Gadling gear review: Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet

by Kraig Becker on

Over the past two years, the introduction of tablet computers have had an unmistakable impact on how we travel. Smaller and lighter than laptops, yet with plenty of power and versatility, these devices allow us to stay connected, entertained, and productive, while on the go. Obviously, Apple’s iPad is the most well known of these products, but there are a host of other tablets available as well. Take for example the Lenovo IdeaPad K1, which is an affordable option for those looking for an alternative to the Apple hegemony.

Powered by an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and sporting 1GB of onboard RAM, the IdeaPad offers plenty of performance in a relatively small package. The tablet features 32GB of storage and has a built in SD card reader that allows users to expand that capacity even further. As you would expect, it features both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, although there is no option for 3G or 4G service. The IdeaPad’s 10.1 inch widescreen display is adequate, if not exceptional, and like most tablets (iPad included), sound from the built in speakers is underwhelming. The IdeaPad has two webcams, a 2MP camera on the front and a 5MP on the rear, both of which best the iPad’s cameras by a considerable margin. I also liked that Lenovo’s included a built in HDMI port, which makes it easy to display content from the tablet on an HDTV.

Of course, all of that technology doesn’t mean much if the software that runs on the device isn’t up to par. The IdeaPad uses Google’s Android operating system (version 3.1 Honeycomb) to tie everything together, and that OS is both a strength and a weakness for the device. For instance, Android comes with a full featured app store, complete with every major app – or at the very least a worthy equivalent – to what you would find on the iPad. But the Android experience doesn’t feel quite as cohesive or intuitive to use as Apple’s iOS, and at times I had to search hard to find a particular app or setting.That isn’t to say that Android doesn’t bring plenty to the table to help distinguish itself from its biggest competitor. I love the desktop widgets that display weather, my personal calendar, and unread e-mail messages on screen at all times. The multitasking capabilities of the OS were also impressive, and I found it faster and easier to switch between running apps on the IdeaPad than on my iPad. I also came to appreciate the virtual home button and the ability to access installed apps from any screen, and the overall level of customization to the interface is greater than what you’ll find on iOS too. Android also happens to be compatible with Adobe’s Flash, although performance is a bit of a mixed bag, to say the least.

Despite those features however, I found that there was a general sluggishness to the IdeaPad that wasn’t common on Apple’s device. The K1 was slow to switch screen orientations when you flipped the device from portrait to landscape mode for example, and there were times when I’d end up tapping an icon twice because the OS was so slow to respond that I didn’t think that I got it right the first time. I’m told that the latest version of Android, code named Ice Cream Sandwich, addresses most of these issues however, and that update is expected to come to the IdeaPad in the semi-near future.

Other comparisons to the iPad are inevitable of course, starting with the physical aspects of the two devices. While the K1 doesn’t feel heavy in your hands, it is noticeably bulkier than Apple’s tablet – something that becomes more pronounced with extended use. It is also thicker than the iPad, although some may appreciate the added girth, which makes the device easier to hang on to for those of us with larger hands. The IdeaPad lags behind in battery life as well, clocking in at a bit over 8 hours in my tests. That’s far below Lenovo’s promised 10 hours, which is a mark that the iPad can hit easily.

To their credit, Lenovo ships the IdeaPad with quite a few good apps already installed, including NetFlix, Amazon Kindle, and even Angry Birds. They’ve also incorporated their own personalized launcher widget, that gives users quick access to the Chrome web browser, e-mail, music, movies, and more. It is a different approach than the dock that is found on the iPad, although I didn’t find it as useful since you had to be on a specific screen panel to access it.

So how does the IdeaPad fair as a travel companion? Overall, quite well. Despite a few nitpicks with performance and battery life, this is a solid device that will deliver everything you expect from a tablet. It offers movies, music, and games on the go, and serves as a good way to stay connected to friends and family while you’re away from home. The e-mail client is easy to configure and use, and the built in cameras work well with Skype too. Throw in the ability to read books and magazines on the device, and you’ve got everything you need for your next long international flight.

Better yet, Lenovo is selling the device at a very good price. With an MSRP of $399, the IdeaPad comes in at a hundred bucks less than the cheapest iPad, while still delivering twice the storage capacity. If you’re in the market for a tablet, but don’t want to pay the “Apple tax” or simply want to stay outside of their ecosystem, than the Lenovo IdeaPad K1 is a worthy alternative.

