Sasha Weather Free: Simple is the name of the game

Developer: Sasha Lab

Category: Weather 

Audience: Anyone who goes outside

The Beginning

I have reviewed a few Weather apps in the past. Storm and Amber Weather to name a couple. These apps were for the more hardcore weather fans out there. They had many options and settings that could be added or changed. Both are designed well and are really robust!

Sasha Weather Free is not robust.. at all actually. But what it is, is a really good, simple way to see the current temperature and the current 7-day forecast for your current location or a manual location that you pick.

The Middle

Let’s start with the permissions that are needed for this app. First, in order to automatically find the weather where you are, the app needs access to your location. It will work without allowing this but it’s nice to not worry about manually putting in your location every time you want to look at the forecast. The second is to allow the app to access photos,media, and files. This one is a little riskier as I am not sure why the app needs to be able to read and delete things from your phone. So use your own discretion before allowing this. (I did not allow it on my phone)

Location

Media

Once we get past the permissions it’s time to dive into the app. Remember this is a really simple app but it gets the job done. The first thing that CATches your eye is the cat theme. (See what I did there?) The first action I took was to change all the settings to things that made sense to me, Frarenhight, MPH, inches, those types of things. Just click the hamburger button on the top left then click units to change these.

Once you come out of the settings pane you will notice the big weather icon in the middle of the screen. This changes depending on the current weather. So if it’s sunny out you will have a big sun shining, at night you get a nice little moon and stars animation, if it’s partly cloudy there is the sun with some clouds over it, I think you get the picture. Scroll down just a little and you see the current temp and a message from Sasha the Cat.

Moving down the page we see today’s high and low, this box is clickable, clicking it give us the most info that we will see about today’s weather. There are the usual things here, hourly forecast, precipitation and some more details about what’s going on outside right now. And finally scrolling to the bottom give us the rest of the 7-day forecast. There is also an ad at the bottom of the page but does not seem to change and is for Sasha Lab’s other app.

The End

Overall this app provides the needed info to know whether you will need your rain coat or snow boots before going outside. It is not as robust as some others but gets the job done and looks pretty good while doing it. Sasha seemed to get my location before even the best apps, the temps seem just as or more accurate than Weather Bug. (which is my main weather app) They also give us two home screen widgets, the first is the Cat theme with all the currents and the second is a more “normal’ widget that gives the current and the rest of the 7-day forecast. It does not use the material design so that takes it down a notch or two in my book. The cat theme is a little strange to me but I won’t hold that against it. If you just need the basics and don’t want to mess with all the bells and whistles of some of the other weather apps out there then you should give Sasha Weather Free a try.

App Link: Sasha Weather Free

Back to school gear: Belkin will keep you charged all day long

So you’re all settled into your dorm and find yourself getting into a few routines. Things sure are different now that you’re not at home or school like you were last fall, huh?

Now you find yourself running all over the place, getting into new situations. But, we’re also willing to bet you’re finding that your phone isn’t lasting quite as long as it did last year. Why? You’re probably away from outlets and power sources more often. Not to fear, there are plenty of great companies offering excellent accessories to help keep you juiced up. One such brand we’ve come to love is Belkin.

We’ve recently spent some time checking out a number of products from the current Belkin lineup. Among them are USB Type-C cables, a car adapter, and a power bank. We found that each one of them was designed with care and attention to detail. It’s not hard to screw up a cable or go cheap with quality, but it seems Belkin spent plenty of time on materials. Suffice it to say, we don’t see these fraying or falling apart any time soon.

MIXIT↑ Metallic USB-C to USB-C Charge Cable (Also Known as USB Type C)

USB Type-C is one really cool technology standard. Not only does it allow for super fast transfer speeds, but it can be used across multiple devices for charging, too. And, as if that were not enough, it’s full reversible so you can plug in any way you want.

Belkin’s cable is six feet long so it’s more than enough to get out from behind the outlet tucked under your desk. Moreover, it’s designed with a welded shield to strengthen it; the metallic cable won’t tangle either.

MIXIT↑ 2.0 USB-A to USB-C Charge Cable (Also Known as USB Type-C)

With so many new smartphones moving to USB Type-C as a charging standard, it’s time to start replacing your old microUSB cables. Sorry, they’re just not going to work any more with the hot flagships.

Belkin’s USB-A to USB-C cable, which comes in all sorts of great colors, is the exact cable you want for replacing your old stuff. Don’t throw away the old adapter itself, though, as it’s gonna work with these. Moreover, keep one of these in your backpack so you can plug into a laptop for data transfer.

