples
Sound Quality
I can sit here till the cows come home saying how good it is, so I have uploaded a quick video so you can hear for yourself.
The sound range has a really good balance of treble and bass but what surprised me most was how loud it was.
Something I do with all my speakers for testing is crank it up to full carefully and it surprised me by only distorting slightly at full volume; so I just brought mine down a fraction and it was fine. I found it bleeps when you hit the maximum showing it has a limiter; so you can never blow the speaker...hopefully.
It went up and down the volume quickly and easily and the same with moving from track to track.
Phone Calls and conference calling
As for phone calls I was planning to test this when a real call came through while I was using the speaker, it actually has a loud ring tone which is fab, I could hear my caller clearly and loudly perfect for conference calling.
The caller comes through on the speaker slightly muffled but loud enough to hear; a bonus for quick conference calls. It actually has a built in microphone and my other half said I could be heard clearly. The speaker when playing music cuts out almost instantly by a loud ring tone (seen on the video) which is quite cool. The music then carries on where it left off when the caller hangs up; its so very responsive to the Bluetooth.
Small and portable enough to fit easily into my handbag to take out. Looks like a glasses case to anyone else...so keeps hands off!
Looks fab wherever you want to use it don't you think?
Looks great with any fashion or designer handbag...girls!
Opinion
This gorgeous speaker not only looks good with a great sexy shape and curve, but the smooth texture feels gorgeous and has a lovely range of colours to suit almost anyone. Its audio controls are simple and easy to use and the buttons are super responsive. Just remind you that this speaker works seamlessly with or without Bluetooth.
Bluetooth pairs quickly and easily and making and receiving calls is a cinch.
The sound quality is well balanced and has reasonable Bass for a Bass baby like me. If you want full on mega Bass then you need to choose something over a hundred dollars; but for this price $24...yes I said $24 you simply cannot go wrong.
Its small enough and light enough to pop into most handbags or rucksacks to take camping or to a barbeques or picnics.
This is ideal for a student bedroom or dorm or camping with no worries about taking your super expensive speaker with you. Plus wouldnt look out of place as a main PC speaker infront of your monitor. Your getting a great fun affordable little speaker which is modern and elegant in its design with a fun blast of colour that has a place in every home.
I love it!
Pro's
Great sexy curvy design.
Bluetooth pairs quickly and easily.
Lovely choice of colours.
Loud if wanted.
Great balance between treble and bass.
Rechargeable.
Replaceable battery not speaker.
Easy to use audio controls.
Con's
No pouch to keep speaker and cables in; but then it would be more expensive.
Im excited to have the opportunity to show you guys this incredible piece of kit.
Do you love your camera's and video, always wanted a GoPro but just cant justify it, Well now you can have that technology for less than half the price with a bag full of accessories.
Are you planning an adventure holiday, or are you off hiking, mountain biking, abseiling or do you just want to capture every part of a special moment to treasure and keep in Full HD video and 12mp photos.
If you have been watching my reviews you would have seen my action cam The Splash in December also from KitVision.
(Scroll down as well for series of 3 videos Part 1& 2 part very soon.)
I warn you guys now its a long review as Ive so much to tell you and show you as I have lots of video footage as well as photos soo...go grab a drink...some nibbly's and I'll begin.
Where's WALL-E? Confused....see more after the break.
Packaging
I really love the packaging as I feel I'm getting an expensive, high quality gadget I can see it its full glory and the box has all the basic information for me to want to rip it open and start using it.
A plastic transparent packaging with a cardboard box and the action cam screwed firmly to the lid holding the whole thing securely for any delivery.
Inside you get your gorgeous Waterproof Full HD Action camera attached to the cardboard box using its own tripod mount.
But thats not all, you also get a full 17 piece kit...including the Waterproof case and the Escape.