Eagle Creek Traverse Pro Roller Bag

by Pam Mandel on

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve made the full jump to the roller bag. It’s what I pack now, unless I’m traveling super light, and then I just take a little day pack. The perfect bag remains just out of reach, though I’ve noticed some real improvements since I got my Costco standard sized carry on a few years back. Luggage is lighter and more versatile these days, and generally more thoughtfully designed.

The Traverse Pro is a combination bag — a day pack and suitcase in one. There’s a TSA friendly zip-off backpack and a standard roller bag. The bag is overhead bin sized even with the day pack on it, though if you’ve really stuffed it tight and you’re on a smaller plane, you may find you can’t stow the whole thing in the bin. To test the bag, I packed for a short weekend away, I flew to my destination –that’s how I know about the overhead bin issue.

I wasn’t thrilled with packing the Traverse, though it’s easier to manage with the auxiliary backpack zipped off. The bag zips most of the way open with a large flap; I wanted it it to open all the way and to lay flat and it doesn’t quite do that. It’s not a dealbreaker, it’s just a minor detail that could be improved.

The bag has your standard “keep your stuff in place” straps and the inside of the lid is a full zippered pocket for your lose items. There are two outside pockets on the front, one big sleeve, one smaller. You have to keep in mind that they’re not easy to get to if you’ve got the day pack zipped on, so don’t put your boarding pass in there.

The bag was easy to wheel around — I liked the locking handle and the maneuverability of the wheels — those things can be clunky sometimes, the handle sticks or the wheels just aren’t smooth. This bag has nice base hardware and is easy to move around. Plus, it’s light compared to anything else I’ve tested in this category. The zipper pulls are nice — they have those round, finger tip shaped things that make the bag easy to open and close, but the zippers themselves were a little resistant when going around the corners on the bag.The day pack is handy, and it’s a nice one, it’s got padded straps and a sleeve for your laptop. It’s got some nice organizer pockets sized right to hold your phone or your pocket camera. There’s a key hook which is great if you’re me and you’re always digging in the depths or your bag to find your house key while you’re on the front porch in the rain. It doesn’t have external water bottle pockets, something I always want on a pack and something that seems to be often left off a luggage system. (See also, this review of the Airporter pack.)

Top and side grips make the bag easy to deal with when you’re hefting it in and out of the rental car trunk, or again, up into that overhead bin. There’s a nice little luggage tag sleeve on the side that tucks out of the way — a small detail that I’m seeing on newer bags and really appreciating. I’ve had airlines lose my bags repeatedly and knowing that there’s ID on them helps. (Sidebar: I have also always had my bags find me. Up to five days later, but still, they find me.)

Eagle Creek pairs this bag with a recommended, optional packing system which I also tried out. It includes a couple of packing cubes and a folder. I’m coming around to the idea of packing cubes for things like socks and underwear, the smaller bits that go wandering around the inside of your bag. Eagle Creek makes their own, but candidly, I’m not brand loyal and hey, I used to just use plastic shopping bags. I still do for dirty laundry.

Eagle Creek suggests you include their Pack-It Folder. It’s the exact size of the base of the bag — you fold your stuff up inside it, cinch it down, and it stays nice and flat. There’s even a folding guide for the folding challenged. Thing is, I can fold like no one’s business. While it’s tempting to stuff my clothes into a great wrinkly wad, I don’t. I don’t need a folding system. You might. If you’re packing challenged and just can’t make yourself fold your shirts properly, this is going to help you out a lot. And if you’re traveling for business or need to look pulled together, a folding system is worth checking out as a crutch. My shirts did stay nice and neat, I didn’t have to iron.

Get the bag and the packing system directly from Eagle Creek — the bag retails for just over 300USD. Bits and pieces in the packing system go from 15-40 USD.

Gadling Gear Review: Quiksilver Shutter Speed Camera Pack

by Pam Mandel on

In 2011, I had the spectacular good fortune to go on two trips that fit the “once in a lifetime” category. One was to Antarctica, the other to Tanzania. Both were the kind of trips where you want to take your best photo gear, weight be damned, because, dude, how likely are you to be twice in Penguinistan or Elephantlandia? So schlep my gear I did, my heavy Nikon, the big telephoto, a video camera, a pocket camera, a zillion miles of cable, pockets full of camera memory and spare batters and oh, yeah the laptop for additional storage and backup.

Hauling that much electronica across the planet and back has its challenges — before I had a decent camera pack, I used a standard day pack which plunged, before my very eyes, from a hook on the back of a door in Bangkok to a hard tile floor. The result? An irreparable 200 lens and a somewhat depressed traveler. Thankfully, it was the end of the trip.

I now use a pack especially designed for camera gear. I’m partial to my Kata Digital Backpack. I tried the Timbuk2 messenger bag — it’s nice but it doesn’t really fit my geometry. Quiksilver — yeah, that surf brand — now makes the Shutter Speed pack, a bag designed to get your gear from the top to the the bottom of the planet in safety. The short wrap? This is a great bag for transit, but I’m not sure it makes the cut for regular use.

To find out if this is the bag for me, I gathered my usual kit and stowed it in the Shutter Speed. There are loads of pockets, internal, external, zippered, mesh, I had no trouble getting my complete kit, flash included, into the bag. And it was all very well organized. I moved the Velcro secured pads around so they held my gear in place and zipped the bag shut. Nice. My stuff didn’t rattle around, it was very secure. I didn’t drop test it, I’m just too traumatized by the last time that happened, but I feel like the camera would survive the fall.

I also put in a binder, a laptop, a water bottle, and a few other odds and ends. Everything was beautifully organized. There’s a security pocket at the small of the back for your stealables (I mean beyond your equipment stealables) — you’re not going to have your wallet or passport lifted if you stow them there. There’s a stowable rain cover, some lashing straps on the outside for your coat, and did I mention the zillions of pockets? All good.I also really like what I’m going to call the chassis on this pack. It’s got fat padded straps and a padded waist belt. It’s all very adjustable and once you’ve got it cinched to fit, the pack feels secure and close to your body — it’s just not going anywhere. You can race for a bus with this thing on and it’s not going to be swinging around. You could take your gear on a long hike and the weight would be where you want it to be. All good.

But I’m not crazy about how you get your gear in and out of the Shutter Speed. You have to place the pack on its front — think suitcase with straps attached to the top. The back opens up to reveal all your gear. You can’t have your pal pull the camera out of the pack while you’re in it, you will have to take the pack off and then open it up.

Some of the Velcro pads are sewn into place, making the gear bucket a little less customizable than I’d like it to be. I wanted to place my camera, with the big lens mounted to it, at the bottom of the pack. No go. It needs to sit in the center because I can’t move the pads to accommodate the camera body. Furthermore, there’s no obvious place to lash on a tripod. This seems like a big oversight. You can use the straps on the front, but I couldn’t figure out a really efficient way to do this. It could be just a matter of trying a few different things, but for a pro gear pack, it seems like this should be more intuitive.

My final issue is that the bag is, for my kind of use, a little too specialized. There’s no great place to stow my lunch, the front pockets are just too small and flat for much more than a power bar or two. I travel with a roller bag and a day pack, and when I’m in transit, the day pack carries my camera, snacks, my travel documents, a clean shirt, a toothbrush… the kind of stuff you need should your trip go wrong or should you be compelled to check your bag. I imagined what a hassle it would be to have to extract stuff from the main body of the pack on a crowded airplane. That scenario didn’t go well.

I’m not dissing the pack at all. As I said, it seems like a great way to haul all that gear from point A to point B and to have the gear be secure in transit. But you need to think about what you’re doing with your gear at your destination. If you think you’re going to be continually packing and unpacking it as you shoot your way across the Serengeti or the ice, well, I’d want a day use bag, too. Your mileage may vary.

The Shutter Speed pack retails for 175.00 directly from Quiksilver. Expensive, but not as expensive as replacing that telephoto that got sacrificed to gravity in Bangkok.

Gadling gear review: Clever Travel Companion secret-pocket tank top and underwear

by Jessica Festa on

When going abroad, one of the biggest concerns for travelers is keeping their valuables safe from pick-pocketers. While fanny packs may be a decent option, they’re also a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist, making you an even easier target for getting ripped off. Then there are money belts, which are great fashion-wise, however, tend to get itchy and leave sweat marks when it’s hot out. That’s why I was excited when I found out about The Clever Travel Companion‘s line of “100% pick-pocket proof” clothing.

