GADGETS by Gregg Ellman :: June 23, 2021
The new Vissles V84 wireless keyboard took me a few days to get customized and used to; now I’m hooked.
Taking the while keyboard, surrounded by a black plastic bottom frame out of the box and pairing (Bluetooth 5.1) with a computer is easy but there’s a lot of customization and comfort to make it stand out.
Measuring 12.4-by-4.9-by-1.5-inches, and 84 keys, it’s built with a 75 percent layout, compared to a full-sized keyboard; essential a standard keyboard without the numerical keys on the right. It’s compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS.
Some keys are hot-swappable, V84 is compatible with almost all the MX style 3-pin and 5-pin mechanical switches. This brings different ways to show off the backlights. Included are 19 dynamic backlit types and 9 monochrome backlit types. Software is included to create personalized RGB lighting effects, shortcuts, and macros.
The RGB effects have five levels of brightness and five levels of speed. Patterns include waves, static, rainbows, and more. Each effect can have eight colors. The lights illuminate under the keys and shine through the spaces between each, enabling them to light but not a distraction shining directly at you.
Vissles includes some great accessories that you don’t normally see included with a keyboard. Included are a leather wrist rest, magnetic rubberized feet, a cleaning cloth, a key puller, and a USB-C charging cable. The magnetic rubber feet go on or off in seconds to raise the keyboard to six degree and the metal positing plate keeps the keyboard sturdy.
My first impression was the keyboard is solid, which is critical since often it can be a companion for hours every day. Since we all have multiple Bluetooth devices going at once, the Vissles is a perfect tool, allowing you to pair up to five devices with the V84.
Aukey stated it perfectly when touting the Omnia Mix4 4-Port PD Charge, and I couldn’t agree more: “It’s time to be done with bulky, heavy, slow silicon chargers and upgrade to a faster charging and smaller GaNFast charger.”
Some gadgets have entirely stopped shipping with USB chargers, forcing you to purchase on your own. And you should know, all USB chargers at not the same. Just because the cable fits into the charger with one USB end and the other end into a laptop does not mean they are comparable and will charge.
I’ve personally been the victim of plugging into a USB port, expecting to come back to a charged laptop. My expectations were not met in this case.
Recently I’ve been putting the Aukey Omnia 100 watt 2A+2C with GaNFast technology to task at home, work, play and some travel. There’s not a situation I can find where the charger doesn’t shine.
The pocket-sized high-quality charging hub is one of smallest, (2.75-by-2.73-by-1.29-inches, 7.87oz) if not the smallest, most capable charging hub for your home or travels to charge multiple devices at once. It’s built with four ports, two USB-C ports, and two USB-A ports and gets its power from fold-out AC prongs for attaching to any standard AC outlet. Having just one charger with multiple ports reduces the bulk and weight needed to carry around with some of the giant charging brinks still in use.
What’s inside the Omnia 100 GaNFast charger makes it stand out. Gallium Nitride chips in GaNFast chargers are stated to be more efficient than silicon, with the ability to charge devices three times faster. All this with a small profile charger containing all the horsepower needed to fully charge a MacBook Pro 16 inch in just 1.8 hours. While also being 20 percent physically smaller compared to the16 inch MacBook Pro charger. And unlike the Apple charger, the Aukey Omnia has three additional ports.
With four ports and all capable of fast charging, it works simultaneously with endless combinations of gadgets needing a boost of power, including a pair of laptops, true wireless earbuds, and smartphones. When all four ports are used, it will deliver 45 watts for each USB-C port and will split 12 watts between USB-A ports.
I put the charger to test with a new Apple M1 MacBook Pro and a Verizon MiFi with USB-C ports, an older iPad, and iPhone 12 with USB-A ports. All charged even while working with some.
The charger automatically optimizes the power supply for safe charging. According to the Aukey site, “This UL-certified charger with built-in safeguards protects your devices against excessive current, overheating, and overcharging.”
www.aukey.com $44.99
by Gregg Ellman (@greggellman)
