Air-Fi AF9 Bluetooth Headset

Air-Fi AF9 Bluetooth Headset Review – The Air-Fi AF9 from MEElectronics is like a hybrid of the traditional in-ear earphones and a compact wireless Stereo Bluetooth headset.

A Bluetooth headset normally sits on one ear, wireless, and has a good quality audio for calls. On the other hand, traditional wired in-ear earphones have wonderful sound quality when listening to music at the expense of being glued to your portable device.

The MEElectronics Air-Fi AF9 has the best of both worlds – producing high quality sound for both calls and music, in both ears, wireless. Or simply switch to wired when you are out of charge (which shouldn’t happen often).

The Air-Fi AF9 Bluetooth Headset consists of three detachable parts:

• The in-ear earphones
• A 3.5mm extension cable (optional)
• The Air-Fi Stereo Bluetooth wireless headset

Though in a way, this set-up looks funny at first – because it seems like it doesn’t really make much difference; as if you are wearing a regular wired earphone headset. This is probably because I find that the non-detachable cable is a bit too long but then again, it’s better to have it longer. Besides, you are free to clip it to anywhere you like, or even put it inside your shirt’s pocket.

Connecting to Bluetooth is pretty much instantaneous. If you have connected it to a Bluetooth device before, turning the receiver on will auto connect your device. You will then hear a loud beep (which is a little bit too loud for my taste) indicating a solid connection.

I also like how the receiver shuts itself off when it loses the Bluetooth connection after some time. I normally switched my phone’s Bluetooth on and off but often forgot to switch the Bluetooth headset off. Since the MEElectronics Air-Fi AF9 can auto turn itself off, I can further prolong the need to charge its battery (which is rechargeable). Besides, according to the technical specifications, the recharging process only takes about 2 hours to fully recharge the battery with about 100 hours of standby time. The light on the receiver will blink in red should you need to recharge it.

Razer Ouroboros

The Razer Ouroboros is an elite gaming mouse with futuristic design and also crazy customisation options that will definitely fit whatever hand size and gripping style you have at the moment.

The mouse is fully ergonomic and ambidextrous (can be used by left or right hand). The customisations are top-notch, allowing you to customise the side panels, back tilt angle, and rear panels – depends on your grip (palm or claw).

Not to mention the latest 8200 dpi sensor and also a wireless option, which makes this a perfect mobile gaming mouse. Not sure how the size is compared to the Razer Orochiwithout direct comparison photos. It is powered by a single rechargeable AA battery (about 12 hours minimum) that can be recharged on the included dock or replaced by a standard AA battery for emergencies. Like the Razer Mamba, there is also an option to wire it for non-stop gaming.

Price: US 129.99

BEV receives national recognition

The team of engineers included students Tim Mason, Dale Oswald, Greg McPherson and Matt Kershaw, with supervision from Dr Mike Duke. The group designed and built the single-seat battery electric vehicle, affectionately known as BEV (battery electric vehicle) as part of their fourth-year project during their Bachelor of Engineering last year.

“A highly commended award was given due to the professional manner in which the team investigated, executed and reported on their design project. The high standard of their entry is testament to high technical competence, enthusiasm, commitment and the comprehensive tuition and guidance provided at the University of Waikato,” says Paul Stephenson, Awards Convenor.

BEV was built by the students over two semesters and is a single-seater commuter vehicle powered by a bank of 10 lithium-ion batteries. Building and getting BEV roadworthy was a challenge for the students working to tight deadlines and completing other papers in the final year of their degrees. They quickly lost count of the hours they spent on the car.
Prime Minister John Key was particularly impressed with BEV during a visit to a University of Waikato stand at Fieldays recently. Mr Key spoke to current student Benjamin McGuinnes, who talked him through the working of the vehicle.

The accolade was given to the group as part of their submission for the Ray Meyer Medal for Excellence in Student Design. Recognition is given annually to excellent final-year projects with a substantial design component, which have been completed as part of an Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) accredited qualification. All five of the University of Waikato’s engineering programmes are fully accredited by IPENZ.

Cool New iPad 3 Cases

Apple's new iPad packs a new processor, better graphics, an ultra-sharp display, and improved cameras. But even with all that extra power packed inside, the new iPad looks just like the old iPad. Visually, there's only one thing setting the two tablets apart: The new iPad is just .03 inch thicker. That's less than a millimeter—.76mm to be exact. Just enough to make you wonder if an iPad 2 case will fit on a new iPad.
The good news is, many of the cases made for the iPad 2 will fit the new iPad. Apple's own Smart Cover, for example, will work with both the iPad 2 and the new iPad. But compatibility isn't guaranteed, especially with, say, a shell that snaps on to the back of the tablet. To make things clear, most case manufacturers are releasing new iPad-specific case lines (or some call them iPad 3 cases). And that's what we've rounded up here: Cases that are guaranteed to work with the third-generation iPad.

10-INCH TABLET RUNNER-UP: iPad 2.

Again, disappointing from the competition that the iPad 2 is still one of the best tablets on the market, even though it's a year old.
But you can attribute that to Tim Cook's magic supply chain, which is literally years ahead of other manufacturers. So much so that Apple can afford to drop the price of the iPad 2 by $100.
When it comes to hardware specifications, the iPad 2 is still a beast with a 1024 by 768 pixel resolution that tops a lot of the existing competition and a 10-hour battery on wi-fi.
That makes it not only one of the cheapest 10-inch tablets on the market, but one of the best as well. You won't get more bang for your buck than the iPad 2, and you'll have access to the hundreds of thousands of apps on the Apple App Store. <

7-INCH TABLET RUNNER-UP: Kindle Fire.

Amazon's first swing at the tablet market is still the second-best because it is ridiculously cheap.
The 7-inch tablet costs $199 and comes packed with Amazon's own Android-powered app store that's about as good as Google's app store.
You'll feel the price of the device, though — it won't scream like the new iPad and the display is nowhere near as good as some of the best tablets on the market.
Still, the Kindle Fire is about as good as it gets for a cheap 7-inch tablet.

Acer Iconia Tab A700

Acer has been diligently releasing, improving, and iterating its Android tablets for a year now. The Iconia Tab A700 is its fifth major crack at tablets and its diligence is visible in almost every detail of the design. This time, to better compete with the new iPad, Acer has added a Full HD display and bumped up the processing power

The A700 is almost identical in design to previous Acer tablets, which is good and bad. Thanks to a rubberized, textured coating and good button placement, it’s easy enough to use it, but it’s still heavier (23.5oz) and thicker (11mm) than a lot of tablets. It’s also heavier and thicker than the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity. Still, its the lightest and thinnest Acer tablet yet.

As we always say, 10.1-inch Android tablets are not our favorite size. It’s a bit too large to type on comfortably or to hold in landscape mode due to Android’s reliance on a widescreen design. Apple’s solo choice to use a screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3 was a smart one. Our favorite Android tablets are a bit smaller, clocking in with screens between 8 and 9 inches.
We’re being nitpicky, but we’re sad that Acer has removed the full-size USB port from the A700. The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity still has one, as have previous Iconia Tabs. This one has a modified Micro USB port instead. You can connect it up to your computer, but it requires its own proprietary charger (boo). Stereo speakers on the bottom of the tablet sound okay, but cannot compete with the iPad’s single speaker, even after you turn on built-in Dolby audio enhancements.

Screen

To compete with the new wave of Full HD devices, Acer has upgraded its 10.1-inch LCD screen to 1920 x 1200 pixels, which is as high as any Android tablet and almost as much as the third iPad’s Retina display. The effect is the same: Text and visuals on the tablet look crisp and clear. You don’t notice the bump in resolution all the time, but if you try to go back to a 1280 x 800 screen after using the Iconia Tab, it won’t be an easy transition. This screen is quite nice. We have no complaints except its size. We recommend you try out a 10.1-inch Android tablet before committing.

Operating System

The Iconia Tab A700 runs on the almost newest version of Google’s OS: Android 4.0 (codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich). The interface is pretty straight-forward and sticks with the strengths of Google’s new OS, though Acer has made more changes than it has in the past, especially to the Android Status Bar, which expands out when you touch the clock in the lower right. The changes appear to be an improvement in design and functionality, allowing easier toggling of Bluetooth, GPS, Airplane mode, Sound, screen rotation, app syncing, Wi-Fi, notifications, and screen brightness, but they are a change nonetheless.