Tag Archives: Ebay

14May 2012

Raspberry Pi Case

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The bare-bones Raspberry Pi board is great for looking at and being generally tactile with technology, but it’s sometimes equally nice to try and keep it away from prying fingers ;)  To this end I decided to see what cases are available for the Pi.

Naturally, I turned to eBay and quickly found a Raspberry Pi case  that sounded just right – a clear acrylic case that covers the top and bottom but allows full side access to the ports. The bottom piece of acrylic is in the spare of the Raspberry Pi logo and, because it’s clear, you can still see everything. It cost me £8, which included P&P.

I ordered Thursday night and Saturday morning it arrived. There are no instructions with it, but it’s simple enough. You get the 2 pieces of acrylic, 4 plastic “legs” which separate the acrylic (these legs have a notch in them so the circuit board sits on these), 8 screws to hold it all together and 4 rubber feet. All you need it a Philips screwdriver and a couple of spare minutes to put it all together.

It works brilliantly – it’s a bit tight in some places (the SD card is difficult to get in and out, as is the Ethernet cable) but still perfectly usable.

Laser cutter producing the acrylic case – click for larger image

The case is made by SK Pang Electronics in the UK, a company run by Sukkin Pang, who is both the Design Engineer and Director. Sukkin came up with the design for the case himself and uses a laser cutter to manufacture it. Because of a lack of fixing holes in the circuit board (something that Sukkin hopes will be changed in later releases of the Pi!) he came up with the idea of it sitting on the plastic separating legs.

The cases are sold via eBay, Amazon or the SK Pang Electronics website, along with other Raspberry Pi components and other electronic items. They sell a red version of the case, a Pi power supply (very useful!) and special development cases that can house a secondary circuit board next to the main one.

Summary of Raspberry Pi Case

A brilliant case for the Raspberry Pi, showing off the hardware to full effect. The fact that, unlike the Pi, this is both designed and made in the UK is a real bonus.
Star Star Star Star Star


Reviewed by David Artiss on 14th May 2012.

16Nov 2011

Moving to low energy lighting at home

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With the ever growing need to save energy and the slow phasing out of incandescent lighting, we find ourselves having to find alternative lighting.

When I recently moved home I realised that the new house had a lot of lights – for example the kitchen had 6 45Watt down-lighters for the ceiling alone. That’s 270W every time you flick the light switch. So, the hunt was on to fit the new house with new lighting. I already had a number of cheap “standard” energy efficient bulbs but there were some requirements – like the kitchen – for something more specific.

First stop, I went online and equipped the kitchen and both reception rooms with Megaman bulbs. The reception rooms needed candle style bulbs, which Megaman produce. Instead of a glass surround, they have a rubbery exterior in the candle shape.

All of these, I have to say, exhibit the old issue with energy efficient lighting – they take a second or so to initially come on and then take some time to get to full brightness. Having said that, though, when coming downstairs in the morning it’s a blessing to not flick a switch and be blinded by the result ;)

Soon afterwards a bulb in the utility room blew. These are GU10 bulbs and I went to The Lamp Shed in Derby. After initially trying to sell me some LED versions at £15 each (I needed 4 in total) I bought some Bell low energy versions. Sadly, these didn’t fit into the fitting due to having a slightly different shape to the standard GU10, so I put 3 into the office, where I also needed some, and returned 1 for a refund. Sadly, the Bell ones aren’t very good. The have a very yellow light and emit a low whine.

After a tip-off from a forum, I headed to eBay where I purchased 4 Phoenix LED GU10. At £6.79 these were a lot more palatable – I purposefully went for the bright white variations as these were for the utility room. And these are really excellent – instant on and a superb output.

So, yes, some low energy bulbs take a moment to come on and then take a good few minutes to get to full brightness. But, you have to get over it – we can’t keep using energy in the way we have done in the past. If that means minor inconveniences, then it’s certainly a price worth paying. However, if you can afford to, look at the LED variations which don’t have any of the downsides, and on eBay you can get some real bargains.


02Aug 2011

Mobile phone screen protectors

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With many phones using Gorilla Glass you’d think they’d be no need for screen protector – thin layers of plastic that are stuck over the screen of your mobile phone. Sadly, they are as even the toughest of glass can be scratched by a rogue set of car keys in your pocket.

When I bought my Galaxy S2 I wanted to protect that screen – I’d used a screen protector on my HTC Hero and it had worked well. I’d bought the official HTC version, which cost about £5 for 2. I’d never needed the 2nd as the 1st went on so well – nearly 18 months later the original is still in place perfectly (but now has a scratch on it – that could have been the screen!).

An “official” Samsung version, though, will set you back £10 for just one. If you apply it wrong, it could be an expensive mistake. Others are available, some more expensive, but users seem to complain about “rainbow” effects across the screen.

Instead, I went to eBay and bought the cheapst I could – they cost me a couple of pounds for 6. And it was a good idea to get so many 2, as I managed to get a good fit on the 3rd attempt. However, at that price you can afford to go through all 6 in one go if you need to.

I’d done the same when I bought a Samsung Tocco Lite for my daughter – cheap eBay versions. In fact I too also go through a number before I get the fit 100% right. But the end result always seemed good and, well, they do their job. And it’s the same for my Samsung versions. They’re not as light to the touch as the original glass at first, but over time a build up of grease within the plastic improves this.

Certainly when it comes to value for money they’re worth it.

01Aug 2011

Samsung Galaxy S2 Dock

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Now I have a Samsung Galaxy S2, I wanted to get myself a desktop dock for it.

The dock for my HTC Hero was the official HTC one – a shiny piano black horizontal slab with the phone sitting solidly in the middle. Underneath was power, USB and audio out connections. It was simply but has drawn many admiring enquiries due to its superb looks.

Samsung have their own dock for the S2 but, unfortunately, it’s rather pricey at £30 – £40. Instead I decided to go for one of the many cheaper alternatives on eBay. I say “many” not because there are different types, but simply because so many sell the same type (pictured). There is a 2nd type available, but this simply holds the phone vertically whilst a spare battery is charged behind it.

At between £10 – £12, I wasn’t expecting anything too much but, as the same time, for that money wouldn’t expect a simple stand with a USB cable attached.

However, that’s just what I got. The “metal look” surround is a bronze-ish piece of painted plastic. It comes with a captured USB cable that you can connect to your PC for charging or syncing. When connected up to a USB source a blue light is evident on the top- there’s no way of switching this off. There’s also a USB connector on the back, the same as the one on the S2 – not sure what this is for, unless it’s so you can connect other accessories at the same time.

You put the S2 down onto the male USB connector and it connects you. And that’s it. The S2 wobbles a bit when in position (a couple of rubber pads inside the mounting area would have helped here) and it’s just generally deeply, deeply underwhelming. And to top it off,even the thinnest of cases prevents it from being docked without having to remove the case first. I guess it does what it says – just. For the money I’d expect more – a good solid seat for the S2 and a power cable (not just the USB connector) at least.

I put mine straight back on eBay – it sold within hours but I made a loss. Oh well, I can just remember, wistfully, my excellent HTC dock.

Summary of Samsung Galaxy S2 Desktop Dock

It works but it’s totally without the frills. The phone wobbles in place and you don’t get a mains charger. There are better for the money
Star Star Star Star Star


Reviewed by David Artiss on 1st August 2011.

31Jul 2011

Samsung Galaxy S2 Mesh Case

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Updates:

An official product, this goes by a number of names1 – combinations of the words mesh, case, black and cool usually.

A rigid (but not too much), rubberised case for the Galaxy S2 it clips on the side of the phone providing side and back protection. Cut-outs for essential sections of phone (headphone socket, side buttons, speaker, etc) are accurately cut – especially for the camera on the back. The whole of the rear of the case has a mesh of holes. This allows the heat from the back of the phone to escape whilst preventing the back from getting too hot (it’s cooler to the touch than the back is without the case). The colour is more a dark graphite grey than black.

I have one on my phone and it’s the first case I’ve owned for a phone that I’ve been happy with – it’s extremely slim and light so doesn’t make the phone look big and ugly (as so many others have).

You can purchase them from Amazon for £7.99.

Look out for cheaper alternatives – they usually don’t have Samsung badge on the back or, if they do, they don’t have the “proper” logo. In the gallery below is a close-up of the badge – check this is correct before purchasing!

What about those cheaper alternatives?

I mentioned above that there were cheaper versions of this case available. After a year of the Samsung version, after much dropping and scraping of the phone (all without any damage to the phone itself) the case was in need of a replacement – I thought I’d try one of the cheaper, non-branded versions.

It cost  a whole £1.10 (inc P&P) from eBay and, at first site appears extremely similar – the same mesh case, with a rubberised coating. However, the finish is not as good – there are sharp edges and visible moulding lines – and it just simply doesn’t fit as well. Whether it’s worth paying over 7 times more for is your own choice.

Conclusion on cheaper alternatives

I’ve only had the cheap eBay version for a few months and it’s now in the bin and I’ve bought the official Samsung version again. Yes, it’s more expensive but in this case you certainly get what you pay for. The cheap version didn’t fit as well and rather than being genuinely flexible was actually made of hard, white plastic covered in a black rubberised coating. Eventually a bit snapped off (unsurprisingly, because of the lack of flexibility in the case, and this wasn’t due to a drop either).

Gallery

Summary of Samsung Galaxy S2 Mesh Case

It doesn’t add much weight to the phone, adds some extra grip and, most importantly, protects the phone. I’d combine it with a screen protector thought for total protection. At £8 it costs more than cheaper alternatives on eBay, but I think it’s worth it.
Star Star Star Star Star


Reviewed by David Artiss on 31st July 2011.

  1. I’d clarify the exact name if I could find an official Samsung page that mentions it, but I can’t – that’s often the case with Samsung accessories. Their site seems to think that Bluetooth headsets are the only mobile phone accessory that they sell. [↩]

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