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Both mulled wine and mulled apple cider are absolutely divine on a cold winter’s night. They chase away the chill in a most flavorful way. The microwave oven makes preparation of these traditional winter drinks quick and easy. Here are my recipes for each.

Ingredients For Mulled Cider

32 ounces of plain, pure apple cider or apple juice

12 whole cloves

2 cassia cinnamon sticks

1 three-inch piece of fresh ginger, about the thickness of your thumb

6 whole allspice berries

2 tablespoons of whole mace (substitute 1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg if you can’t find the mace)

1/2 cup of good quality bourbon (omit the bourbon if you want a kid friendly spiced apple cider)

Directions

Slice the ginger, with the peel still on. Gently smash the allspice berries, just enough to crack the outer shell. You may do this with a mortar and pestle or with the bottom of a heavy skillet.

Pour the apple cider into a large, microwave safe container. Add the sliced ​​ginger, smashed allspice berries, cloves, cinnamon sticks and mace. Microwave the mixture at 50% power until hot, but not boiling. This should take between 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave oven. Stir well to distribute the flavors. You could add the bourbon then strain and serve the apple cider at this point, but there is a way to extract more flavor if you have a bit of time to spare. You could allow the cider to steep for 30 minutes. Then reheat before adding the bourbon and straining.

Ingredients For Mulled Wine

1 750 ml bottle of dry red wine (I like to use Merlot or Shiraz)

1 orange

1 two-inch piece of fresh ginger, about the thickness of your thumb

12 whole cloves

2 cassia cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoons of whole mace (or substitute 1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg if you don’t have the mace)

1/4 cup of honey (I think orange blossom honey is best in this recipe, but any honey will do)

Directions

Slice the orange and ginger, leaving the skins on both. Those skins have a lot of essential oils and flavors that you want to take advantage of.

Put all ingredients into a microwave safe container. Red wine can stain plastic, especially once heated. Keep this in mind when choosing your container.

Microwave at 50% power until hot, but not boiling. This should take between 2 to 3 minutes, depending on how powerful your microwave oven is. Stir to combine all the flavors. Just like the cider, you could strain and serve immediately, or you could let the wine and spices steep for 30 minutes before reheating and straining.

Any leftover mulled wine or cider should be refrigerated.

The Best Microwave Oven For Making Mulled Cider or Mulled Wine

Ideally you will want a microwave oven with inverter technology, since these are the only ones capable of achieving a true 50% power. Most microwave ovens set to 50% power simply alternate between 100% power and 0% power. Models with inverter technology actually lower the power output to the set level. This provides much more even cooking and less hot spots. You can use a normal microwave for these recipes, but exercise extra caution around the heated beverages, as they will be more prone to overheated spots. Visit Microwave Oven Reviews to find the best microwave oven for making mulled cider or mulled wine plus so much more. You’ll also find more great free microwave recipes to help you get the most out of your microwave oven.

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Source by Heather Krasovec

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Two super-smartphones have placed themselves into the phablet market, and today we compare the most important features and specifications to help you decide.

Design
Both devices are very similar in size, and both are enlarged versions of their predecessors. Very similar to the 6 Plus, the iPhone 6S Plus hangs onto its sleek aluminum design with curved edges and an upgraded, stronger cover-glass. This model fits well in the hand, but is significalty heavier than the iPhone 6 as a result of its size (the 6S weighs at 192g).

The Note 5 is considered even more comfortable than the Note 4, shaving off inches from its design and putting curved edges onto the back of the phone instead. This makes it easier to hold, and the aluminum frame provides strength and a sleeker look. Lighter than the iPhone 6S Plus, this model weights at 171g. While the 6S Plus is actually larger in size, the Note 5 has a better screen-to-body ratio, with a larger 5.7-inch screen (compared to Apple’s 5.5-inches). This leads us on to the next feature comparison.

Screen
It’s nice to have competition between a very important feature, with both models using different screen technologies. Apple sticks to an IPS LCD and Samsung use its famous AMOLED display. As a result, the Note 5 offers a higher 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution, making it much sharper with more vibrant colors that are great for viewing images and video. However, the iPhone 6S Plus comes with Apple’s new 3D Touch technology. This is a pressure-sensitive feature of the screen that reacts depending on user finger pressure. For those not caring about 3D touch, the Samsung is the clear screen winner this time.

Performance
However many apps you have open, whether its gaming, media recording, browsing and other intensive applications, these two powerhouses can handle it.
Inside Samsung’s Note 5 is a 64-bit Exynos 7420 chipset, backed up by 4GB of RAM and a Mali T760 GPU. It’s a clear top-quality performance set-up. On the iPhone 6S Plus, you’ve got Apple’s latest A9 64-bit chip and 2GB of RAM. It’s great to know Apple have finally upgraded internal RAM this time as a means to compete. This means smoother performance and less crashing.

It’s important to understand that these numbers only have meaning when put under tests. Several performance tests show that the iPhone 6S Plus often beats the Note 5 when carrying out common tasks, such as opening mail attachments or power-heavy apps with others already running in the background.

Cameras
The iPhone 6S Plus delivers a brand new 12-megapixel camera sensor, while the Note 5 boasts the same 16-megapixel camera that the Galaxy S6 offers. With both devices, results are sharp, with accurate colors and fantastic contrast. Low light situations is where smartphone cameras do not impress us, but this time both manufacturers have come out on top.

The actual camera app offers more customization through Samsung’s device, such as HDR mode. Apple tend to keep things quick and simple, so it lacks the more professional camera options seen with the Note 5.

However, Apple has also introduced Live Photos, allowing the user to capture a couple of seconds’ worth of footage either side of your snap. You can then 3D Touch on the picture and it’ll play the scene back to you.

Both devices of course support 4K video recording and editing, so there is no clear winner here. Google search photo comparisons for these devices and results can speak for themselves depending on what you’re looking for.

Battery Life
It’s important to care about this feature. Opting for a powerful device in theory is logical, but if its its source can’t support the system well, then you’ll be next to a mains plug more often than you think.

Specification-wise, the Note 5 holds a larger 3,000 mAh capacity battery, while the 6S Plus carries a smaller-than-its-predecessor 2,750 mAh. However, Apple’s new chip and improved efficiency makes the device last as long as the 6 Plus.

Both phones can last the day and, if used wisely, into the next. The Note 5 does offer a more useful power-saving mode, allowing you to save those extra hours just when you need it. It also beats the iPhone with a wireless charging option and support for fast charging. Both handy if you need a quick power-up.

Price
Both devices are placed at the very premium end of the price scale, so you won’t be interested if you’re looking for an “affordable” smartphone. The Note 5 is slightly cheaper in price when comparing storage capacities, but your decision should be based on testing both out and seeing which operating system suits you best as their specifications are very similar. Always compare the latest contracts from all networks and retailers to help you both save money and find the perfect allowance package.

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Source by Will French

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Chinese smartphone makers have taken over all but the very high end of the smartphone market in 2017. They have done this by exploiting almost every single niche and by making phones that are just all around stellar devices that are also great value. The A57 from one of China’s largest smartphone brands, Oppo, is the perfect example of both of these trends. The A57 is a beautifully made phone with a design that is quite clearly inspired by the iPhone 6/7. It is an all-metal bodied phone with a screen to body ratio that is even better than the Apple devices that have inspired it.

The A57 also has really great build quality that makes it lovely to hold in the hand. Unfortunately, the slippery finish and the rounded design of the phone means that most of these phones are going to be used in designer cases for the Oppo A57. The phone has a powerful processor with eight cores, which should keep you going quite nicely and have enough power for even the most demanding Android games.

It’s all about the A57’s camera

So what is the niche that Oppo is trying to cater to with the A57 you ask? The answer lies in the camera. Not in the 13 megapixel unit that lies at the back of the phone. However, since we are talking about the rear camera of the A57, let’s just give Oppo some kudos for that fact that the rear of the phone is completely smooth, with no camera bump. What this means is that you will not have to resort to Oppo A57 cases and covers to get a phone that you can rest flat on a table. However, it is the front camera of the A57 that is the highlight of the device. The selfie camera, as Oppo calls it, is an amazing 16 megapixels! That’s right, the front facing camera on the A57 actually has a higher pixel count than the rear facing unit on the phone.

There’s no doubt who the A57 is targeted at then, its people who take a lot of selfie photos or shoot selfie videos of themselves. If you’re one of these people, the A57 is the phone for you. In a market where a lot of manufacturers are still putting 2 megapixel front facing cameras on phones that cost more than the A57, the 16 megapixel shooter is amazing. For the price that the you can buy the A57 for online, the phone is the perfect choice for the selfie-addicted.

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Source by Nahid Ahmad

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Vivo may be a brand name most if not all people in western countries have never heard of but this Chinese smartphone maker is one of the more popular brands in its home country. Vivo also sells its smartphones running Android, in other countries like Malaysia and Indonesia and it is remarkably successful in India, in particular due to a huge offline push. This offline push means more in a country like India than in western countries because even with the world’s fastest growth rate in the adoption of smartphones, most Indian are still buying their phones offline, at brick and mortar retail stores. Vivo is making a huge effort to sell phones like the Vivo V5 in stores. It is doing this in huge part by offering retailers a much higher cut of the asking price of the phone. This gives retailers more of a margin to discount the phone and increase sales. Or they can sell the phone at retail prices and reap much higher profits.

Sellers who normally make the most profit by selling higher margin items like smartphone cases and back covers for other phones can make a killing selling the V5 itself and then even more profit by selling accessories like Vivo V5 covers. Though if you want a Vivo V5 custom case, you still have to buy it online at one of the many designer smartphone case sellers in the country.

But what about the V5 itself?

The Vivo V5 is by no means a bad smartphone, hardware-wise. It has pretty standard, competitive specs for an Android phone in its price bracket in 2017 and it has good fit and finish to boot. The issue with the Vivo, like almost every other no-name Chinese smartphone, is that it is saddled with a terrible skin on top of the Android operating system it runs. This is because apparently the Chinese market prefers skinned versions of Android.

However everywhere else in the rest of the world, most discerning Android smartphone users would just prefer it if manufacturers would put a clean, stock implementation of Android on their devices. This doesn’t happen though and what you usually get is the kind of ugly, terrible, buggy interfaces like the awfully named FunTouch ™ OS that Vivo handicaps the V5 with. This single decision makes the Vivo V5 a phone that you should avoid like the plague, no matter how popular it is.

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Source by Nahid Ahmad

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LG Electronics is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electronics products. As of 2009, this company is the third largest-producer of mobile phones and the second largest-producer of television sets in the entire world. Its central headquarters is situated in the LG Twin Towers in Seoul, South Korea. The company has about one hundred and forty nine subsidiaries all over the world that manufacture different kinds of electronic gadgets from home appliances to telecommunication devices. Electronics is a Top 100 global brand that is a dominant force to be reckoned with in the electronics industry.

The company started in 1947 under the trading name Lak Hui. Back then, it was not yet an electronics company but more of a cosmetics and trading business. Then by 1958, Goldstar was established by In-Hwoi Koo, who was the founder of Lak Hui. It should be known that Goldstar made the first radio in Korea. The letter G in LG Electronics today traces its roots from Goldstar-its original brand name.

Then in the 1960’s, Goldstar, which was the electronics division of Lak Hui expanded exponentially. By 1962, Goldstar radios were exported to countries like the United States of America. In 1965, Goldstar produced the first refrigerator in Korea. Then the following year, they made Korea’s first black and white television. Then in 1968, Korea’s first air-conditioning unit was produced and followed the succeeding year. As shown here, when Electronics was still known as Goldstar, it was already the pioneering home appliance manufacturer in its native South Korea.

In the 1970’s, Koo Cha-Kyun took over the leadership of the company. Under him, Luk Hai changed its name to “Lucky”, therefore forming the original meaning of the letter L in LG Electronics. As a pioneer of electronics invention, they made the first colored television in Korea in the year 1977. By 1978, their exports reached US $ 100 million.

Then in the 1980’s LG Electronics was already using the initials LG to refer to Lucky Goldstar. It expanded throughout the entire decade. The first European subsidiary was established in Germany. A color TV manufacturing plant was established in the United States of America. Then a European standard VCR manufacturing plant was inaugurated in Germany. Then by the end of the decade, the company already had a sales subsidiary and a joint production subsidiary in the Southeast Asian region as they established one in Thailand. In the history of LG, the 1980’s is known as the decade of international expansion. LG Electronics, then known as Lucky Goldstar was selling cheaper home appliances and other forms of telecommunications devices compared to Japanese brands.

In the 1990’s, the company was becoming more aggressive in the international market. By early 1990, they put up an Ireland-based design technology center. Then in 1993, with the inauguration of the Huizhou subsidiary, their marketing in mainland China got bigger. It was in 1995 that Lucky Goldstar officially changed its name to Electronics. In the same year, they acquired the US-based company named Zenith. In 1997, LG Electronics established a subsidiary in India. The following year the company made the world’s first 60-inch PDP TV.

In 2000, LG Electronics launched a refrigerator that can be bought through the internet. They were also becoming the leading brand when it comes to LCD TV, mobile phones, and computer hardware. In 2001, LG Electronics launched home appliances that can be bought via the internet. These were LG Electronics’ newest models of washing machine, air conditioner, and microwave oven. It also became the market leader in Australia’s CDMA market. LG Electronics also augmented their GSM mobile handsets exports to European countries such as Russia and Italy. In 2003, it became the top global CDMA producer. Then it also entered the Northern European and Middle East GSM market. In 2007, LG Electronics demonstrated the world’s first MIMO 4G-Enabled Technologies with 3G LTE. Then in 2008, the company went a gradual change as the LG no longer represents Lucky Goldstar but the new company logo “Life is good”, which also incidentally is its new brand identity.

LG Electronics is a dominant company in the electronics industry. Its subsidiary LG Electronics USA is also prevailing in the North American market. From a small South Korean company in the 1940’s, LG Electronics is now truly a global leader in the electronics market. A lot of households do have their products.

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Source by John C Arkinn

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Why buy a cover protector for your iPad? Why? OK let me tell you why.

Well if you are like a friend of mine who it seems just likes to gamble with scratches, dings, and cracked screens, then perhaps buying a case would ruin the all that excitement. However, why would you want to be that way, wouldn’t you be better off having the peace of mind by providing protection for your iPad with a quality protective case and so help prevent objects (and people of course) from attacking your new iPad?

Although the protective cases cost a few extra dollars, so does term life insurance and extended warranties. The difference is that at some point it is inevitable that something or someone will either hit or knock your iPad to the ground causing damage that will either be an eye sore for the remainder of your relationship with your new piece of kit or you will need to pony up another $499 to replace it… if that is all you paid for your iPad.

Me? I went all out and paid $875 and so for me there was no point in testing Murphy’s Laws on an unprotected iPad.

Without trying, I might bang or drop my iPad a couple of times a week and am thankful that I don’t have to worry about putting in a claim or admitting my gamble did not pay off again.

My first iPad purchase was from a friend of mine and when I received the product I returned it to him because there were too many dings and scratches on his iPad which made it look like it had been dropped and abused. I would venture to guess that he either had to drop his price significantly or he would not be able to sell it for anything close to what he purchased it for.

To take the protective cases to another level of protection, you can also purchase the film adhesive that is placed on the screen to protect from scratches, spills, and dirty fingerprints.

If you are like me, you want to upgrade to the next best apple product and if you have a protective case, your resale value will be as high as you could hope for, but more importantly, the demand on your iPad with a case will make it sell a lot more quickly as well. Pictures don’t lie on eBay, if you have dents and scratches on your iPad, the value of your product drops with each and every one. When you can honestly type ‘Like New’, everyone wants to purchase a like new iPad.

Although cases do not protect the iPad from water damage if it is dropped in a sink, tub or toilet, you will find that it does help protect the device from soda spills which can be difficult to remove and sometimes cause permanent damage when the acid in the soda eats away at the metal shell of the iPad.

Although the cases cost a few extra dollars, they do what they say they can do and protect your electronic gadgets from your own clumsiness. Protecting your iPad is like protecting your most valuable possession. If you protect it, you won’t wreck it… and regret it for the rest of the time you own it.

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Source by Brian Potter

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Apple has earned its name as one of the leading tech giants in the world. Be it iPhone or MacBook Air, all its gadgets and devices has been a revolution. Lately, Apple MacBook Air has grabbed the attention of people. Compared to the first-ever Ultrabook, there are many new upgrades and features the users will be going to see. Undoubtedly this 13.1mm sleek gadget is one of the best entry-level laptops that Apple has come up with.

Specifications

• 12-inch, 28.05cm x 19.65cm dimensions
• 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-8210Y
• 8GB (2,133MHz LPDDR3)
• 802.11ac Wi-F, Bluetooth 4.2
• Intel UHD Graphics 625
• 720p FaceTime HD webcam

Design

The MacBook Air is a thin laptop is just 0.9kg with dimensions 28.05cm x 19.65cm. It has a wedge-shaped design, so it tapers off to 0.16 inches which is its thinnest point. This new gadget is better, faster, smoother and thinner. It weighs just 1.25 kg which makes it easy to carry. The aluminum-heavy alloy unibody case is lighter and the magnesium-based material is one of its plus point. The overall design of the Apple MacBook Air is quite improved and looks like a new model.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The redesigned keyboard of this device features 3rd-Gen Butterfly mechanism that offers responsiveness and great comfort.

Where keyboard is super smooth, the touch ID is another great addition. The power key features of the MacBook Air is built-in fingerprint scanner that enables you to unlock the laptop, especially when it is in sleep mode. You can choose from a PIN, or a password to lock it. The biometric data is stored on the T2 security chip that restricts hackers to hack the gadget.

Improved Features

• Ports: The Apple MacBook Air has two USB-C ports, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and single USB-1 port.
• Touch-ID – The built-in touch ID allows users to log-into the laptop using fingerprint. It makes logging into the MacBook air easy and quick.
• Speakers – Improved speakers are capable of 25% louder volume.

Camera

720p FaceTime HD Camera along with 3 microphone helps to make voice calls and videos good. However speaking about the resolution, it features 1080p webcam which is quite good compared to its competitors.

Color options

Apple is offering three color variants for this laptop. These are traditional silver, Gold, and Space Gray. The illuminated Apple logo has been switched to Chrome one, which is another changed feature.

Battery

The battery life of the latest Apple MacBook air lasts for 12 hours of local video and wireless web use, which is quite decent.

Final Verdict

Depending on the use, we can’t predict that if it will persuade users with its features or not. But yes, those who have been using MacBook for a long time will see many improvements in many features. From new screen, improved graphic cards and a lot more, we hope it will give the users the best experience. However, the price will be still a matter of concern when competitors are coming up with lots of latest features at decent price tag.

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Source by Triveni Thakur

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You can never go wrong with a MacBook – especially one that has a retina display, Touch ID sensor technology, Force Touch trackpad, good configuration, and more. All of these features can be found with the new Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL / A. It’s designed to fully address all of your mobile computing needs, whether at work or in the home.

Instead of the typical functional keys placed on top of the keyboard, there is a strip of multi-touch glass. The Touch Bar is designed to adapt itself and provide tools that make navigation and communication between the user and laptop easier. For example, it can be used to customize conductor FaceTime calls or configure system controls.

The Touch ID sensor is a nice feature as well. It adds an extra layer of security to the MLH12LL / A. It’s actually integrated into the power button, and can conveniently be used even when another user is logged in. If you ever want to make a purchase through the Apple Store, use this function to securely pay. The fingerprint reader is extremely accurate; you won’t have to run your finger across multiple times to get it to work, as you would with many other electronic products out there.

The 13.3-inch Retina display has an impressive 2560 x 1600 resolution and features superior LED backlighting than its predecessor. Colors appear more vibrant thanks to the display’s support for the P3 color gamut. The brightness level is 500-cd / m2.

Specifications of the Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL / A

In addition to an impressive display, the Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL / A also comes with the following:

• Memory: 8GB 2133MHz

• Processor: Dual-core Intel Core i5 2.9GHz 6th gen. with 4MB cache

Speed: 2.9GHz / maximum speed: 3.3GHz (with Turbo Boost)

• Graphics: Intel Iris 550

• Storage: PCI-e based SSD 256GB capacity

• OS: Apple X 10.12 Sierra

Built-in hardware includes a 720p camera, stereo speakers and three microphones. The 49.2-Wh Lithium polymer battery has a runtime of up to 10 hours. The AC adapter has an output of 61-Watts and an input of 120/230-V or 50/60-Hz.

This “space gray” and silver 13.3-inch MacBook has an all-metal unibody construction that makes it both rigid and thin. It’s lightweight, but still sturdy and tough. All of the hardware is packed into a 3.02-lbs machine with dimensions of 12 x 8.4 x 0.6-inches (WxDxH).

The Thunderbolt 3 interface utilizes the USB Type-C connector. When used with other Apple products and devices, the technology has a 40 GB / s maximum throughput.

According to the many positive Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL / A reviews online, people really love the large trackpad, versatile connectivity, enhanced brightness on the display, and superb audio quality. If you’re not familiar with MacBooks, this one is a great place to start.

Apple is the world leader in innovative electronic products. Don’t let price concern you, as there are always ways to save thanks to MacBook special offers. Available exclusively online, Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL / A discounts are definitely something you’ll want to take advantage of.

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Source by George Botwin

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What are the key factors that must be considered when designing an outstanding Samsung Galaxy S5 leather case? A lot of case manufacturers around the world are asking this question, as they scramble to have a case ready before the S5 is available on the shelves, which will be April 11, 2014.

There are many cases that will be available for the Galaxy S5 when it is available for purchase. The cases that will be most successful are those that have a focus on what customer need and how users use their Galaxy S5. Based on almost 20 years of mobile phone and accessory sales, there are five important factors manufacturers must take note of when designing a case for the Samsung Galaxy S5.

The five factors to consider in designing the best Samsung Galaxy S5 Leather Case are:

1. Protection
2. Allows access to all device functions
3. Style
4. Weight and feel
5. Card Holder

The first factor to consider when designing a case for the Samsung Galaxy S5 is protection. A quality leather case will protect the device on all sides of the device, particular the highly fragile glass screen.

The next factor concerns being able to use all the functions of the device while it is sitting in the leather case – functions such as camera, buttons and access to the audio port.

Style is another important factor when creating world-class cases for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Some customers will want to differentiate themselves from others, so having a case with a distinct luxury design will help to attract them.

The Samsung S5 is one of the lightest on the market for its size, weighing a mere 145 grams. With this fact in mind, the case should not add too much weight and be made from light quality leather. Using cow or kangaroo leather is highly recommended.

Consumers these days want to do more on the road but carry less. This relates perfectly to our last key factor to consider when making a leather case for the S5 which involves incorporating a credit card or ID card holder inside the case. Rather than carry both a wallet and a smartphone case, users can both in the one form factor. The less you carry the less you lose.

With all the above factors combined, the result is a superb Samsung Galaxy S5 leather case that customers will love and will want to show off to their family and friends.

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Source by Arnold Aranez