Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Moment Accessories

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these products for free so that I could provide product feedback to the company and post a product review. I was not required to write a positive review and I do not rate products higher than they should have been. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's requirements.

I recently purchased a Pixel 6 Pro, and during my research for case options I ran across the Moment case with (M)Force.  It seems like a pretty cool idea to have a magnetic case to allow for some creative mounting options, but once I started to look into Moment products a bit more I noticed that they used this mounting capability for more than just things like a simple device mount.  They provided a simple and secure way to mount accessories to your smartphone, and the case allows for attaching unique lenses.


Case for Pixel 6 Pro with (M)Force

When I purchased my Pixel 6 Pro, I went ahead and ordered one of the Google cases just to ensure I had a case on the phone.  Normally I get a different brand for my cases, but they didn’t come out with one I liked for the Pixel 6 Pro so I was looking around at other options.  Here were some of the key points I noticed with this case:
  • (M)Force allowing for magnetic mounting and attaching magnetic accessories 
  • Lens attachment piece over the camera
  • Textured back, making it feel more secure in your hand than the typical smooth back
  • Seems to provide better protection for the camera bump
I do wish Moment would have listed information about how they test their cases.  Other vendors often list their testing procedures, or they say that they are tested to "military grade" standards which normally refers to MIL-STD-810G.  While the case does have a target audience in mind, it still needs to meet the primary goal of providing protection.  I did find this page ( https://www.shopmoment.com/daily-essentials/phone-cases ) which says "Drop tested up to 6 ft" but that could they dropped it one time and that is it.

Packaging showing features on back

Directions

So as a case, it seems like this is a pretty nice case.  When you add in the extra features of (M)Force and the camera mounting, the additional features bring value to the table.  Even if you don’t have an immediate need for the extra features, it gives you future growth capability if you feel you might use those features one day.

My Pixel 6 Pro in the case

One other note, the magnetic part in the case doesn’t seem super strong - which is good, because I didn’t want to worry about my phone trying to attach itself to my wireless charger ( I gave it a test - it didn’t ).

Cold Shoe Mount - for MagSafe

Cold Shoe Mount with directions

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to do much testing on this one right now, but I see the clear value.  The cold shoe mount allows you to add things like a light or microphone to your phone which is perfect for mobile content creation.  The mount seems secure - I put it on my phone, and held the cold shoe mount part and the phone felt secure.

Tripod Mount - for MagSafe (Landscape and Portrait)

Tripod Mount with directions

The tripod mount takes the capabilities of the cold shoe mount, and for the “Landscape and Portrait” tripod mount model it adds a long bar at the bottom for the tripod mount.

There are many reasons you may need a stable platform to take pictures - two examples came to mind: you want to take multiple pictures of people with a consistent background, or you want to do a time lapse video.  To accomplish this, the cheap method is prop the phone up against something and hope it stays still - it probably won’t.

Luckily I had a portable 3 leg tripod mount to use for testing.  The Moment mount threaded on easily, and made a very stable platform for my phone.  I was able to run a test time lapse video, and even when I was touching the screen the platform seemed stable.  As a side note, I also used the tripod + mount to watch videos while eating - probably not the intended use case, but it was useful.

Tripod setup

If you want to use the mount for mobile content creation, the long tripod mount bar actually can serve as a handle.  While the tripod mount does cost more than the cold shoe mount, it gives you more supported use cases.  Pick the right tool for the job.

Wall Mount - for MagSafe

Wall mount

I have commitment issues, let’s just throw it out there.  The fact that this has 3M adhesive means that you are probably going to get a solid mount, but it also means you need to figure out where you want to use this.  It does include a 2nd 3M adhesive, and it can also be mounted using a screw hole in the middle which does make it secure but also removable.

Ultimately the use case depends on you and how it fits into your life.  It could be great for a content creation setup, or it could be useful in a home office situation.  With many phones offering hands free interaction, it really depends on what use case makes the most sense.

One other key factor, this is a magnetic mount.  It is sturdy, but you can grab your phone and go easily - no removing it from something like a traditional mount that uses pressure to hold the device in place.  I actually have an existing mount that clips to a desk, but it uses pressure to hold the phone so it wasn’t convenient to just grab the phone real quick.  I actually was able to put the magnet where the phone would go, and now I can just grab the phone easily if I need it.

Made an existing mount into a magnetic one

One other note I learned the hard way - the magnet on this (and probably the other attachments) is very strong.  I put this on my fridge - I meant to put the "weak" side on to see if it would stay up, but I put the phone side on.  I couldn't remove it.  I had to slide it down until the magnet got to the edge of the door then I was able to pull it off.

Tele 58mm Lens

Lens with cover and case.  The cloth under it wasn't included.

This is where a photographer is going to really start to enjoy what Moment has done with their products.  Not only do you get a phone case that happens to bring magnetic magic to it, but it also lets you attach lenses.  It isn’t a complicated process, and it is easy to put on / take off allowing you to get the quality shots you want and then put it away safely.

To test the lens, I immediately went outside to take pictures of a large radio tower visible from my backyard.  I tested taking the same picture without and with the telephoto lens.  While I knew what I should expect, it was still impressive to see the additional zoom with no clear reduction in quality.

Take a look at my comparison pics below, but also make sure you check out the Moment website ( https://www.shopmoment.com/photo-and-video/lenses/phone-lenses ) to see a wide variety of lenses and some very good comparison pictures.

Pixel 6 Pro - Lens not attached

Pixel 6 Pro - Lens attached

Overall thoughts


I am impressed by the Moment set of products.  As far as the case itself, it is a bit more expensive than other cases but it adds features most do not have.  As a consumer, protection of my device is the most important thing so it would be good for Moment to provides details on their testing methods.

The Moment series of products stand out because of the extra features their cases provide - the MagSafe compatible (M)Force and the lens attachment.  Even if you don’t need that stuff today, buying a case like this helps future proof your investment.  I have already started looking at accessories that attach using magnets such as portable batteries that can attach to the back and provide wireless power - I don’t need it today, but I see the value.

Ultimately this case would be great for the average consumer, but opens up other features that content creators, power users and other professionals can appreciate.

Product Links:

Friday, February 11, 2022

NFTs - Getting started with Blokpax

Post last revised February 15, 2022

UPDATE: There is a Blokpax Lighting Drop happening Feb 22, which is a great chance to start your experience.  Link to more info is at the end of the post in the "Recap" section.

I recently made a blog post about NFTs ( check it out ), and had Blokpax as one of my examples.  I decided to pull together a post to help anyone interested in getting into NFTs that likes the idea behind Blokpax.  Instead of trying to develop all the instructions myself, I am going to leverage existing guides as much as possible.  If you ran across this page but are not familiar with Blokpax, I would suggest you go here first ( https://blokpax.com/faq ) then come back.

Sample Infinite Moment (IM)

High level these are the steps you will need to take:
  • Sign up for Blokpax
  • Create a wallet
  • Setup OpenSea
  • Join Discord
  • Enjoy the magic
I would recommend following these steps on whatever device you plan to use most - so if your going to use your computer, set it up there.  If you will be on your phone, set it up there.

Sign up for Blokpax

As of right now, there is a promotion going on where new users will get 5 free starter packs for an upcoming drop that should happen on February 22, 2022.  Here is my referral link if you would like to use it:


If someone else referred you, then feel free to use their link so I don't take their referral.

Create a wallet

If you don’t know what a crypto wallet is, read up on it here:


If you just want to use MetaMask ( which seems to be the wallet recommended by Blokpax ) go here:


If you want to look at other wallet options this page shows a list of OpenSea compatible wallets, but keep in mind it might not provide the same experience


NOTE: Make sure you link your Blokpax account with your wallet.  If you use the MetaMask directions above, the steps are listed on that page.

Setup OpenSea

Once you have your crypto wallet ready, you need to set up your OpenSea account - this is where you can buy/sell/trade the NFTs.  Go to the link below and follow the steps under the “3) OpenSea” section:


Join Discord

The Blokpax Discord is a great place to find information, ask questions and trade with others.


If you need to understand why Discord is important, check this page out:


Recap

If you follow the steps above, you should have enough to get you started in the right direction.  If you plan to make trades or purchases, you will need to continue to read up.  Here are some suggested sources of information:

Lightning Drop 1 Info - Details on the upcoming (Feb 22) razz drop.

https://opensea.io/collection/infinitemoments - Check out Infinite Moments (IM) cards which is one of the main aspects of Blokpax.

https://blokpax.substack.com/  - This page has multiple useful guides.

Discord - On the Blokpax discord there are multiple channels with useful information under the "New 2 Blokpax?" heading, I would recommend you go through each one!  If you still have questions, there is a #questions-and-answers channel.

Other useful information

I will update this section moving forward, but for now the steps above should get you ready for the next free drop.

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

NFTs - My thoughts

Like most people, I have been hearing plenty about NFTs.  Since I like technology and trying new things, I decided to start digging into things a bit more to get a better understanding.

What are NFTs exactly?

Ok so the obvious question for someone new - what are they?  You can do a google search and find plenty of information on what a Non-fungible token (NFT) is but I’ll summarize it in a way that hopefully will make sense to you.  Think of it as a digital receipt / proof for something unique that you purchased online.  So that leads to the next question, what exactly can you purchase as a NFT?  Well this is where it gets very interesting.

NFT for digital art

The most common use case that you will see right now, at least that I have seen, is digital art.  You might be buying the ownership of the actual art, or just rights to use it.  Like any artwork, I think you will have two main groups of buyers to consider - 1) people that are getting into the art because they want to keep the art, and support the artists and 2) people looking at it from an investment perspective.

The really interesting part is that anyone can create and sell NFTs.  To test this theory, I actually went down the path of listing a picture that I took (and own) as a NFT on OpenSea which is one of the popular NFT marketplaces.  For an artist, this opens the opportunity to get their work out for potential purchase.

Other NFT uses - in practice

I actually ran across a very interesting NFT use case from a company called Blokpax.  I signed up and got 40 free NFTs they call Razz cards.  Those Razz cards are typically tied to a real world trading card - think sports cards, or Pokemon cards.  So using an example of some high value Pokemon card, it has 2048 associated “Razz” cards.  They do eliminations, cutting the pool in half each time ( 2048 -> 1024 in the first round ).  Your Razz might get burned or it might survive until the next around.  If your Razz is the last card left, you get a “Vault Token” which is tied to ownership of the card.  You can have them ship you the card, or you can sell/trade the “Vault Token” to someone else to transfer the ownership of the real card.  I think this NFT use case has great potential to get attention from people.  It was pretty fun trading Razz cards with other people to try to get multiple entries for the same real world card.  The first round of cuts happened earlier today, so I’ll update this article to say how it went.

Update: I traded most of my Razz for Infinite Moments (see below) and the few I had left didn't win, but it was still fun.

One of my Razz tokens

The same company, Blokpax, also has a different collection called “Infinite Moments” which are tied to moments in history, mainly sport related but other events too.  These NFTs are not backed by a “real world” equivalent card, but they were still an interesting part of the overall Blokpax experience.  These are closer to art or digital trading cards in the sense that you might buy/trade them as a collectors item.  I believe the company is also planning to ensure holders of Infinite Moments (IM) cards will get certain benefits - for example “Elite Drop 1”, which happens 6 Feb 2022, will give each IM holder a free Razz for each IM they own.

Update 12 Feb 2022: I wrote a new post about getting started with Blokpax ( https://bigboystoys13.blogspot.com/2022/02/nfts-getting-started-with-blokpax.html )

One of my "Infinite Moments" cards.

Another Infinite Moments (IM) card example

Other NFT uses - in theory

There are so many potential use cases for NFT it is just a matter of which ones really gain momentum.  Again, just because I wanted to try it out, I actually listed an idea - yes an idea - as a NFT.  I basically laid out a problem, and if you buy the NFT you will get the solution.  This was just another example of me testing things out to see if it was possible.

Another area that many people are talking about is video games.  Today, for example, you can buy many things in games but most do not provide a way to sell or trade them.  With NTFs, it could give you more control but I think gaming companies will be slow to adopt because secondary sales could cut into their profits especially if they rely on microtransactions.

Other thoughts?

Getting into NFTs is complex.  Just dealing with so many options - crypto wallets, networks, marketplaces etc.  Other bumps like moving money around might incur some crazy fees.  There are also a ton of scams out there - I ran across at least one link that seemed like a support request but if you put the information in, they could gain access to everything you have.  With crypto, if someone gains access to your wallet they can steal what you have and you are out of luck - much like cash in a real life wallet.  I think, as NTFs continue to find use cases that people are interested in and work on making the technology easier to use, the adoption will continue.

If you are interested in getting into NFTs, start off by thinking about what type of project you are interested in - if you are into trading cards (either sports card or Pokemon) then Blokpax might be a good starting point.  After that, do your research and move slowly.  Remember that in most cases there is no guarantee that you can sell what you purchase for a profit (or at all), so only use money you are willing to risk.  If you can, find friends or someone you trust that is willing to help you get moving in the right direction.

Links of interest: