I love gadgets of all shapes and sizes, but there are some out there that I just have to ask why? The gadget I have for review today is one of those types where I just wonder who thought of this really?! The product looks like a USB thumbdrive but it’s actually a USB powered oil burner. It’s got a small ‘X’ shaped cloth pad on it to place a couple drops of fragrance oil, then you just plug it in and it heats up to diffuse the scent into the air around your workspace. Does it work? Sort of..
Gadget Review:
USB Fragrance Oil Drive from USBGeek
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: USBGeek
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
USB Fragrance Oil Drive from USBGeek
Features & Specification:
Powered by USB, no driver required
Diffuse fragrance oil with your computer
Drop fragrance oil in the cross-shaped hole
3 to 5 drops are enough for operating all day long
Mini size for a discrete use
Size: 66mm x 22mm x 7mm
Weight: 4g
Contents:
USB Fragrance Oil Drive
Fragrance Oil
User Manual
Flavor:
Rose – Red
Peppermint – Green
Jasmine – Orange
Lavender – Blue
Price: US$ 7.00
A Better Look at Things
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The USB Fragrance Oil Drive is actually made by Connectland, and they are known for making quite a few sometimes odd, USB related gadgets. The packaging is a clear plastic box, inside of which is a cardboard insert and a plastic display casing for that holds the USB drive and the tiny bottle of scented oil. The back of the package just has some basic information and pictures of drives and fragrances available, I got the Jasmin scented oil version for review.
Included with the USB Fragrance Drive and the bottle of Jasmin oil is a brief set of instructions and cautions.
The USB Drive itself is made entirely out of plastic and honestly it feels very flimsy. On the top of the drive is the Connectland logo and ‘Aroma USB’ name. To the side of that is a small ‘X’ shaped spot that has cloth under it, this is where you put 3-5 drops of oil that is supposed to last all day long. The back of the USB Drive is plain, with some texturing for gripping and a small hole as well where the fragrance can come out of as well.
The included bottle of scented oil is tiny, and I mean tiny, this thing is not even an inch tall or just a little over 2cm. At 3-5 drops everyday, you might get two weeks of use from it.
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Installation and Testing:
Installation is very easy, just drop a few drops of oil onto the ‘X’ and plug it in, in a few minutes it heats up and starts to diffuse the aroma of the oil into the air.
Luckily my keyboard, a Raptor-Gaming K1, has USB ports on it so I could use those for the USB Fragrance Oil Drive.
I originally plugged it into my computers USB port, but then soon realized that the port is located directly under a 120MM intake fan, I guess the inside of my computer smelled good anyway!
Using it I did find that you could slightly notice the fragrance, but it wasn’t strong at all, at least not what I expected, and the scent doesn’t seem to travel very far.
Having it plugged into my keyboard allowed me to notice the scent while I was typing, but that’s about it.
Something to note is that it does get fairly warm to the touch, where the ‘X’ part is located, I have to think that is where the heating element is.
I’m note quite sure of a way to check the power draw of this device, but since it’s using some sort of heating coil it has to be drawing more than most other USB powered devices out there.
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So, just for fun and to get a very general idea of power consumption I hooked my system up to my Seasonic Power Angel, I turned it on and let it sit idle for 30 minutes. The wattage indicated by the Power Angel was solid at 112Watts so that’s essentially the reference point. By no means is this a perfectly accurate test, but just an idea. So, I plugged the USB Fragrance Drive in and the wattage jumped to 113, and then kept bouncing back and forth between 112Watts and 113Watts. To make a basic guesstimate I would say that the USB Fragrance Drive uses about 1 Watt of power, actually a little less. It might not seem like a lot, but remember how small this thing is…
Summary:
Well this is one of those gadgets that is truly goofy and just pointless, if you really need to add scent to your workspace then hang up one of those scented trees, it’ll do a much better job overall and last a whole lot longer.
DragonSteelMods gives the USB Fragrance Oil Drive from USBGeek a 2.5 out of 5 score
Pros:
-Small, portable
-Easy to use
-Refillable with any type of fragrance oil
-Adds refreshing scents to your workspace
Cons:
-Not very strong scented
-Connection not very tight, falls out easily
-Very small bottle of oil included
-Not very well made
I would like to thank USBGeek for the chance to review the USB Fragrance Oil Drive and for their continued support of DSM.
review# 272
Oh, and if anybody wants this hit me up via email and you can have it!