Jaron's stats
- Review count149
- Helpfulness votes293
- First reviewSeptember 30, 2010
- Last reviewMay 15, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.6
- Review comment count2
- Helpfulness votes1
- First review commentOctober 13, 2015
- Last review commentNovember 1, 2016
- Featured review comments0
Questions
- Question count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First questionNone
- Last questionNone
- Featured questions0
- Answer count11
- Helpfulness votes2
- First answerDecember 16, 2010
- Last answerSeptember 7, 2018
- Featured answers0
- Best answers0
Clean wood floors thoroughly with this Dyson V7 Fluffy cordless vacuum. The fluffy cleanerhead has extra-soft bristles that prevent scratches, and the Dyson V7 Fluffy gives you up to 30 minutes of runtime (varies based on attachment/power mode). Includes bonus mini motorized tool for extra cleaning power on hard-to-reach areas. Cord-free, hassle-free, powerful suction.
Customer Rating
4
Good vacuum, but expensive & limited functionality
on June 11, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
PRO
-Great power brush for hard flooring. Nicely articulated for easy movement.
-Great power brush for hard flooring. Nicely articulated for easy movement.
-Comes with second power head for upholstery or general floors
-Wall bracket has attachment storage
CON
-Pricey
-Pricey
-Battery life is 30 minutes at best, only when using it on low with regular attachments. If you use high suction or the power brush attachments, it's reduced to 6 - 15 minutes. Maybe that's enough for your daily/weekly cleaning regimen, maybe not.
-Small dirt bin fills up fast. But with relatively short battery life, that may not be a big issue.
-Comes with five attachments, but wall bracket can only hold two. Counting the one that can be left on the vacuum itself, that still leaves two attachments that must be stored elsewhere on their own.
-No basic T-head attachment
-The attachment lock collar is almost twice as wide as the main shaft. Even if the crevice tool and shaft itself could fit behind something ( maybe to vacuum under the fridge or oven ), the locking collar will prevent it.
-Vacuum is loud and quite shrill on high suction.
TL/DR
Dyson vacuums are built well and perform well, no doubt. The problem with them is always price and if you're willing to pay it, especially for a vacuum that won't replace your big general purpose stand- or canister-vac. It's a great companion vacuum for your hard flooring, dusting up in high places, cleaning your car, or doing some quick spot cleaning. But it doesn't have the battery life or necessary attachments to be able to clean your whole home. If you can find it on sale, it's a good buy. But at full price, it seems more like a pure luxury item. For the same money you could get a robust stand-up vacuum and a lower budget battery hand vacuum that would cover your needs just as well.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Take control of your gaming experience with this Logitech Astro USB controller. The highly durable construction is great for extended sessions, and the fully customizable layout lets you remap each button to mimic any console configuration. This Logitech Astro USB controller has extra-sensitive triggers that respond seamlessly without having to depress them fully.
Customer Rating
3
Decent controller, but expensive & lacks features
on June 11, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
PRO
-Customizable layout - You can move the thumbstick and d-pad locations to your own preference. Also means you can replace the parts that are most likely to wear out and break without needing to buy whole new controller.
-Customizable layout - You can move the thumbstick and d-pad locations to your own preference. Also means you can replace the parts that are most likely to wear out and break without needing to buy whole new controller.
-Customization software is good, lets you assign two active profiles to the controller with customized button layout and sensitivity curves for both the thumbsticks and triggers
-Compatible with computers, makes it more versatile
-Included travel case is well protected and large enough to hold everything
CON
-Expensive. $200 is in the range of full custom-built controllers.
CON
-Expensive. $200 is in the range of full custom-built controllers.
-Only two rear buttons where many competitors have four.
-Doesn't come with alternate d-pad cover, though the carrying case has a cutout to hold one.
-Comes with six thumbsticks, but not no matching tall sticks. Two regular length concave, two regular length convex,one long concave, and on long convex.
-Requires an open USB port on the PS4 to work, either for its wireless dongle or for the wired connection. Considering a PS4 only has two ports ( three on a Pro ) that may be a breaking point for someone already using an external hard drive, keyboard, or other peripheral.
-Package claims 12 hour battery life, but best I got was 8. If you use a headset and chat, it's closer to 4-6 hours.
-Package claims 12 hour battery life, but best I got was 8. If you use a headset and chat, it's closer to 4-6 hours.
-While it uses a standard micro USB to charge and connect for wired mode ( cable included ), the port is in a trapezoidal recess that makes it incompatible with any existing DualShock 4 charging accessories. A lot of my regular micro USB cables won't fit in it either, though some of the smaller collars do.
-Package claims 12 hour battery life, but best I got was 8. If you use a headset and chat, it's closer to 4-6 hours.
-It can't turn on the PS4, though this may be more Sony's fault than Astro's. Instead you need to use the physical system button on the PS4 or turn it on using a different controller first.
-It won't turn off on its own in wireless mode, even when the console shuts down.
-No light bar on the front so it won't work with any PS Camera games or apps.
-Doesn't feel like a DS4 controller. It's more like a wide Xbox controller with thicker handles. Some people won't care, but those who love the DS4 may be disappointed
TLDR
The C540 is a nice controller on its own, especially when you consider the limited selection in quality rear paddle PS4 controllers available. But at $200 it's in the same price range as a custom built controller from Cinch, Beaver, and other competitors, all of which will have two more buttons on the back. The lack of creature comfort features and lackluster battery life make it more disappointing for the price. Not including extras like an alternate d-pad cover or full set of long thumbsticks also seems cheap for the price.
TLDR
The C540 is a nice controller on its own, especially when you consider the limited selection in quality rear paddle PS4 controllers available. But at $200 it's in the same price range as a custom built controller from Cinch, Beaver, and other competitors, all of which will have two more buttons on the back. The lack of creature comfort features and lackluster battery life make it more disappointing for the price. Not including extras like an alternate d-pad cover or full set of long thumbsticks also seems cheap for the price.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Turn a small space into an immersive gaming area with this Oculus Quest all-in-one VR system. The wireless headset and controllers provide a compact setup and don't require a PC, and the 64GB of storage accommodate compatible VR game titles. This Oculus Quest all-in-one VR system uses Insight tracking technology for instant, accurate response to movements.
Customer Rating
4
Closest thing to "must have VR" yet
on June 4, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-Relatively affordable, as far as VR systems go
-Completely wireless and untethered
-Adjustable eye width
-Magnetic battery covers are nice
-Built-in speakers work well
-Guardian system works well to warn you of safe room boundaries
-External camera view lets you see your surrounding w/o removing the headset
-Relatively affordable, as far as VR systems go
-Completely wireless and untethered
-Adjustable eye width
-Magnetic battery covers are nice
-Built-in speakers work well
-Guardian system works well to warn you of safe room boundaries
-External camera view lets you see your surrounding w/o removing the headset
Con
-More expensive than most game consoles
-Storage can't be expanded
-Grips on control sticks are short
-Head unit strap feels unsecure in faster games ( like Creed )
-No full games included
-Included demos are very short
-Games are more expensive than expected
-Wireless download speed seems slow
-Graphical detail won't match up to PC- or console-powered VR sets
-Written documentation and instructions could be better
-More expensive than most game consoles
-Storage can't be expanded
-Grips on control sticks are short
-Head unit strap feels unsecure in faster games ( like Creed )
-No full games included
-Included demos are very short
-Games are more expensive than expected
-Wireless download speed seems slow
-Graphical detail won't match up to PC- or console-powered VR sets
-Written documentation and instructions could be better
TL/DR
There have been cheaper VR sets, and better performing ones, but none come to my mind that offer the balance of price, visual quality, and convenience as the Quest. Though the $400 tag may seem expensive ( you can get a PS4 Pro for the money ), it's actually much cheaper than the Rift, PSVR, or Vive since the Quest doesn't need a separate console or computer to power it. Being self-contained, it can operate completely wire-free, which may be the most important factor to many potential buyers. The Quest may well be the first VR set to be truly mainstream accessible and also worth the price of admission.
There have been cheaper VR sets, and better performing ones, but none come to my mind that offer the balance of price, visual quality, and convenience as the Quest. Though the $400 tag may seem expensive ( you can get a PS4 Pro for the money ), it's actually much cheaper than the Rift, PSVR, or Vive since the Quest doesn't need a separate console or computer to power it. Being self-contained, it can operate completely wire-free, which may be the most important factor to many potential buyers. The Quest may well be the first VR set to be truly mainstream accessible and also worth the price of admission.
Overview
The biggest problem with VR over the past five years ( and more ) has been finding the the balance between accessibility and performance. The high-end headsets look fantastic, but are not only expensive themselves, they require a high-end gaming computer to operate. On the cheap side, slipping a cell phone in a cardboard box and strapping it your face might be a good proof-of-concept, but it won't doesn't give the same immersion factor. The Quest tries to find that ideal middle ground, and in most ways succeeds.
The biggest problem with VR over the past five years ( and more ) has been finding the the balance between accessibility and performance. The high-end headsets look fantastic, but are not only expensive themselves, they require a high-end gaming computer to operate. On the cheap side, slipping a cell phone in a cardboard box and strapping it your face might be a good proof-of-concept, but it won't doesn't give the same immersion factor. The Quest tries to find that ideal middle ground, and in most ways succeeds.
The key part in all this is the lack of wires and cables. Not being tethered to a computer or console allows more freedom. You can physically now walk around in your game without dragging a cable with you. You could even consider this a portable VR. I wouldn't recommend playing it on a train or bus, but it's very easy to pack up and take to a friend's house or on vacation. Perhaps more importantly, it's easy to take around your house. You don't have to use it only in the TV room. Do some VR fishing from your favorite reading chair or even watch some VR videos in your bed. The only cable included in the box is a 10 foot USB type-C charging cable, giving plenty of length to charge the unit while still in use. I would like the handles on the control sticks to be longer, but I've also got larger hands than average.
Setup was okay, but could have been better ( the printed instructions have very little text and just basic diagrams ). You have to have a current Android or iOS device in order to run the companion app and initialize the headset. The headset will then connect to your home Wi-Fi and download any system updates. Network connectivity seemed a little slower than it should be ( I've got fiber internet and my other wireless devices constantly get 200+ Mbps ), but I imagine the Quest wireless controller has been toned down in order to save battery life. Once set up, the headset can operate completely on its own. You will have to make an Oculus account ( or just use your Facebook account since FB owns Oculus ). Unfortunately, Oculus does not yet support multiple profiles on a single account, so there's no way for family members to have their own save games or high score leader boards.
The headset uses external cameras to track your movement and it works well. It does require good lighting, though it does warn you not to use it in bright lights as that can desensitize the cameras and ruin the headset. The external cameras also act as a safety feature. If you ever step out of the designated safe area while playing, the headset will display the two forward cameras ( lo-res B&W only ) so you can see where you're going.
I didn't have any problems with comfort with the Quest. To keep it small and portable ( as well as cheaper ) it only uses an adjustable strap instead of a full halo headband, so the weight is concentrated forward. It's sturdy and secure for the most part, but it did come a little loose during the boxing game Creed ( loose, but didn't fall off ). After a few hours of use, I did feel the Quest weighing on my cheeks a bit, but it wasn't bad. And though it comes with an extra spacer to fit glasses, I found the headset very uncomfortable when wearing my spectacles. I don't know if it's possible to incorporate a diopter in a VR headset, but I have contact lenses too so it's not a big deal to me. The Quest also has a dial on the front to adjust the internal lens spacing to match up with your eyes, something that not only makes the display look clearer but also prevents eye fatigue. The headset has built-in speakers that work well in letting you hear it just fine but not loud enough to bother those close by ( unless you blast the volume ). You can also plug in earbuds if you want.
Now for the downsides. First the internal storage is fixed. You can't upgrade it in any way. Not by adding an SD card, not by swapping out a drive. You either get 64 GB or 128 GB and that's it. On the bright side, the games and apps tend to be fairly small ( very few go over 2 GB, and many are 500 MB or less ). Most people will get by just fine with 64 GB.
However, speaking of games, the Quest doesn't come with any full titles. You get a few demos, but they're all quite short, like 5 min or less. Possibly the best one is the First Steps demo, which isn't really a game, just a tech demo showing what a Quest can do. I didn't feel any of the rest gave me sufficient experience to be willing to spend $30 for a game. Am I just cheap or does that seem pricey? Even established titles from other platforms, like Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds, are still $15 on Oculus. Maybe it's a lot more expensive to develop a VR game, but it seems these games should be $5 - $20. I can get some great games on PS4 or XB1 for $10 - $15 that I'll happily spend 50+ hours playing. I have a hard time paying double that for something I'd likely play half as much. You can get a lot of other applications of course, such as Netflix, YouTube VR, and a lot of other media broadcast apps. These are free, but will require their respective subscription plans in order to use.
All this said, the Quest is still the most compelling VR system I've seen to date. Graphics won't compete with a Rift or PSVR, but they're good enough and you're not wired to a TV. It's perfectly portable, very accessible, and easy to share with family. Oculus still needs to fix their account and profile structure and the games either need to come down in price or feature demos that showcase a game better.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Upgrade compatible PC systems with the WD_Black SN750 internal SSD. Read speeds of up to 3,470MB/s offer improved load times, while the M.2 form factor means you can directly plug into the motherboard without extra cabling. Compared to typical 2.5-inch SSDs, this WD_Black SSD fits double the storage density on a single-sided drive, making it suitable for portable builds.
Customer Rating
5
Great drive for anyone, not just gamers
on May 17, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-NVMe speed
-Available with optional heat sink
-Excellent five-year warranty
-Free drive imaging software download ( Acronis )
-NVMe speed
-Available with optional heat sink
-Excellent five-year warranty
-Free drive imaging software download ( Acronis )
Con
-Pricier than regular SATA drives
-The version of Acronis that comes with the drive is stripped down and limited
-Pricier than regular SATA drives
-The version of Acronis that comes with the drive is stripped down and limited
TL/DR
Western Digital markets this specifically at gamers and the product description says it's for laptops. Neither is particularly accurate. It will work just as well in a regular desktop as in a laptop. And the performance increase over a typical SATA SSD benefits regular users just as much as gamers. It's a good drive for a decent price with an excellent five-year warranty. Just be aware this drive is NVMe. It's not SATA, it won't work on a SATA controller ( neither of the two boards I tested could force it to SATA mode ). This isn't a quick drop-in upgrade for most people. Cloning your existing drive to this one will most likely involve a backup image, external hard drive, and drive restore.
Western Digital markets this specifically at gamers and the product description says it's for laptops. Neither is particularly accurate. It will work just as well in a regular desktop as in a laptop. And the performance increase over a typical SATA SSD benefits regular users just as much as gamers. It's a good drive for a decent price with an excellent five-year warranty. Just be aware this drive is NVMe. It's not SATA, it won't work on a SATA controller ( neither of the two boards I tested could force it to SATA mode ). This isn't a quick drop-in upgrade for most people. Cloning your existing drive to this one will most likely involve a backup image, external hard drive, and drive restore.
Overall
Solid-state drives have been mainstream ( or at least close to it ) for almost ten years now, but most people still don't understand what a SSD does for their computing experience. Here it is in a nutshell: it makes every aspect of your computer faster. Shorter system boot up times, faster OS updates, faster application loading, faster system shut down Basically, your CPU no longer waits for data to be read from a slow spindle drive. This is why you can have a computer boot in literally five seconds or less. In just about every way, a SSD makes your computer feel snappier and more responsive.
Solid-state drives have been mainstream ( or at least close to it ) for almost ten years now, but most people still don't understand what a SSD does for their computing experience. Here it is in a nutshell: it makes every aspect of your computer faster. Shorter system boot up times, faster OS updates, faster application loading, faster system shut down Basically, your CPU no longer waits for data to be read from a slow spindle drive. This is why you can have a computer boot in literally five seconds or less. In just about every way, a SSD makes your computer feel snappier and more responsive.
However contrary to Western Digital's claims, it has limited benefits for gamers. Your games may load faster, which may or may not be noticeable with all the non-skippable movies and splash screens. Those that play MMOs like Guild Wars and World of WarCraft will see a big difference when loading between zones. Some large open world games that stream the map directly from the drive, like Skyrim, will also see the benefit in fewer pauses when opening doors or entering dungeons. But your overall framerate and in-game performance won't change.
For those that don't know, NVMe is the fastest currently available type of SSD ( as much as 6x faster than normal SATA SSDs ). In terms of performance, the SN750 isn't the absolute fastest option available, but it's far from the bottom. In terms of user experience, this doesn't mean much though. Just like even the slowest SATA SSDs are way faster than the fastest spindle drives, the "slow" NVME drives are still much faster than premium SATA SSDs. You can quote things like IOPS, Gbps/Mbps and what not, but the average computer user can't tell the difference between a slow and fast SATA SSD. They might notice a difference between SATA SSD and NVMe, but likely not. That said, those users who are constantly moving large amounts of data, or using professional applications that like fast scratch disks, will appreciate the performance from the Black. And if you're using this drive in a desktop tower case, it's also available with a heatsink for extra longevity. Some may scoff a heatsink is unnecessary ( and it kind of is if you've got good ventilation in your case ), but tests have also shown excess heat can cause flash memory to wear down 5x faster than normal. The heatsink model won't fit in most laptops of course.
So what's the downside here? The obvious is price. Good NVMe drives will cost about twice that of a SATA SSD, sometimes more. Second is compatibility. As NVMe is a new kind of drive and protocol, it won't work on a lot of older hardware. My old-ish ASRock X99 Professional Gaming i7 and Asus Maximus VII Gene motherboards supported the drive just fine, but those are also premium boards and have features most boards at the time didn't. Even though a lot of older chipsets support PCIe storage, not all of them can use it as a boot drive. If you're unsure at all, double-check your motherboard documentation or contact their customer service to make sure it supports PCIe-based as a boot drive. You also need proper firmware/software support. This isn't much of an issue as current versions of Windows, Linux, and MacOS all support UEFI and NVMe.
Be aware, upgrading your computer to the SN750 and copying your system drive over might be a bit of an ordeal. Those already on an NVMe won't have a problem, but if you're coming from a SATA drive, you have a few steps to take. First, the source drive needs to be converted to GPT if it isn't already ( note 512 byte sector MBRs can't be converted to GPT so far as I know ). Your computer/motherboard needs to boot in UEFI mode ( preferably disabling the CSM ). Even after cloning the old drive over, the OS will still be looking for an AHCI device, not NVMe, so you'll need to fix that too. Going from AHCI to NVMe can be done in Windows Safe MOde ( boot to Safe on old drive, uninstall drive controller drivers if possible, shut down, clone drive, reboot in Safe and Windows will rescan and load new drivers ).
If you don't understand the previous paragraph, either get someome else to copy the drive for you or just start with a fresh OS install. Even if you do understand the previous paragraph, for best compatibility/stability, you should still start with a fresh OS install and transfer files over from the old drive afterward.
This isn't to say the drive is not worth the hassle of switching over. It's just a warning that if you want the best out of your new upgrade, you'll need to put some work into it. As a performer, the WD Black SN750 is close to the top of the list. It's a reasonable price and has a good five-year warranty. You certainly could do a lot worse.
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I would recommend this to a friend!
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Keep your files in one place with this 2.5-inch Samsung 2TB internal solid-state drive. Boasting read speeds of up to 550MB/sec., this solid-state drive improves system performance by reducing startup and file loading times. This Samsung internal solid-state drive accommodates large numbers of files and programs with its 2TB capacity.
Customer Rating
5
Excellent entry-level, large capacity SSD
on April 9, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-Big performance boost over platter hard drives
-Very cheap in terms of storage capacity / price for SSD
-Inexpensive but still has DRAM cache
-Big performance boost over platter hard drives
-Very cheap in terms of storage capacity / price for SSD
-Inexpensive but still has DRAM cache
Con
-SATA interface, not PCIe / NVMe
-Slower than other SSDs, especially when moving large amounts of data
-SATA interface, not PCIe / NVMe
-Slower than other SSDs, especially when moving large amounts of data
TL/DR
Though $250 doesn't seem low budget, it's actually a very low price for 2TB of flash storage. The QVO 860 might be "slow" compared to other solid-state drives, but it's still much, MUCH faster than any mechanical drive, especially a 2.5" platter. You won't notice the slowness unless you're constantly moving 50+ GB of data around. For those that don't need as much capacity, the 1TB drive at ~$120 will probably be the better buy, but for those that need a lot of storage on their laptops, the 2TB is not a bad value.
Though $250 doesn't seem low budget, it's actually a very low price for 2TB of flash storage. The QVO 860 might be "slow" compared to other solid-state drives, but it's still much, MUCH faster than any mechanical drive, especially a 2.5" platter. You won't notice the slowness unless you're constantly moving 50+ GB of data around. For those that don't need as much capacity, the 1TB drive at ~$120 will probably be the better buy, but for those that need a lot of storage on their laptops, the 2TB is not a bad value.
----
For everyone else that wants to dive into the details of the QVO 860, it uses quad-level cell flash ( QLC ) which stores four bits of data for every cell. And yes there is single-level, multi-level ( 2 ), and triple-level cells too. However the more bits per cell, the slower its write speed and the fewer writes it can do in its lifetime. However again, denser cells can store more data with fewer dies, so drives can be manufactured cheaper. If you make a large capacity QLC drive, that means more total cells to spread the data writing duties ( called wear leveling ), which alleviates its shorter lifespan. Samsung gives this a 3-year warranty, which is admittedly less than the 5-years for their EVO and PRO products. However, the drive is rated for 720TB of total data written, or 0.3 drive-writes per day ( DWPD ). Meaning you could re-write 600 GB of data every single day for three years and still not wear it out. As long as you don't reinstall your OS and re-rip your entire music collection to WAV every single day, you'll be fine.
As for the "slow" speed, that comes in two ways. First, this is a SATA drive, and SATA just isn't as efficient as NVMe over the PCIe bus. Second, as said, QLC can't store info as fast as SLC. To make up for this, Samsung adds a small amount of SLC flash to the drive to be used as a write cache ( the 2TB drive has about 75GB, the 1TB model only has about 40GB ). The QVO uses this cache, with its much faster write and much higher endurance, as the first place to store data. It then moves data to the QLC on its own in a background task. Most of the time it works great. However, if the cache fills up, any data left in the write queue has to be written directly to QLC, which is much slower. It's about 160 MB/s for the 2TB model, which is still faster than a typical laptop hard drive, but the 1TB version is half that, which most spindle drives can match or beat. As the drive fills up, some of the SLC gets used for permanent storage, but it will still keep 6GB minimum as a write cache.
While this seems bad, most users will never notice this. Despite the negative comments by others, you only see this behavior when you overrun the write cache. That requires sustained writing of more than 50GB from a source that's faster than the caching feature. It's easier to do on a nearly full drive with 6GB cache, but still not something most people will run into. If you're a video professional or someone who regularly deals with massive files or folders of data, then you'll want to look elsewhere.
For the laptop user limited to a single bay, compared to a spindle or hybrid drive, the QVO 860 is quieter, uses less power, and offers much better performance without sacrificing storage capacity. For a desktop, you can get a smaller performance SSD as a system drive and a large capacity spindle for storage for the same price as the 2TB QVO. But if you want to keep it simple, or don't know how to setup a system on tiered storage, a QVO is a fine choice for a daily office machine.
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I would recommend this to a friend!
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Upgrade your connectivity and entertainment with this Sony Xperia 10 plus smartphone. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.8GHz octa-core processor combines with the 4GB RAM to power the device for seamless running of programs and applications, while the 6.5-inch Full HD display provides crystal-clear images. This Sony Xperia 10 plus smartphone features dual 12MP and 8MP cameras for capturing high-quality pictures and videos.
Customer Rating
4
Excellent battery, good performance, no bloatware
on March 30, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-Relatively inexpensive
-Excellent battery life
-64 GB internal storage
-MicroSD slot
-More RAM and newer CPU generation than regular X10
-2x optical zoom on rear camera
-21:9 display
-USB C connector
-Hi-def Bluetooth audio codecs (aptx HD, LDAC)
-Relatively inexpensive
-Excellent battery life
-64 GB internal storage
-MicroSD slot
-More RAM and newer CPU generation than regular X10
-2x optical zoom on rear camera
-21:9 display
-USB C connector
-Hi-def Bluetooth audio codecs (aptx HD, LDAC)
Con
-LCD display instead of OLED
-No wireless charging
-Can't remove SD card without pulling SIM card
-USB 2.0 connection
-Not really "120 fps" video capture
-Extra phone height can be problematic for some pockets
-LCD display instead of OLED
-No wireless charging
-Can't remove SD card without pulling SIM card
-USB 2.0 connection
-Not really "120 fps" video capture
-Extra phone height can be problematic for some pockets
TL/DR
The Xperia 10 Plus is a great alternative to the much pricier unlocked "flagship" phones that typically cost $300+ more. The internal hardware is better than average, if not top-of-the-line, with a strong, efficient CPU, 4GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage, and microSD slot ( whereas the regular Xperia 10 is only 3GB RAM and a weaker A53 only CPU ). The 21:9 display aspect is great for some media or for scrolling long pages. Unfortunately the screen is only LCD, not OLED, and there's no wireless charging. But if you're okay with that, have the pocket space, and want a phone with great battery life and without manufacturer bloatware, the 10 Plus is an affordable option.
The Xperia 10 Plus is a great alternative to the much pricier unlocked "flagship" phones that typically cost $300+ more. The internal hardware is better than average, if not top-of-the-line, with a strong, efficient CPU, 4GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage, and microSD slot ( whereas the regular Xperia 10 is only 3GB RAM and a weaker A53 only CPU ). The 21:9 display aspect is great for some media or for scrolling long pages. Unfortunately the screen is only LCD, not OLED, and there's no wireless charging. But if you're okay with that, have the pocket space, and want a phone with great battery life and without manufacturer bloatware, the 10 Plus is an affordable option.
In Detail
The big marketing point of the new Xperia models is the 21:9 display. To those who don't know, this is the same aspect ratio most widescreen movies are shot ( 2.35 ). Sony claims Netflix has lots of 21:9 media available, which they do, and it's nice to watch movies without letterbox bars, if you watch a lot of media on your phone. Part of this partnership appears to be the inability to uninstall the Netflix application on the phone. The display ratio also helps in some productivity tasks. In portrait orientation you can view long documents or web pages easier and the popup keyboard takes up less relative space. It's also handy for split-screen usage.
The big marketing point of the new Xperia models is the 21:9 display. To those who don't know, this is the same aspect ratio most widescreen movies are shot ( 2.35 ). Sony claims Netflix has lots of 21:9 media available, which they do, and it's nice to watch movies without letterbox bars, if you watch a lot of media on your phone. Part of this partnership appears to be the inability to uninstall the Netflix application on the phone. The display ratio also helps in some productivity tasks. In portrait orientation you can view long documents or web pages easier and the popup keyboard takes up less relative space. It's also handy for split-screen usage.
Thankfully, there's no notch in the display at top, Sony just made a slightly larger bezel to totally cover the front camera and speaker. The other three edges have very small bezels, which looks quite nice. The thin bezel at the bottom does mean the three control soft buttons are quite close to the edge, and I found myself accidentally hitting them a lot.
Sony leaves this running very close to pure Android 9 OS, which is nice, and they don't take up a lot of space with bloatware apps that you can't uninstall. If you're tired of Samsung, LG, HTC, and others with their heavy-handed interface changes and non-removeable applications, you'll appreciate the Xperia.
Powering the 10 Plus is a Snapdragon 636. This isn't premium processor, but it's definitely at the top of the mid-range stack. It's a newer generation CPU that mixes four A73 cores with four A53 cores for better efficiency and uses a slightly upgraded Adreno 509 graphics processor ( the regular Xperia 10 uses the A53-only Snapdragon 630 with Adreno 508 ). This 636 is not only more powerful than the 630, it's also more power efficient and generates less relative heat.
Given the larger battery in the 10 Plus ( 3000 mAh to 2870 mAh ) the 10 Plus has incredible battery life. Even after a full day of streaming hi-def audio ( the phone has aptX HD, LDAC, and other hi-def Bluetooth codecs ), heavy web browsing, and downloading new applications, the battery was still at 60%. I can easily get two days use on a single charge. The phone also has a battery care feature that limits how fast the battery charges ( typically the slower a battery charges, the better the charge quality and the longer the charge lasts ). This also limits how long the battery stays at 100% charge while still plugged in, which helps extend total battery lifespan.
Sadly, the phone does not have wireless charging and the phone exterior does not have the contacts to get it in an aftermarket case. The connector for charging and data is USB type-C, which is nice, but the phone itself can only transfer at USB 2.0 speeds. The phone exterior itself is a basic plastic/polymer. Some people complain this isn't "premium" since it's not metal and glass, but it's saves manufacturing costs and my phone is always in a protective case anyway. The SIM and microSD slot are both under the same cover on the top right edge. However, pulling the cover to get to the SD card also removes the SIM card, so you can't swap out your SD card without powering down the phone.
The camera lens protrudes on the back, a design I don't like since it makes the lenses easier to scratch. The camera itself is fine, but I don't really use a phone camera much. It can capture pictures in 4:3, 16:9, and 21:9 as well as 4K/30 and 1080/60 video. The camera does have a 2x optical zoom, which is much appreciated, but it's claims for 120fps slow motion video are greatly exaggerated. It just captures video at the normal rate, either 30 or 60 fps, and then slows the framerate down in playback.
All considered, the lack of wireless charging and OLED display are my biggest gripes. Nokia's Lumia devices have had those features in the same price range for years, so it's unfortunate Sony decided to save those as features for their premium phones only. But for performance, battery life, and usability, there's not much to complain about in the $450 range. If you have the extra pocket space for the extra tall phone, the 10 Plus is definitely the better option than the regular 10 and a very good option overall.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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3of 5voted this as helpful.
Hear more detail with large 50 mm PRO-G drivers, made of woven hybrid mesh designed to reduce distortion. LIGHTSYNC RGB lighting is fully customizable and reacts to in-game action on supported games. For maximum immersion, DTS Headphone:X 2.0 surround sound creates precise in-game positional awareness. Hear enemies sneaking up behind you, sense air attacks or special-ability cues, and enjoy the full cinematic experience of your favorite games. Additional gaming features include a large 6 mm flip-to-mute mic, programmable G-Keys on the headset, and the ability to tune EQ settings and more with Logitech G HUB software.
Customer Rating
4
Great sound, too pricey for the features and flaws
on March 14, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-Wireless support for PC, PS4, and Switch
-No audio lag
-Large ear cups won't squish your ears
-12-Hr battery life
-User replaceable battery
-Stores USB dongle in left earcup
-Retractable mic w/ auto mute
-3.5mm aux input
-On board memory to store EQ and button tasks
-Wireless support for PC, PS4, and Switch
-No audio lag
-Large ear cups won't squish your ears
-12-Hr battery life
-User replaceable battery
-Stores USB dongle in left earcup
-Retractable mic w/ auto mute
-3.5mm aux input
-On board memory to store EQ and button tasks
Con
-Heavy
-Tight squeeze fit
-No wireless support on Xbox
-Virtual 7.1 only works on computers, not consoles
-Background hum when used wired
-$20 more than most competitors
-Overly sensitive volume dial
-Control buttons are clumsy
-RGB is useless except for draining batteries
-EQ DSP not applied to wired audio ( details below )
-Would be nice if charge port was USB-C instead of micro USB
-Can't function as a wired USB headset
-You'll want to configure it on a PC before connecting to your console
-Heavy
-Tight squeeze fit
-No wireless support on Xbox
-Virtual 7.1 only works on computers, not consoles
-Background hum when used wired
-$20 more than most competitors
-Overly sensitive volume dial
-Control buttons are clumsy
-RGB is useless except for draining batteries
-EQ DSP not applied to wired audio ( details below )
-Would be nice if charge port was USB-C instead of micro USB
-Can't function as a wired USB headset
-You'll want to configure it on a PC before connecting to your console
TLDR
The G935 has a lot going for it: 50mm drivers, good sound, long lasting battery, customizable EQ, wide compatibility, and wired audio for devices that won't support the USB wireless. But it also has some of the oddest, stupidest shortcomings. The RGB lighting is pointless and just drains batteries, it won't do virtual surround on consoles, and the programmable buttons are kinda pointless. It also can't be used wirelessly with the Xbox One ( though that's more the Xbox's restrictions ). It's a nice enough headset for PC gaming with PS4 on the side, but it's also $20 more than competing models that can do almost everything these can. Xbox users should steer clear.
The G935 has a lot going for it: 50mm drivers, good sound, long lasting battery, customizable EQ, wide compatibility, and wired audio for devices that won't support the USB wireless. But it also has some of the oddest, stupidest shortcomings. The RGB lighting is pointless and just drains batteries, it won't do virtual surround on consoles, and the programmable buttons are kinda pointless. It also can't be used wirelessly with the Xbox One ( though that's more the Xbox's restrictions ). It's a nice enough headset for PC gaming with PS4 on the side, but it's also $20 more than competing models that can do almost everything these can. Xbox users should steer clear.
Overall
The G935 on paper seems to be a winning product. It uses larger 50mm drivers ( many competing units only use 40mm ), the USB dongle has 7.1 virtual surround processing, the earcups are spacious, customizable RGB lighting is included, it has a long lasting rechargeable battery, and it has three programmable buttons. All of these seem nice, but not all ideas are as great in the real world as they are on the drawing board.
The G935 on paper seems to be a winning product. It uses larger 50mm drivers ( many competing units only use 40mm ), the USB dongle has 7.1 virtual surround processing, the earcups are spacious, customizable RGB lighting is included, it has a long lasting rechargeable battery, and it has three programmable buttons. All of these seem nice, but not all ideas are as great in the real world as they are on the drawing board.
In terms of fit, I'm not sure how to rate the G935. As said, the earcup padding is spacious so you won't be pinching your ears at all. The padding is soft but firm and the cups rotate so they can lay flat on your shoulders or desk. However they are comparatively heavy and the headband squeezes my head pretty tight ( 7.5" hat size ). It wasn't uncomfortable or painful, but after a few hours you did notice the pressure and weight. Maybe people with smaller heads won't notice so much.
The larger drivers make a difference. Unlike many gaming headsets I've tried, the default EQ settings were very balanced and not the usual bass thumpers I've heard. Logitech's software also includes some extra 16-band EQ presets and you can make your own as well. The headset also has an internal storage capable of holding one custom EQ, which is great if you want to tune the sound curve for your console. The software also lets you set mic and sidetone ( mic monitoring feedback you hear ) levels and RGB scheme for the light strips running up the back of the earcups. If you have other Logitech RGB devices, you can sync their lighting patterns together. Why someone wants fancy lighting on their headset is beyond me, since you wouldn't be able to see it at all. Worse, with these lights on the back, even if your YouTube and Twitch viewers can't see it. They really don't do anything except cut battery life by about 30% and increase manufacturing costs.
The larger drivers make a difference. Unlike many gaming headsets I've tried, the default EQ settings were very balanced and not the usual bass thumpers I've heard. Logitech's software also includes some extra 16-band EQ presets and you can make your own as well. The headset also has an internal storage capable of holding one custom EQ, which is great if you want to tune the sound curve for your console. The software also lets you set mic and sidetone ( mic monitoring feedback you hear ) levels and RGB scheme for the light strips running up the back of the earcups. If you have other Logitech RGB devices, you can sync their lighting patterns together. Why someone wants fancy lighting on their headset is beyond me, since you wouldn't be able to see it at all. Worse, with these lights on the back, even if your YouTube and Twitch viewers can't see it. They really don't do anything except cut battery life by about 30% and increase manufacturing costs.
The back of the left earcup has six controls running down it: the power switch up top, three programmable buttons, a mic mute button, and a volume dial. Even one click of the dial made a big change in volume and I found it much too sensitive. The buttons have different shapes and ridges that I guess are supposed to make each one identifiable by touch, but completely fail to do so. They're simply packed too tight together. They're also quite stiff to depress, which is great to prevent accidental presses, but since they're on the back of the earcup, it means you have pinch and grab the whole thing, otherwise you'd push it right off your head. I think a much better arrangement would be to leave the power and volume controls where they are and put two buttons on the outside of each cup. That way you could press a button with just a finger pressing into your head rather then gripping the whole earcup and counting buttons as you run your finger down the back.
The three programmable buttons can be configured in the Logitech software to do just about any command, from copy/paste or prev/next music track, recorded macros, and even headset specific tasks like cycling lighting patterns, EQ presets, and toggling the 7.1 emulation. The commands are stored in the headset memory so they'll work even on computers that don't have the G Hub software installed and on consoles. In practice, the buttons are mainly useful only for headset specific controls since most everything else is done faster with your keyboard and mouse. I set mine to toggle the onboard EQ curve and to increase/decrease the sidetone volume.
The mic is stored on the front of the left cup and rotates down when in use. It telescopes a little for adequate adjustment range and is automatically muted whenever rotated back up ( a tactile bump lets you know the switching point ). Mic quality seems good as I was told my voice sounded better using the G935 wirelessly on my PS4 than my normal wired headset. However, some of the mic design decisions seem odd to me. I don't know why Logitech bothered to put a dedicated mic mute button on the back of the headset when you can more easily mute the mic by flicking it up. If you do leave the mic down and use the mute button, a red LED lights up on the inside of the mic indicating it's off. But that's in the very corner of your vision, so I don't know how noticeable that is to most people. Like i said, it seems unnecessary.
Apart from the USB wireless connection, the G935 also has a standard 3.5mm 4-pole connector so you can connect it to your phone, tablet, or console controller. The headset can also use this input and the wireless connection at the same time, though the EQ settings will not affect audio coming in over the wired connection when doing so. The headset also must be powered on for the mic to work. So you can leave it off and use it as passive headphones, or turn it on ( without the USB dongle plugged in to anything ) to use it as a wired headset, complete with volume and EQ control. When used in this way, I noticed a hum in the background.
The PS4 and Switch can connect by using the 3.5mm jack or the wireless USB dongle, but they won't support the 7.1 audio emulation. Due to the Xbox One's restrictions on USB audio, only the wired connection works there. My set came out of the box with the sidetone set quite high where the voice monitor was very distracting. I'd recommend anyone using this primarily on console to plug them first into a computer and use the Logitech software to configure the volume levels and EQ first.
All in all, it's a tough question whether I'd recommend the G935. The sound quality is good. The utility is good. Comfort is adequate. And it has a lot of nice little touches. The USB dongle can be stored in the left earcup so you don't lose it. This also makes them somewhat portable. The battery in the right right earcup is user replaceable and really does last ~12 hours per charge. The covers to the earcups are also magnetically attached so you don't need to worry about flimsy clip tabs breaking off.
But it also has quite a few things I really don't like. The control buttons are muddled and their overall usefulness is limited. The RGB and extra mic mute features are completely unnecessary. These questionably useful features drive up the cost. There are too many good wireless headsets in the $120 - $150 range that can do most, if not all, this can, but don't have the downsides. Asking $170 for this is a little too much. Unless you find this on sale, or if it does something that fits your specific needs and the downside don't bother you, I think you can do better for the money.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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4of 5voted this as helpful.
Make sure your wireless connection reaches every room in your home with this ASUS ROG Rapture gaming router. Speeds of up to 11000 Mbps deliver interruption-free connectivity throughout intense games and binge-watching sessions. Built-in network security defends against potential breaches, and the 4X capacity makes this ASUS ROG Rapture gaming router ideal for households running multiple devices.
Customer Rating
4
Very Fast, Very Expensive, Very Half-Baked
on February 27, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
PRO
-AX Wireless support
-Great wireless coverage
-Can operate as router, bridge, access point, or mesh node with dedicated backtalk channel
-Two USB 3.0 ports
-Lots of network customization options ( device filtering, parental controls, time allocation )
-Dedicated game server monitoring
-Doesn't require mobile app to setup/manage
-AX Wireless support
-Great wireless coverage
-Can operate as router, bridge, access point, or mesh node with dedicated backtalk channel
-Two USB 3.0 ports
-Lots of network customization options ( device filtering, parental controls, time allocation )
-Dedicated game server monitoring
-Doesn't require mobile app to setup/manage
CON
-Expensive
-Only 4 wired LAN ports
-No 10 Gbps port
-Packaged cable is only Cat 5E
-Huge footprint
-Not wall mountable
-You likely won't have wireless AX devices until 2020
-Sluggish web interface ( on current firmware )
-Some network settings not where you expect them
-Documentation is lacking
-Most QoS & smart routing features require sending info to Trend Micro
-Expensive
-Only 4 wired LAN ports
-No 10 Gbps port
-Packaged cable is only Cat 5E
-Huge footprint
-Not wall mountable
-You likely won't have wireless AX devices until 2020
-Sluggish web interface ( on current firmware )
-Some network settings not where you expect them
-Documentation is lacking
-Most QoS & smart routing features require sending info to Trend Micro
TL/DR
The Rapture AX11000 is the fastest router you probably don't need. It's ridiculously expensive, has a massive footprint that can't be mounted to a wall, and won't give any noticeable performance boost to most consumers. Plenty of $100-$200 routers, including Asus' venerable RT-AC68, will serve most single-family homes quite well. But if you demand speed no matter the price, and the bragging rights that comes with that, the Rapture may be to your liking.
The Rapture AX11000 is the fastest router you probably don't need. It's ridiculously expensive, has a massive footprint that can't be mounted to a wall, and won't give any noticeable performance boost to most consumers. Plenty of $100-$200 routers, including Asus' venerable RT-AC68, will serve most single-family homes quite well. But if you demand speed no matter the price, and the bragging rights that comes with that, the Rapture may be to your liking.
THE GOOD
Yes, this thing has massive wireless bandwidth. The AX specs claim each 5 GHz band can support its own 4.8 Gbps of bandwidth and the 2.4 GHz can still go up to 1.1 Gbps. Even factoring in the difference between theoretical and real-world performance, that's still very fast. Unfortunately, I don't have an AX wireless device to test what you can expect. But even on normal AC wireless, the Rapture still beats my current router. Coverage is strong throughout my entire house and all my current devices are maxing out their individual network controllers. I haven't noticed any problems with dropped connections. The Rapture also sports 4x4 antennas and wireless techniques like OFDM and QAM, meaning it'll be ready to support more advanced wireless devices when they finally become available.
Yes, this thing has massive wireless bandwidth. The AX specs claim each 5 GHz band can support its own 4.8 Gbps of bandwidth and the 2.4 GHz can still go up to 1.1 Gbps. Even factoring in the difference between theoretical and real-world performance, that's still very fast. Unfortunately, I don't have an AX wireless device to test what you can expect. But even on normal AC wireless, the Rapture still beats my current router. Coverage is strong throughout my entire house and all my current devices are maxing out their individual network controllers. I haven't noticed any problems with dropped connections. The Rapture also sports 4x4 antennas and wireless techniques like OFDM and QAM, meaning it'll be ready to support more advanced wireless devices when they finally become available.
The Rapture has all the network routing controls and features you'd expect ( DHCP server, port forwarding, network device filtering, parental controls, firewall, URL/port blocking, guest network, etc ) and a few that aren't as common on consumer routers ( device operation time limits, Alexa/IFTTT integration, excellent VPN support, and multiple guest wireless networks on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands ). It can operate as a router, access point, bridge, and mesh node with other Asus AIMesh routers. When operating in mesh, the router can be hardwired to other nodes or use one 5 GHz band as a dedicated backtalk channel so you don't lose effective wireless bandwidth.
On top of this, the Rapture of course includes a lot of gaming-centric features, like a real-time server latency monitor for many popular games, dedicating one 5 GHz band for gaming traffic, QoS settings for prioritizing game traffic, and some free trial time for WTFast Gamers Private Network. If you want to be fancy, the router also has customizable RGB lighting.
