Tech at Play

The Kensington Wall/Air Ultra Compact Notebook Power Adapter is simple; to be the lightest, most energy efficient power adapter that can also be used to charge your laptop as well as other mobile devices.  And compared to other regular 90 watt adapter, Kensington says the Ultra Compact Notebook Power Adapter is 43% smaller and 32% lighter.

In addition, the adapter also comes with over voltage, current, short circuit and temperature protection to make it an excellent long-term investment even if you switch or upgrade your machine.

As with other generic power adapters, support for various laptop brands are achieved by interchangeable power tips.  In this case, all common laptops (HP, Compaq, Dell, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, Sony, Gateway, Asus) should be supported, though you can take a look at the Power Compatibility Chart here to set your mind at ease.

Included with the various tips to get you started is an airline charging cable, retractable mini USB charging cable and travel pouch.  Other USB Power Tip Packs are sold separately if you require support for phones such as those from Motorola, Nokia, LG or Sony-Ericsson, among others.

Opinion

I have been using the Wall/Air Ultra Compact Notebook Power Adapter for a few weeks now, and I must say that I am very happy with its slimmer profile and reduced weight.  I was initially concerned that the adapter will not be able to handle my Sony Z series behemoth (It requires a power adapter of at least 85 watts) but I was assured by Kensington that it would not be a problem.

And who would have imagined that the simple built-in USB charger would prove to be useful; I am a convert on this now.  By using various USB cables that I already owned, I was able charge various devices such as my BlackBerry and iPhone much faster than via my laptop’s USB port.

So yes, the Ultra Compact Notebook Power Adapter has found a permanent home in my laptop bag, allowing me to leave my existing power adapter as a fixture for when I am at my workstation. Indeed, I also have the assurance that its usefulness will extend to my next laptop and beyond – simply by swapping out the tip.

The Kensington Wall/Air Ultra Compact Notebook Power Adapter is currently priced at $95.99.

Read on for the detailed walk-through.

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I reviewed the OtterBox iPhone 3GS Commuter TL Series Case a couple of months back, which offers rugged protection for your iPhone 3GS without taking up too much bulk. Users who want something more basic though, be it design or price-wise, will probably want to go for the no-frills design of the OtterBox iPhone 3GS Impact Series Case.

As its name implies, the iPhone 3GS Impact Series Case belongs to the “Impact” series of casing from Otterbox. It consists of only a single silicone skin that is engineered to dissipate shock away from your beloved iPhone.

Its features look pretty similar to that of the Commuter TL Series.

• Inner coring for added protection
• Self-adhering clear protective film included
• Access to all buttons and features

Rather than rant about it, I took a number of close-up shots from various angles so as to help you decide if this is for you.

And yes, OtterBox will be releasing the iPhone 4 version pretty soon. Check out the Impact series for the iPhone 4 here.

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OtterBox sent me some of their new smartphone cases, and I took the opportunity to use on actual smartphones to check out just how good they are.

For those not already in the know, OtterBox was started in 1996 selling protective gear such as waterproof boxes. They still make them, though I must point out that the protective casings for the smartphones and many of the handheld devices are not waterproof – not that OtterBox ever made that claim.

Of course, I must say that I have been using one of their Impact Series case for my BlackBerry Bold 9000 for a while now; and absolutely love the rugged protection that it offers.  Yes, I would agree that their smartphone cases are hardly the thinnest on the market.  For the amount of protection afforded to your device though, the extra bulge is really negligible.

How does the OtterBox iPhone 3GS Commuter TL series case fare though?  To help you decide, I shall be doing a walk-through review with plenty of close-up photo shots. First, let me list out what I like about it:

• Custom molded polycarbonate shell provides impact resistance; and also makes it easy to slide case out of pocket or purse.
• Inner coring in the silicone sleeve provides additional bump and shock protection
• Silicone sleeve also protects dock connector and earphone connector against dust
• Looks really trendy to carry around; multiple colors available
• The OtterBox Commuter TL for the iPhone 3GS also comes with a screen protector (not shown here)

For today, I have put together a comprehensive gallery of the Commuter TL series case for the iPhone, which is available in seven different colors: Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Red, White and Yellow.  And as you can see, the one I got is a vibrant red.

Read on for the detailed walk-through.

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Ran the Benchmark in the HD Tune Hard Disk Utility this week as part of the topic this week.  Realized that I never did post the performance of my upgraded laptop before, so here is the screenshot of it below.

The average result appears to be in the region of 30-40 MBps for most students, with an access time of about 15-20 ms.  As you can see, the “Summit” Samsung SSD however performed at 4-5 times as fast.  Observe also the extremely low access time courtesy of the solid state technology.

Convinced about upgrading to a solid state disk yet?

HD Tune Benchmark of Samsung SSD

Just purchased a Microsoft wireless mouse earlier this week.  What is unique about the Wirelsss Mobile Mouse 4000 is its tracking sensor, which uses Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology.  You can see the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 in the photo above, shown just beside the Logitech wireless that I am currently using.

So what’s so special about Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology?  According to the Microsoft product site, BlueTrack “combines the power of optical with the precision of laser for remarkable tracking on virtually any surface.”  Of course, this isn’t Microsoft’s first mouse to use this technology, but it is the first to use a nano-sized RF receiver that started with Logitech.

So just how good is BlueTrack?  Well, that’s what I’ll be finding out.  I will be using the Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 everywhere I go from today onwards (Actually, it was yesterday), sans my mousepad.  Do check back in a while to see how I would rate it.