The box.

What you get.

In the package, you get the clip light itself and a pigtail microUSB charging cable. The built-in 200mAh lithium-ion polymer battery provides up to three hours of continuous light, although using it on the highest of the three stages of adjustable brightness will obviously lower that figure. Build quality is excellent, with a lined clip to keep your smartphone safe, and a single button to change brightness between low, medium, and high settings (the sample selfie I took was using the highest setting in a pitch black room!).

Attaching it to your phone (or anywhere else) is super simple.

A selfie in total darkness.

Another pitch black selfie.

Perhaps the nicest thing about this small, pocketable unit is that because it’s not a flash, it can also be used to light videos, and, since it’s a clip, can also be used with your smartphone’s rear camera. In fact, since it’s completely independent of your phone, it can be used with any other device or in any other situation where you might need a bright, focused light, or fill light. This is definitely a useful product.

Thanks to Cyxus for the review unit.

The post Review: Cyxus Portable Mini Spotlight Flash for Smartphone appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

The box for the Arespark Self Picture Monopod.

I’ll start out by taking a look at the monopod itself. Thanks to three locks, like those found on a good tripod, it contracts and extends to a minimum of 16″ and maximum of 50″. It also rotates 180 degrees. It’s durable and solidly built, with an extremely comfortable grip, which accepts an included strap for extra security. Since there are no electronics in the monopod, a Bluetooth Remote Shutter, aka the differentiator, is included. It features two buttons, one for iOS smartphones and another for Android smartphones, as well as an ON/OFF switch and an LED status indicator. The required CR2032 button cell battery is also included, and is rated to last about six months when used 10 times a day.

The insides of the box for the Arespark Self Picture Monopod.

The remote shutter is about the size of a car remote and pairs easily with iOS, which in my case was my Apple iPhone 6 Plus. As mentioned, it also works with Android, but if your phone’s camera app doesn’t default to using the volume buttons for a shutter, you’ll need to download something that does like Camera 360. A strap is included if you’d like to attach it to the remote.

The Arespark Self Picture Monopod at full extension.

Smartphones between 5.6 – 8.5 centimeters – which is most of them, big and small – work just fine with the included expandable holder. Separate mounts for camera tripods and GoPros are also included in this value-packed bundle, which is only $18.99 right now on Amazon.

A quick selfie with one of my daughters and a few of our pets.

In the end, while this is indeed yet another selfie stick, it’s also a decidedly premium model with lots of extras included that addresses one of the major stumbling blocks that are presented with other devices like this, which is pressing the shutter button while trying to keep everything steady. The Bluetooth Remote Shutter is a fantastic differentiator for a very crowded product category and has uses well beyond selfies. In fact, I suspect the nifty remote shutter may still see use even if selfie haters get their wish and the product category goes the way of the pet rock.

Thanks to Arespark for the review unit.

The post Review: Arespark Self Picture Monopod appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Cable take pole selfie stick packaging (front).

Cable take pole selfie stick packaging (rear).

The Cable take pole (only $7.99 on Amazon at the moment) uses the same physical Monopod foundation as other selfie sticks I’ve reviewed in the past, which means it has the same sometimes difficult to press shutter button, rubberized grip, fully extendable (telescoping) pole, and a removable smartphone holder that expands to accommodate even large phones like my Apple iPhone 6 Plus. The only difference is that aforementioned 3.5mm headphone jack cable.

You get the Monopod foundation and the adjustable phone holder.

The Cable take pole fully assembled.

The instructions, such as they are, are badly translated English, which shouldn’t be surprising given the product name, Cable take pole, and are found on the back of the box. Fortunately, the instructions really aren’t necessary, especially if you’re an Apple iPhone or iPad user (of course tablets don’t fit in the holder). The built-in photo taking app supports this device, which more or less mimics pressing the device’s volume button (which is Apple’s mobile hardware shutter button), right out of the box. If you’re an Android user or owner of another platform, you’ll need a photo app that can be configured to detect volume button presses as shutter presses. Given the vagaries of Android and other platforms, specific instructions really can’t be given, but rest assured it should be relatively trivial enabling the feature if it’s not already present.

My iPhone 6 Plus on the Cable take pole.

While I still think the oft-used Monopod platform shutter button is too difficult to press at times, making for the occasionally shaky selfie, the bottom line is this product does work. For those frustrated by the pairing and charging with Bluetooth-based selfie sticks, this makes a wonderful alternative. One potential issue to keep in mind, however, is that if you like to take video, rather than photo, selfies, plugging something into your headphone jack may also disable the internal microphone, meaning your videos will not have sound.

An unedited family selfie we took with the Cable take pole on the Fourth of July.

An Auto Awesome from Google+ showcasing how difficult it is to get a selfie with the family!

Thanks to szmittech for the review unit.

The post Cable take pole selfie stick review appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

The Mpow iSnap X box.

Amazon presently offers the Mpow iSnap X for only $15.99 – $19.99 depending upon color choice, but as a special offer to Armchair Arcade readers, you can get an additional $4 off by using coupon code LK35FSFH at checkout. That kind of deal combined with free lifetime customer service support, an 18 month warranty, and an impressive 45 day money back guarantee makes this a no-brainer if you’re in the market for this type of selfie stick. You also have a choice of black, blue, or pink (my review unit) metal accents, so there’s an element of personalization with it as well.

The Mpow iSnap X box contents.

The Mpow iSnap X package includes the monopod itself, wrist strap, standard microUSB charging cable, and instructions. As is usually the case with selfie sticks, setup is straightforward, i.e., you follow the same basic steps as any other device in this category.

The Mpow iSnap X is highly adjustable.

The Mpow iSnap X is highly adjustable.

After charging the selfie stick, press the power/shutter button (the M button), go to your phone’s Bluetooth settings until you see Mpow iSnap X listed, then connect. Now, when the selfie stick is powered on, simply press the monopod’s shutter button when you’re in your phone’s camera app to take a photo (hold and press the power/shutter button to power off).

My cased Apple iPhone 6 Plus still fit.

As for the extensible U-shaped clamp, despite a tight fit, it was no problem securing my 5.5 inch Apple iPhone 6 Plus in its Spigen Tough Armor case. With the way this clamp is designed, securing similarly large (and of course, smaller) – though not wider – phones should also prove problem free. Naturally, you’ll also want to use the included wrist strap to secure the monopod itself to your wrist for better overall peace of mind from accidental drops.

A selfie with just me.

From build quality to comfort to price, Mpow has come up with a winner of a selfie stick and one worth seriously considering in an extremely crowded product category. With the firm, rubberized grip, the metal accents, and the easy-to-press shutter button, I can’t think of any way this product could be improved. In fact, there’s even further incentive to go with the iSnap; check out the Amazon product page for the list of other special offers when purchasing this selfie stick, e.g., an additional discount when also purchasing Mpow’s Fisheye Lens.

A selfie with me and one of my daughters.

The post Mpow iSnap X One-piece U-shape Self-portrait Monopod Extendable Selfie Stick Review appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

This is how the Selfie Stick Professional 2-in-1 Bluetooth Monopod comes.

Now, with the above in mind, given the $13.99 retail price on Amazon, some of those oddities could be overlooked as long as the product works as intended. Fortunately, it does.

The Selfie Stick Professional 2-in-1 Bluetooth Monopod package consists of the selfie stick, a small device mount, a large device mount (for larger phones like my iPhone 6 Plus), a GoPro mount (unusual among selfie sticks), and a Micro-USB to USB cord for charging (any other similar cord can also be used for charging).

My Apple iPhone 6 Plus in the large mount.

After my usual struggles with figuring out how to mount my iPhone 6 Plus on one of these things, I charged the stick for a few hours (since there’s no manual, I have no idea how long to charge for or how long the charge will last!). I then turned on the stick via the switch at the bottom of the device, causing its associated blue light to flash. I then went to the Bluetooth settings on my iPhone 6 Plus and paired it with “DSQX.” I was then able to use the shutter button on the stick to take my selfie once I extended the shaft to the desired length (it extends up to 39″).

The selfie stick at full extension (top) and collapsed (bottom).

So, while it’s clear this device barely passes muster in terms of packaging (and product information in general), it does in fact work like it’s supposed to. Paired with the aggressive pricing, it’s not hard to recommend the Selfie Stick Professional 2-in-1 Bluetooth for those in the market for one.

A very quick (and tired) selfie with my oldest daughter.

Thanks to L&Z Inc., who backs their product with a one year warranty, for the review unit.

The post Selfie Stick Professional 2-in-1 Bluetooth Monopod Review appeared first on Armchair Arcade.

Typical selfie sticks have extensible poles, allowing for multi-person or above crowd shots, as well as to get the most-likely-great camera on your smartphone to see into hard-to-reach places, like behind your television (for instance, to see what connections might still be available) or to simply see if something fell behind an enormous dresser. They also have shutter buttons, connected via Bluetooth, so they can also be used as a remote shutter when you need your camera to remain absolutely still (naturally this means you wouldn’t have it placed at the end of the selfie stick).

How the VivaSelfie arrives.

In any case, one problem with present selfie stick popularity is that there are a lot of choices out there. Once such choice is the VivaSelfie. In the box you’ll find the wireless cell phone monopod (the base stick with the shutter and electronics), two adjustable phone clamps, a USB charging cable, and a small instruction booklet.

The contents of the VivaSelfie package.

Because this is Bluetooth, the stick itself has a small battery inside that needs to be charged via the included USB cable (or any other standard micro-USB cable). Once charged, you simply turn the stick on with the small switch at its base and then use your phone’s standard Bluetooth pairing process to find the stick (it officially supports . On my iPhone 6 Plus, it showed up as “DSQX” in my Bluetooth devices list. The instructions indicate that if pairing didn’t work for some reason to download the KJStar-365 app, but I was not able to locate such an app on the Apple App Store.

Unfortunately, once it was paired, I couldn’t take a photo. I was however able to get in touch with a VivaSelfie representative, who, after a bout of troubleshooting, confirmed it was in fact a defective unit, so she sent me out a new one right away. With a 45 day guarantee on product defects, with refund of the purchase price or replacement, no one else should have to worry either if they encounter an issue.

Using one of the included clamps to secure my cased iPhone 6 Plus.

While the instructions don’t explain how to use one of the two adjustable phone clamps, I was eventually able to figure out how to attach one to my iPhone 6 Plus. Even in its case, my iPhone 6 Plus fit well in the clamp and certainly seemed secure.

The VivaSelfie really does extend rather far.

As for taking a selfie, it was dead simple. Open your camera app, extend the rod as far as you like, smile, and then press the button. As for that extension, you can see both from the isolated photo and the admittedly poorly framed selfie itself that you can get quite a bit of real estate in your photos, making group shots trivial.

My selfie. An impressive amount of real estate can be captured when the VivaSelfie is fully extended.

From the comfortable grip to the ease-of-use to the excellent support, I highly recommend the VivaSelfie.

Special thanks to VivaSelfie for providing the initial review unit, as well as the fast replacement.

The post VivaSelfie Stick Review appeared first on Armchair Arcade.