I tried a solid black tank top with hidden pockets, as well as a pair of underwear with pockets. To be honest, with or without the pockets I would definitely buy this tank top. It’s not too tight, not too loose, made of 100% cotton, and actually feels like a second skin it’s so comfortable. Even after walking around in it for an entire day it didn’t stretch out or chafe my skin. The pockets make it that much better, as the zipper is literally right above your stomach, allowing for easy access to all of your important documents while still keeping them safe from thieves. You can wear it as an undershirt or as a shirt on its own.

The underwear, which are actually more like boy-short bathing suit bottoms, are also extremely comfortable and made of 94% rayon and 6% spandex. When I first saw them I was a little worried they’d tug, slide up, or show through my pants; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they did none of these things. In fact, I forgot I was even wearing them. What I really like about this product is there are two zipper-pockets right in front, making it really easy to quickly get to your things while also eliminating the nervousness back-pockets cause of never really knowing if your stuff is still there.

The Clever Travel Companion has created an extremely useful yet comfortable set of clothing options for travelers, especially when you also think about the extra accessories you now won’t have to pack. Secret-pocket tank tops and t-shirts cost $39.90, while the women’s underwear costs $29.90. There are also products for men, including long johns ($39.90) and men’s underwear ($29.90).

Gadling gear review: DODOcase for iPad 2

by Mike Barish on

iPads, tablets, Kindles and other tablet devises are making it easier to carry around hundreds of books and the entire internet in slim, lightweight devices. That technology needs to be protected, and, with the DODOcase, you can do it while nostalgically remembering what it was like to carry around an actual notebook. Remember those halcyon days? But a good iPad case is defined by more than its aesthetics. It needs to be durable, useful for all types of everyday use and slim. I’ve had both generations of the iPad and tried out several cases. Is the DODOcase a winner or just a pretty face? I put it to the test.The DODOcase is made to look like a notebook. Specifically, it resembles the lovechild of a Moleskin and a hardcover book. A faux leather exterior is wrapped around hard-but-lightweight bamboo to create a hollow binding that houses the iPad 2. The tablet fits snugly – and more importantly, securely – thanks to small rubber pads in the corners and the cover is kept shut with an elastic band.

At eight ounces, the DODOcase is incredibly light and, at 10″ x 8″ x 1″, preserves the portability of the iPad.

So far, I’ve simply described a handsome, portable iPad case. Theoretically, that’s what any case should do. However, besides looking attractive, the DODOcase is functional. It’s resemblance to a notebook is about more than just looks. It keeps your iPad disguised from would-be thieves who are likely less interested in your journal than they would be in your expensive gadget. While you should never leave your iPad unattended, if it’s cloaked in the DODOcase, most passers-by (or, perhaps, people cleaning your empty hotel room) will have no idea that you’re toting around anything more than your sketches.

A useful case will also act as a stand, and the DODOcase does allow for that. However, this is the one area where the DODOcase struggles slightly. The binding on the case cam be folded backwards to operate as a stand in landscape mode, but the faux leather exterior has trouble gripping some smooth surfaces. By staying true to the aesthetic of a notebook, the makers of the DODOcase sacrificed functionality in this respect. I was able to get the DODOcase to stand on wood, marble and plastic surfaces, but, on a handful of occasions, it took me several minutes to do so.

The DODOcase is completely unable to act as a stand when in portrait mode.

Lastly, the DODOcase does block the back camera, but, quite frankly, I do not see that as a major concern. So long as the front camera is available – which, of course, it is – I can use FaceTime, my primary camera need when it comes to the iPad.

The price tag for the DODOcase will raise some eyebrows. $60 is not cheap for a case, but it’s durable, very sleek and made in the United States (specifically in San Francisco). The inability to efficiently work as a stand on all surfaces is a negative that cannot be ignored, however, it is not a deal-breaker.

The DODOcase is an excellent case for the iPad if you are looking for a fashionable exterior that is well-built and discreet. The issues with its ability to act as a stand are mitigated with minimal effort. If you’re looking for a case that doesn’t proclaim to the world that you’re a techie, the DODOcase is right for you.

The DODOcase is $59.95 and is available directly from the manufacturer and on Amazon (where you can often find it on sale).