With the holiday season upon us there is good chance that you will be spending more time out of your home or office and be on your phone more, as you make plans to meet up with friends and family. It is during these times that you begin to realize just how long your battery will take you before your phone shuts off. As great as your smart phone is and all of the apps are, they are of no use if your phone totally discharges. It is times like these that you had wished you were carrying an external battery. When I know that I am going to be out all day and on the go with my iPhone 6, I always carry an external battery. I would like to thank Jackery with providing me with these batteries to review for this blog post. I have used many external batteries over the years and when I came across the Jackery Air 6 for the iPhone I had to take it for a spin. The Jackery Air 6 is beautifully crafted 3000mAh battery with an orange fluorescent aluminum casing that is thin and stylish, weighing in at 3.36 ounces. I found that the Jackery Air 6 charged quickly and gave me the ability to fully recharge my iPhone 6 to a full charge. There is a micro USB port for charging the battery and and full USB port for the Lightning cable to your iPhone. The Jackery Air 6 has a 3 color (Red, Green, & Blue) LED indicator that lets you quickly check on the battery level and comes with a mini lightning cable as well as a USB to mini USB cable for charging the battery. The Jackery Air 6 outputs 5V/1A and is ideal for charging your iPhone 6 or 6S. For those of you on the road and always want to ensure that you have a lightning cable with you check out the Kero Lightning Nomad Cablethat fits on your key ring. One of the issues I have had with external batteries is that they tend to weigh too much and are rather bulky but the Jackery Air 6 dispels this, and easily fits in your pocket- at times you don't even realize you are carrying it! This makes for an excellent practical and stylish gift for the holidays. For the times you will be on the road with more then one device you may want to consider the Jackery Giant +. The Jackery Giant + is a 12,000mAh battery with a flashlight
Jackery Giant +
which is ideal if you need to charge two devices at the same time. The Jackery Giant + supports 5V/1A and 5V/2.1A which is ideal for charging more demanding devices. While the 5V/1A port is great for charging my iPhone 6 the 5V/2.1A port is ideal for charging my Surface 3 which is rated for the 5V/ 2.1A output. The Jackery Giant + is a much bigger battery and weighs in at 10.4 ounces and is one I would most likely throw into my backpack when I am on the road with my Surface 3 or iPad Air.
Jackery Bar
If you are looking for a lighter weight battery that can support 5V/2.1A you should take a look at the Jackery Bar which weighs in 5.5 ounces. The Jackery Bar has a simple 3 bar LED light to instantly let you know just how charged the battery is and includes a flashlight which could come in really handy when the power goes out. The Jackery Bar is a 6000mAh battery which is ideal for charging your iPhone 6 but could easily fully charge your iPad up when it is 50% discharged. Having the convenience of the Jackery Bar being able to meet multiple needs is ideal and one that gives you the flexibility to use it with smart phones or or more demanding tablets. You will find the Jackery batteries are well designed and will give you the confidence that your iPhone and tablets will keep on ticking as you move through the holiday season. As you can see there are lots of options whether you are using an iPhone or carrying with you an iPad, Surface 3 or tablet. For more information about the Jackery batteries click here.
Over the years I have reviewed several products from LapWorks, who has been manufacturing and selling fine accessories for laptops and tablets, but had not heard from them in years. But just last week, I received and email from them announcing some new products for iPads and tablets that I just had to take a look at. Lapworks has just recently released two products that really make a huge difference when you want to use an iPad or Tablet for instruction in the classroom. If you have ever tried to balance or
hold an iPad or tablet in your hand as you move about the classroom-then you know just how challenging it can be. In today's classroom being able to hold and move about the classroom using your iPad or tablet is important, but the risk of dropping it can be a real concern. This is where the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle for 7" to 10.5" tablets comes into play. In class this week I used the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle with my Surface 3 and it worked like a charm. The extensible bracket is spring loaded and held the Surface 3 securely. What I really liked about the accessory was just how quick I could position it into the bracket and be up and running. The soft neoprene strap felt good against my hand and allowed me to securely hold the Surface 3, as I walked across the room. The Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle allows for up to 360 degree rotation of your tablet which makes it easy to hold, in portrait or landscape mode. The Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle is lightweight and easy to carry in your knapsack or brief case. If you are a teacher then you need to take a look at the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle-it will give you the freedom and confidence to walk around your classroom and use your tablet in the best possible way to teach your students. If you have a larger tablet, then you should take a look at the Lapworks Gripzilla Max for 9.5" to 10.5" tablets Soft Neoprene Handle with the same great design as its smaller brother. You can't go wrong with either one, and I for one will keep the Lapworks Gripzilla Omni Soft Neoprene Handle in my bag so that I can use it in my classroom.
As students start heading back to school many will return with Microsoft Surface 3 devices which is a great choice. Having a light weight tablet to take to classes with Office 365 is a perfect combination. With the release of Windows 10 the Surface 3 is transformed to a powerful mobile device allowing students the opportunity to take it wherever they are. The Surface 3 really shines when using the digital pen and OneNote for taking notes which can easily be shared. For students on the go-who want to travel in style take a look at the Roosevelt Folio from Incipio which wraps a slim folio around the Surface 3 and Type Cover. The Roosevelt Folio has a micro suede lining along with a magnetic closure that gives you a much more stable feel in your hands when you are carrying the
Surface 3. The Roosevelt Folio from Incipio also has an attached Surface Pen holder which is a convenient way to store your pen. More about the pen loop a little later. The Roosevelt Folio has a very secure hinge which locks in your Type Cover keyboard to assure you that it will not detach from the Surface 3. It is easy to use the Type Cover in the angled as well as with the keyboard flat on the suede lining. I preferred to use the Type Cover in the angled fashion but it will accommodate those who want to type with the keyboard in the flat position. The magnetic closure works well and the Roosevelt Folio looks good in your hands as well as providing your device with a little bit more protection. The Roosevelt Folio from Incipio comes in a variety of colors (Navy, Black, Cyan, Purple and Red) and sells for $34.99 at the Microsoft Stores. For students who are looking for more protection then take a look at the Ord Sleeve from Incipio which provides padded protection for your Surface 3. The interior of the sleeve is a padded fleece material which gives your Surface 3 extra protection from damage. The Ord Sleeve has a large pocket on the exterior of the sleeve which is ideal for storing accessories like my Surface Wedge Mouse or power supply. The Ord Sleeve comes in a variety of colors (Grey, Black, Navy, Purple, and Red) and retails for $34.99. The Ord Sleeve also includes a loop to store your Surface pen which I thought would be a really great feature- didn't turn out that way. After using the Ord Sleeve for a couple
of weeks I carried my Surface 3 to a meeting and took some notes in OneNote with the Surface pen. When the meeting was over I slid the pen into the loop, put the sleeve under my arm and went back to my office. When I returned to my office and took out my Surface 3, I noticed the Surface pen was not in the loop. During the weeks I had been using the Ord Sleeve the loop must have loosened and the Surface pen slid out- undetected. To say the least I was not a happy camper- so "caveat emptor" don't use the loop on the side- over time it too will loosen and I can guarantee you to will lose your expensive Surface 3 pen. I have now begun to store the pen in the exterior pocket which can be zipped up-a much more secure arrangement. Deciding which Incipio product to use with my Surface 3 is a difficult one. I would garner to say, that if I was attending a professional conference I would probably select the Roosevelt Folio for my Surface 3 that I could stick in my bag. The Roosevelt Folio looks good and gives me a more secure feeling when it is in my hands. On a day to day basis, I have been using the Ord Sleeve to give my device that added protection when I am storing it in my bag and traveling from school to school. For more information about these fine products you can go to Incipio.
While I was attending the ISTE 2015 conference I had a chance to visit the AirSquirrels Booth and find out what was new. As a long time user of Reflector, I was excited to find out that Reflector 2, now included the ability to record audio and video.
This was one feature which I have been hoping for - for some time now. In the past I would generally use a screen capturing software to record the audio and video which at times produced less then a high quality recording. When I got back from ISTE 2015 Conference I downloaded Reflector 2 to my Surface 3 and gave it a try. I used my iPhone 6 and decided to record a short video about the recent release of Inspiration Maps for the iPhone. Through trial and error I found that using the Yeti Microphone with Reflector 2 produced great audio during the recording. The Surface 3 and Reflector 2 ran smoothly and the screen capture was smooth. The final video which is saved in a mp 4 format came out great which I then uploaded to YouTube. You can see the final output here of the screen recording. If you need to create videos using your iPad or iPad then take a look at Reflector 2- a great utility to add to your toolkit!
