nickcal's stats
- Review count280
- Helpfulness votes1,286
- First reviewFebruary 22, 2014
- Last reviewApril 27, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.6
Reviews comments
- Review comment count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentNone
- Last review commentNone
- Featured review comments0
Questions
- Question count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First questionNone
- Last questionNone
- Featured questions0
- Answer count4
- Helpfulness votes0
- First answerMay 23, 2016
- Last answerSeptember 7, 2020
- Featured answers0
- Best answers0
Ideal for espresso-based drinks such as cappuccinos, cortados, and flat whites, the new Ember Cup, 6 oz, offers a premium coffee experience that does more than keep your coffee hot. Our smart mug allows you to set your preferred drinking temperature, so you can enjoy your expertly crafted hot drink —just the way you like it— from the first sip to the last drop. Ember Cup’s built-in battery maintains your precise drinking temperature for up to 1.5 hours or all day with the included charging coaster.
Customer Rating
5
Ideal for coffee and tea drinkers
on June 12, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
As a coffee drinker, I have done just about everything to keep my favorite morning beverage at a comfortable drinking temperature while I enjoy it. I was thrilled when I heard about Ember products and couldn’t wait to try them. This smaller mug is perfect for stronger beverages or when you just want a ‘touch’ of something. For example, I like having a cup of coffee in the morning, but in the afternoon, I prefer to have some hot tea. That said, I don’t like to have a large cup of tea. So, this 6oz mug is perfect for that afternoon tea time.
Set up of the mug is easy. There is no assembly required and aside from plugging the charging dock into power, the user only needs to connect the mug to the app. The user manual is included as a printed booklet with the mug, but all the languages are not separated. Each step has every language option included with that step. For me, that makes it harder to read. The English instructions are highlighted in orange, but I think it would be easier if each language was separated.
I have an iPhone and so the connection to the app was pretty much flawless. I used the original Ember mug a few years back and at the time, the app connection wasn’t very good. It worked, but not as smoothly as it does now. There is also an Apple Watch app that allows you to monitor and change your preferred temperature.
To pair the mug to the app, you press/hold the button on the bottom of the mug until you see a blinking LED below the Ember logo. The app should recognize the connection via Bluetooth very quickly. One thing I want to mention is that the app is non-specific about device pairing. It will ask you what product you have and give you three options - the mug, travel mug, or travel mug 2.
For a moment I wondered if I had selected the correct app and then I selected mug to see what would happen. It was the right selection, but it would be nice if either the specific products were listed or a dialogue box appeared letting the user know that it isn’t product-specific. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but it would make the user experience better.
From here, you just set up your Ember account and make sure the firmware is updated. Then you have the option to set your preferences for the device. You can change the color of the LED and your preferred drink temperature as well as if you want the temperature reported in Fahrenheit or Celsius. I think it only took me about 5 minutes to get everything set up - from box to drinking.
The mug did have a charge out of the box (about 30%) but I would recommend charging it before use. You can leave the mug on its charging dock while you are enjoying your beverage but you don’t have to for it do its work.
As I mentioned I planned on using this smaller mug for my afternoon tea. So, to test how well the mug works to regulate the temperature, I made myself a cup of tea. I have a hot pot to heat water for coffee and tea so I set that to make some hot water and got my tea leaves set in my steeper.
I poured the water into the mug and by the time I walked back to my desk, the app had already registered that there was liquid in the mug and that it was 191º. My preferred temperature is set at 135º, which is the default for the mug out of the box. The app had already started to reduce the temperature of the tea and after about 10 minutes, the drink had been reduced to the 135º setting. I took a drink at that temp and decided it was a good average warm temperature for tea.
Next, I grabbed an ice cube and dropped it into the mug. The ice cube reduced the temperature to 106º. Once the temperature had stopped dropping, the Ember mug began working to bring the temperature back up to 135º. It only took about 5 minutes for it to raise the temp to 135º. This was very impressive to me.
After about 30 minutes of working with the mug, I got a notification that the battery was low (3%), so I set it on its charging dock. I enjoy using this mug and think that if you drink warm drinks regularly, it’s a great investment.
Pros:
Packaging is subtle, but easily identified
App-enabled
Works when not on the charger
Quick connection to the app
cools and warms drink to set temp efficiently
Watch app
Cons:
Manual is not separated by language (English is highlighted in orange). This makes it harder to read.
The specific device is not available in the app.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Make cleaning your hard floors simple with Tineco’s iFloor 3 Plus. This floor washer packs an incredible amount of power into a compact size. When space is a concern, the iFloor 3 Plus is the perfect tool to have on hand. Not only will it fit into a small space, but it will replace your bulky mops and brooms. Lightweight and cordless, you can clean up any mess with little effort and scrub away sticky messes and built-up grime simply using tap water. The carefully designed brushes safely scrub hard floors, including linoleum, vinyl, marble, laminate, tile, and hardwood. Paired with a powerful suction force, the only thing left behind is a sparkling, dry floor. With 25 minutes of uninterrupted runtime, simply grab this handy wet/dry vac and get to work in any room in your home. If grimy mop water leaves you unnerved, the iFloor 3 Plus is your solution. With a dual-tank system, you’ll never push dirty water across your floors again. Instead, the cleaning tool delivers fresh water for every sweep of the floor. Powerful suction quickly removes dirty water and leaves behind a streak-free dry floor. The perfect cleaning partner for small spaces, you can tackle kitchen spills, bathroom grime, and dirty walkways in a matter of minutes. Store in a small space and grab and go anytime.
