Category: Reviews

When it comes to external battery packs to charge your devices, the options are endless when it comes to size and performance.  Many of these battery packs, however, are not necessarily hardened to withstand the elements.  Enter the Coocheer Mobile Power pack CH-242.  This 7500mAh pack has an aluminum chassis and body surrounded by a rubber edge.  More importantly, the CH-242 has a rubber cover over its 2 USB ports to help keep water and dirt out while you are using it in the outdoors.  While it certainly is not the most powerful pack you can get, for a price of just under $21, it is a great value.  Here is my review.

When it comes to Bluetooth speakers that you can connect to your Android phone, the field of choices is bountiful.  You can spend a little money and not get a lot of sound or you can spend a lot of money and, well, get great sound at a high dollar-per-decibel rate.  Then enters Coocheer.  The little company based in the Silicon Valley area has what may be the best compromise of price, performance and functionality.  At only $11.99, the CH-080 Bluetooth Speaker is an outstanding value for what you get in this compact, well designed, easy to use and excellent sounding speaker.  Recently the company sent me the CH-080 to review I have to say, it is pretty darn impressive.

A few weeks ago I posted my first impressions of the Huawei built Nexus 6P.  I covered a few of the highlights of the device that I had found to be exceptional in using the device but didn’t go into a lot of detail because this more detailed review was forthcoming.  Now that I have been using the 6P as my primary phone for the last 2 weeks, I can say without question it is the best smartphone I have used to date.  It is the complete package and has everything that you would expect a flagship device to have:  Speed, an excellent display, a solid camera and all day battery.  But that’s really just the high level stuff.  There is so much this phone offers and with Android N on its way for it, a Nexus 6P isn’t a bad choice in phone even if it is a few months old.

While Huawei is still considered one of the “new kids” when it comes to smartphones, the Chinese company has produced some excellent products over their brief history.  While they have been producing white label devices since 2010, it hasn’t been until the last few years that the company has sold devices under their own name.  Late last year they released the Mate 8, the follow up to the 2014 Mate 7 and as far as phablet sized devices go, have hit the mark.  While a device this size, a 6″ display is what the Mate 8 sports, is not for everyone, if you are looking for a seriously powerful device with an excellent display and stunningly good camera, this device should be on your shortlist to consider.  The only real hesitation I have with it is the Emotion UI that Huawei has on top of the Android Marshmallow build it runs.  That can, however, be largely eliminated if you don’t like it and certainly doesn’t stop me from giving this device a strong recommendation.

Let’s get your first question out of the way:  Why am I posting a review on a tablet that is over a year old?  Fair question.

The why is pretty simple.  If you are looking for a well spec’d, well designed tablet for under $300, the Nexus 9 remains one of the best options on the market today.  Yes you could go with a Pixel C but that $300 barrier comes into play.  Yes you could get another brand tablet for less money but when it comes to a pure Android experience, the Nexus 9 is very hard to beat.  And while I certainly focus a lot of attention on the latest devices and apps, there are times where something just a little bit older still does an amazing job at a lower cost than their replacement devices today.

So justifications made, I have no hesitation in recommending the HTC built Nexus 9 if you are looking for a sub-$300 tablet that performs exceptionally well and is going to be around for a while given that you can already load the Android N beta onto it.  I’ve been using one for the past several weeks and it is wonderful device that performs well for those who need a reasonably sized tablet.

The 2016 Major League Baseball season is just a couple of weeks away from starting with the hopes and dreams of players and fans refreshed once again for a long season.  Baseball has been played professionally for 147 years and while Android and mobile apps haven’t been around nearly that long, the powers that be at MLB have built arguably one of the best sports league apps available today.  MLB At Bat is simply a requirement for baseball fans to follow the league and their favorite team.  With a wealth of information available for free in the app, the subscription service adds even more content including live audio broadcasts, pitching and even a Game of the Week to watch without requiring an MLB.TV subscription.  If you are a baseball fan, do yourself a favor and download MLB At Bat.  You won’t regret it.