Tidy up that messy wiring!

Sometimes the sight of messy wiring frustrates me.

While browsing on the net, I found a cheap, low tech "gadget" that provides simple solution, in the form of a plastic box with holes.

How it works - dump all your wires and plugs into the box, close it, and your are done!

The end result is pleasing. Plus, it keeps the dust away too.

Wireless Transmitter + Receiver BTT009

It is a Sunday night, big football game at 11pm. You are watching the game with great excitement, but you need to be considerate, as your wife and kids are asleep. You wish you could turn on the volume a bit louder...

Well that happened to me, and I have decided to fix it - with a Bluetooth Transmitter! The idea is simple, output the audio from the TV to your headphone wirelessly.

They used to come in a set, a wireless transmitter and a dedicated headphone. These days however, some of us may already have a BT earphone or headphone, so why not make full use of it?

Being me, I was not ready to pay much for it, so I started the search on Aliexpress, Ebay, and Amazon. Finally punched in my credit card details for this no brand BT transmitter (model BTT009) which also work as a receiver.

Nothing special with its packaging, and I suspect it needs a good outer box to protect the device from damaging during shipping. It comes with the transmitter itself, a micro USB cable to power the device, and a 3.5 to 3.5 mm cable to connect between the transmitter and the source (e.g. a TV).

The size of the transmitter is rather small, it's length is about a third of a pen. Making it very portable, which mean you can convert a media player or a earphone that has no BT capability. For that matter, this device comes with built-in battery. The transmitter has a solid build. Though it is brandless, it doesn't feel cheap.

Pairing it is easy. Set the devices, both the transmitter and headphone, in pairing mode (by long pressing the power button), bring them near physically, and they should pair.

Not much comment about the audio quality really. The sound passes through a few interfaces before reaching your ears, so don't expect it to be of very high quality. Doesn't mean it is bad though. Jon Champion still sound like Jon Champion. There is no noise or distortion.

Now excuse me, I am going back to watch my game **putting on the BT headphone**. 

"GOAL!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

"......"

External battery that actually look sexy - Anker Astro Slim 3

Mobile phones, tablets, even watches, gadgets get more advance and shinny each year, but battery technology doesn't seem to be keeping up in the same speed. It is a familiar scene to many of us, when you were in need to call somebody, or looked for the way home on GPS, but only found your phone turned flat. It is no wonder why the external battery or 'power bank' become a popular accessory these days.

Depending on one need there are many brand/ brandless, with different sizes/ capacity, of battery pack out there. I have been using a few brandless batteries myself, which I got it from places like DX, or Aliexpress. Most of them did the job somewhat, but not without flaws. For instances, inflated mAh, bulky size, and some even exploded.

Check out the sexy Anker Astro Slim 3!

The impression started with the packaging, which was simple, and elegant.

The package include  the battery itself, a short micro usb cable, and a 30-pin Apple connector.

My photos may not do it justice. The Astro Slim 3 is one very well design battery pack. As suggested by the name, it is extremely pocketable and slim in profile. It remind you of a mobile phone, something like the Nexus One, both in terms of size and material.

The design is well thought out. It has a built in micro usb cable, which mean you don't need to carry an extra cable; not unless you need to charge the battery pack itself, or you use an Apple product. The built in cable is short and flat so it won't dangle. The micro usb when taken out, expose the port for charging (by micro usb). There is a secondary usb port, so you can charge 2 devices concurrently. On the front, there are 4 light indicators, which will be lighted up in white when you unplug, plug in the cable, and during charging.

Don't be fooled by its physical, at 6000 mAh, Slim 3 was able to charge my Galaxy S4 twice fully, and still with some juice left. The charging speed during the test was fast - it took about 2 - 2.5 hours to fully charge the S4 (2600 mAh) from flat. However, you may need to leave the battery pack charged overnight, as it may take a while depending on the charger.

Only complaints I have were 1) the built in micro usb head is too big and may not fit if you are using a case on your mobile, and 2) the light indicator was not accurate. It might be a localized issue with my unit, or that it was not thoroughly calibrated yet; the indicators went down to only 1 light quickly but was able to fully charge my S4 from flat.

In short, I love my purchase, and thought it was money well spent ($36/ S$46). Finally, I found an external battery that while serve it purpose functionally, it actually look great that I don't mind carrying it out, even when I don't need it.