ReviewedByPhil's stats
- Review count135
- Helpfulness votes1,231
- First reviewJanuary 6, 2016
- Last reviewApril 23, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.6
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- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentNone
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- Answer count7
- Helpfulness votes7
- First answerJanuary 18, 2017
- Last answerSeptember 1, 2021
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- Best answers1
Keep rooms clean with this Shark APEX DuoClean with Zero-M corded stick vacuum. Featuring a powerful motor and innovative DuoClean dual brushrolls, this vacuum easily removes dust, dirt and debris from floors and carpets. This Shark APEX DuoClean with Zero-M corded stick vacuum has a slim profile to get underneath furniture.
Customer Rating
4
Compact, cleans well, but can be tiring to handle
on April 26, 2019
Posted by: ReviewedByPhil
from Easton, PA
I’ve been using this Shark Apex for about a month now, and I have to say it does a really nice job of picking up a lot of dust, dirt, and debris. I like its small form factor and the general lightness as a unit, about 5 lbs for the handheld vacuum motor and 5 lbs for the motorized floor/carpet assembly. I’m also a big fan of the way it easily disassembles and empties for cleaning with few easy-to-press release buttons. That said, one thing my old canister vacuum has as an advantage over the Shark is that it was much less fatiguing to handle for whole house cleaning (more than 30 minutes) because most of the weight was in the canister and sitting on the floor, whereas when using the Shark Apex, you’re handling most of the weight in your hand. I thought it was a neat idea that the unit is modular, and you can attach any of the nozzles to directly to the handheld unit without the wand to use like a dust buster. While it works fine in terms of cleaning, you’re pretty much manipulating all the weight of the vacuum directly by hand, so it ends up not feeling as easy as it looks, especially with the motorized roller attached (10 lbs total!).
The various nozzles and attachments give you a variety of options to suit each cleanup job: an upholstery brush for couches and chairs, snap-on bristle brush for dusting, crevice tool for nooks and crannies, and a precision duster for tight and tiny spaces. However, unlike most canister vacuums, there’s no clever built-in storage compartment for these accessories, since that would have added weight and bulk to the unit, so you do need to find a separate place to keep these when not in use.
The other thing I had to get used to was that the vacuum can’t stand up on its own when the motor is attached to the top of the wand/floor assembly. Despite all the product images showing the vacuum fully assembled and upright, it does not stand on its own because it is too top heavy. You have to unmount the motor from the extension tube every time you want to step away, otherwise it will topple over. Fortunately, there’s a storage hook on the lower front of the wand to hang the motor for this purpose. This is also how you will put away the unit for storage. The extra step is not necessarily a bad thing, but different than what I’m used to. I did like that there are cord hooks on the side to manage the ample 30 ft cord, as it is neither retractable nor removable.
The vacuum works great on carpets. It really pulls out dust and dirt from deep in the pile, and you can tell by looking in the canister afterward just how fine of particles it’s picking up. One thing that I didn’t expect was that when using it in ‘Setting 2’ for carpeting, the faster brush speed actually propels the unit forward, so in a sense it’s easier to push since you can exert less effort. Except when you pull the vacuum back towards yourself, it requires more effort to overcome the forward propulsion of the rollers. It has a silicone bumper in the front, so you don’t make marks or dents if you bump into furniture.
The dual brush design is novel to me, and I think the soft brushes do a good job wiping up dust that electrostatic-ly clings to hard floors. It’s almost like a light polish for your floors. The main feature I was looking forward to is the self-cleaning roller which unravels long hair on its own, so you don’t have to cut and rip wrapped hair off the brush. So far, it seems to be working as I haven’t had to do so. Occasionally, I’ll check the rollers and a few strands of hair will be wrapped around the brush, though the manual indicates this is normal and that as hair accumulates the Zero-M technology clears it over time. I don’t have pets, so I can’t comment on how this would perform with pet hair.
The LED lights on the unit were a nice feature because it illuminates the dust and debris right in front of the vacuum both on the roller (headlights) and when using the unit as a handheld vac (spot light). There are just areas and corners of rooms that aren’t well lit and the extra light helps me see all the dust that I might otherwise miss. The only other thing I felt could have been improved is the maneuverability of the motorized roller assembly. When pushing it around, the joint where it attaches to the extension tube does articulate, but sometimes the wheels don’t respond fluidly to directional changes as they are fixed in a linear orientation and don’t swivel to move in the direction you’re turning. This puts a little extra pressure on my wrist, which is already handling a fair amount of weight and adds to the ease of fatigue when using the vacuum over long sessions. I also thought it was a tad loud, but this is hard to avoid with powerful suction.
Overall, the cleaning ability, suction power, and small modular form factor are very good. Hair doesn’t stay tangled in the rollers, and it can pull a lot dust/dirt out of carpeting. However, the vacuum is a bit loud, can feel weighty as a handheld unit and maneuverability as a floor vacuum isn’t always super smooth leading to fatigue over longer cleaning sessions.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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37of 37voted this as helpful.
Experience a new way of using your smartphone with the LG G5 smartphone from Verizon. The LG G5 is partially modular and features a slide-out battery that can be swapped out for a camera grip with a larger battery to power the flash. The LG G5 smartphone comes in a sleek titanium finish and sports an advanced, wide-angle camera system.
Customer Rating
4
Fast processor and charging, nice resolution, but
on January 18, 2017
Posted by: ReviewedByPhil
Verified Purchase:Yes
While the LG G5 is one of the best performing smart phones that I've owned, it still has some issues that could be improved. I purchased the phone back in April so I've been using it for about 6 months now. The things that I'm happy with are processing speed for running apps, games, internet browsing and streaming video. In general, the photo and video quality great and you get crisp, smooth HD quality, though dark/night scenes are disappointingly grainy and blurry. The charging speed is super fast if you've got Quick Charge 3.0 or even 2.0 chargers and compatible USB-C cables. I was able to use a USB-C to HDMI converter to mirror the screen to my TV but Miracast also works well. I like the idea of hot swappable modules, but the only thing I've swapped so far is the extra battery that was included with my purchase as promotional item. The other modules are way over priced for what they offer in terms of functionality.
What I don't like is that occasionally the phone gets hot and warms up in my pocket for no apparent reason. Not explode in your pocket hot like the Note 7, but that concern is always in the back of my mind when this happens. The battery also drains pretty quickly already which necessitates frequent charging or swapping of the battery; that'll not be fun over the next 1.5 years. The GPS is also a bit wonky and oftentimes it can't place me precisely on the map which is especially confounding for Pokemon GO and GPS directions.
The size of the phone is fine. Not too big or small. I haven't had any big issues with it and it does what I need it to without a ton of frustration.
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Live stream with outstanding clarity with the Logitech C922 Pro Webcam. With a choice of 30 fps at 1080p or hyperfast 60 fps at 720p, you can record or go live with vibrant, true-to-life HD video. Enjoy reliable no-drop audio, two omni-directional microphones, and a 78° diagonal field of view.
Customer Rating
5
Clean, crisp HD video; avg mic, good auto-focus/li
on January 18, 2017
Posted by: ReviewedByPhil
Verified Purchase:Yes
I've been using the older model the C920 for a couple years and it has served me well during that time. However, I needed to replace it because it's starting to behave somewhat erratically and the C922 was at the top of my list.
The C922 has a 6’ USB cord and comes with a mini 8" tripod (and 3 month Twitch subscription good through the end of 2017). The camera has the same footprint as the previous C920 measuring 4” across, 1.5” high, and 3" long. On the front is the 1080p HD lens and on the sides are the built-in stereo mic. The status LED on the sides are white instead of the blue and cannot be disabled as on the previous model. On the bottom there’s a 1/4” thread mounting hole for standard tripod mounting and the base splits open so that you can place the webcam over the top of a monitor or laptop screen.
The microphone was comparable to the C920 built-in mic but was somewhat quieter even though it seemed to filter out more background noise. At 1080p resolution, the max frame rate is 30fps, but at 720p you can go up to 60 fps, which is a new feature for this camera. The auto-focus is speedy and the auto brightness does a nice job keeping the brightness constant if light levels change. The focusing time is slightly quicker than the C920's performance, and there is little to no latency that I noticed in the recordings. The colors appear more saturated and sharper than the C920 which tended to produce video that was washed out and had softer edges in the same recording conditions.
I did try to test out the automatic background removal with Personify Chromacam, but unfortunately I never got it to work properly with OBS on my Windows 10 system. It worked once, and during that test I was able to somewhat replace the background in my video with a green screen, but it wasn’t entirely accurate and sometimes it removed my hair or didn't remove part of the chair; if I moved around enough the entire screen would go to green screen. After that one time Chromacam just kept crashing OBS when I opened it. I can’t recommend the camera for that particular feature based on my experience with the camera/software. I'm sure future update will fix this, since I’ve been reading online, for now, the software is just really buggy and unreliable. For me, it's not a big deal since I'm not a gamer and I wasn't really planning on using the feature for anything in particular.
Overall, the C922 is a solid webcam and the video performance is slightly better than the C920. If you’re happy with your C920 and don't need a new webcam, I think you can skip this model upgrade. However, if you're definitely looking to get a new camera with clear and crisp video, I’d pick the C922 over the C920.
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Easily control your computer with this Insignia™ NS-PNM5013 USB optical mouse, which features PAW3515 sensor technology and up to 1200 dpi resolution to ensure accurate operation. The 4.9' cord makes it easy to find a comfortable position.
Customer Rating
5
Great replacement mouse
on January 18, 2017
Posted by: ReviewedByPhil
Verified Purchase:Yes
My in-laws needed a new mouse because the left button wasn't working properly causing phantom clicks and inadvertent drag-and-drops (resulting in many hours hunting for files and folders that got "misplaced"). I chose this mouse because it was wired e.g. no need to change batteries, has a simple design, and let's face it, was the cheapest option. Works great and we've had no calls for "IT" support since. At least not about the same kinds of problems they were having with the defective mouse!
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Get long-lasting energy for your toys, clocks, radios, games, remotes, PDAs and other battery-powered devices with this convenient 4-pack of AA 1.5V alkaline CopperTop batteries.
Customer Rating
5
Always reliable
on January 6, 2016
Posted by: ReviewedByPhil
Verified Purchase:Yes
I don't usually have a brand preference when it comes to most products. I go with what's the best value when considering price, quality, durability, and performance of a product. While I've used a lot of brands of batteries over the years, I find that most of them end up being Duracell. I've always got some on hand for those devices that still, sadly, require disposable batteries. The long shelf life means I don't have to go out and buy them often. These are priced right and do the job well.
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
My Best Buy number: 0029213481
I would recommend this to a friend!
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ReviewedByPhil's Answers
The Nest Doorbell is the battery-powered video doorbell that works with any home. See what’s happening at your door from anywhere and get intelligent alerts about important activity, like when there’s a person, package, animal, or vehicle.* And because there are no wires, you can install it yourself. Nest Doorbell requires the Google Home app and a Google Account – it’s not compatible with the Nest app or the home.nest.com site.
My existing doorbell chime (electric) says "must install diode" on the back, and there is a 1N4001 diode installed in my existing doorbell button. Do I need to use the diode in my installation of the Nest Doorbell if I'm hard wiring it to my chime?
The compatibility checker said my electronic chime and transformer are compatible, but the video instructions for a wired installation of the Nest Doorbell (battery) doesn't make mention of installing a diode (or not), if one comes with the chime. At any rate, I performed the installation without it and adjusted the "length of ring" setting to 6 seconds, which is nearly long enough to play through the melody, though it loses power and cuts off at the end. Any longer setting results in the chime beginning to repeat before it gets cut off which I find less desirable.
2 years, 8 months ago
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ReviewedByPhil
The Blueair Classic 280i air purifier brings clean, energizing air to spacious bedrooms, living rooms, or any rooms up to 279 sq. ft. A built-in air quality sensor makes it easy to confirm your air is virtually free of asthma and allergy triggers and indoor air pollutants such as mold, dust, pet dander, and pollen by scanning the air quality in real-time and adjusting fan speed to your current air quality. The Classic 280i delivers unmatched performance thanks to HEPASilent technology, which combines electrostatic and mechanical filtration technologies. This combination, pioneered by Blueair, delivers a high Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) with whisper-quiet operation (32- 56 dB), using 20-80 W of energy.
HOW MANY FET DOES TRHIS BLUEAIR COVER
Play to your full potential with this 23.8-inch ASUS TUF gaming monitor. The 1ms response time prevents blurring and lagging for quality visuals, while the FreeSync technology eliminates stuttering and tearing for seamless gameplay. This ASUS TUF gaming monitor has an anti-glare display that reduces reflections, and it features flicker-free technology that reduces eye strain for comfortable viewing.
Will this monitor support 144mhz for Xbox 1x over HDMI, is the HDMI ports 2.1?
The HDMI port on the monitor is HDMI v1.4, so on the Xbox One X it'll only allow you to output at 1080p @ 60fps and only goes to 75Hz.
4 years, 1 month ago
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ReviewedByPhil
Record 4K UHD videos and capture high-quality stills with this Canon EOS M6 Mark II camera. The 32.5MP APS-C image sensor lets you take detailed, true-to-life photos, while the electronic shutter capable of speeds up to 1/16000 is ideal for taking professional-caliber action shots. This Canon EOS M6 Mark II camera comes equipped with an 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 interchangeable zoom lens for wide-angle and short telephoto shots..
Does it have a self timer/self-timer delay or remote compatibility?
Yes, the self-timer can be set to 10 seconds, 2 seconds, or continuous, which takes 2 to 10 photos consecutively after a 10 second timer expires. You can use your smartphone as a Bluetooth remote control as a shutter trigger, or connect the phone via WiFi to the camera for remote monitoring (see what the camera sees on your smartphone screen) and control all the settings on the camera through the app.
4 years, 4 months ago
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ReviewedByPhil
The reliable, robust Brother HL-L3290CDW compact digital color printer with copying and scanning capabilities is a great choice for the busy home or small office. The flatbed scan glass provides convenient copying and scanning. Quick print speeds of up to 25 pages per minute¹ plus manual feed slot accommodates varied printing needs and can handle a variety of paper types and sizes including card stock, envelopes and more. Connect with versatile options including built-in wireless or USB interfaces and print wirelessly from mobile devices. The 250-sheet capacity adjustable paper tray helps improve efficiency with fewer refills and handles letter or legal sized paper. Automatic two-sided printing helps save on paper costs. Brother Genuine high-yield toner replacement cartridges help lower printing costs. Comes with a 1-year limited warranty and free online, call or live chat support for the life of your product.Prints and copies up to 25 ppm in black and up to 25 ppm in color
What language does this printer support? Does it support Chinese mandarin?
No, Chinese is not supported on the LCD for the printer settings. It looks like the LCD can only display Latin and Slavic based characters e.g. English, French, Russian, Polish etc..
4 years, 6 months ago
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ReviewedByPhil
Winning in business means working smarter. This HP Color LaserJet Pro M479fdw printer is designed to let you focus your time where it's most effective - growing your business and staying ahead of the competition.Prints up to 27 ISO ppm*, up to 27 ISO ppm* in color
If this printer is connected via USB to a computer, can other computers print wirelessly to it? I need to have it connected by USB to my work computer but also want to be able to use it for wireless personal printing from two other household laptops.
Yes, you can connect to the printer wirelessly using a direct WiFi connection (local network between the printer and computer) without connecting the printer to your router/home network. You can also connect wirelessly via Bluetooth. You'll get the most out of wireless printing features by connecting the printer to the internet by providing it your home WiFi network SSID and password. Once connected to the internet you can turn on Web Services and print from any device with e-mail capability by simply sending the file to be printed to a uniquely assigned e-mail address for the printer. This will also enable other computers and devices on the network to find and send print jobs to the printer.
4 years, 9 months ago
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ReviewedByPhil
What does it mean for a webcam to be portable?
Simply that it is small and is versatile in terms of mounting options, for example, if it can be clipped to a laptop monitor as well as a LCD panel or set on a desktop or used with a tripod. They usually still need to be plugged in via USB and require software/drivers to run. Not many are compatible with mobile devices.
7 years, 3 months ago
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ReviewedByPhil