Gadget Review: Le-mon M-16 iPod Speakers

 

I was able to use the le-mon M-16 iPod speakers for at least a day, why just a day? I had it returned immediately the next day in exchange for a Sansui (see separate review on the Sansui). The le-mon M-16 is everything you can ask for in an iPod speaker it has the following features: 

1. remote control
2. clock/alarm clock
3. FM tuner
4. USB slot
5. Aux in
6. Equalizer
7. Mega Bass
8. TV out (for iPod capable of Video Playback)

 I have tried using the TV out and it was great! You will only need one (1) cable to connect to your TV, sounds will come out from the speakers.  The USB slot will accept any USB drive with MP3’s loaded in it and the remote control was acceptable. It however had very bad sound problems specially when playing songs with a lot of drums/bass. This is actually the reason why I had it returned the next day. Some songs were ok but for my preference in music, it really cannot perform the task I need it to do which is play music. If I was going to rate this thing from 1-5 (3 is acceptable, 5 is highest) I will have to be subjective on the features it has. 

1. video playback – 4 I used a 7 inch screen just to test it, using a bigger screen might give a different rating
2. ease of use – 5
3. adapter available for different iPods – 5 (it has adapters for everything even the old iPods
4. remote control – 3 as usual in remote controls, the buttons will take time to get used to
5. FM sound – 5
6. iPod playback – 1 (that’s why I had it returned)

 I was having second thoughts before actually buying this product, the brand name itself le-mon didn’t look good but I still gave it a try.  Before I asked the store to actually give me a Sansui, I asked them to let me try another unit just incase I have encountered a lemon, as I tried it, it had the same bad sound so I don’t think the unit I bought was a lemon, the brand or this model (M-16) is a le-mon! I cannot recommend the brand and its definitely on my NOT TO BUY list! It can do a lot of cool stuff but it failed on the thing that really mattered the most!

Review on the CD-R King Solar Charger

For the longest time, I have searched for an alternative way to charge my mobile phone, I am using a Windows Powered PDA which will require you to have it plugged everyday. It has nothing to do with electric bills, that was never a problem but I have always believed that if we do our own little share to save energy, we will have a better planet.  I have met a person who claims to have bought a Solar Charger from Digi-King (yes NOT CD-R King), this is a small store for gadgets in Robinson’s Pioneer, and he told me that the device was actually cool, however, when I went to the store, it was actually out of stock. I never had the chance to go back there to see if stocks are replenished as I had to go to Singapore.  From the internet, I have seen mixed reviews on Solar Chargers, there’s one from Solio (http://www.solio.com/charger/) and one from Aigo (http://www.aigo.com.sg/index.cfm?GPID=-8&DOB=0&DPN=1&PrPLA=2&PrPCID=16&PrCID=46&PrID=216). You can search yourself for the reviews as I do not have personal experiences on both. I almost bought the Aigo for SGD 100.00 but I had second thoughts as they will not cover any damages that will be incurred to my phone.

Another reason for not buying the Aigo brand is that I can’t just imagine how long I need to use it before my investment returns. If I use this charger for a year, will charging my phone everyday eat up electricity amounting to SGD 100.00?    

Then I saw the CD-R King Solar Charger, it was PHP 600.00. I believed that this could be the solution to my charging needs, I was thinking of leaving this device near the window all day and have it charge my phone at night. It had an internal battery and a built in flash light (same feature with Solio and Aigo) which will safely charge your phone as the power will be coming from its internal battery.

I also did not worry about the damages it will do to my phone as I have decided to use it purely on my company phone so it will never hurt me if things go wrong.

When I finally got my hands on the device, you can immediately say that the build quality is not good, as expected with its price. It has two light indicators, one to indicate that it’s charging the internal battery and one to indicate that it’s charging another device (like a phone). The package comes with a lot of jacks for different kinds of phones. Something that surprised me in the package is the presence of an AC Adapter and Cigarette Plug (used for charging in cars), later I realized that these are available in case you want to charge it using electricity, which is also a good option if you have no time to charge it using the Sun.

Initially, I charged this device using the AC Adapter, I was so excited, and after a couple of hours, the red LED indicator went off and was fully charged. I plugged my phone and it did charge it without any problem. I tried to charge my Motorola BT Headset, Jabra BT Adaptor (for IPOD) and older Nokia Phones and it all worked, except when I plugged my ASUS PDA. I soon found out that it does not have the required ampere to charge a PDA. This is something that should have been clarified in the package.

After using up all of its battery, I left it outside the house to charge on Solar Energy (as it should) when I checked it out before leaving my house, the red LED was well lit which means charging is in progress. After a day, I got the charger and plugged it on my phone. After more that 8 hours under the Sun, it was only able to charge my mobile phone for less than 5 minutes!!! I was quite disappointed with the outcome as I was very sure that we had a very good and sunny day.

I tried charging the device under the Sun for 4 days and on the 5^th day, I plugged my phone to it to have it charged while it was under the Sun, it was only able to charge my phone for 15 minutes, it cannot even sustain a charge for my phone when it was under the Sun.

I was very disappointed with the performance of my first ever Solar Charger as it did not perform as expected. The only use I have for it right now is that I have it plugged everyday and leave it in my bag as an emergency charger when one of my phones need it. The only power it can generate using its Solar Panels will only light up its tiny flash light which may actually be useful someday.

I think as of now, the technology is not yet as cheap and all I can say is that I got what I paid for. Sometimes I ask myself, will the more expensive versions work better? Maybe time will tell but for now, I sticking with my old fashioned wall charger.

A solar charger for a mobile phone is cool, but I think it’s not yet ready for regular consumers like us.

If you have a good experience on this gadget and think that the device I got was a lemon, please send me an e-mail.

ice24man@gmail.com   

All about my Blog!

I have long wanted to make my own blog, maybe it’s the boredom I get working here in Singapore with all my family and friends left in Manila. 

I am too lousy to even buy my own TV and I am just keeping myself entertained from watching movies (original DVD or Big Screen, of course) and reading books. 

So for my first ever article in this blog, I would like all of you to know what to expect from this blog. I am a gadget freak, a car lover and regularly watch movies. So the next time you visit my blog, you will read things on gadgets, but only those I can get my hands on.

Cars, on how they look, I can only share you pictures and some comments on cars I can see here in Singapore, I cannot drive them as I do not have a driver’s license here and I cannot imagine myself driving on the other side of the road. Movies, those that I will get to catch on the big screen, I might praise or diss some movies I will get to watch on video but you can always expect a different angle on how I view these movies. 

It’s been a while since I have done any writing, I’m not sure if anyone would care read this blog at  all, but to all of you who will be reading some articles, I thank you in advance!