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I came home to three packages on my porch recently.

Such is the life of the gadget reviewer. Im certainly not complaining.

Sometimes the boxes come in faster than I can write them up, so today well talk about three gadgets you might want to consider for yourself or for gifts.

In a crowded field of surveillance cameras, the Ezviz C3X ($129.99) stands out by having dual lenses.

One lens records the ambient brightness, and the other records the color information. Together these lenses produce color images that look good in very low light.

The C3X uses dual infrared lights to bring light to the image without having supplemental LEDs shining all the time.

The video image is 1,920 by 1,080 pixels and looked very clear on my phone.

The C3X has motion-triggered event recording, and its smart enough to recognize people and vehicles in real time and notify you of their presence. You can even have the camera trigger an alarm (siren and strobe lights) and play a voice message to warn people away. The microphone and speaker on the camera also allow for two-way talking using the Ezviz app.

The C3X is rated IP67 for use in all weather conditions. The camera is dual powered. You can use the included wall plug, or it can be powered by a Power Over Ethernet connection, which is provided by a special type of Ethernet connected to a router that provides power and network through the same wire.

The camera connects to the internet through Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and the videos can be stored on an optional microSD card or to the Ezviz cloud servers (the camera uses AES128-bit encryption).

To use the cloud server for storage, youll need to subscribe to a monthly plan for seven-day or 30-day playback. Plans start at $5.99 per month.

There is a whole-house subscription for up to four cameras that starts at $8.99 per month. There are discounts for annual plans.

The C3X is a mid-priced camera that offers a nice set of features and a very nice color image with an easy-to-use app and interface.

Pros: Easy to set up and use. Nice color image, even in the dark. Local storage option.

Cons: Youll need to run a wire to power the camera.

Bottom line: Not a bad choice if you have a convenient way to get power to the camera.

I used to notice everyones wired earbuds, but this year it seems everyone is switching to wireless earbuds. Of course, it helps that Apple and Samsung have dropped headphone jacks from most phones.

The Trayna T10 earbuds have a 12mm Graphene driver with a very comfortable in-ear design. The T10 has three sizes of ear tips, so take your time and try them all to get the best fit.

Wireless earbuds need a good seal in your ears or youll not be happy with the sound quality.

The T10 earbuds support AAC (advanced audio coding) and Qualcomm aptX, which provides 24-bit music quality over Bluetooth. They also support Bluetooth 5.0 for a solid connection to your phone and a range of up to 33 feet.

They sound very nice once you get the right fit.

The T10 earbuds are also very comfortable to wear. I spent a morning with just the right earbud in to listen to music and make phone calls, and I could easily keep it in my ear all day.

And for phone calls, I liked the voice quality of the microphones.

When I test voice quality, I leave myself voicemail messages and they sounded surprisingly good with the T10.

Each earbud has a touch pad that can control calls and sound playback.

The T10s have an eight-hour battery life, and the case has its own battery that can recharge the earbuds and provide up to 32 hours of listening.

The case can fast-charge in under two hours with the included USB-C cable.

The T10s stay in my ears better than my AirPods Pro.

For my ears, Id rather use T10 at the gym.

For $79.99, the T10 earbuds are a solid value. As I write this, Amazon has them at a lower price, but prices change. Shop around before you buy.

Pros: Inexpensive, comfortable, good sound.

Cons: None, really.

Bottom line: A good, inexpensive alternative to $150 to $200 big-name earbuds.

This might have been the easiest gadget Ive tested in a while.

I wasnt sure a wireless keyboard and mouse combo was going to be much to write about, and I was right.

What made me want to try the WISFOX Wireless Keyboard and Mouse was the $33.99 price.

This is a no-nonsense set, but it does the job well.

The keys on the keyboard are quieter than the keyboard that shipped with my Dell desktop. They also travel a bit more, meaning they sit higher and have to be pressed a bit more than Im used to with the Dell keyboard.

Im used to a keyboards rear feet having two settings to adjust the angle of the keys to the desk. This keyboard is not height-adjustable.

The optical mouse has three buttons (left, right and pressing down on the scroll wheel).

The scroll wheel is also silent during use, which I like.

The keyboard uses one AAA battery and the mouse uses one AA. Neither battery was included.

Setup consisted of inserting the batteries and plugging in a small USB receiver to my PC. The USB receiver was stored inside the battery compartment of the mouse.

I wasnt familiar with WISFOX, but Amazon lists this combo as Amazons Choice for a quiet keyboard and mouse.

Now you know.

Pros: Simple to set up, and both keyboard and mouse are really quiet.

Cons: Keyboard is not height-adjustable.

Bottom line: This set wont break the bank and wont disappoint.

Read the rest here:
Three wireless gadgets that give you bang for your buck include waterproof earbuds, outdoor camera - The Dallas Morning News