Bicycle Mount
Helmet mount
Mount connector clip
Curved adhesive mount
Flat adhesive mount
2x3M adhesive pads
Action cam to 1/4 inch tripod screw adapter
Action cam to 1/4 inch tripod thread adapter
Tripod adapters
Mount adapter
90 degree adapter
Vented helmet mount straps
2x Velcro straps
Waterproof case to 60m
User manual
USB cable
Safety cable
Escape camera
Mounts and Adaptors
I cannot stress how excited I was to find all these mounts and adapters as with another...er...well named action cam...you have to buy most of it separately costing you a small fortune ontop of the camera. If you guys are anything like me you don't know what mount you need till you need it; but with the Escape you can juggle and build your own mount from what they have given you in the box.
The straps are made from nylon webbing that mountain climbers use so your cam seriously isn't going anywhere once strapped in place. You then have a back up of a sticky underneath the mount of choice. The 3M stickers are known for being super strong.
The bicycle mount and indeed all the mounts and adapter are made of super strong black ABS plastic and have been well designed to adapt to whatever you may need. Along with stainless steel nuts and bolts.
You can see here how simple it is to pop it on your bike. Plus you can add an extra adapter to make it swivel etc.
You could use this same mounting on a car, jeep anything which has a pole or crossbar.
Even a bird feeding station...see later on...!
This image shows how to make the tilt mount with the attachments provided. I love how clever the designers have been with these.
You then have this mount made from the 2 adaptors shown above. You have the choice whether to add the straps or a sticky pad.
You can then add the 2 long straps to secure it onto a helmet or skateboard etc.
Well guys and gals, this is one incredible piece of kit. The perfect action cam for those of you with a mad hectic life and don't want to miss a second, or someone into extreme sports who wants to capture what they do to show their friends or to capture that special holiday or occasion.
If your a diver then your in luck as this baby can go down to 60m while recording at Full HD video and wait for it....12 million pixel images too...WOW!
So lets start with some specifications for you so you can really see what this can do:
Video Resolution: 1080p / 30fps, 720p / 30fps
Video Format: MOV
Photo Resolution: Up to 12MP
Storage: Micro SD (up to 32gb)
Photo Modes: Single shot / Timed / Burst / Time lapse
Frequency: 50Hz / 60Hz
USB Interface: USB 2.0
Battery Capacity: 700mAH
Power Consumption: 260mA @ 4.2V
Recording Time per charge: About 90 minutes (based on highest settings)
Operating System: Windows XP / Vista or Above / Win7 / Mac OS
An it only weighs 58g
Front of the Escape.
The KitVision Escape look round
When you take out the Escape it really is so very dinky at ONLY
6cm x 3cm (over the lens area) x 2.5cm in size. I knew it was small but when you take it out the case its tiny!
It has an excellent quality feel, substantial in weight for its size and the outer sides are made of the soft black rubberized coat. So you can grip it even with damp cold fingers. However its that type of coat that marks easily which is a slight peeve of mine.
It has a front mode button which allows you to scroll through the settings too. The wifi symbol shows clearly what this little cam has compared to some others.
The camera lens itself is only 2.2cm in diameter and protrudes out slightly from the camera by approx 0.5cm.
Back of the Escape
The back has a complete clear cover making it easy to clean but the actual LCD screen is smaller than the Splash's which is a shame as there is plenty of space.
It measures 3.2cm x 2.4cm; The Splashes screen is 3.8cm x 3.2cm, but saying that it is extremely bright and clear and is still easy to see.
Down the side you can see 2 small LEDs the top shows red when charging and the one beneath it shows blue so you know when its trying to find the wifi signal.
Ontop of the Escape is the rubberized shutter button with a red ring on; next to that is a green LED which flashes when its recording.
Underneath the Escape is the battery compartment which allows you to replace the battery or buy a few spares if you are going hiking and know your not going to be near a leccy supply to charge it.
On one side you have your HDMI port, charging port and SD card slot for upto 32gb SD cards.
On the other side you have your wifi sender button which also doubles as up and down scrolling settings buttons. These are both extremely responsive and good quality.
If you look closely you can also see the built in microphone holes.
Not forgetting the waterproof case which is excellent quality.
I cannot stress enough how good quality this case is.
Inside there are moulded side struts that hold the camera firmly and securely getting no jiggle at all. Perfect during any energetic activity.
Front of the case.
The front of the case has a reinforced area over the lens to add real protection, this cam is for serious hobbyist and this screen isn't going to scratch or crack without a real fight.
I particularly love the mega secure top latch, its so secure you have to fiddle a little to get it open, it has a locking slider to open and close. Despite being completely made of plastic its super strong and Ive given this some real use and hasn't in any way weakened or broken or bent.
Use
I just couldn't wait to start using this adorable little cam so I plugged it in straight away. The instructions don't say anywhere for how long to charge it for, so I left it till the led went off which was approx 4 hours later so I left it for an extra 2 just to make sure as you know Im picky on first battery charges.
Note:the instructions say its a blue indicator while charging, I just wanted to show you...its red!
It turns off when fully charged, I love it when gadgets do that, Ive noticed more and more doing this...yay...KitVision.
Next pop in your SD card into the SD slot and away you go...but your best to just scroll through the settings first to set up your preferences and it dosent hurt to format the card in the unit itself. *For those of you that struggle with settings my Part 1 video has a guide through every step with explanations of what they mean.
To turn on press and hold the front mode button for 5 seconds, the same to turn off.
Video Footage I have 3 videos to show you.
Part 1 Unboxing and look around and a complete settings overview with explanations.
Part 2 is at this moment 415 minutes till publishing and Part 3 will be coming straight after. YouTube uploading is taking for-evvvvver !
Part 2 Is all about the amazing remote viewing with some fun footage samples.
Part 3 is some actual video samples to show you guys how good the quality is, you can see for yourself rather than me rambling on. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did making them.
Video Part 1
I will just mention to you briefly the settings as my main video Part 1 shows it much better. As soon as you turn on your Escape it takes you straight into video mode, so you can start recording instantly.
By pressing the front MODE button it takes you to the main screen for 6 main options.
Video for recording video.
Photo for photos.
Burst Takes series of 3/5/10 images for sports etc.
Time Lapse Takes a photos at a chosen intervals until deactivated.
Playback views all captured files on the LCD screen without downloading.
Settings for changing all the cams settings.
The wifi side button and the button beneath it allow you to scroll up and down through them; so easy peasy. Its easy to set up and easy to alter on the fly too.
The screen is bright but it is small; but then your not spending alot of time looking at the back screen, its only for settings.
Audio The audio is good as you will see in part 3 of my video series...coming soon! But inside the case it gets quite muffled so if you want good sound too, you need to remove the case.
Footage
So Ill start with what we did to get footage. First of all we decided to take it with us on a trip to the Sealife centre miles away from us. Ive wanted to go for years so what better time when I needed to test out our new cam.
So what settings did I use...well I have to say I simply set anything I could on Auto and that was it. I carried it in my hand like a normal camera rather than fixing it to my hat or jacket as I wanted to see how stable it was as I do have a problem with shakey hands...not the best for a photographer so I knew there maybe a problem with the person holding the cam...er...me. BUT...I was pleased to find as you can see from my video its NOT shakey at all...OMG Im so pleased...thank you KitVision!
Next quality of video...well what do you guys think...I personally think its gooorgeous. The video is crisp and clear and the colours are rich and well saturated. There isn't a setting for saturation but I love that its automatically so bright and colourful.
I found it easy to switch between video and camera; something important when on day trips as you want a mix of both and don't want to miss anything while having to fiddle with camera settings...we've all been there.
The Sealife center is filled with massive aquariums which of course is set in darkness except the light from within the glass tanks. So the KitVision Escape is dealing with low light, movement and glass. These 3 things are what most cameras struggle with. We asked if we could put the cam in some of the aquariums for special footage but we were not allowed as it could add human bacteria into the aquarium.
We were both surprised at how stunning the footage was once we got home and uploaded it on the system.
It took my breath away with how gorgeous the video footage was and I cant wait to just show you rather than waffle on. Take my word for it for now its stunning.
Colours well saturated, images and video bright and crisp. Audio clear.
For the next bit of footage we decided to attach it to our jeep, and do a little off-roading for the sake of science of course.
We did actually need an extra clamp just to make sure it was secure as the roof has an odd shaped edge...but it worked beautifully as you will see in the Footage video coming soon.
Remote Viewing First of all this needs to be a separate post in itself as I have to so much to show you; but Ill try and cram the main details in this post. When I first got this little cam I assumed it wasn't going to be much better than the Splash which was already fantastic and I even had doubts of what made this one almost double the price...well where to start...wifi..and...remote viewing...oh my goodness wow Im so excited with this setting. I don't have this on any other action cam I own. I have separate units which do this but not an all in one.
So what is remote viewing? First of all you simply download an app from Google Play or itunes called iSmart DV this clever little app allows you to place your cam somewhere else and you view what the cam is seeing in another place.
Soo what on earth would you need remote viewing for...loads of reasons; Dashcam, roofcam, undercar cam, birdtable cam, dog cam and thats just for starters. But most importantly you can use it for security as long as it is within your own wifi and have enough battery power. There are so many ways to use just the remote viewing alone;
Think of a baby cam.
Keeping a close eye on the kids upstairs in their bedroom.
Putting it in the garden to watch the kids while having a quiet cuppa indoors.
Watching a disabled child or someone ill in be.
Dashcam.
Roofcam.
Birdtable Cam.
Dog Cam.
Racing car Cam.
Keep an eye out for the postman Cam.
A Cam Cam. Ok I made the last one up but you can see that I like it.
Let me know when you think of some more ideas Im really interested. But for me you know I love my wildlife so that was my first thought.
Pairing with Wifi First of all you need to pair your Escape to your device you wish to be viewing from; this is identical to Bluetooth pairing those of you that have done that before.
Both my S4 and my Nexus 10 found the wifi and the Escape quickly and easily.
I did however have a few teething problems getting it to stay paired with wifi, it seemed to have a time limit of approx 15-20 minutes before it crashed, but apparently this seems to be from the app itself which I will hope they will add updates soon. Despite this I got some fantastic footage and Im in love with this aspect of the Escape.
I set the Escape up in 3 different positions around my garden and on my bird feeder.
Cam over seed tray.
Cam opposite feeder in the bushes.
Cam opposite the complete feeding station.
This was my 1st position and I did get some great birdy action from a distance and it did allow the birds to get used to the tripod infront of their "restaurant".
(Part 3 video coming soon).
You can see here the live viewing on the app on my S4; its so clear too.
Area 2 showed up really well on screen as it was shaded from the sun.
The best position was directly over the seed tray and wow it captured my shyest bird and his female.
This was some Woodpecker footage I was viewing live on my phone sitting in my lounge drinking a cuppa. I would never have seen these guys otherwise as they are sooo shy.
The live footage is bright, colourful and sharp as watching TV.
Here you can see a screen shot of the app and live view on both my S4 and my Nexus 10, the screen is identical to viewing on a phone or tablet; but of course its so much more fun on a larger screen, so I always use my tablet now.
Note: you cant view 2 devices at once, its1 at a time.
You have complete control of the cam and can click record video at anytime or snap a pik with the record button at the bottom. This records directly onto the SD card on the Escape; not on your device your viewing from.You can see the icons at the bottom show how easy it is to switch from video to camera at a touch, it also shows the battery of the Escape NOT your device this is genius.
You can also view the images or video you have just taken on your device from the Escape while they are connected...Im in love!
Plus the app has a few settings too; but ISO, movie size or exposure etc has to be done in the camera before setting it up.
One of the photos taken from the Escape.
My Lesser spotted Woodpeckers were frantically flying too and fro feeding their chick..(which I haven't seen yet.) I didn't even know this little fella had a mate, let alone a chick so this cam opened my eyes to whats in my garden. Sorry you have to be a birdy person to understand my excitement.
I have to say I was blown away with such amazing footage and the quality too was incredible, the video is bright, crisp and sharp whether recording normally or remote viewing.
You do have to stay within your wifi range to keep connection and I found it started to crash as I walked away at around 30 feet and of course you have to be aware of thick walls and other wifi devices (we have quite a lot) that could interfere with the cam. You simply have to play around to find whats right for you.
Just a bit of geeky fun Well if having a Wall-E Cam makes me seem a bit of a Geek, then Geek me up. You guys may know how much I love my robot Walle's; well it just had to be done as specially as we had a few of the stickies in the accessory kit. Like this review isn't long enough already but this was fun.
Plus to show you guys this amazing little Escape can stick to almost anything even Walle's head.
Just to show you what Wall-E is seeing on Wall-E cam, despite being slightly wonky.
We then used remote viewing to get some fun video of annoying the hound...just a little bit...
As you can see he was not impressed at all at being followed around the garden by a foot high robot. You can see here he's trying his ignoring technique he uses on me regularly...I wonder why?
Video Part 2 I just want you to see just how much fun this setting alone is.
Video 3 Video footage samples
KitVision Escape Photos
Photos I was pleased with the images the Escape took at the Sealife Center considering it was without any flash or daylight. I have not altered these in any shape or form they are as they came out the camera. Not bad eh! It has the settings of a high-end camera being 12 million pixels with 10 fps on fast shot mode. The colours are well saturated and it managed to capture movement too without any flash or upping the ISO and through glass...Im impressed.
A few more I took and again good colour and quality.
Recording video.
(Staring the KitSound Swing)
Opinion I LOVE my KitVision Escape I have the KitVision Splash which is also amazing but this does alot more and thats shown in the price. Im blown away yes I said it again its a fantastic, fun little camera. Its extremely well built and feels substantial in weight and looks more expensive than it is. Plus it looks so damn sexy too.
The quality of the video is gorgeous; its crisp and well saturated and the audio is just as good. Its also easy to set up and alter on the fly too. I used the cam in extremely low light and through glass at the Sealife centre and the footage is just gorgeous; it was as if it were almost daylight and the colours were beautiful of the fish.
For me what stands out is the wifi Remote viewing...oh my goodness I cant stop using this, if its watching my many wild bird feeding stations around the cottage or just watching our elderly dog downstairs when Im upstairs to check he is ok...dog cam....its definitely the most favorite part to owning this camera.
Its small and light enough to fit easily into most handbags and most jacket pockets for the guys. I personally have got a generic case to keep all the mount attachments and cam together. Another great tick for this cam is the battery life; we spent 2 hours at the sealife centre and I still had charge left after videoing on and off most the time. *Note;Remote viewing I have found doesn't use as much battery as the LCD screen switches off, but its still recording inside.
My only niggle is that even though it has wifi you cant upload to your PC or to social media despite having wifi; you still have to take the card out which seems strange in this day and age; but its no problem to me.
I have to say too about how great the image stabilization is for those of you like me who may have shakey hands or that do high energy sports like mountain biking or skate boarding doing jumps etc. I was shocked at how stable my Sealife centre footage was considering it was handheld and moving all the time; yet it showed it was fluid and smooth when moving...brilliant!
To sum up its amazing quality, great design and you get a bag full of accessories, buy a card, charge it up and your ready to go.
*I will be uploading PART 2 " Remote Viewing" and PART 3 "Video footage" in the next few days.
I have been rushing so much to just get this up for you guys, I haven't finished editing all my video footage as Ive got miles of it to go through and I hope you will like it when Ive finally posted both videos.
Pro's
Full HD Video
12 million pixels
Built in Wifi
LCD screen
60m waterproof case
Remote viewing
Amazing image stabilization
Bag full of accessories.
Con's
No case or pouch for all the accessories.
Despite wifi you cant upload any footage using it.