Apart from the four gigabit Ethernet jacks you get one 2.5 Gigabit jack and two USB 3.0 ports that can be used for external hard drives ( as network share, media server, and/or download manager ), sharing printers, or even tethering a cellular data dongle. The 2.5G port can be used for a WAN uplink if you have really fast internet service or used as a dedicated high-priority line, say to your gaming computer or as the previously mentioned mesh link between nodes.
The side has three buttons, one for turning the wireless on/off, one for WPS pairing, and a Boost button. The latter can be configured for turn on/off the port status LEDs, RGB lights, and gaming traffic boost system. The antennas use standard connectors, so you can swap them out for aftermarket parts if you want. The back also has a power on/off button, something I appreciate, so you can power cycle the router without needing to unplug it.
The side has three buttons, one for turning the wireless on/off, one for WPS pairing, and a Boost button. The latter can be configured for turn on/off the port status LEDs, RGB lights, and gaming traffic boost system. The antennas use standard connectors, so you can swap them out for aftermarket parts if you want. The back also has a power on/off button, something I appreciate, so you can power cycle the router without needing to unplug it.
All in all, this is pretty impressive stuff, so what's the downside?
THE BAD
The first, and most obvious, is the price. Asus charges a premium for their ROG products and $450 for a router is more than most people are willing to spend. For such an expensive product, it skimps in some of the weirdest places. For starters, having only four wired gigabit ports ( five, if you count the 2.5 port ) on a router like this is a total head scratcher. Considering the massive size of this thing ( and no, it doesn't have any kind of mounting bracket for walls or ceilings ), it should have at least six ports, preferably eight. Considering the advertised "10 Gbps" wireless bandwidth, at least one of those ports should be 10 Gbps. Only four gigabit ports and one 2.5 Gbps jack greatly limits home office power users who want to use teaming for higher bandwidth connections to multiple servers. And despite the 2.5 jack, the network cable bundled in the box is also only Cat5e, not Cat6.
The documentation is thorough in listing the Rapture's many features, but doesn't give a lot of info about how to use and configure them ( case in point, the manual mentions the 2.5G network port and what it can be used for, but not how to configure it for those uses ). Also, most of the QoS, firewall, game boost, and advanced traffic analyzer features are somehow managed by Trend Micro and can't be enabled unless you agree to allow some of your networking data to be sent to them.
I also found the web interface to be quite slow, at least on the firmware as of this writing. On my previous Asus RT-AC68, navigating to the different pages and setting groups was quick and snappy. Here, you click on the link and wait for a few seconds until the new page loads. The network client list also was erratic and didn't always list all connected devices, even if that device was currently in use. Though the Boost button on the side is programmable, it has only three options, none of which are "turn guest wireless network on/off," like I would prefer.
With so many different settings and features, the web interface has dozens of pages and tabs to organize them, which is understandable. For the most part the organization is logical, but some are buried, which means digging through lots of pages to find them. You can configure the various SSIDs in the basic wireless setup section, but the option to disable a particular radio is in another place entirely. The router does not save or commit a change when you move from one section to another. Again, with so many pages and tabs, this means making many small changes and hitting the save button before moving on. But each save usually requires a full router reboot, which slows down the configuration process a lot.
It would be helpful if some configuration pages were expanded to include more related settings, allowing fewer reboot delays. Or perhaps Asus can do a similar thing they do on their motherboards, where changes are temporarily saved across all pages and when you hit the save button you see the full list of changes and then asked to confirm.
The upside is that firmware updates could ( hopefully ) fix most of these complaints.
THE UGLY
As said above, the Rapture is complete overkill of a router for most people. They simply won't be able to use a lot of its features. The 2.5 Gbps port will only reach those speeds when it's connected to another 2.5G device. That's usually either a high-end desktop or home server, another router if you're setting up a large linked network system, or your modem if you have faster than gigabit internet service. The crazy wireless speeds are only realized when using high-end computers that have the antenna arrays, AX wireless controllers, and internal storage fast enough to keep up. Even when you finally hove those laptops and wireless desktops, you'd need to move a lot of data around your network to notice and appreciate the speed difference.
That's not to say it's a bad idea to plan ahead and start building up your home network infrastructure. The Rapture will give you great wireless coverage in your home, will probably give you faster AC speeds than you have now, will be able to handle more devices more stably, and will set you up to handle those new AX devices when you finally get them. So you'll get a few small but immediate benefits, but it might take a year, maybe more, before you enjoy the other benefits.
As with most new technologies, jumping in early costs you extra. For most people, I'd say the cost is too high at this point. Having only four LAN ports and no 10 Gbps jack severely limits the Rapture's appeal to the power user crowd. Those that have solid, even if aging, routers are probably better served waiting a year until AX support filters down to the mid-range consumer products and prices come down overall. For average consumers that need a new router right now because their current one is simply too old and slow, the Rapture is an expensive but forward-thinking bit of home networking, and hopefully new firmware can patch the interface problems soon.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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7of 15voted this as helpful.
Enjoy the look and feel of a well-groomed beard with this Philips Norelco series 70 beard trimmer. With an ergonomic grip, this beard trimmer offers enhanced comfort and control. This Philips Norelco series 70 beard trimmer prevents skin irritation and features steel blades, making it ideal for cutting each hair with accuracy and precision.
Customer Rating
4
Great face trimmer, lacks versatility
on January 6, 2019
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
- Integrated guard comb very stiff
- Vacuum trap works great for stubble
- Good battery life
- Integrated guard comb very stiff
- Vacuum trap works great for stubble
- Good battery life
Con
- Vacuum clogs easily with longer hair
- Guard comb doesn't work well with longer, thicker hair
- No shaving or nose trimmer attachments
- Bag isn't big enough to hold trimmer and all accessories
- Not water resistant
- Vacuum clogs easily with longer hair
- Guard comb doesn't work well with longer, thicker hair
- No shaving or nose trimmer attachments
- Bag isn't big enough to hold trimmer and all accessories
- Not water resistant
Overall
The 7500 model has two big improvements over my last Philips groomer. First, the guard comb is now integrated into the trimmer head rather than just clipping on the side. This makes it much stronger with less flex, so the trim depth stays consistent across your whole face.
The 7500 model has two big improvements over my last Philips groomer. First, the guard comb is now integrated into the trimmer head rather than just clipping on the side. This makes it much stronger with less flex, so the trim depth stays consistent across your whole face.
Second, while I was skeptical how well the vacuum trap worked, it really does a great job of keeping the hair trimmings from going down your collar or on your shirt. However, that only goes for short stubble, about 1/4" or less. Trimming off more hair than that will clog it up quickly. A fully charged battery easily lasts through multiple shaves, so you should be able to go through a whole week on one charge.
The downsides are small for the most part. While it comes with a drawstring bag, it's a very tight fit getting the trimmer, charger, and other attachments in it without ripping seams or scratching the trimmer. And though you get a smaller, detail trimmer, it doesn't include a shaving attachment or nose hair trimmer. Finally, the main guard comb has thick, rounded teeth, which cover more area than not. For the straighter hair on my head ( sideburns and around my ears ) it worked fine. But for the thicker, curlier hair on my neck and body, it was more likely to matte the hair down than scoop it up for the trimming blade.
The thing to remember about the 7500 is it's a face and beard trimmer, not an all body groomer. It's great for daily/weekly beard trimming without leaving a mess on your clothes and across the entire bathroom counter. But it can't shave your face and it doesn't do as well trimming your chest, pits, and rest of your body.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Only at Best BuyRecord your Ultra HD gameplay with this AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus capture card. It has HDMI 2.0 pass-through for lag-free performance in 4K and 1080p resolutions, and the PC-free mode supports game console and smartphone connections. Include live commentary and party chat recording by connecting a headset to this AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus capture card.
Customer Rating
3
Ok for PC, limited SD compatibility & console use
on November 29, 2018
Posted by: Jaron
from Utah
Pro
-4K pass-through
-60 fps video capture
-Can be used in PC-Free recording and card reader modes
-Simple operation ( once you figure out how )
-Recording software is pretty good
-Includes two HDMI cables and one 4-pole 3.5mm male-to-male cable
-4K pass-through
-60 fps video capture
-Can be used in PC-Free recording and card reader modes
-Simple operation ( once you figure out how )
-Recording software is pretty good
-Includes two HDMI cables and one 4-pole 3.5mm male-to-male cable
Con
-Horrible documentation
-Very picky on what SD cards will work with it
-Doesn't include an SD card
-Short HDMI cables ( about 18" each )
-Front 3.5mm jacks are too close together to fit larger connectors simultaneously
-Extra buzz in your headphones when routing audio through it
-Won't work with PS3 and older consoles
-Limited appeal for PS4 and XB1 users
-No HDR pass-through
-Can't work with 2560x1440 resolution, not even pass-through
-Card reader function limited to USB 2.0 speeds
-Slow customer support
-Horrible documentation
-Very picky on what SD cards will work with it
-Doesn't include an SD card
-Short HDMI cables ( about 18" each )
-Front 3.5mm jacks are too close together to fit larger connectors simultaneously
-Extra buzz in your headphones when routing audio through it
-Won't work with PS3 and older consoles
-Limited appeal for PS4 and XB1 users
-No HDR pass-through
-Can't work with 2560x1440 resolution, not even pass-through
-Card reader function limited to USB 2.0 speeds
-Slow customer support
Overall
The TL/DR on this is a Jekyll/Hyde story in that the LGP2 Plus doesn't really know what it wants to be. It throws in a smattering of useful features but then handicaps half those features with limited functionality. The LGP2 Plus is best for PC gamers that wants to record and store their game sessions ( and not just broadcast them ), and that play exclusively at 1080 or 4K resolutions. For everyone else, you're probably going to be let down. Read on for more details.
