Gadgets :: February 26, 2020
by Gregg Ellman
(@greggellman)
Charging is just a way of life and we all love it when we have a fully charged device. If you use Nimble charging devices, you get a great performing product for portable power and great looks.
Nimble is an eco-friendly personal tech brand, making products from natural renewable sources, like plant-based plastics along with a sharp looking soft non-slip grip exterior made from recycled water bottles and organic hemp
I tried the wireless chargers, which are made in several versions. The Nimble wireless stand is simple; a portable battery with a kickstand to charge it vertically or keep the kickstand folded for flat charging. I loved the standing charger while traveling since I used my phone in clock mode on my hotels nightstand.
The portable (5-by-3.03-by-0.65-inches) battery delivers 10W of power for Samsung and Androids and up to 7.5W of power to the Apple iPhone 8 or newer. There’s also an extra USB-A port to plug in another device needing a boost of power. A charging cable for the battery and a USB AC plug is included.
A nice Nimble feature: when you purchase a product from them, they send you a pre-paid return envelope so you can send them any electronics and they will recycle responsibly.
The company makes a variety of other charging devices, smartphone cases and cables, all with the environment in mind. This includes 100 percent recycled scrap paper in their shipping boxes.
www.gonimble.com $59.99
The Eufy Security, Wi-Fi Video Doorbell has a simple installation to your existing doorbell’s wiring and is packed with great home security features.
At 4.8-by-1.7-by-0.9-inches, the Eufy security camera doorbell ($159.99) is similar in size to other video doorbells but includes 4GB eMMC built-in storage. This allows up to 30 days of video with a standard of 30 videos a day of 30 seconds each, to be stored and accessed from the companion app.
There’s no monthly fees or cloud subscription, and your data is stored with encryption. According to Eufy, the military-grade AES-256 chip ensures data is encrypted on transmission and storage.
The video doorbell comes with a pair of mounting plates and connects to your existing Wi-Fi with a 2.4GHz wireless router. It functions as a standard doorbell with a push ring and sends the ringing alert to the included wireless electronic chime in addition to sending a smartphone notifications letting you instantly know and see who is at the door. Each doorbell can be connect to up to four chimes.
When someone is at the door, you’ll see them through the Eufy Security app on your smartphone and respond live with two-way audio or send a pre-recorded response you previously set up back to your subject at the door. Up to three instant responses can be stored and sent upon your command.
Videos stored actually give you an additional three seconds of footage before the initial alert set off the recording. Often this can give insight into who’s approaching or other aspects of the situation.
The 160-degree angle of view camera has HDR imaging, which allows it to adjust for low light or backlit situation. The image is captured in a 4:3 aspect ratio for a much bigger imaged compared to others offering a 16:9 ratio and a resolution of 2560 x 1920.
During the setup customization is in your control of the activity zone, which tells the camera where to detect motion. The camera has technology to detect human faces and body shapes so you don’t get an alert when neighborhood pets go running by.
The Eufy Security, Wi-Fi Video Doorbell also connects to Alexa and Google Voice Assistant so you can check live views with a voice command.
As mentioned, installation is easy but you are dealing with live wires for power from your existing doorbell. So use caution; I turned off the power breaker during installation and recommend you do the same.
A battery powered model with many of the same features is also available ($199.99).