Customer Rating
4
Good total cleaning option
on June 12, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
A few years ago, we got a cordless stick vacuum for our house. We love using it in-between our robot vacuum sweeps but we still end up having to mop the kitchen floor which is linoleum. Since we’re always looking for ways to make tasks more efficient, this wet/dry vacuum seemed like a good option for our family.
When you pull the vacuum out of its box, make sure to look through all the packaging because there are additional parts included and I almost threw out the extra dry filter because it was tucked away inside some cardboard. Even though assembly is required, it’s very minimal. You have to attach the handle to the main body of the vacuum, plug the base into power, and then set the unit on the stand. Once the battery is charged, you can start using it.
According to the manual, these are the steps you have to take for operation.
Prepare for use - includes charging the vacuum for about four hours
Press the power button to start the vacuum. It’s in ECO mode by default. There is a “MAXIECO” button that switches between the MAX and ECO modes.
Before using the WET function of the vacuum, fill the clean water tank and add one bottle cap of the solution.
The vacuum does come with a lot of parts, but some of them are duplicates so that you have your first replacement roller and filter with the original purchase. I always like it when companies provide that first part replacement.
Press the power button to start the vacuum. It’s in ECO mode by default. There is a “MAXIECO” button that switches between the MAX and ECO modes.
Before using the WET function of the vacuum, fill the clean water tank and add one bottle cap of the solution.
The vacuum does come with a lot of parts, but some of them are duplicates so that you have your first replacement roller and filter with the original purchase. I always like it when companies provide that first part replacement.
As far as operation goes, the vacuum is fairly simple. You press the power button and it turns on. If there the cleaning solution is in the clean water tank, the vacuum will both mop and vacuum simultaneously. If the water tank is empty, the vacuum will still run, but obviously will not provide the mopping function. The roller will still spin, however, so you do get a bit of a deeper dry cleaning than without it.
There are two functions that I want to point out - one that I like and one that I don’t. The first is the fact that you don’t have the option to select wet or dry. You have to use both. The only way that I’ve found to vacuum only is to leave the clean water tank empty. The problem there is that you end up with blinking lights on the display, which can get annoying.
The function I LOVE is that the vacuum is self-propelled. I was shocked when I turned it on for the first time and the vacuum nearly zoomed out of my grip. I just wasn’t expecting that much power from a cordless vacuum.
I haven’t run into a battery problem yet. The manual states that on ECO mode the vacuum should run for 25 minutes. I haven’t had a single cleaning session last that long yet so I don’t know the ‘real’ life of the battery. The battery did have some charge out of the box. I did charge it some before using it the first time, but not the full 4-hours.
I have been happy with the suction power of the vacuum and the cleaning ability of the mop, however, I did notice that any sticky spots or heavy stains will not be picked up by this vacuum. I ran the vacuum in our kitchen - moving it back and forth several times on each section of the floor. I noticed that the floor did appear shiny and wet so I know the mopping function was cycling the cleaning solution onto the floor. The floor did dry quickly I did think that it felt a lot cleaner than before I used the vacuum. I did have a couple of spots where something had been spilled and left to dry that the vacuum did not clean up. That said, a couple of lighter stains were removed if I left the vacuum sitting on top of it so that the roller brush could concentrate on that spot.
I like the features of this vacuum and its ease of use, but I do wish there were a couple of things added on (a dry/wet option, a heavy stain cleaning option, etc.). I love that a base plate is included because that gives the vacuum a spot to ‘live’ in as well as keeps the roller off the floor as it dries. All in all, I think this is a nice device.
Pros:
Easy set-up/assembly
Cordless
Powerful self-propelling function
Cons:
Only picks up surface dirt; harder stains or things ‘stuck’ to the ground will require heavier cleaning
Doesn’t have a ‘dry only’ setting unless you remove the water from the tank
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+2points
4of 6voted this as helpful.
QuietComfort® 35 wireless noise cancelling headphones are engineered with world-class noise cancellation that makes quiet sound quieter and music sound better. Free yourself from wires and connect easily to your devices with Bluetooth® and NFC pairing. And enjoy up to 20 hours of wireless listening per battery charge.
Customer Rating
3
I used to love bose then I found
on April 15, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
How Often Used:Less than once a week
I used to love bose but after my last pair, I had a hard time deciding to try these. I picked up a pair to give them a shot and found that they are nice but not as good as my AirPods Max. The noise cancellation is just not as strong and the comfort is not where it needs to be for me. My first pair of these was back in 2017 and they were great. I used them on a flight instead of my Sony's to drown out the noise of the plane. They did not do as well so I went back to my Sony I tried that next year's release hoping they had gotten better. The sound was much clearer but the noise cancellation was still not as good. This lead me to pick up the AirPods Max and I fell in love. They have been wonderful. Anyways after almost a year with the Max, I saw that Bose put out a new pair. As someone who loves Bose and has their surround sound in my home, I wanted to give them a third try. They are wonderful sounding headphones the crisp clear sounds are fantastic but the noise cancellation still is not here for me. This is saying something because I am hard of hearing as my high-end hearing is almost gone. I had a friend return these for me after trying them. I can say if you are a user of headphones and just want crisp clean clear sound then these are for you.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Sound Quality
5
Comfort
4
Durability
4
Quality
4
Value
4
Ease of Use
5
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Introducing the industry's first Quad-band mesh Wi-Fi 6E system. Orbi Quad-band, with dedicated Wi-Fi connections, new Wi-Fi 6E, and a 10 gig wired Internet port, delivers ultra-fast speeds and massive device capacity. With combined Wi-Fi speeds of up to 10.8Gbps across up to 9,000 square feet for up to 200 connected devices, you'll enjoy the amazing Wi-Fi experience.
Customer Rating
5
Simple setup and solid network connection
on February 16, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, Indiana
About five years ago, I installed my first Orbi system in my home. Since the technology behind WiFi networks has changed pretty dramatically since then, we’ve ended upgraded our wireless routers a couple of times in the meantime. The newest Orbi AXE11000 is the latest addition to our network.
Orbi does a great job of making the installation of this router system extremely user-friendly. To get started, you download the Orbi app and make sure you have an account with Netgear setup. Once that’s in place, you can proceed with the rest of the setup. You will want to place your router near your modem because it connects directly to it. The main router unit as well as the two satellites have Ethernet ports so that you can hardwire devices into them. The WiFi speed can be up to 10,800 MB/s while the Wired connections around only around 10,000 Mb/s.
Even though the app provides on-screen directions, I’ve found that it goes much smoother if you go ahead and place the satellites where you want them in your home or office. They have a range of 9,000 square feet (with the 3-pack), which is 4,000 square feet more than our original Orbi system. Each additional satellite covers 3,000 additional square feet In our home, which is also our offices, we have the main router in the main office located in the front of the house.
The first satellite is placed in the second office space, which is down the hall from the main office and it's on the north wall of the house. The second satellite is installed in our living room, which is located at the back of the house. When it’s all said and done, the three units sort of form an obtuse triangle. We structured them this way because it hits all the places that we typically need our Internet signal to reach clearly.
Now, I do want to point out that our home is only 1,500 square feet in size. So, this system seems as though it is overkill for the space. But, we’ve found that having an advanced, dedicated mesh WiFi router is the way to go - even if you don't have 9,000 square feet to cover. We never find ourselves with a dead zone in our house and because the Orbi reaches so far, our network even extends into our yard.
I'm excited that this system supports WiFi 6 even though a lot of devices haven’t caught up to that technology. We actually have two laptops - the MacBook Air M1 and the MacBook Pro M1 Max - in our home that can take advantage of WiFi 6 speeds. I was able to verify that the network is actually compatible with the technology, by looking up my laptop’s current network information in the System Profiler. The PHY Mode shows 802.11ax, which is WiFi 6.
One of the big benefits of using a stable WiFi system like this is its ability to handle smart devices. Years ago, we started adding smart devices to our house. We started small with just a few lightbulbs, but suddenly, we were swapping out ALL our bulbs for the smart ones. We now have 67 different devices on our network. This includes devices on the WiFi network and those hardwired into our switcher. This also includes many different smart home products including light bulbs, hubs, speakers, controllers, and other sensors. This Orbi system supports up to 200 devices on the network.
We have not had any issues with how the system handles all these devices. Better than that, the setup couldn’t have been easier. Aside from the initial Orbi system setup, if you have an existing WiFi network as we did, you can simply rename your new Orbi network with your old network name and password. All your old devices should reconnect within a few minutes. Since we had so many different items, it did take about 30 minutes for everything to reappear, but most of the major devices popped up right away.
Even though there is a considerable monetary investment for a system like this, I think, based on my experiences with this and other Orbi (and non-Orbi) systems, that it is extremely worth it. Our house will never end up going back to a non-mesh network.
Orbi does a great job of making the installation of this router system extremely user-friendly. To get started, you download the Orbi app and make sure you have an account with Netgear setup. Once that’s in place, you can proceed with the rest of the setup. You will want to place your router near your modem because it connects directly to it. The main router unit as well as the two satellites have Ethernet ports so that you can hardwire devices into them. The WiFi speed can be up to 10,800 MB/s while the Wired connections around only around 10,000 Mb/s.
Even though the app provides on-screen directions, I’ve found that it goes much smoother if you go ahead and place the satellites where you want them in your home or office. They have a range of 9,000 square feet (with the 3-pack), which is 4,000 square feet more than our original Orbi system. Each additional satellite covers 3,000 additional square feet In our home, which is also our offices, we have the main router in the main office located in the front of the house.
The first satellite is placed in the second office space, which is down the hall from the main office and it's on the north wall of the house. The second satellite is installed in our living room, which is located at the back of the house. When it’s all said and done, the three units sort of form an obtuse triangle. We structured them this way because it hits all the places that we typically need our Internet signal to reach clearly.
Now, I do want to point out that our home is only 1,500 square feet in size. So, this system seems as though it is overkill for the space. But, we’ve found that having an advanced, dedicated mesh WiFi router is the way to go - even if you don't have 9,000 square feet to cover. We never find ourselves with a dead zone in our house and because the Orbi reaches so far, our network even extends into our yard.
I'm excited that this system supports WiFi 6 even though a lot of devices haven’t caught up to that technology. We actually have two laptops - the MacBook Air M1 and the MacBook Pro M1 Max - in our home that can take advantage of WiFi 6 speeds. I was able to verify that the network is actually compatible with the technology, by looking up my laptop’s current network information in the System Profiler. The PHY Mode shows 802.11ax, which is WiFi 6.