The TL/DR on this is a Jekyll/Hyde story in that the LGP2 Plus doesn't really know what it wants to be. It throws in a smattering of useful features but then handicaps half those features with limited functionality. The LGP2 Plus is best for PC gamers that wants to record and store their game sessions ( and not just broadcast them ), and that play exclusively at 1080 or 4K resolutions. For everyone else, you're probably going to be let down. Read on for more details.
First, the good. The LGP2 Plus does record at a smooth 1080p60, both onto a dedicated recording computer or onto its internal micro SD card. The box comes with everything necessary to hook it up, including two high-speed HDMI cables, a long 4-pole 3.5mm cable to route your game voice chat through it, and a micro USB cable to both power the box and allow it to communicate with a computer. The recording software from AVerMedia is pretty good and totally free for download as well. It has plug-ins ready for Twitch and other broadcasting services, good templates for video layouts and overlaying webcam feeds, and controls over recording quality. Unfortunately, the downsides were much more pronounced in my experience.
The LGP2 Plus come with practically no documentation. No instruction manual. A tiny quick setup guide shows you how to connect the cables, but not what the switches and buttons on the box actually do. The little wording on the single page is poorly translated into English. To get any kind of detailed info, you need to go to the website, where you'll still run into poorly translated English.
Next, the LGP2 Plus is EXTREMELY picky on which micro SD card you can use. The AVerMedia site only lists 14 models of cards as compatible ( 10 is you count only models and not the capacity differences ). Listed is the SanDisk Ultra microSD UHS-I 16GB and 32GB models. I was using an Ultra PLUS 32GB model, so I figured close enough since they were both UHS-I and both SDHC. No matter what I did, I could not get the recorder to work with the card. It wouldn't record, it wouldn't come to a ready state, it wouldn't even work as a card reader. It would work recording onto a separate computer, but that was it.
I contacted AVerMedia support and had to wait over a week for them to get back to me ( after initial contact, I usually heard back from them within two days ). I went back and forth with them for almost two weeks trying to figure out what was going on. I eventually got a replacement sent to me but had the same problems. Reading other reviews online, it sounded like a lot of people were experiencing the same thing, so I was ready to chalk it up to bad product design and quality control
I found the answer accidentally when I tried using an older 16GB card from one of my tablets ( thinking perhaps the 32GB capacity was too high for the recorder ). Instantly everything worked normally. My 16GB card is a model explicitly on AVerMedia's list. So, if you plan to use this thing PC-Free, make sure your card is officially compatible. For the prcie of the unit, AVerMedia could have included an SD card, which would solve this problem, but they didn't. That said, the recorder is still only USB 2.0, not 3.0 or 3.1, meaning copying those huge movie files from the card might take a while. If you have another card reader or adapter, I'd suggest using that instead.
The LGP2 Plus does have 3.5mm input on the front, so you can route your headset, and possibly voice chat audio, though the box. Unfortunately, the jacks are pretty close together so you need to use small or normal sized connectors to get them both in. Hopefully your headset doesn't use a large connector. Also, I noticed some extra static hiss when I had it connected this way. It's not game breaking, and you may not notice it if you play with the volume up, but I found it annoying.
Speaking of cables, the two HDMI cords that come with the LGP2 Plus are very short, only about 18 inches each. This may not be too much an issue since most people will already have one long HDMI cable ( and you should be able to put the recorder box very close to your computer or console to use one of the shorter cables ), but it would've been nice if the included cables were at least 24 inches long. Plugging the LGP2 into the AV loop doesn't introduce any control lag in the game ( at least that I could tell ) on the main screen. Don't try playing the game off the recording preview screen on the recording computer, though. Even at the lowest latency, it's still at least 200ms behind the game.
And while the recorder may support 4K pass-through, it does not support HDR at all. So if you're playing on your fancy new TV you just got over Black Friday, you can use the resolution, but not the HDR. It also doesn't support any video passed in other than 3840x2160 and 1920x1080. So if you're a PC gamer on a 1440p QHD monitor, or a 21:9 monitor, you'll need to explicitly set your resolution to 1080p to use this at all. And of course, you need to use HDMI only; no DisplayPort cables. You'll also need a separate recording computer than your gaming computer, though even a modest laptop will do for that task.
So, with all this being said, who is best served by the LGP2 Plus? The recording box looks for HDCP, so it won't work at all with the PS3 ( and I think the Xbox 360 too ). The PS4 and Xbox One can both turn off HDCP for games, so compatibility isn't an issue there, but both of them also have their own built-in recording abilities. Now the regular PS4 is limited to 720p recording, so being able to record 1080p60 is a big improvement. However the PS4 Pro and all Xbox One consoles can record 1080p30 clips for over an hour at a time on their own. Recording at 60 fps isn't helpful if the game isn't even rendered at 60 fps ( which most titles aren't on console ). The regular PS4, XB1, and XB1S owners will likely be much better served with this than the PS4 Pro and XB1X crowd.
PC gamers probably get more out of the LGP2 than their console counterparts as most lack game recording software of any kind. Just remember you have to be playing in either 4K or regular 1080p only. For best results, you need to maintain close to 60fps in your games, meaning expensive GPUs, lowering detail settings, or both. And though you can use the PC-Free recording mode to use just your gaming computer, if you want to record with additional feeds, like your face and voice on a web cam, you'll need a separate PC for that.
In the end, I felt this was a Jekyll/Hyde product. It adds some features to appeal to more people, but then undercuts those features. To start, you only get the vaguest idea how to run the thing from the non-existent documentation and getting help from customer service takes a long time. The SD card PC-Free mode is great for recording gameplay anywhere, but it's handicapped by a very restrictive card compatibility list and only has USB 2.0 to transfer the files. Including an SD card in the packaging would've been a huge help to most users. And though you can get 4K pass-through, you lose HDR compatibility so PS4 Pro, XB1X, and high-end PC users can't get the fullest out of their displays and hardware. As a PS4 Pro guy, I still usually run at 1080p just so I can get smoother framerates. I also find 1080p HDR to look better than basic 4K in games. And finally, the computer gaming crowd that is likely to get the most use out of the LGP2 can't use the 1440p monitors that are gaining a lot of popularity in the higher-end PC gaming crowd.
You can still get some good use out of the LGP2 Plus, but it seems there's a lot of wasted potential as well.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Jaron's Review Comments
Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic L6V-00001 Wireless Mouse: This ergonomic mouse is designed to fit the natural shape of your hand with a raised height and scooped thumb design. Blue Track technology allows you to use your mouse on various surface types with accuracy.
Overall
1 out of 5
1 out of 5This is NOT a BlueTooth Mouse
By JustAnotherGeekHere
It is very frustrating that Microsoft's design and marketing team has played a clever little trick in the design of the blue logo on this unit that invites one to infer that this product uses Bluetooth wireless technology when, in fact, it does not. Sadly, the lack of this feature is a deal breaker for me. But I will say that the unit feels nice in the hand, and had it been Bluetooth I would most likely have kept it and given it a much higher rating.
Jaron
Utah
October 13, 2015
MS has used a light blue color in their logos since the company was founded. The term "Bluetooth" isn't mentioned anywhere in the product name or description. I've never inferred a product was Bluetooth enabled simply because of the colors on it Insinuating that MS intentionally tried to deceive people into thinking this is a Bluetooth mouse because of the blue Windows button is asinine.
+1point
1of 1voted this comment as helpful.
Razer Naga Hex V2Upgrade your gaming system with this Razer Naga Hex gaming mouse. With a tilt-click scroll wheel and a seven-button mechanical thumb wheel for a total of 14 programmable buttons, the design ensures you'll never misclick. Redesigned with comfort in mind, this Razer Naga Hex gaming mouse accommodates the most popular play styles.
Overall3 out of 5
3 out of 5Great mouse help back by sub-par software
By Tekonus
This mouse has a great construction. Feels solid, buttons don't feel soft and have a solid click to them. Enough buttons without being too many. Unfortunately Razer's Synapse 2.0 software is pretty disappointing. It has a ton of features, but it has 2 major sticking points for me that are inexcusable. #1 is that you have to create a Razer account and login just to use a mouse driver! This just defies all logic to me, no matter how they try to spin it. #2 even after you login to their driver, I could find no way through the driver to map any buttons to "forward and back" without clunky workaround that make no sense. Many people like to use mouse buttons to go back and forward through webpages and other things on their computer. Every logitech mouse I've ever bought has had no problem with this. Why is this an issue? You can make settings for scrolling up and down but not generic windows keys for back and forward? Cheap generic mice do this!
This is a great mouse held back by sub-par software.
This is a great mouse held back by sub-par software.
Jaron
Utah
Re: Synapse
November 1, 2016
Yes, you need to create a Razer account to use the Synapse software. However, after the initial login, you can simply enter offline mode which means it doesn't have to log in and you don't have to be online. The online portion lets you save your mouse and keyboard profiles so if you transfer to a new computer, they will all transfer with you.
Yes, you can map Back and Forward function to the mouse. Synapse calls them Mouse Button 4 and 5, respectively. I don't find anything "clunky" about it on my Naga. Click on Mouse, click on "Side View" from the picture, click the button I want to program, choose Mouse Function > Mouse Button 4. It wasn't too hard.
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Jaron's Questions
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Handle storage demands with this Western Digital SATA solid-state drive. Its 560MB/s read speed and 530MB/s write speed are suitable for intensive applications, and its 2.5-inch form factor fits most desktops and laptops. The solid-state drive has no moving parts, making the drive resistant to shock to protect your data. Includes the WD SSD Dashboard to keep track of the drive's status.
Can I use this for a Lenovo 720, or a Samsung pro 2 in 1
If the laptop uses a standard 2.5" drive bay, then yes you should be fine. Keep in mind swapping out a drive or opening a laptop case in any way usually voids your warranty.
5 years, 8 months ago
by
Jaron
Handle storage demands with this Western Digital SATA solid-state drive. Its 560MB/s read speed and 530MB/s write speed are suitable for intensive applications, and its 2.5-inch form factor fits most desktops and laptops. The solid-state drive has no moving parts, making the drive resistant to shock to protect your data. Includes the WD SSD Dashboard to keep track of the drive's status.
Why would you sell these ssd internals and no 6gb/s sata cables only 3gb/s sata cables
Best Buy doesn't often cater to the custom desktop building crowd, so while you may find individual components, it may be hard to find all the connectors and finishing parts to complete a build.
That said, this drive is a great upgrade for most laptops that don't need the cables.
That said, this drive is a great upgrade for most laptops that don't need the cables.
5 years, 8 months ago
by
Jaron
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
Let’s say the battery dies and I connect with a wire. Will noise cancelling work? I know Bose QC35 will provide a sound but no noise cancelling on that case. What about Sony?
No because noise canceling requires power ( if you don't know, the noise canceling function uses the mic on the headset to listen to ambient noise then play an inverse canceling sound through the headphones. )
You will still get some passive noise canceling since the ear cups seal against your head and muffle outside noise ( but the QC35 do that as well ).
You will still get some passive noise canceling since the ear cups seal against your head and muffle outside noise ( but the QC35 do that as well ).
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Jaron
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
Can these headphones be pair with ps4 pro?
No, they can't because the PS4 doesn't support audio over Bluetooth ( stupid, I know ). They can plug into the PS4 controller for game audio, but they can't be used as a wired headset with mic since it doesn't support a 4-pole connector.
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Jaron
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
Does the cable come with a built in remote? This includes, volume, play pause and microphone.
No, it doesn't. It's a straight 3-pole 3.5mm cable. These can only be used as wired headphones, not a wired headset with mic since they don't support a 4-pole cable.
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Jaron
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
Is it possible to use Bluetooth to connect to an Sony ultra HD Blu - ray / DVD Player model UBP - X800 able to pair with the headsets.
That will depend on the media player device. If the player supports the proper Bluetooth profile and codec, then there's no reason it won't work. Example, my PS4 can see the headphones as a Bluetooth device, but it won't connect to it since it doesn't support BT audio for some reason ( no idea why Sony wouldn't allow their own products to work toegether like this, but there you go ).
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Jaron
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
Does the quick attention mode turn on when you rest your head against the the side of the airplane or headrest ? If so, can this feature be turned off ?
No, that won't trigger the mode. It's like a capacitive touchscreen, it requires a conductive surface ( your skin ) in order to work. This works both ways, meaning you can't adjust the volume or use the controls while wearing gloves.
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Jaron
Make your home an internet haven with this versatile Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system. Three identical tri-band dual-stream AC2200 routers, each equipped with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, deliver lightning-fast internet. Equipped with Bluetooth 4.0/LE, this Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system is simple to set up and pairs easily with computers, tablets and smart devices.
I currently have the latest AT&T Pace modem / router. Can the AT&T modem be placed into a bridge mode enabling just the modem function? From research, this is a very complicated procedure. I would prefer to return the rental AT&T unit.
Sorry, I can't say about that particular modem. My experience with most modem/router units directly from the ISP is that they are restricted in what they can do. I usually recommend people not use rental ISP equipment at all and buy their own modem. Netgear makes a great basic modem for only $60 ( http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-docsis-3-0-cable-modem-black/8860013.p?skuId=8860013 ). If you're paying $10/month to rent the AT&T modem, the Netgear will pay for itself in seven months ( but you probably already know this ).
I don't think you're using "bridge mode" correctly. That's most commonly used to run a virtual hardline to wired devices in another part of your house ( plug your Xbox/PlayStation and cable box into the bridge, then that connects wirelessly to your main router on a sort of dedicated link ). If you simply want to disable any wireless feature on it, I'm willing to bet you can. With Comcast modems that usually involves a call into customer service so they can do it remotely. But again, you're still paying the monthly rental fee. So getting your own modem is usually the better way to go.
I usually recommend you get a separate modem and wireless router rather than a combo unit. While this might be a bit more expensive up front, it can save costs in the future as you can replace one unit or the other if need arises ( if you want to upgrade your wireless performance, you can still use the modem; if you need a different modem for a new ISP, you can still use the router ).
If you need something in actual bridge mode, this is how you'd do it with the Velop. Get your own modem and at least a 2-node Velop pack. The first Velop node plugs right into the modem. Setup your other node next to the devices that need a wired connection ( most often this is a TV, cable box, Blu-ray player, or game console ). Connect the second Velop node to the wireless, then you can plug your other devices into its network ports. If you have more than two devices to plug in, you'll need a switch to get them all through the Velop ( something like this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-200-series-unmanaged-soho-5-port-10-100-1000-gigabit-switch-white/7902325.p?skuId=7902325 ).
I don't think you're using "bridge mode" correctly. That's most commonly used to run a virtual hardline to wired devices in another part of your house ( plug your Xbox/PlayStation and cable box into the bridge, then that connects wirelessly to your main router on a sort of dedicated link ). If you simply want to disable any wireless feature on it, I'm willing to bet you can. With Comcast modems that usually involves a call into customer service so they can do it remotely. But again, you're still paying the monthly rental fee. So getting your own modem is usually the better way to go.
I usually recommend you get a separate modem and wireless router rather than a combo unit. While this might be a bit more expensive up front, it can save costs in the future as you can replace one unit or the other if need arises ( if you want to upgrade your wireless performance, you can still use the modem; if you need a different modem for a new ISP, you can still use the router ).
If you need something in actual bridge mode, this is how you'd do it with the Velop. Get your own modem and at least a 2-node Velop pack. The first Velop node plugs right into the modem. Setup your other node next to the devices that need a wired connection ( most often this is a TV, cable box, Blu-ray player, or game console ). Connect the second Velop node to the wireless, then you can plug your other devices into its network ports. If you have more than two devices to plug in, you'll need a switch to get them all through the Velop ( something like this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/netgear-200-series-unmanaged-soho-5-port-10-100-1000-gigabit-switch-white/7902325.p?skuId=7902325 ).
7 years, 3 months ago
by
Jaron
Take your work and entertainment with you with this Acer Iconia One 10-inch tablet. The large screen is powered by 1GB of RAM and a quad-core 1.3 GHz processor for high efficiency, and 32GB of flash memory gives you plenty of file storage. The 5-megapixel rear camera lets you take photos using this Acer Iconia One 10-inch tablet anywhere.
Will MS powerpoint or Apple keynote be compatible for transferring my presentations on it?
You need an Android equivalent application to open those files, which may cost you money. MS made PowerPoint available on Android, can't say about the other.
7 years, 11 months ago
by
Jaron
Do you carry 1) VCR recorders? and 2) 30-foot cable to connect router to computer?
2) Yes, search for CAT-5, CAT-6, Ethernet, or network cables.
Products from my answer
Dynex™ - 50' Cat-5e Ethernet Cable - Gray
(123)
Rocketfish™ - 50' Cat-6 Network Cable - Multi
(84)13 years, 5 months ago
by
Jaron