A couple of weeks ago out of the blue I received an email invitation from Microsoft to attend a party in New York City on March 31st. For the life of me, I could not figure out what this event would highlight-you see, it seemed like the timing was all off for a big announcement. But then on March 31, Microsoft announced the Surface 3 tablets which caught us all off guard. Microsoft announced the new Surface 3 with the latest Atom “Cherry Trail” processor, which would run Windows 8.1 and
beupgradeable to Windows 10 when it is released later this summer. The specifications noted that the Surface 3 weighted in at 1.37 pounds with a 10.8 diagonal screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1920 x 1280. The Surface 3 has a built-in kickstand that can be locked into 3 different positions and has a micro –SD slot. By all accounts the Surface 3 is a lightweight tablet with enough horsepower to run Office, legacy Windows software, surf the web and promise great all day battery life. My expectations were running high for a tablet with this form factor and one that could utilize the Surface touch type keyboard and digital inking pen. Having a mobile and a light weight tablet to run Office and some of the specialized assistive technology software that I often use is important for me. To say the least there was a lot of excitement leading up to the Launch Event of Surface 3 in NYC! Having arrived to the event a little early, I walked into the Microsoft loft and was really excited to see all of the new Surface 3’s on display to touch and play with. Picking up the tablet I was amazed just how light it was and typing on the touch type keyboard was a great experience. The Surface 3 looked great with a wonderful build quality and feels great in your hands. Having had my hands on one the screen is really gorgeous and very bright with excellent contrast. During the event, I had a chance to speak with many of the Microsoft engineers that were on the Surface Team which was really great. As the evening came to an end one of the Microsoft engineers announced that we would all go home with a Surface 3 to test and kick the tires-which created quite a stir. So for the past week I have been using the Surface 3 with different applications to get a sense of how it handles itself. Having used the Surface Pro 3, I was excited to learn that the Surface 3 starts at just $499 for a 2GB RAM and a 64 GB SSD. For another hundred dollars you can double the RAM to 4GB and the SSD to 128 GB and will pay $599. Bear in mind that educators can get a 10% discount when purchasing the Surface 3. When purchasing the Surface 3 you will probably want to invest in the Touch Type keyboard which will cost you $129 dollars and the pen will set you back $49 dollars. To be honest, you will definitely want to invest in these accessories which will give you the full Surface 3 experience. Having a touch keyboard that you can pop in and out with a click is great and adds very little weight to the package. If you ever thought about moving all your note-taking to the digital realm, then you have to experience OneNote and the Surface 3 pen. The digital inking experience on the Surface 3 is exactly what you would experience on the Surface Pro 3. With palm rejection and the silky feel of the pen on the screen you will feel right at home taking notes using OneNote. The Surface experience is probably one of the best writing experiences you will find on any tablet. One of the nice tricks when using the pen is that you can tap on the eraser and this will automatically open a blank page in OneNote ready for you to start writing. Even when your Surface 3 is asleep tapping on the eraser of the pen will automatically wake up your Surface 3 and open OneNote. The Surface 3 supports Miracast and I was able to quickly connect it to my HDMI TV with the Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition. This combination of Surface 3 and OneNote with the
Actiontec ScreenBeam Pro Education Edition is an ideal solution for the classroom-giving teachers the freedom to move about the classroom without being tethered to the projector. The Surface 3 just needs a case which would allow teachers to securely support the tablet-but since it is so light this will make for a great solution. Having learned that the Surface 3 was using an Intel Atom Cherry Trail processor I was initially concerned about the speed and responsiveness of the tablet. However, after using it for a week I would have to say that it feels zippy and responsive using a wide range of applications. From opening web pages to word processing to utilizing mind mapping applications the Surface 3 handled it well without a hiccup. For educators who are not doing processor intensive tasks like video or photo editing the Surface 3 should meet all of your basic computing needs. Given that the Surface 3 is a full Windows 8.1 device, there are no limitations with regard to installing Modern apps or full Windows legacy applications. Some other nice touches you find on the Surface 3 is a full USB 3.0 port a mini-display port and a micro-USB port. Being able to charge the Surface 3 with a micro-USB cable is ideal since you can always find one in your bag. The Surface 3 Pro had used a proprietary cable which, if you left it behind when you traveled you were sunk. So Microsoft listened to their customers and resolved this issue by providing micro-USB for charging. By the way I did learn that you can use the micro-USB port for transferring data, as well. The Surface 3 specifications should hit that sweet spot for educators and consumers that are looking for a portable Windows tablet that can quickly transform into an ultra-light laptop by clicking in the keyboard. I found the Surface 3 to be a responsive tablet that exceeded my specifications. Like all new devices I did find some quirkiness with the Surface 3 recognizing the keyboard in certain instances. I’m sure there will be firmware updates shortly to address some of these issues. Having the Surface 3 in my bag will allow me the freedom to have a full featured Windows device that can run specialized software when I need it. The Surface 3 has a good price point which should make the Surface 3 a big success in the marketplace. The Surface 3 will go on sale later this week and will ship on May 5.
