Anthony McLean :Product Reviews

Review: Quirky Cordies cable tidy

The Quirky Cordies is a cable management system, moulded from a single piece of very grippy rubber. It has four slots, designed to hold those annoying cables that always seem to fall down the back of your desk. 

Cordies come in some really nice packaging. The box feels super high quality, and the graphics and layout are very inviting. Inside, you’ll be greeted with the cable tidy itself, which is moulded from a single piece of rubber. I was a little disappointed to find that the entire product was made from rubber; the online images and packaging renders suggest otherwise. Regardless the rubber is heavy, durable, and definitely of a higher quality and worth the rather high asking price that this cable tidy commands.

The great thing about it being constructed from rubber is that the Cordies grip the desk very well, and even when fully loaded with cables it doesn’t slide around. It’s also worth noting that the rubber itself is quite heavy, so you’re comfortable in the knowledge that the cables are being held securely. 

Overall, it’s a useful little product that features a good build quality. The price, though, is rather high and for a product that sits out-of-the-way it’s perhaps a little too hard to justify. Purely objectively though, it’s a neat, cute little product and a greats way to manage messy cables.

Big thanks to Mobilefun for sending this out to me for review. Mobilefun stock an excellent range of mobile phone accessories so be sure to check them out.

Sony Xperia S Executive Flip Case

The Sony Xperia S Executive Flip Case by STK, as the name suggests, is a high quality flip case made by STK for Sony’s Xperia S.

When the case first arrived, I was pleased with its overall look, the outside has a nice black leather style design, with the inside in the same style but in a pleasant olive skin tone colour. Opening the case up reveals the method at which the phone is held in place, there is a semi-flexible black plastic shell sewed to the inside leather, with holes in appropriate places for the camera and access to the charging/data port and HDMI port.

The shell itself has a very rugged feel and I would be happy that it would survive being stuffed in a backpack with other items, the magnet system used to fasten the case is fairly strong also, meaning it does not come undone accidentally. The outside leather is very pleasant to touch and as mentioned quite nice to look at, having a smooth surface, allowing the case to be slipped into pockets without it getting hitched on things.

With the case out of the plastic and foam removed from the shell, I proceeded to try to put my phone in, and thus comes my first problem but in my eyes isn’t something to worry about. Getting the phone in provided to be a little tough, as mentioned the shell is semi-flexible but not very much so, I was able to get the top or bottom in and then had to fight a little to get the rest in, but once the phone was in, it was held extremely well and snuggly which is why I don’t think its too much of a problem, it certainly means the phone will not fall out of the case without someone having to remove part of it first, and even then, that is a little bit of fight to do that!

The shell has holes for the charging/data port, HDMI port and dedicated camera button, these are all easily accessed with the case open and closed, which is very handy, it also has moulded buttons where the volume rocker and power switch are, whilst at first I found I had to press harder to trigger these buttons, I am now used to the force I need to apply and is no longer a problem.

The case also has a hole for the camera allowing you take photos with the phone, the slight problem I found with this, is the hole in the outer leather is just a little small and so you get a slight shadowing effect on the left-hand side of any pictures taken, not a huge problem and it is barely noticeable but it may bother some people.

I mentioned the magnetic clasp earlier, the great thing about the clasp is that once you have the case open, you can flip the front round to the back of the phone and use the magnets to hold it there which I find rather handy when I leave my phone on my desk and want immediate access to the capacitive touch screen.

The only major problem I could find with this phone which didn’t bother me was the size of the case, for some this case may be a bit bulky especially for anyone that wears skinny jeans or tight fitting trousers, how ever since I usually have my phone in a jacket pocket this was not a problem.

Big thanks to Mobilefun for sending this out to me for review. Mobilefun stock an excellent range of mobile phone cases, so be sure to check them out! 

Mu Portable Power Adapter Review

The Mu is a usb mains adapter that’s designed to be portable, due to its unique folding mechanism. It folds up to about half the size of a smartphone, making it very easy to carry round. The packaging looks clean and has a tray inside which you pull open to reveal the product - very reminiscent of Apple products.

The design of the plug is very simple - it’s simply a rounded off box. 

One of the bad points about the Mu is the big pin which sticks out past the edges of the plug’s cover - it would have been nice to see the plug all in one nice neat shape, wearing the plug in your pocket with that big pin sticking out could cause discomfort. 

Overall, the plug is useful, it can work with virtually any of your electronics including iPhones, Kindles, and any devices that have a standard USB port.  This product is well worth the money if you are always on the go and need something small that you can whip out when any of your electronics are running out of power.

Thanks to Mobilefun for sending this out to me for review. Mobilefun stock an excellent range of Samsung Galaxy S4 chargers, so be sure to check them out! 

Review: Kidigi Desktop Dock for Galaxy SIII

Kidigi makes some excellent docks for mobile devices. They are high quality, good-looking, and functional. The Galaxy SIII dock, in white, is no exception. It’s a plastic dock that allows you to charge and sync your Galaxy SIII. What makes this particular dock different is that it’s white, which fits in really nicely with the white Galaxy SIII. There is also a white usb cable included in the packaging.

The dock is also case-compatible, but only with thin cases. Like all other of Kidigi’s products, it’s stable and holds your device very securely. My only complaint would be that it doesn’t include a wall adapter, so you have to find your own or use the Samsung adapter that comes with the Galaxy SIII. 

Thanks to Mobilefun for sending this out to me for review. Mobilefun stock a huge range of Galaxy S3 Cases so be sure to check them out! 

Review: Nexus 4 Bumper Case

The Nexus 4, as we all know, is a glass front and back phone. That means that while it’s extremely pretty, it’s easily breakable, especially when dropped on its corners. The bumper case is a great way to alleviate those issues. It’s a way to keep your Nexus 4 protected, but not entirely cover up the beauty of the phone. 

My bumper case was in bright orange, a nice bold colour that makes my Nexus 4 really stand out. The case has a noticeable lip on the front and back, which allows you to rest your Nexus 4 down on a table, either way up, and not have to worry about scratching the front or rear glass panels.

The bumper case is constructed from a hard plastic shell (the grey part),  as well as a softer, more rubbery material surrounding it for increased protection (the orange parts). As you can see the case follows the curved design of the Nexus 4, and is extremely comfortable to hold in the hand. My only complaint would be that it adds a fair amount of extra width to the device, which makes single handed operation a little tricky at times.

There are buttons for the volume control and power button, which are very responsive - actually a little bit more responsive than the buttons on the Nexus 4 itself. There’s also cutouts for both microphones, as well as the micro usb port and the 3.5mm headset jack.

Overall, the case feels like a quality product, which it should as it is priced at just under £20. For that you get a really nice feeling product that makes your Nexus 4 stand out. There’s a range of colours to choose from, too. Definitely recommended. 

Big thanks to Mobilefun for sending this out to me for review. Mobilefun stock an excellent range of Nexus 4 cases at great prices so be sure to check them out.