The TechBlogger

Local Bose distributor ATLAS Singapore has kindly sent over a unit of the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker. If you recall, the SoundLink Wireless Mobile is a portable speaker that weights 1.29kg with a depth of just 4.8cm with its fold-out stand closed.

The unit I reviewed is the standard version of the SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker (with nylon cover) which retails for S$549. A premium model with dark brown leather cover is also available at S$639. Accessory covers in various color are available separately for S$59 (nylon) and S$99 (leather).

Music performance

Streaming music to the SoundLink from my iPhone

I tested the the SoundLink in the one week that I had it at home, and also brought it on a short trip to Malaysia. As someone who loathes coming back to a silent hotel room in the evenings, I am happy to say that the SoundLink performed superbly.

The speakers delivered credible performance even at high volumes and does not sound muddied like so many portable speakers that I’ve tested. The sound stage, mid-range and bass totally belies its diminutive size. I also did not notice any discernible reduction in the qualify of music playback due to the use of Bluetooth.

Having said that, I felt that its treble could have been better. And its mid-range, while adequate, isn’t exactly impressive. Then again, I’m probably making an unfair comparison against my Yamaha reference speakers which I listen to regularly.

Other observations

Below are some of my other observations of the SoundLink:

• Bass: Powerful and deep base. Place it close to a concrete wall for maximum effect – its practically akin to having a separate sub-woofer.
• Battery life: At a low volume, I ran the speakers for six hours with no signs of it running out of juice
• Portability: The SoundLink is perfect for travelling and will fit comfortably into your luggage
• Volume: This is hard to quantify but the SoundLink is probably as loud as your typical TV at maximum volume (But with much better bass)
• Range: Works as advertised (10 meters). Music playback cracks up at extreme range, or if there are too many obstacles in between.

One shortcoming of the SoundLink is the absence of Bluetooth AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) support. This results in two sets of volume control: The volume buttons on the SoundLink itself, and on your source device such as iPhone or iPod. Not a deal breaker, but it would have been a great feature. Hopefully, this capability will materialize in a future firmware upgrade via its “Service” port.

In closing

Front view of the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker. Note the illuminated buttons along the top

The SoundLink is slim enough to fit into your luggage when travelling, while its beveled Chrome edges are designed for longevity

The Micro USB ("Service") port is used for upgrading the firmware for the Bose SoundLink

The accessory cover is securely fastened on with a bolt that requires an allen key to release/change

From left to right Altec Lansing inMotion Compact, Bose SoundLink, Altec Lansing inMotion Air

Sanyo was kind enough to send me some of its eneloop NiMH Rechargeable Batteries to review. Those new to the eneloop may be puzzled about the fuss over what appears to be “old tech” NiHM (Nickel–metal hydride) batteries.

To quickly explain: the key difference has to do with how the eneloop is engineered with a very low self-discharge rate compared with standard NiMH batteries. Indeed, Sanyo claims that its new “eneloop glitter” batteries retains 75% of its energy even after three years of storage. Such a lengthy shelf live means that power is available when you need it, making it a perfect green replacement for Alkaline batteries.

In keeping with the expected longevity of your eneloop purchase, Sanyo has given the eneloop glitter a new design that is just gorgeous. (You can see photos of them below)

In the meantime, some key features of the new “eneloop glitter” batteries:

• High recharging capability of approximately 1,500 times (50% more than the old eneloops)
• A digital camera powered using eneloop batteries can take approximately 4.4 times more shots than conventional dry-cell batteries
• Lower self-discharge rate (ready for use with 75% of its energy remaining even after three years of storage!)
• eneloop batteries are pre-charged at the factory where they are manufactured in Japan by green power from photovoltaic generation
• Comes in a variety of glittery colours

I plan to test out the eneloops by substituting them in some of my battery-powered gadgets that I use on a daily basis. In no particular order: Logitech Anywhere MX (2x AA), Apple Wireless Keyboard (3x AA) and Kensington Presenter Pro Remote with Green Laser and Memory (2x AAA).

Will update in a couple of months on how they fare.

Sanyo sent me 8pcs of the AA andn 4pcs of the AAA "eneloop glitter" batteries

In keeping with their longevity, the eneloop glitter series looks really good!

Obligatory shot of the battery pack (back)

Maintenance downtime took place without me even realizing it

Experienced a downtime with my Maxinfinity Internet connection.  Admittedly, I’ve forgotten about it and despite working till very late (or early) on Tuesday morning, the entire maintenance window passed me by without me realizing it.

Of course, this would only be possible because of the Peplink Balance gear that I use for Internet load-balancing. In a nutshell, I subscribe to two different Internet Service Provider. which serves to speed up my Internet access under normal circumstances. Moreover, any outage or maintenance downtime is limited to one ISP as the Peplink Balance router would seamlessly divert all data requests to the unaffected Internet connection.

You can read about my Review of the Peplink 380 Multi-WAN Router which I wrote last year, or my interview with Keith Chau on the topic of enhancing business continuity with the use of WAN load balancing.

It takes far less time to perform a format and re-installation of Windows these days.  Instead, I’ve found that re-doing the list of the software tools that I currently have installed and then getting them setup actually takes up the the bulk of my time.  To ease things along, I’ve decided to make a list of the current software that I am actively using – loosely categorized into Applications, Internet, Media, Antimalware and Utilities.

Those listed with an (*) are paid/commercial software; the rest are freeware or open-source software.  Also, note that while the client software listed under “Utilities (Cloud)” are all free, I do pay a recurring fee for the associated cloud services.

Applications

• Microsoft Office 2010* (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook)
• BlackBerry Desktop Software - Software to manage my BlackBerry smartphone
• Dragon Naturallyspeaking 11.5* – The top voice-recognition software on Windows
• FeedDemon – Windows RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader
• Foxit Reader 5.0 – One of the fastest PDF readers
• Notepad++ – A very powerful text editor
• SmartDraw VP* – Visual processor for quick and easy visuals
• Snagit 10* – Premiere screen-capture software for the Windows platform
• IrfanView – Lighting-fast and lightweight image viewer
• SOTI Pocket Controller-Pro for BlackBerry* – Lets me access my BlackBerry smartphone from the desktop
• XNote Stopwatch* – Professional countdown/timer/stopwatch/clock software
• 7-Zip - A powerful file archiver
• Kindle for PC

• Google Chrome - Web browser software
• Internet Explorer 9 - Web browser software
• Mozilla Firefox - Web browser software
• FileZilla - FTP client software
• Trillian* - Multi-IM client

• iTunes - Enough said
• Windows Media Player - Enough said
• Media Player Classic - Free audio and video player for Windows
• Handbrake - Multiplatform video transcoder
• Creative Smart Recorder – Very useful sound recording software that came with my Sound Blaster X-Fi

Antimalware (Security software)

• Microsoft Security Essentials - Free antivirus scanner by Microsoft
• Faronics Anti-Executable (Standard)* – Whitelisting software

Utilities (Cloud)

• SugarSync Manager - Keeps my documents in for real-time backup protection
• ResophNotes - A simplenotes client to share text notes with my iPhone, iPad
• RescueTime - Software to automatically monitor how you spend your time
• MobileNoter Sync Client - To sync OneNote notebooks to iOS

Utilities (Runs in background)

• Unofficial Apple Wireless Keyboard Support – Helps your Apple Wireless Keyboard work better on Windows
• Synology Assistant – Free utility to help print from the Synology 1511+ NAS
• MaxiVista* - Lets you tap monitors on a spare PC as an extended screen for your Primary PC
• Matrox PowerDesk – Comes free with Matrox TripleHead2Go to manage multiple monitors
• SlySoft Virtual CloneDrive - Software to mount CD/DVD images
• SlySoft AnyDVD* – Removes copy protection from DVDs

I’ve been using various Peplink WAN load-balancing hardware for more than a year now, and have found it to be a powerful, yet easy to configure appliance.  Ease of use is certainly important here given that load-balancing is not necessarily the easiest item to configure for techies and non-techies alike. And yes, while a Peplink will typically work well straight out-of-the-box, some IT background will go a long way when tweaking its configurations.

I’ll blog a little more about the various load-balancing options another day, though what I wanted to highlight today is the sheer reliability of the company’s operating system and hardware, a trait which I mentioned in my recent report on ITBusinessEdge recently.  Titled Peplink on Enhancing Business Continuity with WAN Load Balancing, I wrote the article after interviewing General Manager Keith Chau at CommunicAsia 2011 this year.

Anyway, below is a screenshot of the dashboard for the Peplink Balance 30, a 3x WAN port device targeted at the lower-end market such as power users and home office users.  As you can see, the device has been up for over three months without being switched off and is still working flawlessly.  Ironically, my Internet modems probably saw more resets.  Indeed, the uptime could have been higher were not for a firmware update that required the Balance 30 to be restarted.

More than three months uptime from the Peplink Balance 30, a device targeted at "Power Users & Home Offices"