MIXIT↑ Metallic Power Pack 6600

Whether you walk across campus or drive from course to course, you’re going to find yourself away from a wall charger. Don’t let that time spent in class keep you from charging your phone or tablet. Heck, it has two ports so why not use it to make a new friend this fall?

The Power Pack 6600 offers up enough juice to top off your phone a solid two or three times over. If you’re the kind who only needs to keep things up in the higher percentages, you can use this guy all week long. Plug in every couple of hours and you’re good to go.

Thanks to the four-light LED indicator you’ll always know, within range, how much power is left in the charger. Pick this one up in Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, and Gray options.

USB-C Car Charger + USB-C Cable

Do you have a newer smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 or OnePlus 3? What are you doing for a car charger? Did you know there are car chargers with USB-C connections? Yep, and the Belkin model comes with a 4-foot cable to make sure your backseat drivers can charge up their handset.

This 27Watt/3 Amp charger connects to any USB-C device, including smartphones, tablets, and even notebooks. With up to 27 Watts of charging, the unit automatically detects the connected device so it can juice up at the proper speeds; you’re looking at potentially 70% faster charging for smartphones.

The Teclast X98 Plus II Android tablet is a nice media viewing device that won’t break the bank (review)

The Android tablet market is terrible. Apple’s iPad dominates the landscape in the shrinking overall tablet space and it seems that no-one really cares about putting out new tablets besides Samsung. But, there are those of us who still believe in tablets. There are those of us who want a bigger device for media viewing than the 5.7″ one we keep in our pocket. So, where are we to turn for a cost effective alternative to Samsung’s heavily skinned options and the iPad? Turns out that China is the answer.

Gearbest.com wanted to team up on a review and I was instantly attracted to its tablet lineup. Not only do they have a nice lineup of Android tablets, but it also has some interesting options that run both Android and Windows. I selected the Teclast X98 Plus II (pure Android version) to review for its good looks, screen size (9.7″) and nice price (~$130 at the time of writing).

My expectations weren’t high before receiving the device. I have always had this expectation when ordering a no-name (in the west) brand for a cheap price that I’m going to get something not worth even the discount price I’m paying. But, I have to say I was pretty surprised once I put the device through its paces.

Hardware

Let’s begin with internals. The X98 Plus II has an Intel Cherry Trail Z8300 quad-core 1.4GHz processor. The processor is designed to be a power efficient chip used specifically in tablets so it won’t put out too much heat or burn through your battery too quickly. The chip in this specific tablet is clocked at the low end of its capabilities and you should expect performance somewhere in the range of a Snapdragon 801 processor.

2GB of RAM and 32GB (25GB usable) of storage come standard in the tablet, which seems to be about the base requirements these days for smooth performance. Luckily there is also a microSD card slot for expandable storage (up to 128GB). Don’t waste your money on a card any higher than 128GB. Sometimes you can get devices to read cards at a higher advertised capacity, but the Teclast X98 Plus II would not read my Samsung 256GB micro SD card, but had no issues with my SanDisk 32GB card.

In addition to the microSD card port, you also get a headphone jack, micro HDMI port, micro USB port, and DV (5V) inputs. No DV charger came in the box so you’ll be charging up the 8000mAh battery via the micro USB port unless you source your own.

Cameras dot the front and rear of the device but they should not be used for any more than a skype conversation. They’re pretty standard low-end cameras that will make you wish you grabbed your phone out of your pocket to snap a picture rather than using the tablet already in your hands.

The display doesn’t have the highest max brightness in the world but it’s more than good enough for watching YouTube or Netflix on the couch. Viewing angles on the 2048×1536 (260 DPI) panel are fine with almost no color shifting, but where the X98 Plus II is let down is the construction of the display.

Max brightness outside

Due to how its manufactured, the picture looks very far away from the display. Another issue that crops up is that due to the material on top of the screen, you’re going to pick up a ton of marks and scratches. I haven’t tried to be especially gentle or rough with the device in the few weeks that I’ve been using it, but I have a ton of marks and scratches that make viewing the display a real chore if any kind of light is shining on it.

Touch sensitivity is also not up to par with phones and tablets released in the past couple of years. The laggy or missed touches can make for a frustrating time using the tablet.

Software

If you’re into running the newest version of Android, you may want to avoid the Teclast X98 Plus II. But, If you care about just having something to watch media on and browse the web, the included Android 5.1 should do just fine for you. This is a mostly stock build with just a few added applications.

