Hasta La Gadget!

While there are tons of Bluetooth speakers for your smartphone, there are two big disadvantages to this kind of technology: 1) sometimes the audio cuts out, especially if you walk too far away from the speaker with your phone in your pocket, and 2) Bluetooth burns extra battery on both your phone and the speaker. So if you’re looking for a mobile speaker that does away with both of these concerns, check out the GoalZero RockOut2.

This portable speaker connects to your mobile phone or media player the old fashioned way – using a 3.5mm stereo plug. This ensures a high quality audio signal without interruption, and you can leave Bluetooth turned off on your phone too. The RockOut2 acts as both a speaker and a carrying case for your phone, with a hidden interior compartment for you to keep your phone in.

The case of the RockOut2 is made from the same sort of durable nylon you’d find on a rugged backpack. This material does a fine job keeping your phone safe from occasional splashes or even a bit of rain. Keep in mind that the case is specified as “water resistant”, so you probably don’t want to bring it in the swimming pool. Measuring in at 7″ wide x 3.75″ high x 2.5″ deep, it’s portable enough to keep in your backpack or suitcase for easy travel. It’s also got a hookable elastic cord on the back that makes it easy to lash it to the outside of a bag or other objects.

Inside the zippered case, you’ll find a 3.5mm plug for connecting your phone and a USB port for recharging the RockOut2′s internal battery pack. There’s also a jack for chaining multiple speakers together to a single input device. Just plug your phone in, slip it into the netting and zip it back up. The phone compartment is big enough to hold most phones with screens up to about 5 inches. My iPhone 5 and HTC One fit just fine, but I tried to fit my Optimus G Pro 5.5″ phablet inside and it was just a little too big with the audio connector attached.

On the face of the speaker, you’ll find controls for skipping back or forth between tracks, pause/play and volume. This comes in handy of course, because your phone’s screen will be hidden inside of the RockOut2′s case most of the time.

The RockOut2 features stereo full-range drivers, each kicking out up to 3 watts of sound. Frequency response is 100Hz to 20KHz, but I found that bass response was plentiful for a device of its size. In my experience with the RockOut2, I found the sound quality to be quite pleasant, without any noticeable distortion through the highest volume levels. It’s not going to fill a large room, but it’s clean and plenty for listening with a couple of friends sitting on the beach or around the campfire.

Battery life is exceptional – providing up to 20 hours of playback on a 3 hour charge. I actually left mine sitting on a shelf for about two weeks without any use and it worked just fine without any noticeable loss of power. GoalZero claims that you can juice it up in just two hours using their Nomad 7 solar panel, assuming you have enough sun, but I wasn’t able to test this claim.

Overall, I’m impressed with this little speaker. It offers rugged styling, above average sound quality, good portability, and excellent battery life. If you’re looking for an alternative to battery-draining wireless devices, then you’ll definitely want to consider the RockOut2. GoalZero sells the RockOut2 for $59.99(USD) and it’s available now in a variety of colors.

If you’re lucky, your smartphone’s battery can just make it through a full day, with the percentage meter dropping to the single digits as you finally get a chance to plug in. With 10 hours out and about, some handsets can’t even last through dinner, though, and out of reach power outlets make juicing up at the restaurant a tad inconvenient. Beginning this summer, public power will be much more accessible in New York City. AT&T is partnering with Goal Zero to deploy Street Charge stations in a handful of parks and other locations around NYC. They’ll be coming to Fort Green Park on June 18th, and will roll out to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Coney Island, Riverside Park, Rockaways, Summerstage in Central Park, Randall’s Island, Governor’s Island, Union Square, and Hudson River Park over the next few weeks. Each solar-powered pole, designed locally by Pensa, sports six USB connectors: for iPhones and iPads, there’s 30-pin and Lightning plugs, Android and Windows Phone users can hook up to micro-USB, and everyone else can use their own cable with one of three female USB connectors.

There’s three 15-watt solar panels and a 168 watt-hour battery, enabling each Street Charge to power up to six devices for several days without exposure to the sun. Sure, it’s probably impractical to fill your gadget’s cell completely, but if you have a few minutes to spare, you’ll be able to juice up and go. You can plug in phones, tablets, cameras, or even a Pebble watch — each cable can pump out up to two amps of 5V power, providing support for just about any USB-powered device. Each weatherproof unit will have AT&T branding, which seems reasonable, considering the carrier is footing the bill here. You should start seeing these pop up at several TBA locations in New York throughout the summer, with more stations to come if the trial’s a success. Take a closer look in the hands-on video after the break.

Filed under: Household, AT&T

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Source: Pensa

If you’re on the go a lot, away from a power outlet you may have tried all sorts of things to help get more run time from your gadgets. A new solar power kit has turned up and features a small portable battery that can be recharged from the sun or a wall outlet. The charging kit is called the Sherpa 50.

The first time the Sherpa 50 turned up was during CES 2012 and it was delayed over a year and a half coming to the market. The good news is that it is here now and for $399.95(USD) you can get the complete kit including an AC inverter and a portable battery. The device can also be purchased a la carte – without the AC outlet or the solar panel, for as little as $199.95.

In addition to the standard AC outlet, the device also has a USB port for charging devices and a special port for your laptop. The battery weighs less than a bottle of water according to the manufacturer and can give you one full recharge for most laptops, and multiple recharges for other gadgets.

The battery can be charged completely in about five hours using only the included solar panel. You can also recharge the battery from the wall outlet in about three hours.

The Sherpa 50 is available now from GoalZero.

GoalZero employees and retail partners have managed to bring about $600,000 worth of portable power products to some areas affected by hurricane Sandy through their “You Buy One, We Give One” program where customers could help those in need. “Our employees came to us with the entire plan of what to send and how to get it there. They even volunteered to load up the truck and deliver the gear themselves.”, says GoalZero’s CEO Joe Atkin.

The loss of power in the midst of difficult weather has been quite awful for residents in the affected areas, and while a portable power source like the GoalZero Escape 150 cannot replace the comfort of home, it is clear that having some light at night and the ability to charge a cellphone has to make a huge difference on a daily basis.

If you are not familiar with GoalZero, the company is known for its portable energy products that range from smart-phone/battery solar chargers to huge batteries that can power a micro-wave oven or other large appliances.

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