Tintec 4 Inch USB Mini Desk Fan

I have tried other budget-priced desktop fans in the past and have not been impressed. Usually, they are garishly designed and cheaply made usually from low-grade plastics and invariably don’t work or else cease working after a few days. This one is better, nicely made and works well.

The fan arrived presented in a rather basic cardboard box containing just the fan. No instructions were included or required as everything you might need to know was printed on the box.

I was also surprised by the fan itself which is entirely made of metal with even the 3.6″ fan blades made from aluminium rather than plastic. To my surprise, the blade shield frame is held in place with removable nuts rather the cheaper option of glue. The USB power cable is just over three feet in length and is hardwired to the body with a non-rotating fixed joint. It is a pity the cable is not connected using a standard socket on the fan as it means that should the cord fail then the fan will be useless. The fan has a single speed only but is turned off and on using a switch on the rear and not just by unplugging as cheaper rivals do.

The fan is position on a non-folding rigid stand within which the fan rotate around through 360 degrees. The stand can also be hooked over a window frame or chairback if needed.

The fan is almost silent in operation and is more powerful than I expected and it gives a pleasant breeze across the desk. Take note that this is designed for desktop use and you will not feel much benefit above about six feet away.

This is a stylish, well made and very functional desktop fan available at the time of writing for just £8.99 from Amazon. I doubt if you will find a better one for the price.

The Good
Good build quality
Attractive Design
Off/On switch
Quiet operation
Robust metal construction

Great price

The Bad
Hardwired cable
Desktop level use only

Single Speed only

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PinShare Home 3 Mode LED Reading Light

 

See below for 90% discount codes!

This deceptively simple clip-on lamp from Pinshare Home will surely answer most of your needs as regards a desk or office lamp and for the rather reasonable price of just £19.99 from Amazon.

The lamp arrived simply packaged in a simple branded cardboard box containing the suitably well-packaged lamp and a well printed, easy to read but rather unnecessary user guide.

The lamp consists of a 16.2cm long LED strip on the end of a 33cm gooseneck with a 10cm crocodile clamp base. The clamp is suitably padded to protect the surface of the desk and once in place is robust and secure. The lamp can be used with the clamp base acting as a stand but it is of course rather less stable than when clamped in place. Once in position, the black silk finish gooseneck can be bent and positioned in almost any attitude. The lamp is powered by a standard USB plug (no mains adapter is supplied) hard-wired into the lamp with an in-line control box with large and easy to use buttons

Using the lamp is simple enough. Once plugged in Press the Power Button to the device off and on, pressing the Mode button will scroll between the three colour temperatures on offer – Warm, Standard, and cool white, press the + and – button to scroll between the ten brightness levels of the light. It has an always-on blue LED on the control box that allows the lamp to be easily located in a darkened room, a thoughtful and very useful touch.

This is a simple and attractive lamp that does what it is supposed to do and does it well. If you need an office or desktop style lamp for work or reading then this would be a great buy.

NB The Supplier has made a limited number of 90% Amazon discount codes for this product:
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Gueray Rechargable Portable CD Player (upgraded)

 

I was very surprised when offered this new and updated CD player from Gueray product to review. Who still uses CD players?  Sales of turntables, CD players and even Videotape players are taking off with the interest in retro tech and so I suppose it was only a matter of time until CD players fell into that category. Some people too may have a much-treasured CD collection that they still need to have access to via a dedicated player.

In the mid-market box that I received was the player itself, in-ear headphones with three sets of buds, extension cable with remote control pod, USB to micro-USB charging cable, audio-in cable, soft carry case, and a well printed and easy to read User Guide. Build quality seems excellent and this has the look and feel of a high-quality product with nothing looking likely to fail anytime soon.

The player supports the usual formats: CD, MP3, CD-R, and CD-RW with four playing modes: Track Repeat, Repeat All, Play first 10s, Shuffle Play. With MP3 discs there is also an option to repeat play a selected track folder. When playing there are five audio presets to choose from. The device can either be controlled from the buttons around the mono LCD screen on the lid or using the in-line control pod. The player has a built-in 3.7V/1400mAh rechargeable battery which after a four-hour initial charge should give at least eight hours of sustained use. It can also be powered from a USB cable when incorporated into a home music system. On my device charging, red LED when charging and green when ready, was fast and reliable.

Sound quality is excellent both when connected to an external sound system or when using the supplied headphones. Indeed, the headset is a cut above that usually supplied with portable players and can give excellent if not outstanding results.

If you need a portable CD player you are probably a specialist user and will require a good quality well-made device. So far as I can tell it is a minor upgrade from the earlier model from Gueray with some under the hood improvements, a colour change from black to white and a small drop in price. This £48.99 unit is not inexpensive but it is a quality piece of kit that promises to be reliable and a good long term buy.

The Good
Good Build Quality
Good Headphones
Extension cable with in-line Controls
Carry Bag

The Bad
Expensive
No Optical audio out

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Dailyart 330ml Stainless Steel Milk Frothing Jug

This elegant and rather stylish stainless steel jug can be bought separately or as the mid-sized of a set of three, the others being 200ml and 600ml. This one is probably ideal for use with one or two coffee servings.

The jug arrived simply but adequately packed in a branded cardboard box with the jug and, surprisingly, a well written and nicely printed User Guide. I doubt many will need it but from a sense of completion, I include a scan of it in my unboxing video.

The jug is reassuringly heavy and feels like a quality item. As you would expect it has a reflective shiny exterior with a mat finish to the inside to allow the engraved measurement scale there to be more easily seen. Yes, the markings are engraved and not just printed as they would be on a less well finished off item. The 7.5cmx 9.2cm jug is made from 304-grade stainless steel, this means nothing to me but apparently is the highest quality food gauge metal. It has a spout to the front, drip-free we are told, and a metal handle to the rear, welded rather than riveted to the body.

As you would expect the jug is easy to use as well as looking good and makes a neat and attractive addition to the coffee making routine. The current Amazon price of £6.99 is not at all unreasonable for an elegant and well-made item such as this.

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KEDSUM Portable White Noise Machine

 

This little device is designed to help you drift off into a calm and relaxed sleep. I have tried similar devices but this one is the easiest to use and has the most functions in the budget price bracket.

The White Noise Machine arrived nicely presented in an attractive mid-market box adding to the appeal of the product as a gift. Along with the device itself was a short USB to the micro-USB power cable and a small but well printed and easy to read User Guide which I include on the end of my unboxing video.

The device looks rather like a 90’s era bedside radio and indeed it is a pity a radio could not have been incorporated into it. On the top can be found the speaker grill together with the input controls for the timer and the main silver On/Off button. The front panel has the small backlit timer LCD display along with timer On/Off, timer set, Volume Up/Down and large sound selection dial. On the rear panel is the micro-USB power port and on the underside the battery housing for the four AA batteries (not included).

Build quality seems fine for the price with nothing looking likely to break or fall off and nothing that little fingers can come to harm by if the device is used in the nursery.

The ten sounds can be selected easily by turning the front panel dial with the following options available: White Noise, Rain, Bird, Brook, Lullaby 1, Lullaby 2, Ocean, Typhoon, Thunder and Brown Noise. Pressing the Up/Down button to select the volume, press and hold the Mode button to set the current time of day using the top panel control to input the details. Press the timer button to select the timer and press multiple times to select the timer duration of 15,30,60 or 90 minutes. The LCD displays the current time with an eight second cut off for the backlight as well as the remaining time when the timer is selected.

I found the device worked well with decent sound quality and loud enough for use in larger rooms. It is a pity there is no audio out cable to allow connection to an external audio system and a pity too that no power adapter was included but for the current silly price you cannot be greedy.

The current Amazon fire sale price of £5.99 is fantastic considering the quality, ease of use, and features on offer.

The Good
Great Price
Easy To Operate
Battery/USB Power Option
Attractive Design
Auto Off

Multiple timer options

The Bad
No Radio
No Power Adapter included

No Audio Out

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KEDSUM Waterproof Bluetooth 4.1 Sports Headphones

Due to the supplier ceasing trading this headset is currently available for just £5.99, from Amazon. I was not expecting too much from this budget headset but in fact, I was rather surprised by their performance. Having tried them blind I would have expected to pay around £20-£30 for them.

In the small, mid-market box was the headset themselves,  three pairs of differently sized buds, a short USB to the micro-USB charging cable, and a well written but small and poorly printed User Guide. I will include the Guide at the end of my unboxing video. Switch to full screen and pause to read it.

Build quality seems fine, the earpieces seem robust and well made. The earbuds are quite large and tend to project outwards a bit too much for my taste but once in place are comfortable enough and are securely fixed with an over ear loop. However, experimenting with the other buds helped with comfort and sound quality. The cable connecting the two earpieces I found to be quite short compared to some others I have tried. It is a pity that the earbuds do not clip together for storage as some rivals do. The headset is described as being waterproof but as no IP rating is given for this I would take it with a pinch of salt. The charging port is grommet protected and everything else seems pretty secure so I would expect them to be fine in all but the worst weather. A single charge should give up to five hours of audio playing time which is not a great deal but good for such a short charging time. A red LED indicates charging.

Pairing with my phone was quick and easy and the connection seemed strong and stable when I took them on a run. Long press the MF button on the right headset side to pair with and use the password 0000 if needed. The standard volume/track buttons are on the side above the MF button.

Usually, budget headphones have poor audio but not so here.  Sound quality was not bad at all. There is a decent level of bass and although it is no rival to Dr Dre’s it is better than on most in-ear Bluetooth headsets I have tried. Mid tones are clear and well defined with non of the muddiness common to cheap headsets. All the instruments could be heard separately and clearly. Higher frequencies are again sharp and clear although for me perhaps a little too grating at times, but that can be down to my personal preferences.

For the price, this is a great buy. A decent quality well-made headset with a full range of accessories, an excellent User Guide and a very much above average sound quality.

The Good
Great price
Good sound quality
Good User Guide
Easy to use controls

The Bad
Audio a bit abrasive (for me)
Cable too short
Earbuds non-magnetic

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Phot-R Photo Studio Multi-Function Spring Clamp

 

 

I wanted to mount an additional security camera to the top of our conservatory which meant it would have to be attached to the plastic guttering. I did not wish to glue or screw it in place but instead needed a robust adjustable and easily removable clip-on mount. This unit from Phot-R seemed to tick all the boxes.

The device arrived with no instructions or paperwork and was packaged in a plain plastic bag, nothing more was included nor required.

The mount is made almost entirely of heavy-duty metal with removable slip-on rubber grips on the clamps and rubber padding on the camera screw interface. The device is basically a traditional bulldog clamp with a small ball and socket mount attached to it. The clamp spring is very powerful and opening the jaws fully requires no little effort and cuts into the fingers somewhat. The ball and socket mount has a locking groove and this can be rotated to allow almost any camera angle of view to be obtained. When locked in place the mount is very robust and feels secure. The whole assembly really does seem heavy duty and I would have no problems with mounting a DSLR if not medium format sized camera to it.

To be honest I cannot really think of any problems with it. It is well made, very robust and does the job it is designed for. At the current Amazon price of £7.99, it will certainly not break the bank either.

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