I only count six added applications on top of stock Android here. I’ve disabled Baidu, a Boot Manager, an OTA utility that gives me an error every time I try to use it, and three apps that have Chinese names. Honestly, just ignore or disable them and you basically have a big stock Android 5.1 tablet.

Common sense software additions in the navigation tray

Teclast made the effort to add a couple common sense software additions like adding software buttons in the navigation tray for volume up and down as well as a quick launch for the camera and a menu button. The navigation tray generally has a lot of wasted space in Android tablets so it’s nice to see an OEM adding in nice features like this.

Performance

What kind of real world performance can you expect out of a $130 (at the time of writing) 9.7″ tablet? If you don’t have out of this world expectations, you’re probably going to be happy. I didn’t have high hopes for the X98 Plus II going in, but I came away pleasantly surprised. What you have to remember is that you’re working with hardware that would have been deemed flagship-worthy in 2014.

I used the tablet as a mainly a media consumption device. I was able to stream YouTube at 720p60fps with ease. When I bumped it up to 1080p30fps is when I saw some issues. After every video, YouTube would reload as if it was knocked out of memory while viewing the video. This can be frustrating if you’re going through your subscription list watching multiple videos, but otherwise, it was a pretty good experience.

I did not see much in the way of home screen redraws (which I did expect to happen) but apps were often knocked out of memory and had to reload fresh. I could get some music streaming while looking at facebook or reading Reddit, but nothing much beyond that would stay in memory. This seems par for the course for 2GB of RAM devices in 2016 with the demands apps are putting on the OS and hardware.

If you’re in the market for something that can run huge games, this is not for you. But, if you’re looking for something to play a bunch of media off a microSD card or streamed from YouTube or Netflix, you should be fine.

Conclusion

A premier tablet this is not. What the Teclast X98 Plus II can offer you is some nice performance for the price if you’re willing to make some compromises. We’ve seen the budget phone market explode with cheap, good options and this tablet reminds me of that. It’s not perfect and you’re definitely going to be missing some features of higher end tablets, but this can do a lot of the basics.

The speakers aren’t amazing, but they do get loud enough to listen to your media in your living room. Everyone else on the train will be thankful that it doesn’t get much louder and forces you to use your headphones. I like the build construction and how clicky the buttons are, but the tablet could use some revisions in other places like the durability of the display.

I really have enjoyed my time with the Teclast X98 Plus II because it filled a gap in my device lineup without breaking the bank. Watching and reading on my phone is great for sitting in the passenger seat or in a waiting room, but I do want something a little more substantial when I’m at home on the couch. If you don’t expect top tier performance while looking for something affordable, you could be quite happy with your purchase.

Product link: Teclast X98 Plus II 2 in 1 Android 5.1 Tablet PC

Disclosure:
Gearbest.com provided this tablet for review on AndroidGuys.com without any promise of a positive review. The tablet was used for a period of three weeks between 8/18/2016 until 9/6/2016. 

UNITEK 60W 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 (review)

The number of tech gadgets I own is getting embarrassingly high. Smartphone(s), tablet, smartwatch, fitness tracker, wireless headphones, Bluetooth speaker, and portable battery are some of the many portable gadgets I own.

Almost all tablets and smartphones come with single port USB chargers, but many accessories do not. The solution is to use the same wall charger while switching out the charging cable if need be. There’s also multi-port chargers which are nice to have, most of which go up to five output ports. The main issue with these desk style chargers is they don’t provide a good way to keep things organized which can lead to a mess.

Even though I live alone, this mess really bothers me and it has bothered me for a long time.

I like to be organized, and I finally broke down and did a search of charging stations that would clean up my bird’s nest of wires. That’s where the UNITEK 10-port charging station comes in to save the day.

Design and Usage

The UNITEK 10-port charging station is a flat charging station with 10 USB ports with each port able to deliver power at 2.4A. There’s also one USB port (at the end in the image with the green slot), that is Quick Charge 2.0 compatible meaning it can charge certain Android devices (Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Note 5, LG G4, LG V10) at maximum speeds. No matter what your device’s charging needs are, UNITEK’s smart circuitry will auto detect the proper settings and charge your devices safely for every individual port.

The flat charging station is designed with multiple slots to insert fins so you can organize your devices to fit your specific needs. When setting up the dividers, you’ll want to make sure to make them fit as tightly as possible for larger items like my iPad Pro 12.9″. If the dividers are too far apart, the tablet will lean on the plastic divider which will cause it to bend. If it’s set up properly though, it will have no issue with holding it upright. It’s all about physics and torque. The more upright the heavy item is, the less pressure it will put on the fins holding it up.

