sandi mobile phone stand review

One of the things I love to do with my HTC Legend android smartphone is watch video.... same with my PSPgo. And one of the big frustrations with doing so on either of those devices is trying to prop it up when I want to go hands-free.

So I was scouring the web back in late December 2010 & came across these mobile phone stands at DealExtreme. They come in packs of 2, I ordered 2 packs (4 total) and keep them around the house & in pocket so I always have one at arms length when I need it.


They're a very simple design, made of thin metal but very light & easily strong enough to hold a small gadget like a phone. I was using my homemade paperclip stands, but the good thing about these sandi stands is they're easy to pocket, which I can't do with the bent-up paperclip ones. When I'm at Tim Horton's or wherever, I can whip it out as I need it & pack it away quick & easy.





Each stand comes with 2 rubber pads with adhesive bottoms, but they don't explain where exactly they're supposed to be placed. I'm not sure if it's visible from my pics but I tried to put them where the device would meet the metal so it doesn't touch it & scratch them. But I needed 3 pads and they only come with 2, so I cut the big one into 2 pieces (very easy to do so) and that worked great. For the 2 that I already stuck the pads to before realizing I could've cut them, I used electricians tape as a very light third pad.



The stand is just a shaped strip of metal, I think anodized aluminum, not sure about that. And there's a cute devilish face with one fang pattern cutout in the metal. Reminds me of a Jack-O-Lantern.




These stands work awesome with my HTC Legend, the angle is great for me. They're best for looking down on a table rather than propping a device level with the eye; basically they angle the viewing angle upward.






The PSPgo is a bit of a different story. It will only fit it when the PSPgo is open. If it's closed it will not fit on the stand.








These stands are great if the device is small. Though oddly enough, my 8.5"x 6" Aluratek Cinepal media player fits on the stand-- precariously. Seems strange that a big PMP player like that fits but my PSPgo (when closed) is too thick? Very weird. But yeah, these stands are really only good for SMALL devices like a phone, iPod touch, etc. Regular-sized PSPs, PSP-2000/3000 and sure as hell not PSP-1000 series... will NOT fit on these stands.

I ordered these from DealExtreme, but I wouldn't advise ordering from them anymore. They took a LONG time to ship these to me. I think 2 months..... I saw the same ones at Focalprice for less and I've had a good past experience with them so if I had to order more I'd probably get them from there.

So why do they have "sandi" written on them anyway? I have no idea. I thought if I found the lettering too distracting I'd just rub it off, but I actually don't mind.


later
don

fake memory stick adapter?

Man... I've been having problems with my PhotoFast CR-5400 adapter I bought back in March.

Last night I was playing Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron on my PSP... I was playing the Galactic Conquest mode, and I wanted to save the game before I quit. When I went to do so, the memory stick light was flashing for a long time... way longer than it should be-- it usually saves game data in 1-2 seconds. After flashing for like 30 seconds it finally came back to me with a "Game save failed" message. So I tried it again, and again another save fail.

So I just exited the game & checked out the data at the XMB save data menu. Sure enough there were 2-3 corrupted files. Very odd. When I tried to delete them on my PSP, the delete failed! Not good.

I then hooked up my PSP to my PC in USB mode, went in to see these folders/files, tried to delete them. I managed to delete 1 folder with files inside them by deleting the files 1 at a time. But there are 2 corrupted folders that Windows won't allow me to delete! What's worse, when I come out of PSP>SAVEDATA my PC stops detecting any info on my PSP at all! Yikes...... NOT GOOD AT ALL.

So I turned off my PSP & charged it overnight. This morning I turned it on, when it got to the XMB, there was NO MEMORY STICK icon at all, and the memory stick light was pulsing... like once per second. This looked very, very bad.

I restarted the PSP, same problem. Then I put the PSP into sleep mode, and turned it back on. The memory stick showed up normally, with all the data it should have. I'm glad I can still access it. But I can tell it's going to fail again, and this is the end for it.

I think it's the adapter, it's possible it could be the cards, which is really bad since they cost so much. I dug out the adapter packaging, as show in the pic above, and checked out that page put out by PhotoFast on how to spot fake adapters. I noticed that my packaging doesn't have shiny silver lettering, it's just plain white. I'm thinking that the adapter I got from DealExtreme is probably fake.

I do have a rule when buying products from places like Deal Extreme who sell a lot of fakes: never buy a battery or memory cards from these types of places. If it's just a hunk of plastic like a battery cover, it probably doesn't matter if it's "real" or fake, but actual electronic stuff-- as long as you know what you're getting. I sorta broke the rule by buying that adapter, but it was the only place I knew of that shipped to Canada.

And for 8 months, it worked awesome. I haven't had any problems with it at all until now. It's just strange that it would go after all this time. Usually fakes make themselves known right away; they generally don't work right out of the gate. Maybe shoddy materials just couldn't take the stress over the 8 months of use?

I just ordered another CR-5400 adapter from a Canadian site... I really hope it's authentic, as I paid a lot more for it than at Deal Extreme. As long as it's authentic, it'll be worth it.


later
don

Photofast CR-5400 with PSP memory stick door

So it's been a week or so since using the Photofast CR-5400 in my PSP. I haven't encountered any issues with it other than what I posted in my initial review.

But I have noticed that the memory stick door on my PSP-2001 doesn't close quite as tightly as it does with a regular memory stick:



Keep in mind this is a pretty extreme closeup. And it doesn't seem to affect the PSP or memory stick usage at all as far as I can tell.

It's just that I think the door is usually more flush with the side of the PSP like this:



I don't think there's too much to be concerned about except maybe dust getting in there? But even that seems like a small worry. Just kinda weird, I guess maybe the CR-5400 adapter might be a millimeter or so longer than a regular memory stick pro duo?




later
don

Photofast CR 5400 adapter + 32GB MicroSD

Yeah! My CR 5400 adapter finally came today!

Now with the two 16GB Kingston MicroSD cards I got a couple weeks ago, I have 32GB (29GB actual) of memory in my PSP. It's so sweet!

The adapter got loose somehow in the packaging and was sitting crooked. I was a little bit worried at first, but the bubble plastic wasn't sealed so it was easy to get into it. And it seemed fine.

I ordered the adapter from DealExtreme, it took about 2.5 weeks to get it.
















The two MicroSD cards slip into the sides of the CR 5400 Adapter.



Care has to be taken when inserting them... you need to hold the adapter by the edges, not the flat part... the adapter is rigid, but it's very thin plastic since it has to hold 2 MicroSD cards in it. (and memory Stick Pro Duos aren't all that big to begin with) It sorta feels like cardboard.

But once in, the MicroSD cards seem to fit very snugly.



You can use either 1 or 2 MicroSD cards in the adapter, but if using 2 they must be formatted together I think.

VERY IMPORTANT: The MicroSD cards inside the adapter MUST be formatted on the PSP. DO NOT FORMAT USING A PC. Once they are formatted, they basically are seen as 1 big memory stick. You also probably don't want to be pulling out the MicroSD cards & switching them back & forth between PSP and other use.... as mentioned, the adapter is very thin, and unless you reformat the MicroSD, you might have problems with non-PSP devices. All data should be transferred to/from the PSP via the USB cable (or wi-fi). Do not use a PC card reader, even one that is memory stick pro duo compatible.

Comparing the adapter with the memory stick pro duo that was in my PSP.



In it goes....



As soon as I turned on my PSP, I got this message. I can't remember if I got that message when I used a new memory stick....






Formatting took about 5 seconds for me.

I formatted it using my 3.71 firmware PSP Slim, because I want the MP_ROOT folder since the VIDEO folder won't play my PSP Video 9 encoded AVC files for some reason. While I use the VIDEO folder, I also need the MP_ROOT folder.





The exact capacity is 29.8GB after formatting. It also says "MagicGate™ Unknown", but I've heard that downloaded content from the PlayStattion Store *can* be read using this MicroSD/Adapter setup. I don't have any PS Store content anymore, so I can't absolutely confirm it.

So far I haven't had any problems playing media content with the adapter. Game saves & game play seem to be fine as well. But there is some slowness when accessing menus on the XMB. Using firmware 5.03, normally it only takes 3-4 seconds to go into the VIDEO icon. But with the adapter, it takes about 6-10 seconds. It's like older firmware like 3.71, that was slow in accessing the VIDEO icon.

Also, when turning on from sleep mode, normally with my Sony 8GB memory stick pro duo it would take 1-2 seconds to show how much memory the stick had. Using the adapter with 32GB memory, it takes 5+ seconds to count up the memory.

Normally when the PSP is hooked up to the PC in USB Mode, after ejecting the device in WindowsXP, and pressing the O button on the PSP, it goes back into "regular" mode almost instantly. But this adapter setup, after pressing O, it takes 5+ seconds for the PSP to get back into the XMB.

None of this has affected how video, music, or pictures have been displayed, there's been no lag as far as I can tell with any of that. It might be the Kingston cards I'm using, they are Class 2 speed. Or it might be the whole "they aren't memory sticks" thing. Or it might be that the PSP firmware isn't exactly made to handle 32GB of storage. I'm not sure.

I've only had less than a day to play around with it, so this is a pretty early review. It's pretty darn sweet to load a ton of stuff onto this stick and it's like a drop in a bucket. I loaded what I thought was over 800MB of content onto the thing, and the 29GB displayed didn't seem to budge. I thought that maybe there was some malfunction, but no, it's just a frikkin huge amount of space. I am down to 25GB left right now, as I loaded some more movies onto it.

EDIT: I have noticed that the memory stick door on my PSP-2001 doesn't close quite as tightly as it does with a regular memory stick (SEE POST for more info)



UPDATE: Came across this Photofast site that has a page on how to spot fake adapters.

If the page is down, the same info can be found here.

I learned most of what I know about this adapter from BoneOfWorld's Playstation Forum thread where he reviewed it. It's a great resource for anyone looking into trying this out.


later
don

Nintendo DSi - R.I.P. GBA slot

This is the DS Lite model I have, the Crimson/Black DS Lite that came packaged with Brain Age 2. I got mine on the release day in August 2007 from Future Shop which also included a bonus case (it looks nice but doesn't protect the sides so I don't use it anymore) and a bonus game, umm... Monster Trucks or something? It's fun, but I wouldn't buy it on its own.

I'm really liking my DS Lite, the killer app that got me to buy it was Brain Age 2. It's still one of my most played DS games.

So sort of lost in the big announcement of the upcoming release of the DS Lite redesign, the DSi, is that the slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges is now gone. Historically, Nintendo has been very consistent with maintaining backwards compatibility with its systems, up to a point. Sure, with the GameCube switching over to disc-based media, it cut itself off from the previous Nintendo cardridge-based media consoles. And the Game Boy Micro can only play GBA carts, not original Game Boy or Game Boy Color carts.

DSi makes a big step in severing ties to the vast Game Boy Advance cartridge library. A lot of people might think, what's the big deal? New GBA games aren't being released anymore. And with their focus on downloadable content, it looks like Nintendo is going to make GBA games available to download & save on a DSi SD card. So what does it matter? Well..... aside from Nintendo making GBA fans rebuy the games they already own on carts..... there are still reasons why the GBA slot is important, even to the DS.

Even though I own 2 Game Boy Micros, the GBA slot on my DS Lite is still important to me.

The big draw of the DSi for me is the media functions. But really, I *ALREADY* have those media functions like music playback because I have a Play-Yan Micro. I got the Play-Yan Micro for my Game Boy Micro, but it works just fine in my DS Lite (like all GBA carts, it does stick out... in fact it sticks out even in the GBA Micro, so it sticks out EVEN MORE in the DS Lite) It's a pretty good music & video player, plays back content from an SD card. That's all it does, it's very basic but it's nice. There's a good review of the Play-Yan Micro here.






Although, right now my DS Lite's GBA slot is filled with an Ewin Rumble Pack I got from DealXtreme for like $4.20 or so... and shipping was free! It was so cheap, I just had to get it.




I only have 1 DS game that supports rumble, Star Trek: Tactical Assault. The list of rumble supported games seems pretty small. There is at least one other rumble DS game I want, Custom Robo Arena, I've heard reports of it being like $10.00 at Wal-Mart in the U.S.... here in Canada, I can only find it at EB Games for like $40.00! Waaaaay too much. I'm hoping I'll spot it in Wal-Mart or Zellers, places like that for really cheap.



In Japan, they released a paddle controller that plugs into the GBA slot, I heard it's great for games like Space Invaders Extreme & Arkanoid. And even though it doesn't interest me personally, Guitar Hero: On Tour, the DS game relies on a fret-button peripheral that plugs into the GBA slot. That game only came out a few months ago, I think they're even planning a sequel. How do you think Activision feels about the DSi? They're probably biting through wood right now....

Not to mention that playing GBA games on a DS is still pretty fun.




later
don

white PSP slim battery covers review w./pics

:::Note: originally posted on the Playstation Underground PSP forum 05-20-2008:::

I just got a 2 pack of battery covers from deal extreme today... it's this package:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12375

in the 2 pack one is a regular slim cover, the other being for the extended fat PSP battery.

I have to say, the slim cover looks really great! This is at night when I'm looking at it, but I've been looking at it under a bright lamp and it looks exactly the same shade of white as the PSP slim! It looks pretty much exactly like the regular slim battery cover except no Darth Vader. The only difference I can see so far is no Sony logo.

EDIT: Looking at it in the daytime, I can sort of see a VERY SLIGHT difference in whiteness. Maybe it's because I know it's not the original cover... but it's only if I stare at it fro awhile that I can even notice anything. It doesn't look out of place.

However, the extended battery PSP cover..... is a total piece of crap!! It DOESN'T FIT PROPERLY. I can't even get both teeth to go into the groove, so one side is not properly fitted on, and not only is there a gap, but the lock doesn't close properly. It could very easily fall off. DO NOT USE.

slim cover = great

extended cover = complete junk

But for $3.00-$4.00 or so, it's totally worth getting just for the slim cover alone, if you really hate the Darth Vader image. Me, I *love* the Darth Vader back on my PSP Slim, it's one of the reasons I bought it. But I know a lot of people want a white PSP Slim, but want a plain back, so for those people, this cover is the answer to their prayers.

There is a bit of a gap on one side, but it's exactly the same gap I have with the official Vader cover:

The other side looks great, again, looks the same as the official Vader cover:

All these pics are of the non-Vader cover seen in pic 1.

later
don

DealExtreme PSP battery cover review

:::originally posted on the Playstation Underground PSP forum 11-27-2007:::

So, a review of the dealextreme PSP Slim battery cover.


As found at this link, they sell a battery cover for the PSP-2000 (PSP Slim), that allows it to cover a PSP-1000 (PSP fat) battery.

By the way, I'm using a Invisible Shield brand screen protector on my PSP Slim.





The price was pretty cheap, I paid $3.66 CANADIAN, it's a little bit more than that in U.S. funds^_^

They sent me a cofirmation email the day after I placed my order. it took a week for them to send me an email telling me they shipped it. And 2 weeks after that to actually get it. 3 weeks from order to arrival... kind of slow. (Keep in mind this is to Canada) but the shipping is free.



The packaging is basic, as you can see there's not even anything printed on the back.




Luckily the bubble packaging is not sealed, so it's easy to slide it open. The inside of the covers are a little sticky & have a bit of gunk on them:



I took a kleenex & tried to wipe it off but it left kleenex residue over it. Kinda gross. You can see a bit of the laminating spray on the inside, but it's not like you're gonna see any of this when the cover is on your PSP.

On the outside, the covers look great. They're glossy, meant to blend in & emulate the gloss of the PSP-2000.



obviously, these ones only come in black, wish I could get a white cover, but I'll wait for the official Sony one to come out. I have faith....

Comparing my PSP-2000 cover to the fat one: since my cover is white, it's hard to see in the pic, but the hooks & connections look very much the same between the 2 covers.




My PSP-1001 battery in my PSP-2001:



And with the new cover on:











The new cover fits really nicely. It actually fits more snugly than my official cover!

As can be seen, there's a bulge similar to the old PSP-1001, which makes the PSP Slim feel slightly lopsided... but it's not that bad. Also, the PSP Slim does feel a bit heavier with the old battery in it.

But the tradeoff in extra power could make it very worth it:



This is my old 1800 maH PSP-1001 battery. There should be even longer life is using the 2200 maH Stamina battery. Again, I'm going to wait til Sony makes an official cover available. But for now, this is nice.



later
don