optimummind's stats
- Review count147
- Helpfulness votes4,811
- First reviewJune 28, 2014
- Last reviewApril 28, 2024
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- Average rating4.7
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- Answer count23
- Helpfulness votes25
- First answerAugust 30, 2017
- Last answerMarch 4, 2021
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XPS products are designed to be the best, withcutting-edge technologies, exceptional build quality,unique materials and powerful features. XPS brings together the most elegant designs and premiumexperiences to enhance your work and personalsuccess. This combination ultimately results in beautifully crafted products with no compromises. Introducing the new Dell XPS 13 Plus - our most powerful 13-inch XPS yet. Designed from the ground up to be our highest performing flagship 13 ever so you can do everything you love to do faster. The simplified interiors wow and the best-inclass panels bring your content to life. Featuring the latest Intel 12th Gen Intel Core Evo platform processors and displays with high resolution, brightness and color gamut to bring content to life. Simplified, modern and edge-to?edge interiors are beautiful and provide a seamless, touch?friendly experience for users.
Customer Rating
5
Stunning looks with performance to match.
on October 3, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
The Dell XPS Plus 9320 is my first XPS machine from Dell, and it has lived up to its reputation for being premium, powerful, light, and elegantly designed. With a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 1260P processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a speedy NVME hard drive, the machine can handle everything I throw at it with aplomb. The 13.4” 3456x2160 OLED display is gorgeous, bright, and very sharp with its 288 dpi. The keyboard is wonderfully tactile and well-dampened, and the huge touchpad area is fantastic and very responsive. Although I’m missing USB-A ports, dongles are included with the laptop, and the USB-C ports are at least Thunderbolt 4. The XPS Plus costs a pretty penny but if you got the coin for it, it’s a wonderful Windows 11 machine that is highly performant, pretty to look at, and easy to live with.
_____
*Pros:
_____
*Pros:
-Pretty and attractive minimalist design with excellent fit and finish with first-rate build materials.
-Slim, compact, and very light.
-Gorgeous 3.5K OLED display with minimal bezel that’s very crisp, evenly lit, and bright.
-Fantastic performance from the Intel Evo platform.
-Nice keyboard with good travel and feedback.
-Quiet operation with low fan noise.
-USB-C ports support PD 3.0, Thunderbolt 4, and DisplayPort 1.4.
-Supports Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint authentication.
_____
*Neutral:
-Slim, compact, and very light.
-Gorgeous 3.5K OLED display with minimal bezel that’s very crisp, evenly lit, and bright.
-Fantastic performance from the Intel Evo platform.
-Nice keyboard with good travel and feedback.
-Quiet operation with low fan noise.
-USB-C ports support PD 3.0, Thunderbolt 4, and DisplayPort 1.4.
-Supports Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint authentication.
_____
*Neutral:
-The top “touchbar” lighting is always on and sometimes distracting.
-The Up and Down arrow keys are half-sized.
-Despite being Intel Evo-certified, the battery life isn’t as good as expected.
-I still like the UI of Windows 10 better.
_____
*Cons:
-The Up and Down arrow keys are half-sized.
-Despite being Intel Evo-certified, the battery life isn’t as good as expected.
-I still like the UI of Windows 10 better.
_____
*Cons:
-No USB-A and AUX ports.
=== Design and Build Quality ===
The XPS Plus 9320 is visually striking and a delight to look at and touch. Even with the lid closed, you can tell it’s a premium-class device due to its metal build, slimness, and first-rate fit-and-finish. Open the lid and the delight continues, with an almost bezel-free display design, a keyboard with keys that are extra big and flush to the palm rest area, and the “invisible” touchpad located in the middle of the deck topped with soft-touch and smooth frosted glass.
The keyboard is edge-to-edge and it looks minimalist, modern, and futuristic. Above the row of number keys is a capacitive touch “touchbar” that provides common system shortcuts such as media volume control and screen brightness as well as the ESC, PRT SC, HOME, END, INSERT, and DELETE functions. By pressing and holding the FN key, the touchbar row changes to the Function keys which is slick in operation and look.
There is no squeaky flex on the keyboard or palm rest areas, and the hinge has the perfect level of resistance and sturdiness with no wobbles while still enabling one-finger operation.
The XPS Plus 9320 is the most attractive laptop I’ve ever owned, and I love it.
=== Performance ===
My XPS Plus is configured with a 12th-gen Core i7 1260P (12 cores, 16 threads), 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a Western Digital 512GB PCIE 4.0 NVME hard drive, and the performance is absolutely great. I can do everything on the 9320 except for heavy gaming, such as video transcoding, video editing, multi-browser multi-tasking (Chrome and Edge with about 30 tabs between them), Excel and Word processing, and video and audio streaming.
Bootup time is short and fast, and the machine quickly wakes up from sleep and hibernation modes, no doubt thanks to the PCIE 4.0 NVME drive.
Even with the 9320 heavily loaded in its default Balanced power mode, the system runs quiet thanks to its efficient fans. The chassis does a good job dissipating the heat and keeping the keyboard area nice and cool but I wouldn’t rest the laptop on my lap. Instead, I recommend keeping the 9320 propped up a couple of inches off the table using a laptop stand.
In terms of performance and usability, I cannot fault the XPS Plus 9320 at all – it’s solid.
=== Keyboard and Touchpad ===
I spend a lot of time typing up stuff so I was glad to discover the keyboard to be well-dampened, the keys spaced apart properly and comfortably, and for the keys to have good travel with a nice amount of spring-back resistance. Since the keys are flat and flush, it took me a while to get used to the new-to-me layout and feel. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to reach my normal laptop typing speed of 98wpm.
There are some aspects I’m still getting used to and find slightly annoying, and they’re the half-sized Up and Down arrow areas and the capacitive buttons on the top row. Because the Up and Down keys are so skinny, it takes me longer to feel for them when using them without looking. And although the always lit-up “touchbar” looks futuristic and cool, they can become distracting when watching media in a dark room. As well, I miss the tactile sensation of pressing the ESC and DELETE buttons.
Unlike for the keyboard, I have no issues with the Microsoft Precision touchpad. The frosted glass surface is buttery smooth and feels very nice when gliding your fingers across it. It’s also very responsive and easy to use.
=== Audio & Network ===
The audio is surprisingly good for a laptop, especially one as slim and compact as the XPS Plus 9320. The bass is punchy and the soundstage is well-covered.
I experienced no issues with the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. My earbuds and mice formed a solid and reliable connection and never lagged or got dropped. Ditto for my home Wi-Fi network which runs on a 100Mbps Spectrum connection and the 3-point Google Nest Wi-Fi router.
=== Battery life ===
=== Battery life ===
After seeing the Intel Evo sticker on the palm rest, I expected super-long battery life but I was left a bit disappointed. With the screen brightness at around 80%, my two browsers open with about 30 tabs, and music streaming in the background, I lost 70% battery life in about 1 & ½ hours. I’m not a student so I don’t have to worry about all-day battery but I would’ve liked to see at least 4-5 hours of battery with max screen brightness.
=== Is it a good buy? ===
If you got the coin for it and you’re okay with the dock and dongle life, then the XPS Plus 9320 is a good choice for those who want fast performance in a gorgeously crafted package of metal and glass. It’s quite a looker, very performant, and very light and portable. Due to Dell pushing the envelope in certain design areas, such as the capacitive touchbar, invisible touchpad, and flush keyboard, you’ll probably need some adjustment time but they’re not deal-breakers. I give the XPS Plus 9320 4.5 Stars.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 takes everything you loved about the original wire-free, battery-powered Wyze Cam Outdoor to a whole new level. Now with our Starlight Sensor, you can see at night just as clear as day with Color Night Vision 1080p HD resolution. Get alerted when motion is detected, now up to 28% further away and set custom motion detection zones to only get alerts that matter to you. See even more than before with a wider, 130 degree field of view, so you can see more of what’s out there. Take advantage of the built-in security features like a motion-activated siren, two-way audio, and motion-detection alerts for even more peace of mind. Best of all, it’s easy to mount, has a 6-month battery life with easy recharging via microUSB, and you can even connect it to Wyze Solar Panel to eliminate the need to recharge ever again, depending upon your location.
Customer Rating
2
Priced well but falls short in many ways.
on October 3, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
_____
*Pros:
*Pros:
-Very simple, straightforward, and intuitive setup process handled inside the app.
-The base station is small and compact and doesn’t take up much space.
-Option to install a microSD card inside both a camera and the base station (local storage).
-Intuitive and easy-to-navigate app.
-“Travel mode” lets you record footage without the base station or an Internet connection.
-Comes with a free subscription option that saves 12-second long videos in the Cloud for 14 days.
_____
*Neutral:
-The base station is small and compact and doesn’t take up much space.
-Option to install a microSD card inside both a camera and the base station (local storage).
-Intuitive and easy-to-navigate app.
-“Travel mode” lets you record footage without the base station or an Internet connection.
-Comes with a free subscription option that saves 12-second long videos in the Cloud for 14 days.
_____
*Neutral:
-The free Cam Plus Lite subscription feels too limited.
-Video playback is often choppy with occasional frozen frames.
-Audio is somewhat echo-y and muffled.
-The two-way audio feature is let down by a low speaker volume.
_____
*Cons:
-Video playback is often choppy with occasional frozen frames.
-Audio is somewhat echo-y and muffled.
-The two-way audio feature is let down by a low speaker volume.
_____
*Cons:
-Battery life is underwhelming.
=== Summary ===
I’ve gone through a fair share of different security cameras (Samsung, Logitech, Arlo, Lorex, Ring), and I would rank the Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 somewhere in the middle. I like the Wyze Outdoor v2 for its simplicity of setup, intuitive and speedy mobile app, reliable connection, good 1080P daytime image quality with decent nighttime “color night vision”, option for local storage, and a free subscription option (Cam Plus Lite) that offers 14 days of Cloud storage. I don’t like, however, its often choppy video playback, limited 12-second recording time with a 5-minute cooldown time on the Cam Plus Lite plan, and dismal battery life that cannot really last for six months. For a 3-pack system, the value feels quite strong but I wouldn’t recommend the Outdoor v2 to friends and family due to some shortcomings. There are many better cameras out there.
=== Setup Process ===
I began the setup process using the Wyze app and it did an excellent job walking me through all the steps with wording and diagrams that are very clear and easy to follow. You first use an ethernet cable to connect the base station to your router and add it to your home network. Then you add each camera and sync it to the base station (the base station supports up to four cameras). Once the setup is complete, you may choose to unplug the ethernet cable from the base station and run it in Wi-Fi mode which is what I chose to do.
If you stop right here, then the cameras will only save a picture snapshot of motion events, which is not why one would buy a security camera system. To actually begin recording and saving motion videos, you will have to choose a subscription plan – the Cam Plus, the Cam Plus Pro, or the free Cam Plus Lite plan. I went with the free Cam Plus Lite and it offers motion and person detection recordings that are limited to 12 seconds in length with a 5-minute cooldown time. If all you want are brief videos to keep track of your pets or some activity on your front porch, the Cam Plus Lite will probably suffice. But if you need full-length footages with no cooldown, additional AI detection, and playback speed control, then you’ll have to buy at least the Cam Plus level.
=== Camera Performance ===
When it comes to daytime performance, the Outdoor v2 camera produced bright, clean, and crisp footages most of the time. Even though it’s only 1080P, the details are easy to see as long as your subject isn’t moving around too fast. Downloading the footage and looking at the file properties reveals one of the possible reasons why motion videos often play back choppy and kind of blurry – the video is recorded at 20FPS. If the camera could capture at least 30FPS, then I’m sure the videos would’ve looked a lot smoother. With that said, it’s not a huge deal-breaker as security cameras aren’t built like action cams that can capture at 60 to 120FPS.
For nighttime footages, the “Starlight Sensor” did a decent job capturing dark scenes with color and a satisfactory level of detail. At certain times, the color nighttime footage was better, whereas at other times, it was better to record nighttime footages with the Night Vision IR Lights option turned off in order to increase the motion detection range and for better detail in really dark settings. Whether you turn on or off the Night Vision IR Light setting should be determined by how much ambient lighting is near the camera – if you have a decent amount, then it should be turned on so you get color. If it’s super dark, then traditional black and white is probably better.
Inside the app, I turned on all phone notification options and they arrived quickly and reliably shortly after motion events. I like that the notification includes a picture snapshot of the event. Speaking of motion events, the sensor
I was disappointed by the volume level and audio quality of the two-way speakers. Not only was the volume relatively low compared to my other security cameras, the quality of the audio was kind of bad, sounding muffled and with echo most of the time. Unless the other party spoke slowly and loudly, I really had to strain to hear what they were saying. I still use older 1080P cameras that I purchased back in 2014 (Samsung) and 2017 (Logitech Circle 2, Arlo Pro 2), and they all sound better and are louder.
Another disappointment was the battery life or lack thereof. Wyze claims a battery life up to six months but even with the camera set to only save picture screenshots, it lasted only about 2 & ½ weeks before I got a low-battery alert. Talk about being way off the mark.
After about two weeks of usage, Wyze has failed to convince me to upgrade to its Cam Plus subscription plan which would unlock unlimited recording and more AI detection settings. I would rather spend more on subscription plans from its competitors such as Arlo.
=== Final Words ===
In the end, I cannot recommend the Wyze Cam Outdoor v2 system to friends and family. The performance and quality just aren’t there for the initial price of the system, and the recurring subscription premium, despite being affordable and highly competitive, cannot make up for the choppy videos and poor audio quality.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Feel the action with 4K HDR visuals, ultra-fast 144Hz refresh rate, and Full Array Local Dimming contrast that makes game worlds come alive with detail and vibrance. Built for extraordinary gaming performance with support for Nvidia® G-SYNC® and HDMI 2.1 VRR compatibility, the INZONE™ M9 is your path to victory.
Customer Rating
5
Great < $1K gaming monitor with true HDR & FALD
on September 5, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
____
*Pros:
*Pros:
-Sleek and artful industrial design that looks cool and modern.
-Lots of various ports on the back (DP, HDMI, USB-A, USB-C).
-Thin bezels.
-Easy and quick assembly – just two screws to tighten.
-Solid build materials and excellent fit-and-finish.
-The DisplayHDR 600 certified display is bright and evenly lit.
-96-zone full array local dimming offers great contrast and delivers noticeably improved image quality over QHD and 4K SDR displays in movies and games.
-Variable refresh rate (Nvidia G-Sync, FreeSync Premium, VRR) leads to fluid and tear-free motion control in games.
-Excellent 178-degree viewing angle.
-The directional joystick on the back for OSD control is snappy and responsive.
_____
*Neutral:
-Lots of various ports on the back (DP, HDMI, USB-A, USB-C).
-Thin bezels.
-Easy and quick assembly – just two screws to tighten.
-Solid build materials and excellent fit-and-finish.
-The DisplayHDR 600 certified display is bright and evenly lit.
-96-zone full array local dimming offers great contrast and delivers noticeably improved image quality over QHD and 4K SDR displays in movies and games.
-Variable refresh rate (Nvidia G-Sync, FreeSync Premium, VRR) leads to fluid and tear-free motion control in games.
-Excellent 178-degree viewing angle.
-The directional joystick on the back for OSD control is snappy and responsive.
_____
*Neutral:
-Narrow range of height adjustability.
-Only Display Port supports 144Hz; HDMI is currently limited to 120Hz.
-So-so quality speakers.
-Only Display Port supports 144Hz; HDMI is currently limited to 120Hz.
-So-so quality speakers.
_____
*Cons:
*Cons:
-The time the monitor spends scanning for input signals at start-up takes too long.
=== My take ===
The Sony Inzone M9 gaming monitor has impressed me with its cool white and black design, excellent fit-and-finish, crisp and very bright display, and smooth framerates in the games that I enjoy, with Far Cry 6, Elden Ring, and God of War taking up most of my gaming time these days. The extra coin you’re spending for DisplayHDR 600 certification and 96-zone full array local dimming (FALD) seems like and is a lot of money, but the huge improvements in image quality due to greater contrast ratios, deeper blacks and highlights, and vibrantly saturated colors make the investment feel satisfactory and worth my hard-earned moolah.
My best monitor before the Inzone M9 was the Samsung Odyssey G5 27” IPS display with a QHD resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and ~͐350 nits brightness level. Although the Odyssey G5 is good for gaming, the Inzone M9, which is twice as expensive, is more than twice as nice. The Inzone M9 offers true HDR, has better blacks and more vibrant colors thanks to the FALD technology, is brighter (600 nits), and the motion control in games is just as fluid and tear-free despite having a slightly lower refresh rate. I’m not a pro gamer so I couldn’t really feel or tell the difference between the Odyssey’s 165Hz refresh rate versus the Inzone M9’s 144Hz.
The factory calibration out of the box is decent but a little bit oversaturated (kind of like Samsung’s older Galaxy S phones with early-technology OLED screens). However, it didn’t come off as being overpowering or over-the-top, which might have stirred me to perform a manual calibration tune-up via third-party software. I’m quite happy and satisfied with the Inzone M9’s presentation since my primary usage of the M9 is for gaming and media consumption and not content creation or editing, which require more accurate color-sensitivity.
The Inzone M9 is connected to my primary gaming desktop system which is the 2022 MSI Aegis ZS, an all-AMD system with a Ryzen R7 5800X CPU and RX 6700XT GPU. Games such as Far Cry 6, Elden Ring, and God of War look vibrant and beautiful on the Inzone M9 with fluid framerates with no jarring visual tear-ups. The wide viewing angle is great resulting in consistent image quality. And thanks to FALD, IPS glow and backlight bleeding are immensely minimized over edge-lit IPS monitors, which is especially great for dark rooms and dark scenes in games and movies.
Not all aspects of the Inzone M9 were good, however. Three things stand out the most, and they’re the subpar speakers, the narrow range of monitor height adjustability, and the long display input scanning time at first boot-up. I’m not too bothered by the first two as my system is connected to a soundbar system, and monitor height can be further tweaked via a display stand. The slow input scanning time, however, does continue to annoy me and I’m hoping Sony will release a firmware update to address that, as well as unlocking 144Hz refresh rate when connected via HDMI.
If you haven’t yet experienced high-refresh rate 4K gaming with true HDR, then the Sony Inzone M9 offers a relatively affordable way to do so. At $900, it certainly isn’t cheap, but the Inzone M9 delivers many useful and game-enhancing features that are more commonly found in >$1,500 monitors of today. The constant march of technology is a beautiful thing with once high-end features trickling down lower and lower into more affordable price brackets. To sum it up, I love my Inzone M9 and I can comfortably recommend it to friends and family who wants a quality gaming and multimedia display. 4.5 stars.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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5of 5voted this as helpful.
Valuable Gen4 performance is here. Introducing the Crucial P3 Plus Gen4 NVMe SSD, delivering impressive speed with sequential reads/writes up to 5000/4200MB/s1 while providing data protection for optimal security. Engineered by Micron with the latest Gen4 NVMe technology, the Crucial P3 Plus comes in generous capacities2 and offers flexible backward compatibility for most Gen3 systems.
Posted by: optimummind
The 2022 P3 Plus 2TB is my third NVME drive from Crucial, and like the previous drives from the company before it, I’m very happy with the P3 Plus’ performance, reliability, and durability.
The P3 Plus is replacing the OEM 512GB NVME drive that came with my 2022 Dell XPS Plus 9320 laptop, and the additional storage is a BIG improvement and convenience since it can accommodate all of my photos and videos from our smartphones, drones, and action cameras.
The usable space out-of-the-box was 1.82TB. I split the drive into two partitions, one for the operating system and one for general usage and storage. By doing so, I will be able to transfer the drive to a different machine in the future when the need arises without losing my files and data on the second, non-OS partition. It will also protect my data should Windows 10 crap out on me.
I ran some benchmarks on the P3 Plus and it performed close to its advertised max speeds (see my pics). In everyday usage, the P3 Plus transferred files to and from my USB thumb and portable hard drives quickly and reliably. No drama, no fuss.
The P3 Plus comes with a 5-year warranty which provides good peace of mind. The Crucial StorageExecutive application is useful since it provides S.M.A.R.T. monitoring and information, as well as firmware updates. My P3 Plus was already updated to the latest firmware revision out-of-the-box.
At $161.99 (as of 2022-08-08), the pricing seems good and fair for a PCIe 4.0 NVME drive that comes with a 5-year warranty. I’d definitely recommend this drive to family and friends, and also get another one for myself should I need more storage later on. 5 Stars!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker & Air Fryer unlocks the ability to cook a complete, multi-textured meal in as little as 15 minutes, all in one pot. With 12-in-1 functionality and Ninja’s Rapid Cooking System, steam and air fry at the same time and create restaurant-quality meals from the comfort of your own home. With 6-qt. capacity, create thousands of recipes for a family of up to 4, all in one pot. Choose your base, your vegetables, and your protein to create an entire meal in one pot in as little as 15 minutes with the Speedi Meals function. Recreate your favorite meals, such as broccoli chicken alfredo meals, burrito bowls, Mediterranean bowls, and more. With 6-qt. capacity, fit up to 4 chicken breasts and 1 lb. of pasta to create a whole family meal in one pot. Choose from Speedi Meals, Steam & Crisp, Steam & Bake, Steam, or Proof in Rapid Cooker mode and unlock Air Fry, Bake/Roast, Air Broil, Dehydrate, Sear & Sauté, Slow Cook, and Sous Vide functions in Air Fry mode. Quickly create moisture with steam while caramelizing and crisping with air fry technology at the same time in one pot when in Rapid Cooker mode to get restaurant-worthy results. Cook fluffy rice, tender vegetables, and juicy chicken, all at the same time. Easily switch between Air Fry mode and Rapid Cooker mode to unlock endless possibilities. Cook your air fried favorites such as fries or chicken wings, or switch to cook an entire meal in as little as 15 minutes. Ninja’s Speedi Meal Builder unlocks thousands of customizable recipes with ingredients that are already in your fridge or pantry. Up to 75% less fat when using the air fry function vs. traditional deep frying. Tested against hand-cut, deep fried French fries. Nonstick pot and crisper tray are dishwasher-safe, making cleanup quick and easy.
Customer Rating
5
Versatile and easy-to-use cooking machine
on August 9, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
I love products from Ninja and own several of their appliances which get used every day or week such as the Ninja Foodi TenderCrisp pressure cooker, Foodi Power Blender, and Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill. Being very happy and satisfied with all of our Ninja goodies, I was looking forward to trying out the company’s newest gadget – the Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker & Air Fryer.
I’m happy to report that my expectations were fully met and the Speedi did not let me or my family down. Just like our Ninja Foodi TenderCrisp before it, the Speedi is easy to set up and use, and it churned out delicious meals consistently and reliably, from air crisped French fries, medium-rare steaks, steamed and juicy asparagus, and steamed white rice.
The company provides both a quick guide and a recipe book that encourages you to explore new dishes and recipes that are very helpful and time-saving. For more inspiration, you can check out blogs and sites like Youtube.
The footprint the Speedi takes up on the kitchen counter is similar to the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker but it’s much lighter and easier to handle. The 6-quart bowl and crisper tray are easy to wash and clean.
The Speedi is perfect not just for people like me who are somewhat culinarily inexperienced but for the kitchen pros as well. It makes preparing meals just so easy, simple, and fast – a huge plus for me since I’m busy almost every day with my full-time job, raising our elementary-grade daughter, and three pets to take care of. It’s a 5 Star Win~!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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XPS products are designed to be the best, withcutting-edge technologies, exceptional build quality,unique materials and powerful features. XPS brings together the most elegant designs and premiumexperiences to enhance your work and personalsuccess. This combination ultimately results in beautifully crafted products with no compromises. Introducing the new Dell XPS 13 Plus - our most powerful 13-inch XPS yet. Designed from the ground up to be our highest performing flagship 13 ever so you can do everything you love to do faster. The simplified interiors wow and the best-inclass panels bring your content to life. Featuring the latest Intel 12th Gen Intel Core Evo platform processors and displays with high resolution, brightness and color gamut to bring content to life. Simplified, modern and edge-to?edge interiors are beautiful and provide a seamless, touch?friendly experience for users.
Customer Rating
5
Stunning looks with performance to match.
on July 22, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
The Dell XPS Plus 9320 is my first XPS machine from Dell, and it has lived up to its reputation for being premium, powerful, light, and elegantly designed. With a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 1260P processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a speedy NVME hard drive, the machine can handle everything I throw at it with aplomb. The 13.4” 3456x2160 OLED display is gorgeous, bright, and very sharp with its 288 dpi. The keyboard is wonderfully tactile and well-dampened, and the huge touchpad area is fantastic and very responsive. Although I’m missing USB-A ports, dongles are included with the laptop, and the USB-C ports are at least Thunderbolt 4. The XPS Plus costs a pretty penny but if you got the coin for it, it’s a wonderful Windows 11 machine that is highly performant, pretty to look at, and easy to live with.
_____
*Pros:
_____
*Pros:
-Pretty and attractive minimalist design with excellent fit and finish with first-rate build materials.
-Slim, compact, and very light.
-Gorgeous 3.5K OLED display with minimal bezel that’s very crisp, evenly lit, and bright.
-Fantastic performance from the Intel Evo platform.
-Nice keyboard with good travel and feedback.
-Quiet operation with low fan noise.
-USB-C ports support PD 3.0, Thunderbolt 4, and DisplayPort 1.4.
-Supports Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint authentication.
_____
*Neutral:
-Slim, compact, and very light.
-Gorgeous 3.5K OLED display with minimal bezel that’s very crisp, evenly lit, and bright.
-Fantastic performance from the Intel Evo platform.
-Nice keyboard with good travel and feedback.
-Quiet operation with low fan noise.
-USB-C ports support PD 3.0, Thunderbolt 4, and DisplayPort 1.4.
-Supports Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint authentication.
_____
*Neutral:
-The top “touchbar” lighting is always on and sometimes distracting.
-The Up and Down arrow keys are half-sized.
-Despite being Intel Evo-certified, the battery life isn’t as good as expected.
-I still like the UI of Windows 10 better.
_____
*Cons:
-The Up and Down arrow keys are half-sized.
-Despite being Intel Evo-certified, the battery life isn’t as good as expected.
-I still like the UI of Windows 10 better.
_____
*Cons:
-No USB-A and AUX ports.
=== Design and Build Quality ===
The XPS Plus 9320 is visually striking and a delight to look at and touch. Even with the lid closed, you can tell it’s a premium-class device due to its metal build, slimness, and first-rate fit-and-finish. Open the lid and the delight continues, with an almost bezel-free display design, a keyboard with keys that are extra big and flush to the palm rest area, and the “invisible” touchpad located in the middle of the deck topped with soft-touch and smooth frosted glass.
The keyboard is edge-to-edge and it looks minimalist, modern, and futuristic. Above the row of number keys is a capacitive touch “touchbar” that provides common system shortcuts such as media volume control and screen brightness as well as the ESC, PRT SC, HOME, END, INSERT, and DELETE functions. By pressing and holding the FN key, the touchbar row changes to the Function keys which is slick in operation and look.
There is no squeaky flex on the keyboard or palm rest areas, and the hinge has the perfect level of resistance and sturdiness with no wobbles while still enabling one-finger operation.
The XPS Plus 9320 is the most attractive laptop I’ve ever owned, and I love it.
=== Performance ===
My XPS Plus is configured with a 12th-gen Core i7 1260P (12 cores, 16 threads), 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a Western Digital 512GB PCIE 4.0 NVME hard drive, and the performance is absolutely great. I can do everything on the 9320 except for heavy gaming, such as video transcoding, video editing, multi-browser multi-tasking (Chrome and Edge with about 30 tabs between them), Excel and Word processing, and video and audio streaming.
Bootup time is short and fast, and the machine quickly wakes up from sleep and hibernation modes, no doubt thanks to the PCIE 4.0 NVME drive.
Even with the 9320 heavily loaded in its default Balanced power mode, the system runs quiet thanks to its efficient fans. The chassis does a good job dissipating the heat and keeping the keyboard area nice and cool but I wouldn’t rest the laptop on my lap. Instead, I recommend keeping the 9320 propped up a couple of inches off the table using a laptop stand.
In terms of performance and usability, I cannot fault the XPS Plus 9320 at all – it’s solid.
=== Keyboard and Touchpad ===
I spend a lot of time typing up stuff so I was glad to discover the keyboard to be well-dampened, the keys spaced apart properly and comfortably, and for the keys to have good travel with a nice amount of spring-back resistance. Since the keys are flat and flush, it took me a while to get used to the new-to-me layout and feel. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to reach my normal laptop typing speed of 98wpm.
There are some aspects I’m still getting used to and find slightly annoying, and they’re the half-sized Up and Down arrow areas and the capacitive buttons on the top row. Because the Up and Down keys are so skinny, it takes me longer to feel for them when using them without looking. And although the always lit-up “touchbar” looks futuristic and cool, they can become distracting when watching media in a dark room. As well, I miss the tactile sensation of pressing the ESC and DELETE buttons.
Unlike for the keyboard, I have no issues with the Microsoft Precision touchpad. The frosted glass surface is buttery smooth and feels very nice when gliding your fingers across it. It’s also very responsive and easy to use.
=== Audio & Network ===
The audio is surprisingly good for a laptop, especially one as slim and compact as the XPS Plus 9320. The bass is punchy and the soundstage is well-covered.
I experienced no issues with the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. My earbuds and mice formed a solid and reliable connection and never lagged or got dropped. Ditto for my home Wi-Fi network which runs on a 100Mbps Spectrum connection and the 3-point Google Nest Wi-Fi router.
=== Battery life ===
=== Battery life ===
After seeing the Intel Evo sticker on the palm rest, I expected super-long battery life but I was left a bit disappointed. With the screen brightness at around 80%, my two browsers open with about 30 tabs, and music streaming in the background, I lost 70% battery life in about 1 & ½ hours. I’m not a student so I don’t have to worry about all-day battery but I would’ve liked to see at least 4-5 hours of battery with max screen brightness.
=== Is it a good buy? ===
If you got the coin for it and you’re okay with the dock and dongle life, then the XPS Plus 9320 is a good choice for those who want fast performance in a gorgeously crafted package of metal and glass. It’s quite a looker, very performant, and very light and portable. Due to Dell pushing the envelope in certain design areas, such as the capacitive touchbar, invisible touchpad, and flush keyboard, you’ll probably need some adjustment time but they’re not deal-breakers. I give the XPS Plus 9320 4.5 Stars.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Optimized with technology that simplifies your life, Inspiron 2-in-1 laptops offer a range of easy-to-use features all packaged in a minimalist and modern design. You won’t have to sacrifice screen size for a mobile design, and with multiple technologies that help your eyes work or play in comfort, the new Inspiron 14 2-in-1’s display is made to please. With a 16:10 FHD+ display and 360 lift hinge, the new Inspiron 14 2-in-1 lets you experience amazing visuals in any mode. Your world is closer with powerful 12th Generation Intel Core processors. It also has a 360 degree hinge that allows you to work in 4 different modes - laptop, tablet, tent and stand. And if that’s not all, your Inspiron features environmentally-conscious designs that complement not just your style but also your values.
Customer Rating
5
Solid 2-in-1 with good performance and portability
on June 22, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
_____
*Pros:
*Pros:
-Good hardware configuration (12th-gen Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB NVME drive) for everyday usage.
-Huge & accurate Precision trackpad that supports custom finger gestures.
-Even & bright display lighting.
-Good color profile that’s not overly saturated.
-The 1920x1200 touchscreen is responsive and accurate.
-Tactile and comfortably spaced keyboard.
-Keyboard backlighting offers good contrast against the dark keyboard.
-Stiff and non-wobbly hinge.
-Fingerprint sensor unlock is fast and convenient.
-Windows 11 is fast, responsive, and stable.
-Good speakers.
-Easy to remove the bottom panel to upgrade components.
_____
*Neutral:
-Huge & accurate Precision trackpad that supports custom finger gestures.
-Even & bright display lighting.
-Good color profile that’s not overly saturated.
-The 1920x1200 touchscreen is responsive and accurate.
-Tactile and comfortably spaced keyboard.
-Keyboard backlighting offers good contrast against the dark keyboard.
-Stiff and non-wobbly hinge.
-Fingerprint sensor unlock is fast and convenient.
-Windows 11 is fast, responsive, and stable.
-Good speakers.
-Easy to remove the bottom panel to upgrade components.
_____
*Neutral:
-No dedicated PgUp and PgDown buttons.
-The fingerprint sensor isn’t as accurate & fast as on smartphones.
-Comes with many preloaded with apps I don’t want.
-At 3.46 lbs, it’s kind of heavy to be used like a tablet.
-The key travel is a bit shorter than I like and not very comfortable.
-I don’t like the new Start Menu on Windows 11.
_____
*Cons:
-The fingerprint sensor isn’t as accurate & fast as on smartphones.
-Comes with many preloaded with apps I don’t want.
-At 3.46 lbs, it’s kind of heavy to be used like a tablet.
-The key travel is a bit shorter than I like and not very comfortable.
-I don’t like the new Start Menu on Windows 11.
_____
*Cons:
-Battery life isn’t that good.
The Dell Inspiron 7420 is my second 14” 2-in-1 Windows laptop, with the 2018 HP Spectre x360 being my first, and my third Inspiron since I began using laptops in the early 2000’s. For the most part, I’m happy and content with it. The laptop has a simple but functional design, the performance is good thanks to the 12th-gen Intel Core i7 and NVME hard drive, the keyboard is easy to type on and live with, the touchpad is huge and responsive, and the display is uniformly lit and can get bright enough for my front porch usage. The battery life, however, was a bit disappointing from its 4-cell, 54-Wh cell.
At $799.99 (as of 2022-06-21), I think it’s fairly and affordably priced. I feel like I’m getting a good deal and I can comfortably recommend it to friends and family looking for an everyday laptop that can handle office tasks, web browsing, and multimedia consumption.
=== Design & Build Quality ===
Being an Inspiron, the design is expectedly just okay and there’s nothing special or standout about it. It’s not cheap-looking but it isn’t premium-looking either. Although it doesn’t really stand out from a sea of others in this price range, it’s at least clean-looking and functionally built, with a decent selection and number of ports (1x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 1x SD-card, and 1x audio).
The build materials, build quality, and the fit-and-finish are great for this price point. My two previous Inspirons from over a decade ago were cheap-feeling and crinkling plastic builds but the 7420 comes with an aluminum lid which feels nice in-hand and doesn’t creak. The keyboard deck also feels solid and pressing down on it barely made it flex.
The low-profile keys on the keyboard are nicely spaced apart and they don’t wobble around. There is a nice-feeling bump when pressing down on them, and I was able to type at my usual 95 to 100 wpm speed. I wish the keys were better dampened, though, to prevent finger fatigue when doing lots of typing. Also, the uptake rate is kind of on the slower side for me.
I didn’t experience any issues with the large Precision touchpad. Thanks to its generous size, it’s easy to swipe, tap, and drag things around. The surface is smooth but not as nice-feeling as doing swipes on glass touchpads found on more expensive laptops. I found the touchpad to be very stiff when clicking on it but it’s a non-issue for me as I always use my wireless mouse.
I was pleasantly surprised by the 14” 1920x1200 WVA display from BOE. The backlighting is uniform and even with no unsightly bright spots in any of the corners. The colors pop out and look nice without being oversaturated. The touch-enabled screen is responsive and accurate.
There is minimal bezel on the sides, and thanks to the 16:10 aspect ratio, the 14” screen on the 7420 looks bigger than other 14” laptops I’ve used before.
Being a 2-in-1, one can flip the display backwards to use the laptop like a tablet which is useful at times. At 3.46 lbs, it’s quite heavy as a tablet, but I likehaving this option. There was no stylus included inside the box but it is stylus-enabled.
Another pleasant surprise was the aural quality from the Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers. Music sounds loud, punchy, and even the bass was okay. The vocals sound warm and the soundstage is well represented. The speakers on the 7420 are definitely way better than the ones on my HP Spectre x360.
=== Performance ===
My 7420 is configured with a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 1255U with 10 cores, 16GB of DDR4, Iris Xe graphics, and a Samsung 512GB NVME drive (PM991a, PCI-E 3.0 x4), and it’s been satisfactorily performant. It can handle everything I normally do on my non-gaming laptops, such as office tasks, heavy multi-tab browsing, video editing and encoding, watching movies, and listening to music.
I didn’t run any games because I have my gaming laptops for that but I’m sure it can probably older games pretty well.
The boot times are quick and short, and file transfers are speedy.
Future upgradeability is a positive since th bottom panel can be easily removed to access the battery, memory slots, and the M.2 2280 slot. At this price point, I’m completely happy with the 7420.
=== Windows 11 Home and preloaded apps ===
The 7420 is my second Windows 11 PC and I still prefer Windows 10 over it. My main issue with Windows 11 is the Start Menu because it displays so little of my apps and there is a lot of wasted space.
As expected, the laptop came preloaded with lots of apps I don’t want, such as Spotify, WhatsApp, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Alexa, and McAfee antivirus. Fortunately, they can all be quickly uninstalled.
I’m still getting used to Windows 11 and I’m sure it’ll grow on me. At least it’s stable and snappy in performance.
=== Battery life ===
I didn’t expect much in terms of battery life due to its smallish 4-cell, 64Wh rating, but I was still disappointed by how quickly the battery depleted from 100% to zero with the screen brightness turned all the way up. At max brightness, the 7420 needed a recharge after only about 2 hours. With the display set at its second dimmest setting, it lasted about 3.5 hours.
=== Is it a good buy? ==
At $799.99, I would say yes. The Inspiron 7420 offers good performance, a pleasant display, a good keyboard, and a large touchpad surface that makes it a good daily driver for most tasks. With great sounding speakers, it also makes for a good multimedia device.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Deep cleaning carpets with professional results is now as easy as traditional vacuuming. Powerful suction will remove dirt, stains and pick up pet hair. Tineco's Carpet One Complete smart carpet and upholstery cleaner guides you through your cleaning. It uses HeatedWash and PowerDry technology that will reduce your carpets drying time. Be confident that your carpets and upholstery are truly clean and get back to using them faster than ever before.
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic, lightweight "smart" carpet cleaner
on June 7, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
_____
*Pros:
-It’s the lightest & quietest carpet cleaner I’ve ever used.
-Easy to maneuver through tight spaces.
-Both tanks can be removed using one hand.
-Hot water is not needed.
-Don’t have to pull on a trigger to release the soapy water.
-The iLoop smart sensor gets it right most of time and releases appropriate amount of soapy water.
-PowerDry really works and carpet dries up quickly.
-Big and colorful display.
-Cool-look design that isn’t bulky or too appliance-like.
-Voice reminders are loud and can be heard over the motor.
-Simple to disassemble and clean.
-Comes with a long extension hose for stairs and cars.
-Perfect tool for pet owners and parents with small children.
-2-year warranty is nice.
_____
*Neutral:
-The iLoop smart sensor doesn’t always get it right and releases too much solution.
_____
*Cons:
-None
*Pros:
-It’s the lightest & quietest carpet cleaner I’ve ever used.
-Easy to maneuver through tight spaces.
-Both tanks can be removed using one hand.
-Hot water is not needed.
-Don’t have to pull on a trigger to release the soapy water.
-The iLoop smart sensor gets it right most of time and releases appropriate amount of soapy water.
-PowerDry really works and carpet dries up quickly.
-Big and colorful display.
-Cool-look design that isn’t bulky or too appliance-like.
-Voice reminders are loud and can be heard over the motor.
-Simple to disassemble and clean.
-Comes with a long extension hose for stairs and cars.
-Perfect tool for pet owners and parents with small children.
-2-year warranty is nice.
_____
*Neutral:
-The iLoop smart sensor doesn’t always get it right and releases too much solution.
_____
*Cons:
-None
The Tineco Carpet One Complete is my third carpet cleaner and it’s the best one I’ve used yet and also my most favorite. It also looks pretty slim and attractive for a carpet cleaner, with most other units looking very industrial, boxy, bulky, and drab. It’s also very light and easy to handle and maneuver as a result.
I’ve never enjoyed cleaning carpets as it’s boring and tedious, having to wait for hot water with each fill-up, pulling on the trigger to release the cleaning solution hoping to get the amount right, and moving the heavy and bulky machine back and forth to quickly dry up the carpet.
When I upgraded my first carpet cleaner, which cost around $150, to my second one, which cost around $250, I gained marginal improvements, such as a slightly quieter motor, less messy cleaning and dirty water tanks, and a less bulky design. With the jump to the Tineco Carpet One, there’s been numerous quality-of-life improvements like a sleek and attractive-looking design that is both much lighter and quieter, a more powerful motor that deep cleans way better, an effective dryer that reduced the drying time by about 50%, and not having to deal with hassles such as waiting for hot water and always pulling on a trigger to release the cleaning solution.
The Carpet One is labeled as a “smart” carpet cleaner because of its sensors that detect humidity and dirt levels. By scanning for the amount of dirt and grime, the machine intelligently releases the cleaning solution in appropriate volume levels that prevent unnecessary soaking of your carpet beyond what’s needed. This sensor works pretty well and I didn’t have to second-guess its judgment by switching over to the manual mode and releasing additional solution. Once in a while, the sensor got it wrong and said that a previously cleaned part (blue on the screen) was dirty and the screen changed to red. It doesn’t happen frequently, though, so it’s something I can easily tolerate.
With two dogs and one cat, my carpet was pretty grimy but the Carpet One did an excellent job sucking up all the dirty stuff.
The humidity sensor was totally awesome as it detects the wetness levels and blows hot air to speed up the drying time. Instead of waiting 1.5 to 2 days, the carpet was completely dry in about one day, with some spots drying up even quicker.
The motor is pretty quiet, and it doesn’t drown out every other sound. I would say it’s only slightly louder than my Dyson V8 cordless vacuum. There is a speaker that fires off female voice prompts that remind you when the dirty water tank needs to be emptied, and when the cleaning solution needs a refill. Such prompts were short and to the point and not annoying at all.
Inside the box, there’s an 8-ft-long extension hose and it’s perfect for car cleaning days. The machine did an excellent job cleaning up our dog’s mud and dirt from the dog park as well as my 1st grader’s spilled food and drinks on the floor mats.
At $500 (as of 2022-06-06), the Carpet One is about four times more expensive than the basic carpet cleaners you found at big-box stores, and you might wonder if the price premium is worth the extra coin. I can definitely say that it is. There’s just too many positives that justify the price: light and attractive-looking package that’s not an eyesore that gets hidden away in some corner, a powerful motor with a quiet operation, smart sensors that automatically dispense the correct amount of cleaning solution and speeds up drying, a big and colorful display that shows the cleanliness level of your carpet in real time, and voice prompts that remind you to empty the dirty tank and refill with more solution. Oh, and it’s also tool-free and very easy to take apart the unit to clean the brushes and wipe the sensors. It’s a complete 5-Star Win.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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ScanWatch is now available in a limited edition that combines iconic diver watch design with breakthrough health tech. Nested in a high-end watch, state-of-the-art technology has been carefully selected to create Withings most health-oriented watch to date. Developed with cardiologists, this clinically validated hybrid smartwatch can alert a user to a possible case of atrial fibrillation (Afib). ScanWatch also offers in-depth activity and sleep tracking, water resistance to 10 ATM (100m), and an exceptional battery life of up to 30 days before it needs to be charged.
Customer Rating
5
Really cool & helpful hybrid smartwatch for health
on May 18, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
_____
*Pros:
*Pros:
-Good-looking & classy design.
-Weighs less than it looks.
-The silicone bands are soft, light, and very comfortable, even when sleeping with the watch.
-The crown rotates smoothly and is very responsive.
-Super-long battery life.
-The Health Mate companion app has great layout and easy to navigate.
-Sleep cycle detection is highly accurate and informative.
-The Withings weekly activity report emails are appreciated.
_____
*Neutral:
-The quick-snap movement of the wrist to turn on the display doesn’t always work.
-Once in a while, the hands move by itself and show the incorrect time.
_____
*Cons:
-Cycling workout accuracy is bad.
-Weighs less than it looks.
-The silicone bands are soft, light, and very comfortable, even when sleeping with the watch.
-The crown rotates smoothly and is very responsive.
-Super-long battery life.
-The Health Mate companion app has great layout and easy to navigate.
-Sleep cycle detection is highly accurate and informative.
-The Withings weekly activity report emails are appreciated.
_____
*Neutral:
-The quick-snap movement of the wrist to turn on the display doesn’t always work.
-Once in a while, the hands move by itself and show the incorrect time.
_____
*Cons:
-Cycling workout accuracy is bad.
The Withings ScanWatch is my first hybrid and health-oriented smartwatch and it’s been a very enlightening and delightful experience. My three previous smartwatches (one from Fossil and two from Samsung) are all regular smartwatches and my transition to the ScanWatch, to my pleasant surprise, wasn’t as annoying or painful as expected. I did lose a lot of screen surface area and the ability to view photos and dictate short text messages, but I think the trade-off was totally worth it as the ScanWatch offers many health-oriented goodies and insights.
My first reaction to the ScanWatch was how good-looking and solid it looked and felt. It looks like an upscale premium watch, and I love the colors and design. Both the build quality and fit-and-finish are impeccable. The crown rotates so smoothly and predictably and when you press on the crown, you get a satisfying tactile experience.
I expected the watch to be heavier than my Samsung Galaxy smartwatch but it was surprisingly lighter and less bulky-feeling on my thin wrist. I normally can’t sleep with a watch on me but I slept just fine with the ScanWatch.
There were two different bands inside the box, and I like the green silicone one way better because it’s lighter, gentler on my skin, and super comfortable for all-day wear, even during sleep.
When I first connected the watch to the companion phone app – Health Mate – the watch was quickly detected, and a firmware update was initiated. The process was smooth and error-free. The layout of the app is clean, well-spaced out, and easy to navigate. The Dashboard section of the app contains all the information related to your well-being and activity levels, such as the number of workouts performed in a week, the number of steps taken, average heart rate, oxygen saturation level, ECG evaluation, breathing abnormalities (if detected), and sleep detection. The Dashboard is very comprehensive, useful, and provides a great progress report of how you’re faring health-wise.
Another excellent feature of the ScanWatch is its uber-long battery life. I absolutely LOVE not having to charge my watch either once a day or every other day. It’s so liberating. As I’m writing this review, I have worn the watch every day since charging it to 100% last week and I’ve only lost 2% of the battery after 7 days.
Not all was perfect with the ScanWatch, however. It didn’t happen frequently enough to be a game-changer but occasionally, the watch’s hands rotated by itself and showed the incorrect time. When that happened, I had to press on the crown to view the correct time in its digital format or take out my smartphone. Hopefully, Withings will release a firmware update that corrects this.
A bigger issue for me was how inaccurate cycling detection was. The ScanWatch was very off when it came to detecting several cycling metrics, such as miles ridden, average and max speed, and elevation level. I compared the data from the watch to my trusted bike apps – Urban Bike and Ride with GPS – and the ScanWatch consistently under-reported my speed and mileage. I hope Withings corrects this issue as soon as possible.
With all the said, I’m still very happy and content with my ScanWatch. It’s stylish, comfortable, has a super-long battery life, and most importantly, it helps me to keep track of my health in various ways that my previous regular smartwatches cannot. As long as Withings pumps out regular bug fixes and firmware updates, I can see myself using this watch for a long time and trying out product sequels in the future.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Summer’s great, but not if you’re stuck indoors without an air conditioner. Beat the heat this season with the Insignia NS-AC8WU3 350 Sq. Ft. 8,000 BTU U-Shaped Window Air Conditioner. A powerful BTU rating of 8,000 provides cool air for a room up to 350 sq. ft. Designed for vertical sliding windows, this air conditioner features an oscillating fan with 3 different speeds and both up/down and left/right adjustment options. A U-shaped construction reduces the amount of cool air that can escape while letting you keep your window closed or open. This air conditioner runs as low as 42 dBA – up to 9x quieter than most traditional units, while simultaneously using an inverter system and Energy Star certification to save you both money and energy. A handy air filter indicator and an auto restart mode both grant you the peace of mind in knowing this air conditioner has you covered no matter what. Finally, an included remote control lets you operate the unit from up to 26.2 ft. away. All this and more make this Insignia air conditioner an ideal way to stay cool and comfortable indoors.
Customer Rating
5
Very quiet and fast-cooling windows AC.
on May 11, 2022
Posted by: optimummind
from Orange, CA
_____
Pros:
-Good-looking design. Blends well inside my bedroom.
-Not too heavy.
-Straightforward installation.
-VERY quiet.
-The room gets cooled down quickly.
-Comes with useful features, such as timers, Eco mode, and Sleep mode.
-Energy Star certification.
-Easy-access filter.
_____
*Neutral:
-The installation is more complicated and takes much longer than non-U-shaped windows ACs.
-The remote control buttons feel spongy and wobbly.
-The AC unit responds slowly to remote control commands.
_____
*Cons:
-None
Pros:
-Good-looking design. Blends well inside my bedroom.
-Not too heavy.
-Straightforward installation.
-VERY quiet.
-The room gets cooled down quickly.
-Comes with useful features, such as timers, Eco mode, and Sleep mode.
-Energy Star certification.
-Easy-access filter.
_____
*Neutral:
-The installation is more complicated and takes much longer than non-U-shaped windows ACs.
-The remote control buttons feel spongy and wobbly.
-The AC unit responds slowly to remote control commands.
_____
*Cons:
-None
The 8000-BTU Insignia windows AC is a great investment for those living in hot areas like me in southern California. The Insignia is replacing my ~17-yo windows AC from Kenmore and it’s been an upgrade in every category – better-looking, much quieter, chillier, and with more functions.
The installation steps, which is quite long, seemed very daunting at first. Compared to my previous windows AC unit, which wasn’t a U-shaped one, there are more parts to set up and configure, such as the mounting bracket that goes outside the house and rests on the wall. Completing the installation took me about five hours (including removing the old windows AC unit, vacuuming the carpet, and cleaning the walls) but none of them were particularly difficult. I already owned all the tools needed for the job, including a levelling device.
Once installed, I was delighted by how quiet it was. Even at the maximum blow setting, the Insignia unit was quieter than the old Kenmore’ lowest setting. Despite how quietly the machine operated, the air blew fast, and cold air filled up my bedroom quickly. This was a BIG welcome because I still work from home and my coworkers don’t have to get distracted by a loud and buzzy AC unit.
Whereas it was difficult to fall asleep with my old AC unit, I had no trouble with the Insignia when set to its low setting. In other words, this Insignia is great for light sleepers and those sensitive to noise.
The only negative I can think of is the remote control. Although the layout is simple and the buttons are well spaced apart, the rubber buttons are soft and wobbly. Also, there’s a slightly annoying delay before the AC unit will accept a command, such as the timer function or when switching between modes.
With that said, I still really like my new Insignia windows AC and I’m glad I finally replaced my old one. Doing so has immediately upgraded my quality of life due to the unit’s quietness, fast chilling power, timer functions, and Energy Star-rated certification that saves me money by lowering the electricity bill. 5 stars.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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14of 17voted this as helpful.
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ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop. Enjoy everyday gaming with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM let you run graphics-heavy games smoothly, while the potent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics produce high-quality visuals on the fast 15.6-inch 144hz FHD display. This ASUS notebook PC has 512GB SSD that shortens load times and offers ample storage.
HI everybode. Can u let me know some info? I think it is normally GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU or GeForce RTX 3060 Max-Q? THank you
ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop. Enjoy everyday gaming with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM let you run graphics-heavy games smoothly, while the potent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics produce high-quality visuals on the fast 15.6-inch 144hz FHD display. This ASUS notebook PC has 512GB SSD that shortens load times and offers ample storage.
Are the Usb ports Usb 3.0 or higher?
ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop. Enjoy everyday gaming with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM let you run graphics-heavy games smoothly, while the potent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics produce high-quality visuals on the fast 15.6-inch 144hz FHD display. This ASUS notebook PC has 512GB SSD that shortens load times and offers ample storage.
Can i add an internal hard disk? It makes an issue with warranty especially i am in middle east?
Yes, you can add another NVME drive. There are two slots total inside the laptop.
3 years, 2 months ago
by
optimummind
ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop. Enjoy everyday gaming with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM let you run graphics-heavy games smoothly, while the potent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics produce high-quality visuals on the fast 15.6-inch 144hz FHD display. This ASUS notebook PC has 512GB SSD that shortens load times and offers ample storage.
does the key board back lite change colors like the tuff rizen 7
Bose Sleepbuds II deliver relaxing sounds that help you fall asleep, and use Bose noise-masking technology so you stay asleep. Tiny, wireless Sleepbuds II are designed for comfort with sleep technology clinically proven to help you fall asleep faster. Sleepbuds II play content only from the Bose Sleep app, which gives you full control of the Sound Library and helps you personalize features. Discover tranquil tones and soothing sounds from nature. Or, use Bose noise-masking sounds to cover unwanted nighttime noise. Download your favorite sounds directly to Sleepbuds II, control volume, and set a personal wake-up alarm. Sleepbuds II feature proprietary eartips made of soft silicone for a comfortable, secure fit. Sleep on your back or side, or rollover during the night, they’ll stay put. Get up to ten hours of battery life from a single charge, enough for a full night’s sleep — and three additional charges from the portable case.
I live in an apartment with the loudest bunch of people above me,Do you think it might mask a dog's bark?Or loud thuds? Thanks!
The reason I got the original Sleepbuds was to mask out the neighbor's barking dogs. The Sleepbuds II, like the first-gen ones, does a fantastic job blocking out dog noises (mine inside the house as well as the neighbor's).
If you increase the Sleepbud loudness level from inside the Bose app, you can also easily block out noisy people (conversations, shouting, their music, etc).
If you increase the Sleepbud loudness level from inside the Bose app, you can also easily block out noisy people (conversations, shouting, their music, etc).
3 years, 6 months ago
by
optimummind
Bose Sleepbuds II deliver relaxing sounds that help you fall asleep, and use Bose noise-masking technology so you stay asleep. Tiny, wireless Sleepbuds II are designed for comfort with sleep technology clinically proven to help you fall asleep faster. Sleepbuds II play content only from the Bose Sleep app, which gives you full control of the Sound Library and helps you personalize features. Discover tranquil tones and soothing sounds from nature. Or, use Bose noise-masking sounds to cover unwanted nighttime noise. Download your favorite sounds directly to Sleepbuds II, control volume, and set a personal wake-up alarm. Sleepbuds II feature proprietary eartips made of soft silicone for a comfortable, secure fit. Sleep on your back or side, or rollover during the night, they’ll stay put. Get up to ten hours of battery life from a single charge, enough for a full night’s sleep — and three additional charges from the portable case.
I have the original Bose - Sleepbuds....are these the same thing or improved in some way?
The Sleepbuds II is way better. The Sleepbuds II are flatter and more oval-shaped, making them even more comfortable inside your ears. Probably due to the better fitment, passive noise isolation has been significantly improved. Also, when you rub your head on the pillow while lying sideways, there is no more rubbing noise.
The charging mechanism has also been improved. The charging pins and the magnet are no longer on the same row but separated into two, making it easier and faster to position the Sleepbuds correctly when putting them into the charging case. Due to the redesign, I don't think the magnet is going to eventually fall out like they did with the original Sleepbuds.
The charging mechanism has also been improved. The charging pins and the magnet are no longer on the same row but separated into two, making it easier and faster to position the Sleepbuds correctly when putting them into the charging case. Due to the redesign, I don't think the magnet is going to eventually fall out like they did with the original Sleepbuds.
3 years, 6 months ago
by
optimummind
Bose Sleepbuds II deliver relaxing sounds that help you fall asleep, and use Bose noise-masking technology so you stay asleep. Tiny, wireless Sleepbuds II are designed for comfort with sleep technology clinically proven to help you fall asleep faster. Sleepbuds II play content only from the Bose Sleep app, which gives you full control of the Sound Library and helps you personalize features. Discover tranquil tones and soothing sounds from nature. Or, use Bose noise-masking sounds to cover unwanted nighttime noise. Download your favorite sounds directly to Sleepbuds II, control volume, and set a personal wake-up alarm. Sleepbuds II feature proprietary eartips made of soft silicone for a comfortable, secure fit. Sleep on your back or side, or rollover during the night, they’ll stay put. Get up to ten hours of battery life from a single charge, enough for a full night’s sleep — and three additional charges from the portable case.
Can they play the music on your phone
Step into virtual reality with this Oculus Rift S PC-powered headset. The advanced optics produce a sharp display with bright, vivid colors, and Oculus Insight tracking removes the need for external sensors to convert movements into virtual reality. This Oculus Rift S PC-powered headset has a fit wheel that secures the headset with a quick twist.
Ok so there is the oculas quest no cables nothing like that but limited space and this one has wires and more games and more which one should i get?
I personally prefer the Rift S because of better game visuals, game modding possibilities, and a larger library of games I have access to. I do not mind the cord except for its tangling up tendency.
4 years, 10 months ago
by
optimummind
Step into virtual reality with this Oculus Rift S PC-powered headset. The advanced optics produce a sharp display with bright, vivid colors, and Oculus Insight tracking removes the need for external sensors to convert movements into virtual reality. This Oculus Rift S PC-powered headset has a fit wheel that secures the headset with a quick twist.
Will this work for someone with an IPD greater than 70? What is your IPD and how is it working for you?
My IPD is 66mm and the focus and clarity are great.
4 years, 10 months ago
by
optimummind
Play your favorite PC games with this 15.6-inch Lenovo laptop. Its Intel Core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM let you run multiple programs without performance lag, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of file storage space. This Lenovo laptop has a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics card for fast rendering of images and videos.
Is this the 144hz model? How can we know the refresh rate of each variant?
This is NOT the 144 Hz variant. It is 60 Hz. Frankly, you don't need a 144 Hz display as the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti won't be able to hit frames that high in most games.
5 years, 9 months ago
by
optimummind