You can keep the slots narrow to slide in smartphones, batteries or tablets, while leaving wider charging slots for things like wireless headphones and smartwatches. What’s particularly nice about having 10 USB ports to pick from, is the ability to add devices when I make another purchase. The fins are not permanent installations meaning you can reconfigure the setup anytime you want.

There are some of you who are thinking, “Why do I need 10 charging ports when I only have three devices?” The answer is you don’t need 10 charging slots right now, but you may in the future. As technology progresses, more and more products that once required wired connections are now going wireless. In my case, I really need more than five charging ports for my desk.

With a charger of this capacity, if you were to charge 10 devices at a single time, it naturally generates heat during the energy transfer. However, UNITEK planned for that scenario quite well and installed various vents all over the device.

With the adequate ventilation, I never experienced heat concerns, nor is there a need for an active fan to cool the charger. There’s only one input to power this charging station which is nice for keeping my wall outlet free to use for things like a desk lamp, or desktop speakers. The power input is also compatible with 100-240V meaning you can use it worldwide without a converter.

After taking about five minutes to set the charging station up, my desk went from mess to organized and freed up quite a bit of space.

Before

After

The result speaks for itself. Look how much cleaner my desk is with the UNITEK 10-port charging station. This charging station is also good for families and can be set-up in common areas like the kitchen or living room since the footprint is so small. It’s simply a great way to stay organized while only using one wall outlet.

Summary

The UNITEK 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 is available to purchase at Amazon for $59.99 with free Prime Shipping. If you have a need to charge multiple devices, as well a need for cleaning up messy wires, the UNITEK charging station is a great charger that I can recommend wholeheartedly.

I feel so much better that my desk is organized, but even better I love not having to unplug and plug devices in, with my limited 5-port charging station I used to deal with before this charger saved the day.

Learn more about the UNITEK 10-port Charging Station with QC 2.0 at Amazon.

GekoGrip Modular magnetic air vent car mount (review)

One of the most dangerous things you can do is drive a car. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, globally almost 1.3m people die each year from automobile accidents. In the US, there are roughly 37,000 fatalities each year, which totals about 10 deaths per 100,000 people.

If you’ve paid attention to the tech sites lately, you’d know there are Samsung Galaxy Note 7s that catch fire due to faulty batteries. So far there have been roughly 35 incidents out of 2.5m devices, which means driving a car is much more dangerous yet we ignore the statistics when we drive distracted.

Distracted driving, or texting, and not using your smartphone or other mobile devices hands-free, is one of the most dangerous things you probably do every single time you get in a car. Using your smartphone while driving is illegal in almost all states in the US as well as many countries around the globe.

I live in San Diego where the fine for using a phone in the car is $161. In other cities the fines are as low as $20 which is asinine. These fines are not enough to distract many drivers from using their phones which not only endangers themselves and their passengers, but also the innocent drivers who are doing their best to make it home to their loved ones.

The government may not be enough of a deterrent for you to prevent you from using your cell phone, but it’s your responsibility to drive as safely as possible. All it takes is one accident and you could ruin someone else’s life forever.

It’s time you got a cell phone mount for your automobile. If you already have one, then kudos to you. Parents, if you’re reading this and have a young driver in the family, a cell phone mount is an absolute must-have for your loved one.

I’ve recently been using Mobei’s GekoGrip xM3 series Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount for smartphones and tablets, and it’s one of the easiest and most reliable mounts I’ve used in a long time.

Let’s check it out.

Design & Usage

The GekoGrip mount is designed to attach onto the air vent in your automobile. There is a magnet housed in the front end triangular shaped top piece, with a ball joint connected the four prongs that push onto the vent. The ball joint has a threaded exterior, so you can screw down the nut over it to keep your cell phone mounted in a position that makes your phone visible in a position that is comfortable for you to see.

In order to attach your phone to the magnetic mount, you will need to stick on one of two included metal pieces either on your phone directly, or in between your case and smartphone.

The round metal piece is has an sticky surface on one side and it’s designed for those who go case free. The other rectangular piece, has a felt side to protect your smartphone from scratching when it sits in between your case and smartphone (metal phones like the iPhone are not drawn to magnets since they are made from aluminum so you will need to use one of the metal pieces).

Once installed, which takes a matter of seconds, the magnet has plenty of power to hold the smartphone in place even when it’s upside down. In the picture above, I’m using a relatively large Note 7 and a somewhat rugged Caseology case.

Once in your vehicle, all you have to do is push the four pronged end into the cross section of your vent and then screw down the ball joint.