One of the big benefits of using a stable WiFi system like this is its ability to handle smart devices. Years ago, we started adding smart devices to our house. We started small with just a few lightbulbs, but suddenly, we were swapping out ALL our bulbs for the smart ones. We now have 67 different devices on our network. This includes devices on the WiFi network and those hardwired into our switcher. This also includes many different smart home products including light bulbs, hubs, speakers, controllers, and other sensors. This Orbi system supports up to 200 devices on the network.
We have not had any issues with how the system handles all these devices. Better than that, the setup couldn’t have been easier. Aside from the initial Orbi system setup, if you have an existing WiFi network as we did, you can simply rename your new Orbi network with your old network name and password. All your old devices should reconnect within a few minutes. Since we had so many different items, it did take about 30 minutes for everything to reappear, but most of the major devices popped up right away.
Even though there is a considerable monetary investment for a system like this, I think, based on my experiences with this and other Orbi (and non-Orbi) systems, that it is extremely worth it. Our house will never end up going back to a non-mesh network.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+4points
4of 4voted this as helpful.
Featuring a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3 processor, 8GB of Memory, and a 1TB hard drive, this desktop has the power to zip through tasks quickly and easily. Comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port, built-in WiFi, and a wired keyboard/mouse. An expandable, space-saving design makes the Dell Inspiron 3891 a great option for the office or home.
Customer Rating
2
Decent hardware, but poor user experience
on February 13, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville,IN
Blogger Network Member:blog
So, I want to start by saying I’m not typically a desktop user. In fact, it’s been years since I’ve had a standard desktop tower. In addition to that, I don’t use Windows-based machines on a daily basis. That said, I do have quite a bit of experience with PCs and have owned Dell towers in the past. I thought it might be interesting to try this entry-level Dell compact tower out and see how it compares to machines I use on a daily basis.
I’ve always found Dell PCs to be solid machines. They are built well and stand up to standard daily use productivity tasks. They aren’t necessarily built for high-performance gaming or creative studio tasks, but they run email, word processing and spreadsheet applications, and internet browsers well. They are typically great for people who just need a computer for students or practical home use. Unfortunately, this Dell did not live up to that expectation.
First of all, the specs on the PC state the processor, memory, and graphics card should be able to handle entry-level processing, basic gaming, and mid-heavy applications. I did not have that experience - at all. I got the tower plugged in appropriately (a display cable is not included, but the machine has a VGA and HDMI port on it for the monitor interface) and pressed the power button. It took approximately 20 minutes to get to the initial setup screen. At that point, Windows walks the user through a few basic start-up steps including entering your Windows user ID, setting your region, and allowing certain permissions. That part of the process only took about 5 minutes to get through.
Then, I had to wait. And, wait. And, wait some more.
After what seemed like forever, the PC finally showed the home desktop, and even though I could still hear the HD being written to I decided to start by opening the web browser. By default, the internet browser on a Windows 11 machine is Edge. I’ve noticed that Edge can be a little slower than other browsers because it also loads news stories on the front page, but I’ve never experienced anything as I did with this Dell. I couldn’t even type words into the search bar.
I would type and then literally about 10 seconds later the letters would start to appear. NOTE: I was using the provided wired Dell keyboard and mouse. I was connected to the internet using our wireless network. We average download speeds of 450 Mbps and upload speeds of 25 Mbps. None of our other computers or devices were having issues so I knew it wasn’t an internet speed issue.
I tried to do a few simple navigation tasks but got very frustrated at the computer’s response time so about an hour later, I finally gave up on working with the PC and decided to go to bed.
The next morning, I had a little bit clearer head and decided to check the task manager. I thought that maybe there was a large amount of background tasks running. Keep in mind, I was not running any other applications except Task Manager when I looked at the system performance specs. The first time I captured the performance information, the memory usage was showing 4.7/7.7 GB or 61% of the total memory of the machine. CPU usage was at about 10%. I looked at the processes being performed and there were 81 background tasks being performed.
I started trying to look through the massive list of background tasks to try and eliminate some of the more intensive ones and that just became too cumbersome. Even though it’s not good to leave your system vulnerable to outside sources, I removed the McAfee applications to see if that would help with some of the system performance. I found that reduced the memory usage from 4.7GB to 3.9GB. It made a difference, but that was still 50% usage with NO APPLICATIONS RUNNING.
Next, I ran the Dell SupportAssist diagnostic utility. This app helps to troubleshoot your PC and optimize certain parts of your system. The tests showed that several updates need to be made so I installed those. After that was completed the SupportAssist app was showing that 0.10GB of drive space was reclaimed, 8 updates were installed, and 66 files were optimized. I thought that maybe I would start seeing a change in the performance, but I did not.
Before I completed gave up on the machine, I downloaded a few benchmarking apps (Geekbench, NovaBench, and CrystalDiskMark) to run some additional tests, but I used Google Chrome to do it. I still had some lag with Chrome, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was with Edge. I was at least able to type into the search bar.
Geekbench: The single-core score was 808 and the multi-core score was 2946. This is about 27% lower than the top 5 average of single-core scores for the Intel Core i3-10105, 4-core processor on Geekbench (average 1098 for single-core score), and the multi-core scores (average was 4066).
NovaBench: The average CPU score for the Intel Core i3-10105 with 8GB of RAM on NovaBench is 1016. The score for my Dell after running the NovaBench utility was 1394.
CrystalDiskMark had a read/write speed of 179 MB/s and 178.85 MB/s respectively.
It’s important to note that these benchmarks really only test the hardware functionality and where it should be operating. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the hardware of the computer. After seeing how many background tasks are running on the machine out of the box, I’m led to believe that it’s more than likely bloatware creeping its ugly head in.
As an entry-level machine, I would expect that out of the box the computer would be easy to set up and be running the internet browser at the bare minimum. Unfortunately, this Dell was not capable of doing that. Since this is an ‘entry-level’ machine, you can’t really expect that the average user of this type of computer would go to the trouble I did - or even think to take the steps I did - to try and cure the computer of its slow down issues. The only thing that I think might help is to do a clean install of the operating system and ensure that no unnecessary software packages are included with the setup. At one point, the background tasks did show over 80 tasks. I know that some basic operations of the computer are being completed, but it seems like a lot to be running when no applications (other than Task Manager) are open.
I wanted to love this compact PC tower, but the user experience was just awful for me.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
2
Quality
2
Value
2
Ease of Use
5
Share this review:
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
MagGo Magetic Portable 5K Battery with Bracket is both a charger and a stand, specifically for your MagSafe compatible iPhone 12 & 13. Using new technology, this can magnetically attach to the back of your phone, providing it a wireless charge along with a strong attachment. The battery also has a bracket that folds out, so that you can stand your phone up wherever you want.
Customer Rating
5
A convenient way to charge
on November 26, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
The battery comes in an Anker-branded box. The front of the box is white with some blue accents including the Anker logo and the back has the model information on it. When you pull the battery out of the box, you will find it in a plastic tray that also houses the multilingual user manual and USB-C charging cable. The battery pack itself is very compact. It’s about half the size of my phone. One of the features I really love about this battery is its fold-out, magnetic kickstand. It gives you the option to be able to have a charging stand without having it be a permanent fixture on your desk. The stand is sturdy, but when the phone is connected to the battery, the entire assembly can become top-heavy and get knocked over quite easily. The battery did have a charge out of the box. There are five LED indicator lights on the bottom that show the different levels of charge on the battery as well as the charging status of the battery.
As a test, I connected my phone wirelessly to the MagGo battery and let it charge for 40 minutes. Every ten minutes, I did a status check on it to check the progress of the charge and noted the progress of the phone’s charging. After the 40 minutes had elapsed, I calculated the total percentage gained and divided that by the total number of minutes the phone was charging to get the charging rate. In this case, the overall charging rate was 0.575% per minute. The battery did warm up quite a bit after charging for that long, but it cooled down quickly.
The battery is a very convenient charging companion for the iPhone. It’s powerful, efficient and compact. It is also cost competitive with other magnetic batteries. I was definitely impressed with its performance and love how well it works with my smartphone.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
SC 400D - The ultimate solution to all of life's blindspots. Whether you're on the road or parked, a commercial driver or commuter, hauling cargo or chauffeuring kids - you're covered from all angles in all situations with a Cobra smart dash cam. With stunning, easily-sharable 4K UHD resolution, Alexa built-in, heads-up navigation, and life police alerts, there's no better way to protect the vehicles, drivers, passengers, and cargo you value most. See just how much peace of mind the award-winning Cobra SC 400D dash cam can provide.
Customer Rating
4
Less than stellar experience
on November 18, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
The packaging of the dash camera is a good retail box with Cobra branding and an image of the camera on the front. There are various details called out and the ‘Alexa Built-in’ logo on the front. The back of the box labels the camera as ‘the ultimate smart dash cam’ and provides a diagram for the different features of the camera. Inside the box, you’ll find all the parts of the system to make it work. I surprisingly had a difficult time getting into the box and for a moment, I thought a part was missing (the magnetic mount). It ended up just being tucked under a flap that I thought I already pulled everything out of.
Once you have everything pulled out of the box you should have the following:
1 - Dash Camera
1 - Rear-facing camera
1 - vehicle charger with Micro USB plug
1 - short USB-A to Micro USB cable
1 - rear camera extension cable (USB Mini to 3.5mm plug cable)
1 - magnetic mount for the main camera
2 - adhesive pads (1 large, 1 small)
The first thing I noted about the main camera is how heavy it is. It’s a substantial piece of equipment. I’ve used many dash cameras through the years and this one feels and looks kind of like a point-and-shoot camera. The next thing I noticed was the types of connectors used. The main camera uses Micro USB and the rear camera uses USB Mini. I found this to be very odd considering they are pretty outdated technologies. Given the cost of this product and the fact that it is new to market, I really expected USB-C as the connecting technology. That said, the use of the older types of connectors was very disappointing to me. I was, however, impressed to see that a 64GB Micro SD card was included and already inserted into the slot of the main camera.
Because of the fact that the camera (front and rear) require cables to connect, the setup can take a while if you properly dress your cables. Since I am a stickler for cable management, I took a lot of care hiding the extension cable between the main camera and rear camera. I do have to admit that I wasn’t sure if the cable would actually reach by looking at it. It was long enough (I have an SUV), but just barely.
The camera/video quality is very good. It is much easier to see things like license plates and tell the make/model of a vehicle than with non-4K dash cams. Even though the quality of the video should make or break the user experience, I have to say that the app does leave something to be desired. I had some issues connecting to Alexa and even transferring video from the camera to my phone using the app. I would assume that when the app gets an update this system might be more valuable.
This seems like a good system, but it does have some places where improvements could be made. It's a hefty investment for something that isn't great out of the box.
Once you have everything pulled out of the box you should have the following:
1 - Dash Camera
1 - Rear-facing camera
1 - vehicle charger with Micro USB plug
1 - short USB-A to Micro USB cable
1 - rear camera extension cable (USB Mini to 3.5mm plug cable)
1 - magnetic mount for the main camera
2 - adhesive pads (1 large, 1 small)
The first thing I noted about the main camera is how heavy it is. It’s a substantial piece of equipment. I’ve used many dash cameras through the years and this one feels and looks kind of like a point-and-shoot camera. The next thing I noticed was the types of connectors used. The main camera uses Micro USB and the rear camera uses USB Mini. I found this to be very odd considering they are pretty outdated technologies. Given the cost of this product and the fact that it is new to market, I really expected USB-C as the connecting technology. That said, the use of the older types of connectors was very disappointing to me. I was, however, impressed to see that a 64GB Micro SD card was included and already inserted into the slot of the main camera.
Because of the fact that the camera (front and rear) require cables to connect, the setup can take a while if you properly dress your cables. Since I am a stickler for cable management, I took a lot of care hiding the extension cable between the main camera and rear camera. I do have to admit that I wasn’t sure if the cable would actually reach by looking at it. It was long enough (I have an SUV), but just barely.
The camera/video quality is very good. It is much easier to see things like license plates and tell the make/model of a vehicle than with non-4K dash cams. Even though the quality of the video should make or break the user experience, I have to say that the app does leave something to be desired. I had some issues connecting to Alexa and even transferring video from the camera to my phone using the app. I would assume that when the app gets an update this system might be more valuable.
This seems like a good system, but it does have some places where improvements could be made. It's a hefty investment for something that isn't great out of the box.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Rewire the rules with the Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma—a sleek, customizable hub that ushers in a new era of connectivity for your ideal setup. Packed with 10 ports, lightning-fast data transfer rates, and dual 4K or single 8K video output, you’ll always be primed to make the right connections.
Customer Rating
5
A unique docking option
on November 17, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
For many years, I’ve been running my workstation off of a laptop - namely, a MacBook Pro. A few months ago, I shifted my main computer over to a MacMini. That said, I do still require a docking station in place so that I can utilize all my peripherals and accessories. I was drawn to this docking station by Razer because of its use of Thunderbolt 4 and because of how it uses RGB lighting effects.
The dock provides a great option for creating a connection option for a laptop-based workstation. With it, you can connect your laptop to all your peripherals with one cable. One thing that was surprising to me was that there were no display port options (DisplayPort or HDMI). The USB-C ports do transmit video and audio signals, but you will have to acquire a USB-C to HDMI/DisplayPort cable in order to connect to most modern monitors.
The dock provides a great option for creating a connection option for a laptop-based workstation. With it, you can connect your laptop to all your peripherals with one cable. One thing that was surprising to me was that there were no display port options (DisplayPort or HDMI). The USB-C ports do transmit video and audio signals, but you will have to acquire a USB-C to HDMI/DisplayPort cable in order to connect to most modern monitors.
The dock works with the MacBook Pro out of the box without needing any drivers. That said, there is no Mac software to control the RGB under glow so if you are using a Mac, you won’t have any customization options and the colors will just cycle. The first time I connected the laptop to the dock, I connected it to one of the USB-C ports on the rear of the dock. These ports, I discovered, are all ‘receiver’ ports. That means, that while they can provide power to a connected computer, they aren’t going to recognize that computer as the source machine. The source port is on the front of the dock, which I found strange for cable organization purposes. I would have much rather seen this port on the front be a receive port for easy access.
I also connected the dock to a Windows laptop and played around with the Synapse software. It takes a few minutes to get it downloaded and setup, but it immediately recognized the dock.
Despite the lack of customization possibilities for Mac computers, the dock is very sturdy as it’s all metal and it works great for connecting USB-A and USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 devices to a single computer base. I do, however, wish the power supply was smaller and that the ports were organized differently. I will be using this Thunderbolt dock mostly with my Gaming PC and because its Thunderbolt 4 I will also plug in my MacBook Pro to get the most usability out of the ports. This is an awesome dock for both PC and Mac.
I also connected the dock to a Windows laptop and played around with the Synapse software. It takes a few minutes to get it downloaded and setup, but it immediately recognized the dock.
Despite the lack of customization possibilities for Mac computers, the dock is very sturdy as it’s all metal and it works great for connecting USB-A and USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 devices to a single computer base. I do, however, wish the power supply was smaller and that the ports were organized differently. I will be using this Thunderbolt dock mostly with my Gaming PC and because its Thunderbolt 4 I will also plug in my MacBook Pro to get the most usability out of the ports. This is an awesome dock for both PC and Mac.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Introducing Pixel 6 Pro, the completely redesigned, fully loaded Google 5G phone.* With a powerful camera system, next-gen security, and the custom-built Google Tensor processor, it’s the smartest and fastest Pixel yet.
Customer Rating
5
An impressive smartphone and a worthy investment
on November 3, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
The Pixel 6 Pro comes in a slender retail box with Google branding on it. An image of the phone adorns the front of the box with the SKU, IMEI1, and eSIM ID included on the bottom. The back of the box is bare except for a stamp that reads “#TeamPixel” and the specs of the phone (name, size, capacity, color, etc.). The box is not enclosed in plastic, but it does have simple adhesive strips holding the top of the box to its body. I have really started enjoying this type of closure because it doesn’t destroy the box when you open it. When you open the box, the first thing you will see is the back of the phone. There is a paper tab sticking out from the bottom of the phone that helps you to remove the device from the box. This tab is attached to a larger piece of paper that is affixed to the front of the phone to protect the screen from scratches. While it’s in its own box. Once you remove the phone, you will find the charging cable, a quick switch adapter for data transfer, and a tiny packet of papers that includes set-up instructions as well as a SIM card puller.
As an Apple and Google user, I want to say that my first impressions of the phone were very positive. In this last round of iPhone models, I got a Pro model phone which has a screen size of 6.1”. Since the Pixel 6 Pro has a screen size of 6.7”, I was immediately taken with the size of the phone. It feels really good in the hand. It’s not too large to handle, but it does feel a little weighted - not heavy, just weighted. The camera system was instantly noticeable, too, as it takes up the entire length of the phone and is almost an inch in height. I also noticed how quickly the phone collected fingerprints. The phone is covered by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Victus glass on the front and is stated to have a fingerprint-resistant coating. After having the phone out of the box for about 5 minutes, fingerprints were showing up. I will say that they are easy to clean off though.
After I finished giving the physical phone a once-over, I moved on to set-up. The first step was to power the phone on by pressing the power button for 5 seconds. The first screen you see is an all-white Google start-up screen. This actually allows you to see the entire edge-to-edge screen of the Pixel 6 Pro. It’s quite lovely and really makes the phone stand out. Next, you will be asked to insert a SIM and connect the phone to WiFi. After completing those steps the phone shows a screen that states you might be waiting for a few minutes. Then, the phone will ask if you want to import apps. I did not go that route and instead moved on to entering my Google Account information. You will get through a lot of permissions and then finally, you will be asked if you want to set up the fingerprint reader.
Some of the most important features to me on a phone are video quality, audio quality, gameplay, battery life, camera quality, ease of use (general), and call quality. So, those are the areas I looked at closely as I tested out the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
Video Quality: This phone has the most incredible screen I’ve seen on a smartphone. It’s crystal clear and very bright. I watched several videos on YouTube including 4K and 8K video feeds. It looks amazing.
Audio Quality: While the video quality is incredible, the sound quality is only above average. It’s only good - not great. The lows sounded powerful, but the bright tones seemed a little hollow to me. I also thought at 100% volume it could have been louder.
Gameplay: To test out the gameplay on this phone I downloaded a bunch of random games including Tetris from the Google Play store and played a few rounds. It was fun. The screen was responsive to commands and the movements and color looked great.
Battery Life: I would say the battery thus far is very good. Out of the box, it was less than 100% full and after watching videos, listening to music through YT Music, and playing games, the percentage had fallen to 58%. This was also with the brightness turned up to 100% on the screen.
Camera Quality: The camera is also very impressive. I decided to test it by taking a photo in extremely low light. The nighttime setting on the camera worked really well. It’s a nice camera system and it takes superb photos even better than the competition by far.
Ease of Use (General): As I mentioned, the phone body feels great in the hands. I also really like that the volume button is on the same side as the power button. It just feels natural. I didn’t have any trouble setting up the phone or inserting a SIM card either.
Call Quality: I made quite a few phone calls with the Pixel 6 Pro and they all sounded above average. I didn’t have any trouble hearing or understanding the person on the other end and they said they could hear me just fine as well.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is a great smartphone and it is a step up from other Android-based phones I’ve worked with in the past. It’s an impressive device and worthy of the investment.
I used the Pixel Pro with my Next and it's like it was made for it. My device connected to my thermostat and controlled everything extremely well. I also wanted to make sure I took advantage of Google apps. I am a big photo person so making sure I had a device that worked flawlessly with Google photos was important. I love the magic erase inside of the Photos app on this phone. It makes for cleaning images of stuff I don't want in my image a breeze. I am really happy with Google trying to create an ecosystem. I need to find a new door lock that will work with my new Smartphone. The way it worked with my next I would be happy to add new smart home products knowing they are going to work just as well.
Things I love about this phone are the screen, camera, power and speed of the OS. Google did a fine job creating a flagship phone.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
-3points
2of 7voted this as helpful.
Where’s the fun in winning if you can’t do it your way? With the Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma, next-gen customizability is now. Armed with extra remappable buttons, Razer Chroma RGB, swappable thumbsticks and more, you’ll always be spoiled for choice when it comes to tearing up the competition.
Customer Rating
5
Definite upgrade from run-of-the-mill controllers
on October 28, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
Finding a controller that fits you and works for your game can be a difficult match to make. Forutnately Razer has this amazing controller for Xbox Series X|S users that features some pro-level controls as well as RGB lighting effects. It’s definitely a step up in the controller world and an upgrade from a standard Xbox controller.
Unboxing: The controller comes in a Razer-branded box with an image of the controller on the front. I like that this is provided so that you are sure you are getting your controller of choice for the correct gaming system. It’s a very noticeable package and I believe it would stick out on a retail shelf. The back of the box calls out the main features of the controller like the 6 additional multi-function buttons, interchangeable thumb stick caps, mechanical-tactile action buttons and D-pad, hair trigger mode with trigger stop switches, powered by Razer Chroma RGB, and improved ergonomics. When you open the box, you will find the controller sitting inside some foam. There are replacement thumb stick caps resting above the controller. There is a small black box compartment that holds the connector cable, Razer stickers, and a user guide.
First Impressions: When I took the controller out of the box, I was immediately struck by the weight of the controller. It felt similar to my standard Xbox controller, but a little heavier. I liked this about it. I plugged in the controller using the provided cable (USB-C to USB-A) and my Xbox immediately powered up and the controller lit up. The RGB effect is definitely a plus in my book. I like adding fun lighting effects to anything in my workspace and the lights on the controller are bright and colorful. Another thing I noticed right off the bat was the mechanical ‘click’ you get when you press buttons. It’s almost like using a mechanical keyboard, but in controller form.
Gameplay: One of my favorite games to play is Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s a game I know really well and I know how a standard controller feels while playing it. So, I started it up and played for a bit to get a feel for the Razer controller. Overall, I was very impressed with the reaction timing of the controls and how good the tactile mechanical buttons felt in comparison to the standard softer buttons on an Xbox controller. The only thing that ended up throwing me for a loop was the position of the menu buttons. They aren't in the exact middle of the controller and that ended up hindering me a little bit since some of the gameplay of RDR2 deals with recalling the menu quite a bit.
Overall: I think this controller is a great alternative to the traditional Xbox controller. It looks great, feels awesome in the hands and is incredibly responsive. I really love the trigger paddles on the back even though I haven't used them much yet. They feel solid and don’t feel as if they will just fall off like some pro-level triggers do.
Unboxing: The controller comes in a Razer-branded box with an image of the controller on the front. I like that this is provided so that you are sure you are getting your controller of choice for the correct gaming system. It’s a very noticeable package and I believe it would stick out on a retail shelf. The back of the box calls out the main features of the controller like the 6 additional multi-function buttons, interchangeable thumb stick caps, mechanical-tactile action buttons and D-pad, hair trigger mode with trigger stop switches, powered by Razer Chroma RGB, and improved ergonomics. When you open the box, you will find the controller sitting inside some foam. There are replacement thumb stick caps resting above the controller. There is a small black box compartment that holds the connector cable, Razer stickers, and a user guide.
First Impressions: When I took the controller out of the box, I was immediately struck by the weight of the controller. It felt similar to my standard Xbox controller, but a little heavier. I liked this about it. I plugged in the controller using the provided cable (USB-C to USB-A) and my Xbox immediately powered up and the controller lit up. The RGB effect is definitely a plus in my book. I like adding fun lighting effects to anything in my workspace and the lights on the controller are bright and colorful. Another thing I noticed right off the bat was the mechanical ‘click’ you get when you press buttons. It’s almost like using a mechanical keyboard, but in controller form.
Gameplay: One of my favorite games to play is Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s a game I know really well and I know how a standard controller feels while playing it. So, I started it up and played for a bit to get a feel for the Razer controller. Overall, I was very impressed with the reaction timing of the controls and how good the tactile mechanical buttons felt in comparison to the standard softer buttons on an Xbox controller. The only thing that ended up throwing me for a loop was the position of the menu buttons. They aren't in the exact middle of the controller and that ended up hindering me a little bit since some of the gameplay of RDR2 deals with recalling the menu quite a bit.
Overall: I think this controller is a great alternative to the traditional Xbox controller. It looks great, feels awesome in the hands and is incredibly responsive. I really love the trigger paddles on the back even though I haven't used them much yet. They feel solid and don’t feel as if they will just fall off like some pro-level triggers do.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
nickcal's Review Comments
nickcal has not submitted comments on any reviews.
nickcal's Questions
nickcal has not submitted any questions.
nickcal's Answers
Life’s extraordinary moments deserve to be captured with smooth video. DJI OM 4 is a magnetic gimbal designed to complement your smartphone, allowing you to start recording right away. Ultra-compact, easy to use, and bursting with intelligent features, OM 4 is the ultimate solution for capturing and sharing your world.
Does the magnetic sticker phone attachment interfere with wireless phone charging?
Ensure meals are cooked evenly with this Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1e microwave. The grill, convection oven and microwave functions provide a variety of cooking options, while the Element IQ technology precisely delivers the right cooking temperature for optimal results. This Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1 microwave features a Power Smoothing inverter for automatic adjustment of power to enable even heat distribution.
Is this an air fryer, microwave and convection oven
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
Will Google Home work with ECOBEE Thermostat?
No. Unfortunately, Google has limited functionality to only the Nest thermostat. At this time, I don't see them opening up support for third parties as they are probably trying to push it with their own hardware, but that could always change.
7 years, 6 months ago
by
nickcal
Enjoy a compact tablet that fits neatly in your pocket with this Acer Iconia One 8-inch tablet. It includes a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM that deliver powerful processing to play all your games and apps, and the 16GB of flash memory ensure this Acer Iconia One 8-inch tablet and store your files.
can i download skype
Depends on the Google Play store. If Microsoft has a version of Skype for Android then yes.
7 years, 11 months ago
by
nickcal