PUCK 2 Bluetooth to IR Bridge Allows you to Control Appliances from your Android or iOS Phone

PUCK v2

We’ve already seen there are several solutions to control IR appliances such as air conditioners or (dumb) televisions via your smartphone thanks to solutions such as ZaZa Remote  that adds an IR transmitter to your 3.5mm audio jack or more recently via your USB-C port. If you don’t quite like having extra hardware connected to your smartphone WiFi to Infrared bridges such as the compact and omnidirectional Broadlink RM Mini 3 are cost-effective solutions, although you’d need one in every room where you wish to control appliances. I’ve recently noticed an even smaller “smartphone to IR” solution with PUCK v2 Bluetooth to IR bridge. The full technical details about PUCK 2 have not been made available, but we do know it’s a Bluetooth 4.2 to infrared remote bridge that transforms any iOS or Android device into a remote. The infrared LED has a range of about 4.5 meters, while Bluetooth […]

Sonoff S55 Waterproof WiFi Smart Sockets are Offered in Six Regional Variants

Sonoff S55

When WiFi smart sockets (aka smart plugs) started to appear a few years ago, they were often only available with either US or China plugs, and users from Europe, UK or other locales may have had to use an adapter instead. Since then, products that ship with multiple versions such as Sonoff S26 or Orvibo Wiwo S20 have launched in order to cater to more people around the world. ITEAD has now launched another WiFi smart socket, namely Sonoff S55, that’s designed to work outdoors thanks to IP55 ingress protection rating, and is offered in six different variants for Australia, Germany, France, the United States, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Sonoff S55 specifications: Input/Output S55TPI(AU) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPF(DE) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 16A Max S55TPE(FR) – AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 16A Max S55TPB(US) – AC 125V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPD(ZA)- AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 10A Max S55TPG(UK) […]

Sponsored: Dr.Fone Toolkit Keeps Your iOS / Android Phone at Its Best

dr.fone toolkit

Wondershare dr.fone Toolkit for Windows 10 and Mac OS will help you keep your Android or iOS smartphone at its best, and help you transfer data between old and new devices or computers thanks to its many features: Recover – Recover data from mobile phones Repair – Fix various iOS & Android system issues Transfer – Transfer data between iOS, Android and computers Switch – Copy data from one phone to another Restore Social App – Transfer and backup WhatsApp, Wechat, LINE, Viber, Kik Unlock – Remove your phone’s lock screen Backup&Restore – Flexibly backup and restore your phone Erase – Permanently erase data from mobile devices Let’s look at some of the key features in details, namely Recover and Transfer. Dr.Fone Toolkit – Recover This feature is useful when somebody goes wrong in your phone, either because of accidental deletion, system crash, forgotten password, or any other reason that […]

Newyes SyncPen Bluetooth Pen Digitizes Your Handwriting to the Cloud (Crowdfunding)

Neweyes SyncPen

When I first found out about SERVO K07 bluetooth pen last month, I initially hoped it would allow users to digitize their handwriting or drawing and synchronize it to their phone or cloud, but it was not to be the case and instead it was just a 6-in-1 phone/pen/audio player/audio recording/camera/flashlight. But Newyes SyncPen does exactly that: it allows you to write on paper or a writing pad while digitizing your creation on the fly, and storing the result in the cloud. It works thanks to a tiny camera embedded in the pen capturing data at 200 fps. Newyes SyncPen hardware specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.2 Memory – 32MB, enough to store 800 pages of A5 paper content Pressure levels – 1024 Tiny camera @ 200+ fps Audio – Microphone Battery – 3.4V / 260 mAh Lithium Polymer battery good for about 8 hours; 1.5 hours charging time Dimensions – […]

$100 Reolink Argus 2 is a Wire-Free IP Camera with Optional Solar Panel

Reolink Argus 2 Security IP Cam

This morning I had a look at battery-powered IP cameras since they avoid the hassle of wiring power and/or Ethernet around the house. I could remember I covered Immedia Blink IP camera with up to 2-year battery life back in 2014, and the company did very well since it got acquired by Amazon, and Blink IP security camera is now sold on Amazon US for $99.99 and up. It’s probably one of the best, if not the best options, for low-cost battery-powered cameras but the problem is that they only ship to a limited number of countries. Last year, there was a new entrant with Eufy Evercam outdoor IP camera with up to one year of battery life, but again it’s not easy to purchase from overseas, and the price starts at $279.99 for a single camera system. I also covered a solar and battery powered IP camera made by […]

MUJA Touch Sensitive Gamepad Sticks to the back of Smartphones (Crowdfunding)

Gaming on smartphones has given rise to various accessories including smartphone gamepads, and smartphone docks to connect USB keyboard and mouse. MUJA is yet another Bluetooth gaming accessories that sticks to the back of your phone and offers four touch sensitive zones enabled 6 fingers operation once you include your two thumbs taking care of handling the control on the touch screen display of the phone itself. MUJA smart touchpad specifications: Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.2 up to 10 meters range Buttons – Four touch sensitive areas 17 suction cups to stick on back of smartphone (compatible with 4.7″ smartphone or larger) Battery – 450 mAh good for about 36 hours of playtime, 56 hours in standby Dimensions – 133 x 68 x 5.4mm Weight – 59 grams Certifications – PSE, telecom, FCC ,CE, RoHS You’ll just need to install MUJA app for Android or iOS on your smartphone with supports […]

Mictrack MT825 is a Waterproof LTE Cat M1 & NB-IoT GPS Tracker

MT825 waterproof nb-iot gps tracker

We’ve previously covered Mictrack MT600 4G LTE GPS tracker with support for various GPS software such as the open source OpenGTS and Traccar programs, as well as Android & iOS mobile apps. Since then the company released MT550 model with NB-IoT and LTE Cat M1 (eMTC) connectivity, as well as an OBD-II model that are currently sold for respectively $99 and $69 on Aliexpress. More recently a waterproof LTE IoT module called Mictrack MT825, which we’ll look into more details in this post. Mictrack MT825 key features and specifications: Cellular Connectivity LTE Cat M1 (eMTC) LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28 LTE TDD: B39 LTE Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) – LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28 2G – GSM: 850/900/1800/1900Mhz SIM Card interface – Nano SIM Internal LTE CAT M1 & NB-IoT antenna Location U-blox MAX-7 GPS chip GPS sensitivity – -162dBm Channel – 56 Positioning Accuracy – 10m Cold Start – 30s. Warm start – 15s […]

ioLight High Resolution Portable Microscope Works with Tablets and Smartphones

Portable Microscope Android iPhone

We’ve all read about those cheap USB microscopes that can be used to checkout PCB issues or read IC part numbers, but ioLight is a different beast. The device is a proper microscope offering up to 1 μm resolution that could be used by a biologist in the field coupled with an Android mobile device,  an iPhone, or iPad. ioLight portable microscope specifications: Magnification Field of view (FoV) –  1mm fixed width, giving ~ x200 on a 9.7″ screen. Larger screens give greater magnifications Digital zoom on captured image to x500 on 9.7″ screen Resolution – 1µm (0.001 mm) Working distance – 1mm from lens to sample Illumination – Adjustable top and bottom illumination Sample stage – Glass Image / Video format 5MP (2592 x 1944 pixels); JPEG; color MPEG-4; color; up to 1296 x 972; 10 fps Images and videos are stored in the tablet’s camera roll ready for […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC