Batlacit's stats
- Review count195
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- First reviewFebruary 13, 2016
- Last reviewJune 19, 2024
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- Average rating4.4
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- Answer count55
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- First answerSeptember 21, 2016
- Last answerJanuary 21, 2022
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Make your home a more welcoming hub with this Philips Hue white ambiance A19 starter kit. Whether you desire a warm natural glow or energizing color tones, customize it just the way you like with the accompanying app. For parties, easily sync your lights to music with this Philips Hue white ambiance A19 starter kit.
Customer Rating
5
Easy setup, great bulbs
on December 23, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
The Hue bulbs have always been my go-to recommendation for smart lighting. They're easy to install, well built, compatible with just about everything, and rather fun to use. But I'd never tried their ambiance bulbs before, which ditch the color changing features to offer comparatively simple adjustable white lighting. And after using them for a bit, I have to say that they're just as good as you'd expect.
The only real setup that's required is the installation of the bridge, which is completely compatible with all Hue bulbs that have ever been released. Apart from that, it's all just screwing in light bulbs (and naming them after, if you need.) Which also made me realize there are a few difference between these and the white & color bulbs that are worth noting. For a start, these are much lighter, presumably because they dispense with the thick glass diffuser you need to even out the color for a much simpler plastic one. This means there are some places where you can install the white bulbs, such as in long necked adjustable lamps, where the color bulbs would be too heavy for the fixtures. These third generation bulbs are also a notable improvement over the ones that came before in regards to brightness. While the earlier ones tended to be about as bright as a 40 watt incandescent bulb, they've managed to boost the brightness up to a full 800 lumens (roughly a 60 watt equivalent.)
Another thing I feel I should comment on is the ease of integrating the parts into an existing Hue setup. I had a fairly well fleshed out 1st generation setup which had been starting to have some compatibility issues with the latest Google assistant, and getting the second generation bridge included in this starter kit swapped in was about as painless as it could be. All I had to do was plug both of them in, go into the app and tell it which ones were which, and then wait for all my existing settings and scenes to transfer over. Only downside to this is that I did have to manually add the four white bulbs that came with it back in afterwards, but fortunately it only takes a few seconds for them to sync up again.
I'm really not sure what else I can say about these. The Philips hue system is probably the most mature smart bulb product on the market. If you're not sure about or just don't need the ability to change the colors of your lighting but still want to outfit your house with relatively inexpensive smart lighting that won't require rewiring, this is the system for you.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
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Stream music uninterrupted with this water-resistant JBL portable speaker. It delivers immersive, high-quality audio inside or outside, and it's compatible with your favorite music apps for straightforward streaming via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. This black JBL portable speaker comes with the voice-activated Google Assistant, so you can control it hands-free.
Customer Rating
5
Okay Google, why don't they all have batteries?
on December 12, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
The biggest problem I've found with having a digital assistant for the home is that the moment you get used to it, you start wanting to buy more. That only gets worse if you've invested in other smart home products that you use the assistant to control for you. Sure, you can buy one for each room of the house, as the makers of the devices probably hope you will, but how much use are you really going to get out of a smart speaker in the garage, or the bathroom?
Enter the Link. If a week with this doesn't convince you that a battery should be standard equipment for anything with a Google assistant built in, I can only assume that you live in a studio apartment. Not only is it portable, but it's rugged enough to survive the occasional trip into the bathroom, the garage, or the pool without leaving you having to buy yet another replacement speaker.
Even if we set aside the surprising utility added to the assistant features by not being tied to an outlet, this thing is a great little speaker. It's got quite a lot of oomph in its sound output, and while some might find it a little underwhelming in the bass department the audio is crisp and about as good as you can get from a Bluetooth link. It's also nice to see that they adopted actual buttons rather than the usual capacitive panels for the controls, which I find just work better for a portable device when you don't always know if you'll have to be operating it with gloves. It's also got one of JBL's rather clever charging cables which can plug into a charger or a computer in any orientation - the only thing that could have made it better is if it charged off of USB-C so you didn't have to worry about plugging in the micro-usb port upside down.
The only real downsides I found playing with it are largely theoretical. The waterproofing, for instance, only works so long as you remember to close up a rubber cap over the charging port. While the piece itself looks quite robust, I've seen enough of these break off over the years to think that if anything ever does end up killing the speaker this will probably be it. There's also a very bright and very visible WiFi indicator on the front that might make it a bit annoying if you're thinking of using it in the bedroom. An option to turn off these lights would have been a nice addition. Finally, I'll admit that with only five hours of battery life this might not be my go-to choice for a portable speaker unless I specifically want the functionality offered by the Google assistant. Personally it's rare that I ever find myself in such a situation, but it's worth considering regardless.
All in all, it's a solid choice for a home speaker, particularly if you don't want to have to get one for every room of the house.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Go from hundreds of mystery folders to a visual view of your photos automatically sorted by date, subject, people, and places. See your best photos auto-curated based on quality, faces, subjects, and more. Make your photos look amazing with automated photo editing options, and create and share printed artwork, new dynamic slideshows, photo collages, and gifts for friends and family.
Customer Rating
4
Photoshop for the home
on November 21, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
It's almost hard to know what to say about Photoshop. The program has been the standard for photo editing for ages now, and while each version of the program has come with minor upgrades and improvements the overall workflow has remained fairly consistent for several generations now.
The most important thing to keep in mind about Elements is that while it's got much of the same features as the full version, it's aimed much more at home users than it is design professionals. Many of the more advanced tools are omitted, for instance, as is the integration with other creative suite programs. You're hardly going to notice this for typical photo editing. In fact you might even find it to be an advantage, as in their place you have an abundance of automated functions to manage and edit your photo library. The spot healing brush, which can be used to quickly remove blemishes and damage to an image, is a surprising standout in this regard. Others, such as the perspective correction tool, are a bit more underwhelming, but still fun to work with.
The other big part of the package is the photo organizer. It's a very capable system, with automatic facial recognition, event and location sorting, and full integration with elements. But I can't really say that it does that much that you can't get with other programs these days, so it's more of a "nice to have" rather than a key selling point.
Overall, this is probably about as full featured a package as you can get for managing and touching up your own photo library.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
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Use this splash-resistant Sony wireless speaker to skip a song with a wave of your hand. It comes with Google Assistant, so you can control it with voice commands, and its two-stage diffuser and bass port deliver rich, room-filling sound. This Sony wireless speaker has built-in Bluetooth for streaming audio from your smartphone.
Customer Rating
5
Great home gateway to Google!
on November 3, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Personal assistants are getting more and more ubiquitous these days, now that just about every smart phone on the market has the power needed to run them. And I think that most people who have ended up getting hooked on the convenience of being able to talk to them has ended up thinking about getting one for the home, and that goes double for anyone with smart home equipment. Currently just about all the options for the home are locked to a specific manufacturer though, with the exception of the Google Assistant.
Seeing as the device is basically a 3rd party alternative to the Google Home, reviewing it is a little tricky. How well it works, even just how it works, is subject to change. So I’m going to start with the one thing that doesn’t change, which is the hardware.
The S50G is built around an omni-directional speaker, a somewhat novel gestural control panel, and a 360 degree microphone pickup. As one might expect from a brand like Sony, the sound quality you get from the speaker and the mics are both excellent. The speaker really does fill the room, and has a surprising amount of volume for something this small. It’s also one of the nicer looking Bluetooth speakers of its type out there, with the tastefully understated cloth cover obscuring hidden interface elements until they’re needed. There might be just a bit more bass response than is ideal, but I’ve yet to really find anything that sounds bad on it, and the VR quality you get through the microphones is top notch.
The only area where I feel the hardware is lacking is the gestural interface. In practice, it’s a cool idea, particularly if you want to stick this in the kitchen where you might have things on your fingers that you don’t want on your very expensive home assistant. In practice, I found the controls to be a little hit or miss. The most basic commands, allowing you to bring up the assistant or play music, are very reliable, but the volume adjustment and forward/back commands often either required multiple attempts or were misinterpreted. This is pretty minor seeing as you can get much more accurate control with voice commands, and hopefully this is something that can be updated with software later, but it is a little disappointing.
Speaking of software, the google assistant itself works great on this, which is no surprise since the bulk of the processing is actually done in the cloud as opposed to on the device. It can cast content (video and audio) to a chromecast, control connected smart devices, and be hooked into IFTT to set up a variety of routines. It handles multiple users, sounds good, and will probably only get better as Google continues to update the software. The only real problem I had was with trying to control my smart lights. It appears that there’s some kind of issue connecting the first generation Philips Hue bridge to the software which required a somewhat clumsy workaround with another program, so if light control was one of your main reasons for wanting this (like it was for me) you might find that frustrating.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Take control of your food prep with this Ninja food processor. Its two interchangeable attachments accomplish a wide range of kitchen tasks, including chopping nuts, slicing vegetables and pureeing fruit, and its auto spiralizer lets you make versatile vegetable noodles. This Ninja food processor has a drizzle hole lid for conveniently adding oils and other liquids.
Customer Rating
5
Big power in a small package
on October 17, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
The first thing that drew me to the Ninja precision processor was, admittedly, its size. Counter space at my place is at a premium, and while I’ve wanted a food processor for a while I’ve never really been able to justify the counter space required. The Ninja has about a third of the footprint of a larger unit, and while the smaller bowl size does put some limits on the kind of things you can make with it there’s certainly no shortage of oomph in the motor.
The unit comes with two blade disks for the spiralizer, a processor blade, and a dough blade. So far I’ve tried everything but the dough blade, and no matter what I’ve thrown at it, the Ninja has powered its way through. Cleanup is almost as quick too – just about every part of this save for the motor is dishwasher safe, and it’s designed well enough that there’s a minimum of difficult to reach nooks and crannies for food to get stuck in.
It’s probably not the best unit to use if you regularly are making large meals for large groups, as a lot of recipes do assume a lot more volume than this one can manage. It’s possible to do, but it requires multiple passes and can slow things down. But for occasional meals for one or two or apartment-sized kitchens, this is a great tool to have.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Enjoy all of your favorite shows in Ultra HD with this 55-inch Hisense smart ULED TV. Its built-in apps let you access popular on-demand programs, and its HDR technology brings out the dynamic, stunning quality of 4K content. Link multiple media sources to the four HDMI and three USB ports of this Hisense smart ULED TV.
Customer Rating
5
Best image I've seen from an LCD panel
on October 11, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the Hisense 55H9D+ when I first got it. While most of the high end 4K TV’s with HDR support make use of OLED or other similar display technologies to pull off the deep blacks and vibrant colors that the tech typically boasts, this one uses a more conventional LCD panel paired with a much less conventional backlighting technology they call ULED that I’d never heard of before. Coming in with little more than what I’d seen from the professionally calibrated and optimized TV’s in the store to use as a point of comparison, I really had no idea what the set would end up looking like in my living room and its unfortunate giant, glare-inducing windows.
After spending three days with it, I can say that it’s not the equal of an OLED set when it comes to displaying HDR content. But it’s also unquestionably the best image I have ever seen from an LCD based set. The ULED backlight essentially simulates the ability of OLED screens to precisely control the brightness of individual pixels by splitting the backlight into zones which can be locally controlled, so that darker areas of the screen have less light filtering through the LCD and brighter ones can be cranked up to really pop. When I first heard about this I was worried that the zones might turn out to be big enough to see through the LCD, potentially creating a distracting checkerboard like effect as they adjusted. But this hasn’t happened. Lines are crisp, text pops, and everything looks just as smooth as you’d expect from a high end 4K TV.
There is also the usual suite of image enhancements: digital noise removal, motion smoothing (AKA: the soap opera effect) and a variety of color options. While these all do their intended job very well, outside of watching sports I think they end up doing more harm than help when it comes to the viewing experience. 4K films in particular have an unnerving plastic look with the motion smoothing turned up, making me wish that manufacturers wouldn’t ship their sets with the enhancements turned up by default. Turning them off is a bit annoying, particularly as a lot of the menus do suffer from some awkward translation, but there’s enough customization here to let you get everything where you want it with enough fiddling. And when you are watching sports, you can always switch to a pre-configured sports mode and bring back the soap opera effect without digging into the settings again.
That said, there are two areas where the TV does disappoint. The first, and biggest, is in the smart functionality. Now, frequently the problem with smart TVs is that they stick underpowered processors and not enough RAM into the sets, resulting in very poor app performance. That isn’t a problem here. Response time is great, and there’s virtually no loading time for the apps. The issue is the software. Hisense opted to base all their apps on the Opera TV platform, which runs well but is notably lacking in developer support. They have support for Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video, and Vudu, but that’s about it. There’s no HBO, Hulu, CBS All Access, or any of the other smaller but popular streaming services. As such I think that I’m pretty much going to need to rely on external streaming devices.
The second is the sound. TV speakers are almost never good, but the frequency response on these is all over the place. As much as I tinkered with it, I could never really get it to sound right. It was rather hard to pin down exactly what was going on here, but it seemed like I could either get good bass response or good treble – never both at the same time. With external sound though, the audio enhancements built into the system can come into their own and provide a very satisfying experience.
In the end, even with it's shortcomings, the 55H9D+ is still a very solid set with stellar image quality and an abundance of bells and whistles to tune it to exactly how you want it. Paired with a decent 4K streaming device and a good set of speakers, you have the makings of a top tier home theater experience.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Display vibrant office presentations with this Epson wireless projector. Its Miracast technology lets you mirror photos, videos and apps from your portable smart devices, and it delivers 3600 lumens of color and white brightness in 1920 x 1080 resolution for colorful, crisp image clarity. This Epson wireless projector has HDMI and USB inputs for making quick connections with external hardware.
Customer Rating
4
Great image quality but only adequate software
on September 30, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Projectors are something that I usually feel mixed about. While I've tried several in the past, I've usually come to the conclusion that I greatly prefer using TVs or fixed projection systems for presentations, since they'll give a better image and require less tinkering with to get set up. But since not everywhere has these things, I've always had to keep on on hand anyway.
The Epson EX9220 is definitely the favorite one I've used so far. It's reasonably lightweight, runs quiet on eco mode, and much to my surprise really does manage to give image and color quality that's near DLP levels despite relying on LCD projection. It's very bright as well, working in full daylight on both screens and walls. But it hasn't exactly managed to convince me that it's better than a wall mounted screen yet.
Ultimately, the best and worst thing about this projector might just be the sheer number of features it has. It has ports for just about everything, a variety of color modes to help you project it on a wide array of different surfaces, wireless connectivity, and plenty of options for different setup configurations. And this is great. I particularly like the ability to quickly cast presentations straight off my cell phone if I need to, as that's one less thing I need to carry if I'm already making space for the projector. I was also rather pleased with the expanded 120 lines of vertical resolution - though presenters should probably remember that if they want to make full use of it they'll likely have to design for a 16x10 aspect ratio instead of the 16x9 their laptop most likely has. And keystone correction has been handled with a slider right behind the focus ring which lets you quickly adjust the image to at least roughly match whatever you're showing it on.
But the flipside to this is that the user interface you get to control all these features is extremely complicated. Unlike some units where I was able to work out exactly what I needed to do within a few minutes of browsing through the menus, I spent ten minutes feeling my way around the menus trying to find the exact setting I needed to get it to do what I wanted before giving up and going through the online instruction manual. After about a half hour of additional tinkering I had most of it down, but I'll admit that were I tasked with supporting this thing as a member of an IT department, I'd be somewhat concerned about the number of service requests this thing would generate.
In the end though, so long as you know that you're buying a feature-rich and complicated projector, I really don't think a poor interface design should send you looking elsewhere. And this would be absolutely fantastic for a permanent mount, where you can fiddle with all the settings once and then never worry about them again. Everything that a data projector should be able to do this thing does very well, even on the reduced power "eco mode." All in all, I'm very happy with its performance.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Keep your home clean with this Bissell Pet Stain Eraser Bagless Cordless Carpet Cleaner. The cordless unit pulls messes out of carpet and upholstery in minutes, and the rechargeable lithium battery ensures that it stays ready for use. This Pet Stain Eraser Bagless Cordless Carpet Cleaner comes with a premixed cleaning formula to reduce setup time.
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic tool for small messes!
on September 30, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Living in a house with both a dachshund, a breed of dog notorious for their selective housetraining, and a cat who as she gets older has begun to express her displeasure through urine I've gotten a fair amount of experience cleaning up accidents the old fashioned way. When I saw that someone had actually built a device for the task, I was cautiously optimistic. The best I was really expecting was something that might save me on paper towels.
As it turns out, I was wrong. Not only does it save you on paper towels, it's faster and more effective than the traditional method of using a spray bottle and a stiff brush.
The instructions are very simple. You turn it on, pull the trigger to spray a thin sheet of cleaning solution onto the carpet, use the built in brush to work it into the fibers a bit (They deserve extra points for the design of that, by the way, as the brush lets you use the weight of the unit to give you a bit of extra oomph to the scrubbing) and then pull the vacuum back and watch as it sucks up all the cleaning solution and brings the mess with it. I've tested it on urine, vomit, spilled makeup, and just plain dirt that had been tracked into the carpet, and it handled all of them, even on stains that were months old. I don't think I could have gotten any better results with a carpet cleaner.
That said, it should be pointed out that this is definitely a small appliance for small messes. The battery lasts about as long as it takes to empty the onboard tank for cleaning solution, and that tank is not very big. I emptied it out in the space of an afternoon helping a friend clean out their carpet after they moved. Also cleanup can be a little tricky at times, as the thing tends to suck up a fair bit of fur and hair as well which can get caught in the drain or the intakes. But all in all, you still spend much less time with it than you would with traditional methods, and it's certainly cheaper than a full size carpet shampooer!
I'd recommend this to anyone going through housetraining without reservation.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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Enjoy lag-free gaming with this Linksys dual-band Wi-Fi router. Its Killer prioritization engine works with Killer-enabled computers to minimize peak ping by up to 77 percent, and the 1.8GHz CPU delivers super-fast speeds with wired and wireless connections. This Linksys dual-band Wi-Fi router has a custom-built user interface that lets you manage your gaming network performance.
Customer Rating
5
It's more than just style - a real gaming router!
on September 24, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Evaluating any “gaming” hardware for PCs can be tricky. There’s a lot of products marketed exclusively at gamers which are basically just consumer level hardware with extra LEDs and more aggressive case styling. On the other extreme, you have products that are basically enterprise level solutions tweaked to essentially specialize in a few specific areas.
I’m pleased to say that the Linksys WRT32X is more of the latter than the former, but there are some caveats that you may want to know about all the same. Most of this has to do with the “Killer Networking Engine” integrated into it, a first for a router. For those of you unaware, Killer networking offers an alternative to the standard Windows TCP/IP stack, essentially performing client-side quality of service filtering to improve latency for gaming. In theory, this should offer massive gains in transmission speed. In practice, when doing quality of service at the client you’re often just racing to reach a bottleneck further down the line. As a result, real world gains provided by the tech are limited compared to what they could get in a lab, and only get more limited if you have more than one of the things on the same network.
What this router brings to the table is a way to carry forward that same prioritization being done on the client, which I will say does address the problem of multiple devices using Killer networking hardware interfering with one another and the potential bottleneck at the router quite well. The bottleneck is now the greater internet, but improving two legs of the transit does get you into the realm of noticeable improvements. But this leaves us with two questions. Is there a good router underneath the gaming enhancements? And does having these enhancements offer any advantages outside of gaming?
So, to begin with, I should note that for all intents and purposes they appear to have built the WRT32X on top of their existing WRT3200ACM – which means it’s blurring the line between consumer and enterprise grade hardware. This is ludicrous overkill for most users, but there are times that overkill is nice. In addition to all the usual bells and whistles that come with a router in its class it offers the option to replace the factory provided software with the open source WRT platform should you want to get crunchy. It also has built in support for tri-band tech first unveiled last year to produce an extreme speed channel for bandwidth hungry devices that, to the best of my knowledge, probably won’t start appearing on the market for another year yet. This thing is an absolute beast on paper, and in my tests I found that it’s just as powerful in practice.
Setup is largely automated and very painless – all in all it took me less than 10 minutes to replace my existing router with this one. Once you’re past that, the interface is very simple and functional, though I’ll admit there are just a few areas where I’d be willing to make do with a less streamlined look in exchange for more information being available at a glance. This is minor though, and for people like me who like to manually configure everything they can everything you need is still there, just hidden behind a few layers of menus. I’m also very pleased with the ability to assign three priority levels to devices on the network, as most routers I’ve worked with have only offered two. As far as range and performance goes, I had no issues using both the 2.4 and 5ghz bands throughout my home and even out into the lawn and the underground garage. And it had no issues whatsoever load balancing the 20+ WiFi devices I’ve got in my home.
Which brings us to the second question: what does having a Killer Networking Engine do for you?
Well, to start, here’s what it won’t do:
It won’t speed up your downloads.
It won’t speed up your local file transfers.
It won’t find you any more bandwidth from your modem.
It won’t make Netflix look any better.
It won’t speed up your downloads.
It won’t speed up your local file transfers.
It won’t find you any more bandwidth from your modem.
It won’t make Netflix look any better.
If your main motivation for buying this is on that list, look elsewhere. This tech is optimized for speeding up the transfer of small packets used for online gaming – not bulk file transfers or every day internet browsing. And while my tests didn’t produce results anywhere near what they advertise on the box even when it was paired with the Killer NICs that it’s optimized for, I can’t deny that there is a measurable improvement here. I was lucky enough to be able to compare the WRT32X to a WRT3200ACM, basically an identical router just without the Killer Networking Engine installed, and confirmed that I was consistently seeing an improvement in the 20% range for gaming traffic with machines using a standard NIC. With a Killer NIC, albeit a slightly older one, the improvement bumped up closer to 30%.
Now, keep in mind that we’re still talking in terms of a few milliseconds of difference here. Far less times than it takes most people to blink. It’s not something that’s going to matter for most games, and the nature of online play means that you likely will never be able to say for certain if the router ever helped you or not. But at the same time there definitely do exist people for whom a few milliseconds can make a critical and very real difference in playing a game. Gamers who routinely take part in high-level ranked or tournament play for real time strategy games, shooters, or MOBAs can tell you that oftentimes, it all comes down to reflex. And having equipment that increases the odds that the packet reporting your actions will reach the server first does bestow a real advantage. For that specific use case, I really don’t think there’s anything else on the market that can compare to this, though I imagine that other similar equipment will follow given the growing popularity of e-sports. So while there is a list of caveats a mile long, I do have to recommend this router for those who are looking to squeeze every last bit of gaming performance out of their network.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Hear everything happening in the game with this Logitech gaming headset. Low distortion and an acoustic port behind the driver combine to produce precise, realistic sound, and downloadable software lets you customize audio for each game. Play in comfort with the ultra-soft microfiber ear pads of this Logitech gaming headset.
Customer Rating
3
Stellar audio, but an uncomfortable design.
on August 10, 2017
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
This headset is somewhat difficult to form an opinion on. I've used other Logitech gaming headsets in the past, and overall I've usually found them to be some of the better ones. But for whatever reason, I just found myself less than impressed with this particular version.
It is definitely not for lack of features. The headset has just about everything you could want. Cables for USB, 3 pole mobile jacks, and paired 2 pole PC jacks, two microphone options, two sets of ear pads, an a carrying case for all of it. And taken individually, I really like the a lot of it. The audio quality is great (though as with most surround sound headsets can feel a little distant compared to plain stereo headsets) and both mics have good pickup and easy adjustment. The whole thing is also very lightweight, more so than any other headset of this size I've tried.
But these also at times feel a little like problems. The thing is so lightweight that at times I worry about it being too fragile to really take with me, which is supported by the fact that after a day of fairly light use I'd already begun to notice some cosmetic damage to some of the bits. One of the speakers also looks to have slipped out of its mountings, though it's possible that it just came like that and repair looks very straightforward. And I'm left feeling that I really preferred the older headsets that were heavier and didn't have the same bass response just because I didn't feel like they needed to be protected to keep from breaking. It also doesn't help that on my head (which admittedly has a hat size of XXL) it pinches right at the top of my jaw because there isn't enough play in the gimbal to sit flat against the sides of my head.
Now, a lot of these issues are fixable. The carrying case that it comes with is essentially just a cloth bag, but if you've got something with even a bit of padding I wouldn't really worry about portability. And with regular use, the band is slowly starting to conform better to my head. I've also had friends who have difficulty with heavier units rave about the lightweight build being infinitely more comfortable. But in the end, my own mixed experiences with it keep me from wholeheartedly endorsing it for everyone.
Basically, if you're mostly concerned with audio and weight, this is probably great for you. But if you're looking primarily for prolonged comfort (or just have a large head,) you might want to see if you can try one on before committing to the G433.
It is definitely not for lack of features. The headset has just about everything you could want. Cables for USB, 3 pole mobile jacks, and paired 2 pole PC jacks, two microphone options, two sets of ear pads, an a carrying case for all of it. And taken individually, I really like the a lot of it. The audio quality is great (though as with most surround sound headsets can feel a little distant compared to plain stereo headsets) and both mics have good pickup and easy adjustment. The whole thing is also very lightweight, more so than any other headset of this size I've tried.
But these also at times feel a little like problems. The thing is so lightweight that at times I worry about it being too fragile to really take with me, which is supported by the fact that after a day of fairly light use I'd already begun to notice some cosmetic damage to some of the bits. One of the speakers also looks to have slipped out of its mountings, though it's possible that it just came like that and repair looks very straightforward. And I'm left feeling that I really preferred the older headsets that were heavier and didn't have the same bass response just because I didn't feel like they needed to be protected to keep from breaking. It also doesn't help that on my head (which admittedly has a hat size of XXL) it pinches right at the top of my jaw because there isn't enough play in the gimbal to sit flat against the sides of my head.
Now, a lot of these issues are fixable. The carrying case that it comes with is essentially just a cloth bag, but if you've got something with even a bit of padding I wouldn't really worry about portability. And with regular use, the band is slowly starting to conform better to my head. I've also had friends who have difficulty with heavier units rave about the lightweight build being infinitely more comfortable. But in the end, my own mixed experiences with it keep me from wholeheartedly endorsing it for everyone.
Basically, if you're mostly concerned with audio and weight, this is probably great for you. But if you're looking primarily for prolonged comfort (or just have a large head,) you might want to see if you can try one on before committing to the G433.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Add high-end performance to your everyday life with the Google Pixel XL. A quad-core processor, a 5.5-inch LED screen and 32GB of memory ensure this phone is able to handle daily life, and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protects the screen. Easy cloud storage ensures you never run out of space on the Google Pixel XL.
Does your Best Buy Pixel phone have the Verizon crapware on it?
There are three verizon apps - but all are fully removable. Once they're gone, it's like they were never there to begin with.
7 years, 8 months ago
by
Batlacit
Add high-end performance to your everyday life with the Google Pixel XL. A quad-core processor, a 5.5-inch LED screen and 32GB of memory ensure this phone is able to handle daily life, and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protects the screen. Easy cloud storage ensures you never run out of space on the Google Pixel XL.
Does this version of the phone have a locked bootloader?
Yes, the Verizon branded Pixel does come with a locked bootloader. Only ones bought directly from Google don't.
7 years, 8 months ago
by
Batlacit
Add high-end performance to your everyday life with the Google Pixel XL. A quad-core processor, a 5.5-inch LED screen and 32GB of memory ensure this phone is able to handle daily life, and Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protects the screen. Easy cloud storage ensures you never run out of space on the Google Pixel XL.
Is this water resistant?
I'm afraid not. But you may be able to find case options that can at least improve that.
7 years, 8 months ago
by
Batlacit
Orbi Whole Home WiFi System delivers up to 3.0Gbps high-performance WiFi. Sleek, modern design with high-gain internal antennas for up to 5,000 square feet of coverage. FastLane3 Technology creates a dedicated Tri-Band WiFi for seamless 4K streaming and gaming everywhere in your home. Keep a single WiFi name for uninterrupted connections as you move from room-to-room. Circle Smart Parental Controls runs on Orbi Routers for a smart way for families to manage content and time online, on any connected device. Provide internet access to guests without sharing your personal network password. Orbi is ready right out of the box and compatible with your ISP. Just use the Orbi app to get started with better WiFi, everywhere in minutes.
do you have to have an internet service before this will bring in the wi fi
You can use it to set up a local network, but if your goal is to watch netflix or look stuff up on google, yes, you need to have internet service.
7 years, 9 months ago
by
Batlacit
Orbi Whole Home WiFi System delivers up to 3.0Gbps high-performance WiFi. Sleek, modern design with high-gain internal antennas for up to 5,000 square feet of coverage. FastLane3 Technology creates a dedicated Tri-Band WiFi for seamless 4K streaming and gaming everywhere in your home. Keep a single WiFi name for uninterrupted connections as you move from room-to-room. