Bathtub Radio

I am one of those people who cannot stand silence, this is why I own radios, TVs and all kind of players everywhere. Even in my bathtub. I was a proud owner of this cabin, until the radio broke down:

The radio set was compound in the tub so fixing it needs time and I needed music. This is why I bought very well reviewed Philips Splashproof radio AE2330/00.

It looks neat: white and blue. It should match most typical batrhoom stylistics and design. As the producer's note claims:

• Type : Portable radio
• Digital tuner : No
• Analog tuner : Yes
• Frequency : FM/MW
• Extra functions : Automatic digital settings
  Adjustable timer
  Battery light indicator

• Adjustable timer turns radio one at a pre-programmed time
• Anti-slip and ergonomic handle
• Built-in clock
• Splash-proof design allows for use in the bath or in the shower
• Accompanying accessories: user handbook, guarantee certificate

My impressions: the sound is AWFUL. While my cabin bathtub radio had speakers above and the sound was perfectly adjusted to the acoustic of a showertub, this sound is lame. Really, really weak, just like a small little radio could transmit. I have nothing against digital settings, the frequency is also ok. What is more my shower radio didn't have it.
The fact it is splashproof is kind of obvious (for the record: it is).
But I can exchange all the awesome features for the SOUND.

Banana Plugs ConnectionLAB HBC-01

Unusual piece of equipment to review but we needed to buy some banana plugs to match one of our cables to a socket. While ordering another HDMI cable from ConnectionLAB we have spotted banana plugs in their offer to. This is how these look like:

As you may know, banana plugs, or banana connectors are used for connecting cables. Plus the producer promises:

• Hi-End Gold plated contacts for best corrosion resistance
• Maximum wire diameter:
• Cable entry secured with screws

Why not buy it then? Gold plated connectors are well tested idea and it is important that the cable entry was secured to match most cables. As usual Connectionlab did their job.
What is also important is to keep electrical safety of such a device. It is a small thing but can cause a lot of harm if it's wrongly made or badly secured. This company's stuff is solid, we know that already, so we have no doubts. These are just banana plugs but it's a small but damn important piece of equipment :) You can sure trust Connectionlab in this matter :)

TOSlink Optical Digital Audio Cables

Today, I want to shortly write about decend optical cables we've found. TOSlink is recommendable and we've heard many good opinion son these:

Made of low-loss 5mm OD standard plastic fibre. The connectors are wholy made of metal, which as you know is a big plus for us. Make Dolby Digital really work. We have connected TOSlink also to CD player and all went well.
The producer offers these cables in few variants: 3 m, 6 m, 7 m and 9 m. You can more or less find what you look for.

Optical cables are more recomendable than coaxial cables when it comes to ground preventing loops. If you are one of the people who may have problems with ground preventing loops, you should probably check up these.
Technically I like them. Also the workmanship seems solid. About the design and look... I may be quite more reserved but it's up to you.
Anyway most of your optical problems should be solved here.

Dell Inspiron 15R-5520 notebook

It's been some time since I wrote about a notebook. This here is not my own yet but I used it a lot and I pretty much liked it.

First we can see the design obviously: classic Dell with smoothened corners and characterisitc "soft" plastic casing. Mine was black but there are also: Fire Red, Lotus Pink, or Peacock Blue colored lids.
It's pluses are visible very quickly: it's affortable (less than 600$), has third generation Intel Core i5 technology. I would add the casings to the pros.Cons are visibly a little bit later - the battery is not very good. After a year it may be of no use. But, on the other hand, it's still better than those in built batteries getting more and more popular. It provides Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The chasis measures are 1.3 by 14.9 by 9.9 inches. The keyboard is handy, the keys are black and responsive.
On the contrary to Toshiba Satellite, which is kind of comparable, it has got a system (windows 7) on a CD so it is easy in case of any reinstallation.
I am a big fan of Dell notebook for ordinary use.

Samsung Galaxy Gio

It's been some time since we showed you a smartphone here. This one here is something I can recommend but it needs some critic too: 

Samsung Galaxy Gio was my choice a year ago. I wanted something that will call, send messages, have wifi, bluetooth, will not be too large, nor too small. And won't be too expensive too. I knew I don't want any other brand than Samsung too so I was limited to several models. And this is all that I wanted. I compared it with Samsung Duo which had all this nice basic features and even two sim cards possible but it's damn poor resolution was just more than shocking. I also took Galaxy Mini under consideration but it was, well...really mini. The only plus was colourful casings which, let's be honest is not the point.
Galaxy Gio could be perfect it you are not going to watch films on it or work. The screen is relatively small but I hate big phones.

