Gadget Girl Reviews 2014 Look back and favorites!

2014 Gadgety Memories

Above are just some of the product reviews I brought to you this year.

Its been an exciting year for gadgets and gizmos and Ive had such a great opportunity to review and share many products with you all; but some have really stood out for me personally and I want to let you know which of these products are my firm favorites of 2014.

For a product to become a firm favorite with us it has to not just do what it is intended for, it has to be well made, well designed and for me/us to be still using it; not shoved into a drawer never to see light of day again. The above products are just some of those Im still using.

Not often however does a product have a massive impact on my life....

The gadget which has had the biggest impact on my life this year has to be the massive change from my iphone 3G to my Samsung Galaxy S4 (checkout my full review I did back in May this year)...wow what a difference its made; not just with its incredible technology but the amazing amount of apps that are making a difference to my life and making certain things easier. (Ill be doing a post on apps to change your life early January).

Plus with the inbuilt camera I am now addicted to Instagram with a vengeance...better late than never eh! 

 CHARGERS FOR YOUR DEVICES

For me its a one stop shop no need to go anywhere else for your charger gadgets!

With the latest tech comes lack of battery power and Mobile Solar Chargers came to my rescue this year and offered me a few of their incredible products to share with you all and wow did these make life easier.

With a brilliant selection of products you will never have a flat battery ever again; each one is ideal for most needs.

 QI Wireless Car Charger and Cradle for your car, perfect for those that work from their car, this amazing fast QI charger works wirelessly on the go. Those who love camping or festivals really NEED the Aqua Trek USB waterproof charger...plus it has a torch too.

  Traveller dual USB solar charger and the bright USB flexi light will fit any USB power like the the Traveller and the Aqua trek; ideal for summer reading outside, power cuts or anything.

Finally by no means least is the incredible elegant Premium Ultra Thin QI Wireless Phone Charging Pad and Samsung Galaxy wireless reciever card. for the home; just pop your phone on the sleek thin pad in any position and it will charge your phone wirelessly. I charge my phone when I grab a coffee or watch TV it keeps it regularly topped up and looks cool too.

Mini portable Speakers

Its been a year for mini speakers this year and there has been an explosion of wired and Bluetooth mini portable speakers and Gadget Girl has been fortunate enough to bring you quite a variety.

On the top line you can see my top 3 favorites;

Kitsound Cadet because of its amazing sound as well as ruggedness, its perfect attached to my camera rucksack.

 The Kitsound Hive Modern, classic look with great sound and bass.

OXA NFC Bluetooth Natural Wood Design wireless stereo speaker This is fab quality and tech with its Bluetooth or wired connection; incredible sound and radio too; its the only speaker I had this year with a radio which was a lovely bonus.

 The next line are a fun selection still with great sound quality.

 Deadmau5/ Kinivo ZX100 Mini Portable Speaker/  The Kitsound/My Doodles wireless Kids speaker dock

 Which was your favorite from my reviews or do you have another that you love let me know..?

ACTION CAMS

2014 was also the year of the Action camera; everyone went mad for the GoPro's but we have many other products just as good. Ive always used video on my S4 and my Panasonic Lumix TZ30, plus my main Canon 7D; but it was exciting to have the opportunity to bring you some fun, new alternatives.

In came The Mecam this genius new rechargeable action cam from the US which you wear as a badge, perfect for you James/Jane Bond wanabe's. Capture footage and be hands free at parties, barbeques, don't miss a moment; plus it comes with an SD card; ready to use. I forgot I was wearing mine and being so discreet its ideal for people who are nervous of cameras in their face.

One of my favorites to review this year was the The Kitvision Splash Im in love with this product, its waterproof, adorable, portable, rechargeable and the perfect alternative to the more expensive ones, it comes with everything you need already in the box; checkout my photo-loaded review and video HERE.

  Little Acorn 12 mega pixels Trail Camera

I actually got my dream product to review this year something Ive wanted for years and being passionate about wildlife and a Spring-watch fan; Ive always wanted to see whats in our garden or surrounding woodland. I got my chance when I was so kindly sent this little Acorn to review and is one of my favorites for this year as Im still using it now. It has time-lapse, motion detection and so much more; this brilliant cam is perfect for the outdoors giving you that excitement to see whats living in and around your garden or used as a security camera; either way a brilliant high end cam.

Checkout my videos here

Soon I will be showing you my NEW Pivot head high end spy glasses, for pictures and video.

UNIQUE and the genius IDEAS

I also got the opportunity to share with you some really unique products too and some of my favorites were.

The ZBand

A vibrating alarm clock that wont wake anyone else but YOU up in the morning; looks elegant, modern and most if all Fun, isnt that what gadgets are all about...brilliant!

The Gerp

Im still using this unique and genius way to support my devices its secure, stylish and a great conversation starter and looks damn cool too!

Venostech Sidecars

I cannot stress how excited I was to get the opportunity to show you guys this unique way to have 3 screens using your own devices. I already use 3 monitors but to have the chance to view 3 screen when outside or in another room is genius; how many times will this help you guys with your work or studies and it works, such a brilliant simple design...see my full review HERE!

Photojojo iPhone and Android lens series

 As a photographer I love anything which allows me to take great images and have fun doing so. Being so new to mobile photography I was super excited to try the Photojojo 3 lens selection. 

This really made a huge difference to my mobile photography and makes it fun too. Checkout the images I captured using these clever excellent quality lenses HERE!

KITCHEN & HEALTH

It wasn't just sound and vision reviews this year; Ozeri really pulled the stops out and sent some really amazing products to review; all the above we are still using almost daily . We didn't know we needed a Ozeri Stone Earth Frying Pan and an  Ozeri Duo Ultra Salt and Pepper Grinder Review until we started using them. Now we cant cook without them.

The Ozeri 4X3 digital Motion Pedometer Review is one of the best/first ones with tri-axis movement and is so responsive. Its fascinating to see what you can walk in a day and try to beat it regularly.

JUST FOR FUN!

I also had the opportunity to review some fun ideas that make you smile too.

From the top;

Adam the Doodles man and Rover the Doodles dog.

 Shoeps super Laces

 The Squishables

 Trendz 10 inch Ladybird Character case & USB Bee

I have so many other products I have loved this year like my Nexus 10, and cant mention them all in one post; so these are just a selection that I really love and are still using regularly.

 Thanks to everyone who has visited GGR over the year and a huge thank you to the many companies who have kindly sent their products for review.

So go checkout my main page of gadgets reviews and see if there is something that catches your eye; let me know what you like Id love to hear your favorites too?

It doesn't stop here I have many reviews coming up in 2015 and a big give-away coming too, so keep a watchout and I will see you all very soon.

Coming Soon on Gadget Girl reviews

Chippex Car paint kit
You will be seeing me fix some chips on my own car using the latest video glasses from Pivothead, so you will be seeing what Im seeing; the best point of view to see all the action.

Kudu Pivothead glasses and air sync unit.

Plus some more fun new products coming up in 2015
Do any of these products catch your eye; do you have any of these, let me know what you think?

Oregon Scientific Prysma projection clock with indoor/outdoor temp

Something for the girls!
My new charm Pandora bracelet and charms.

Bluetooth Selfie monopod

1Byone Safety driveway alarm.
1Byone USB Smart charger

Selection of Griffin and Survivor cases for the S4
+ Give away!

Selection of Friendly Swede Paraband survival bracelets and cords.

 Garrett EuroAce Metal Detector
Black Ada Invader 2 Metal detecting trowel.



 
 Garrett Pinpoint probe

Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Review

Kinivo  BTH240 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones

Hiya people sorry for the slight delay in this post but things have been a bit hectic round here; but were back ontrack and have a huge variety of reviews and products coming up to share with you see here.

So today I have something for the sound-a-holics out there. Are you going on holiday, camping or to the gym, have you packed your headphones yet...stop...and checkout these sleek, elegant, on ear headphones from Kinivo.

Kinivo is a company founded in 2010 and based in Washington USA; they offer innovative electronic products that help customers in their home, at work or when they are on the move.

Kinivo ZX100 Mini Portable Speaker

I recently reviewed this mini portable speaker from Kinivo which was just gorgeous, so Im looking forward to sharing these on ear headphones with you all  read on.......

Packaging
The packaging of the BTH240 is nice and simple, as much as I love luxury packaging keeping things simple keeps costs down for us all. It has a good photo of what your buying and explains all the techie bits on the back its still good to wrap up and give as a gift...you have to start thinking of Christmas soon guys sorry!

Whats in the box
Inside the box you get your Kinivo "On-ear" headphones, a micro USB charging cable and a concise easy to read and understand manual.

 Plus a beautiful black velvet pouch.

Description

These Kinivo BTH240 Bluetooth headphones are a new and improved design to the BTH220 design.

Kinivo BTH220 original design

The improved design has a new look and new features.

• Sleek new design- smooth black frame with silver lining and a compact button layout.
• Micro USB Charging port.
• Increased battery life - Up to 10 hours of music and talk time.
• Reduced LED brightness - Modified LED design for a more comfortable experience. (I find this odd, could people really complain that the LED is "too" bright when its sitting on your ears...really!).

 Main Features

• Lightweight (73g) foldable design provides maximum portability and storage.
• Rechargeable- Built in battery provides up to 10 hours of uninterrupted talk/music time or 200 hours in stand-by mode.
• Hands-free, the BTH240 has a built in noise cancelling microphone. Music will automatically pause when receiving an incoming call.

Device Compatibility

• iPhone5, 4S, 4, 3GS.
• All iPads, iPod touch.
• Android phones and tablets.
• PS3 (Supports ONLY chat audio).

Kinivo BTH240 Headphone is covered by 1 year limited hardware warranty. 

Measurements

The headphone cups themselves are 5.5cm in diameter each.          

They are extremely lightweight but they have a high quality feel to them and the piano black gloss really adds an air of luxury. You can see from the image above and most of my images in this review how glossy they are by the cloud reflections on them as I shot them outside.
(I can assure you they are not fingerprints).

 The first headphone has the Kinivo logo printed on a silver band; the second headphone has all the buttons on....see below.

 Kinivo Logo

 This right-hand headphone has all your controls on, and the microphone.

• The central button turns the headphones on and off by holding for 4-5 seconds and you will see the LED turn blue and the same to turn off when you will see a red LED.
• The LED lets you know what the headphones are doing, blue for playing or just being on and red when charging. It will flash alternate blue and red while searching for Bluetooth. 
• The volume buttons are rocker switches for up an down.
• Then the arrows skip to next or previous song choice...simples!

All these buttons are easy to get too even while wearing them, its easy to get used to where they are without having to see them.

On the side of this headphone you have a neat little Micro USB charging port; covered by a small rubber dust flap that slots securely into place to protect from dust and damp.

 From here you can charge your headphones with the cable provided.

This takes approximately 2-3 hours for a full charge; of course when you first get your headphones charge for the full time of 3 hours to be sure. You can see here the LED glows red while charging.

 The underside has super soft black leatherette material for the ultimate in comfort.

 These have half a centimeter of plushiness and believe me they really are comfortable and sooo soft. I feel these will be hard wearing as they are well stitched and well padded .

The headband itself is made of a strong flexible plastic. They have a slight springyness to them to take the wear and tear of being pulled on and off the head.

 Each headphone is on a small plastic hinge to easily twist them round to sit comfortably onto your ears. I cant say at this time how hard wearing these hinges will be but they are absolutely fine at the moment and they've had alot of use.

Use

As soon as I got these I whacked them onto charge as I couldn't wait to try them, I love the design and the high quality feel and looked forward to hearing what they sounded like. A huge bonus is that they came half charged as I found the red LED turned off after only an hour, but as it was first time charge I continued to 3 hours to make sure.

Bluetooth

Next was to pair them to my Samsung S4 and again so simple to do; yes even for you non-techies out there; dont panic it is easy.

To Pair

• Press and hold the Middle multifunction button for longer than if you would to turn on approx 7-10 seconds or until the LED flashes between red and blue.
  TIP: Don't release when you see the blue LED keep holding till it changes to both.

• Go to settings on the device you wish to pair > Bluetooth > Search/Scan.

Im so impressed as my S4 found the headphones in literally seconds so fast.

Now your ready to Rock......

Kinivo headphones BRH240 paired on my S4

*Ive paired it on my S4 and my Nexus 10; plus Windows 7 with no problems at all.

Once connected to Bluetooth the headphones claim to have approximately 10 meters range...well I beg to differ as I found it makes 15 meters easily and has made up to 20 meters outside with nothing blocking its way.

I can even go downstairs and into a different room with only slight cutting out.

Obviously its better if your phone and you are in the same room you will get the best from your headphones.
Its so well padded I can even sit listening to music and the other person next to me a couple of feet away cannot hear anything.

Wear-ability

There is only 1 way round to wear these and that's with the loops sitting neatly over your ears and the main headphone sits on the right hand side, keeping the writing the right way up. The headband sits behind the head; perfect for those that do not like thick over the head headbands. The leatherette is so soft and the padded ear cup is super comfy with a good grip even while moving about the house, up and down stairs or working out they still stay on.

They maybe wouldn't stay on during a vigorous workout, but yoga, Pilates or using weights, I feel will be fine.

Sound Quality
The sound quality on these headphones is just fantastic; as it has a gorgeous overall sound range which is crystal clear. It has fabulous bass...woohoo with excellent mid ranges too. I'm no expert with sound but as Ive said before I know what I like and what I'm looking for personally.
The volume on these is something else as it goes up higher than I can stand and that says alot as I'm hard of hearing. This is so unusual with companies in our techie age who will often cap the volume to much lower on many devices.

Even though this pair of headphones does not have noise cancelling when listening to music; I can listen to Utube and videos at night right next to my other half and he cant hear anything and vice versa as I cant hear whats going on around me.
It does however have a noise cancelling microphone and it will pause your music when you have an incoming call so your free to chat hands-free and continue your workout or gardening etc.

The luxury looking pouch

Storage
These adorable headphones fold up to half their size to store easily into its own gorgeous velvet pouch so you can keep the manual and cables together.

It looks impressive getting them out of your bag infront of friends too...but beware people will want to borrow them due to their amazing expensive good-looks.

 I like to hang mine on my bag and you have to admit they look fab don't they.

Opinion
I would highly recommend these adorable headphones; they not only have amazing sound for their low-end price; but they look far more expensive than their £21.99....yes I did say £21.99...I simply cant believe they look and sound this good for the price.
These are an ideal affordable gift for someone who wants to keep a pair just for the gym or walking the dog etc; especially with the 10 hours of music or talk time.
They are wireless, rechargeable, lightweight, comfortable and look good with their elegant, modern design so everyone will want to borrow them.

Plus they fold up so small and fit neatly into the supplied black velvet pouch to keep in your bag.

With Christmas creeping up fast...eeep...they are ideal gifts for any music lover. Seriously what can you get for twenty-two quid these days.

Pro's

• Great design.
• Both wireless music headset and Bluetooth phone headset.
• Hands-free.
• Quick charge.
• 10 hour music/talk time.
• Pouch.

Con's

• None.

Buy yours from Amazon for

ONLY

£21.99

Or Kinivo for 

ONLY

$24.99

All my thanks goes to Kinivo for sending me these Headphones free of charge for this review .

All my views and opinions are my own.

Those of you asking about my Samsung S4 Phonecase shown in this review is
The Strawberry Bling case from Mobile Madhouse.
Its also in several colours and designs.