Once installed in the air vent, which does take a decent amount of force, it stays firmly in place.

Simply hold your phone up to the magnetic portion and the phone sticks very easily. There’s nothing to tighten down, and it’s one of the easiest ways to mount your phone in your automobile. The only downside is your phone will block the air vent. In San Diego, that’s never an issue for me since the weather is pretty consistent and I almost never use heat or A/C. Most other regions though, do experience a wide range in temperatures, so you can leave the phone off the mount until your car has come to the temperature you’re comfortable with before attaching the phone.

If you’re concerned about the phone falling off on its own, don’t worry. I have an off-road suspension on my truck, which is not a smooth ride, especially in California where our roads are riddled with deep pot holes. Not one time did the mount move, or shown signs of letting go of my Note 7.

From opening the box, installation to putting in use, it took no longer than a matter of minutes to add in a safety feature all cars should come standard with these days.

Summary

The GekoGrip Modular Magnetic Air Vent Car Mount is available for purchase at Amazon for $19.95 with free Prime Shipping. The mount is rated to hold up to 300g, which means it won’t hold your full sized tablet, but it will more than easily keep your smartphone mounted in a safe position while you drive.

The statistics prove driving can be a dangerous activity, but distracted driving is simply asking for trouble. It’s almost inevitable for some to use their smartphones while driving, especially those who stream music to their car or need GPS to get around town, so you might as well make it safer by installing a mount. The GekoGrip air vent mount is a smart choice, especially when you factor in the ease-of-use and quality for $19.95.

Canyons of Mars is a simple but punishing arcade game (review)

This is going to be a rather quick and simple review, as the game being reviewed is also pretty simple and quick-playing. Canyons of Mars is a simple side-to-side arcade game, and is intended for quick pickup-and-play.
It’s a family-friendly (easy and safe for the kiddos) title with a clean design. It comes to us from developer South Pacific Apps (makers of “Fill the Pot”, also reviewed here on our site).

Setup

Simple enough; just download from the Play Store, and enter the game. Upon entry to the title screen you can jump right into gameplay, adjust audio settings, see the game’s record scores, and choose to pay up to the premium (no-ads) version.

Going into gameplay, your next screen is to choose your “martian” or avatar. You’re forced to start with the weakest martian for your first levels, until you collect enough blue jewels to but your next martian (for example, then next better martian costs 100 jewels). So you grab your martian, hit ‘play’, and you are transferred into gameplay.

Gameplay

The game is extremely easy to play. You have only 2 controls to worry about, tap/hold the left side of the screen to move left, and tap/hold right to move right.

Your objective is to move left and right, simultaneously collecting jewels and assorted power-ups, and avoiding falling Mars rocks. The jewels you want to get a more capable martian for your next level (see above); the power-ups will help you last longer on your current level.
The power-ups are of three varieties:

Boosters to improve your horizontal speed.
Armor and armor repair.
Blasters to shoot apart oncoming falling rocks.

That’s really all there is to it. With these tools and skills, your goal is to survive each level, upgrade your martian, and conquer the next level.

What We Liked

As stated above, Canyons of Mars is a family-friendly game, and would be of particular interest for younger kiddos like preschoolers and kindergardeners. The options are limited enough so as not confuse a player. Meanwhile, the graphics are clean and bold (attractive to younger eyes) and the sound effects are a pleasant combination of cartoon background music along with Nickelodeon-esque sound effects.

What Could Use Improvement

As a reviewer my main complaint is with how punishing the game is when it comes to getting hit with a rock you’re trying to avoid. In a lot of games you’re given a lot of chances to continue play (you can take a lot of bullets, or you can get injured otherwise quite a bit before dying and therefore ending your turn).
In Canyons of Mars, there is very little pity given to you as a player. If you happen to have your armor & shield really built up, you may be able to sustain contact with two or maybe three rocks. But the rest of the time (which is a majority of gameplay in my opinion), upon contact with a single rock, you are dead, your turn is over, and you are directed to re-start the level.

This in my opinion is very punitive, and is a deterrent to its replay value. It could get a bit frustrating when you get pretty far on a level (including collecting quite a few power-ups in the process) only to have it all end because a single rock hits you. It was a bit of a turn-off, to be honest.

Conclusion

In all, Canyons of Mars is a pretty decent game, as long as you know what you’re getting into. A MMO simulation is is not, but it’s not trying to pretend to be, either. The game is probably best played by younger device users, or other simpler minds in your house (Like my brothers. Hi guys!).

Download Canyons of Mars from the Play Store here.