Visually I love it. But I had few problems. It freezes sometimes. Sometimes you just want to make a quick reply or a urgent call and than it stops. It's not good. Also, it is a bit slow. I want to open inbox, I click, I wait two seconds and I have it. It has its moments. If you don't mind excercising your patience it's cool, if you are too hot tempered, think twice before buing it.

ConnectionLAB HTC-03 Premium 3m Optical TOS Cable

As we promised, we've tested the last ConnectionLAB cables left. 3 m optical cables of this company came here quickly as usual in a nice box.

This time we did not aim at the longetivity of the cable because it is important to know: optical cables should be as short as possible. ConnectionLAB offers 1m and 3m cables, not longer. I find it's fair, because other companies begin to produce even 10m cables and this, you can absolutely ignore! We recommend using 1m but we bought 3m for two reasons: we needed it for the PC computer and console. Second: we wanted to test this company again as fairly as possible :)
Here's what the producer promises:

• High quality fiber conductor for low signal loss
  
• Massive cooper plugs white chromium plated to avoid mechanical damage
• 192kHz/24bit data transfer rate
• Superior outer cotton, to avoid cable twisting

 I will repeat this once again and I will repeat that for EVER: quality is important. The price is important. Do not buy cheap things because you cannot afford buing sh*t. Fact.
What we like about Connectionlab optical cable is again the cotton linning of the cable which prevents it from twisting, hence the very important data transfer is very well aided. The fiber conductor also helps to stop the signal loss. Quality is especially important in terms of optical cables. As short as possible and as good as possible. Do not let people led you astray with promises of the same working at low cost. 
We've written many times about massive plugs made of copper and plated with chrominim. Avoiding damages is one thing, but they are simply more long-lasting in terms of use than many other, cheaper and weaker plugs.
Once again we need to give justice to ConnectionLAB company. The console worked perfectly, which means:

• no electromagnetic disruptions
• it didn't generate disruptions
• no stray electrical current
  What is worth mentioning, the optical cables are generally more long lasting and durable in comparison to

MT5201 HDMI Switch

To continue testing cheap accessories in order to find some interesting pieces at lower cost, we decided to pursue MT5201 Switch – a really cheap one. We wanted to find out whether spending money on something like this is worth it. So here it is:

It is made of plastic – average quality plastic to be strict. It is definitely a part of a modern designed TV set; it’s better to hide it because it looks, as it is – cheap.
It is fortunately small, just a little bit larger than a box of matches. There are 4 slots. 3 inputs and one output slot. The red led light informs us which slot is being used.
It operates on HDMI 1.4. We can also use a pilot to switch:

 

It is nothing really special. Not flashy, luckily and simple but the lack of quality workmanship is clearly visible. The plus is it is really easy to use.

We used it with ConnectionLAB cables, so really good ones (reviewed before) and Monster cables (also reviewed on our blog). Both cables were relatively long (10 and 15m) and the signal was, apparently, very good!  We cannot say whether it was cables of the switch actually but one thing’s for sure – a cheap switch works with more expensive cables.
However, if you care for the looks and workmanship – go for something more.

Iphone 5

Short note about iphone5 – it’s a new purchase. I love its colour, black, shiny, plastic but very stable. Typical Iphone shape, a massive cuboid.

I’m scared for my battery.  I know how it’s like in case of Apple devices…
But it has iOS 6, Wi-Fi, GPS with GLONASS , dual core Apple and 1GB RAM. But everyone knows that:)
I love the fact that it has got a frontal came for video conferences and that taking panoramic photos is possible too. I can’t figure out message inbox though and I have problems with finding the hour and the date in them and it is crucial!
Up to this day I used Samsung Galaxy Gio and I was absolutely fine with that phone (that’s an idea for the next review though). I’ll inform how’s Iphone5 soon!

Coaxial RCA BANDRIDGE 1M CABLE

As we have seen a lot of recommendations of Bandridge cables on the internet, we decided to pursue a coaxial cable. We've had ConnectionLAB already (0,6 m) but in order to compare:

What attracted us was its very attractive price and good opinions. And although the cables are not bad, they are not impressive either.
You can feel the quality immediately: There is plastic mostly, the plugs do not fit in so well in the sockets. But it's not bad either, the signal worked. I'm just concerned that it won't be eternal and they will easily fall out after some time, soon.
We've used it for obvious purposes: to connecto a DVD to TV. The movie was transmitted with no obstacles but, however, I got the impression that the sound wasn't so good as with our before used cables. In ConnectionLAB the sound seemed to be deeper, and we used exactly the same devices, including speakers (Creative).
What is more, the cable itself is a bit stiff. I'm a fraid it will be a couse of them breaking soon. But who knows, maybe they're better than we think. To sum up: these are not bad and not good cables. Just as their price. For someone who's not demanding, may be a right choice. But prepare for buying new ones soon after.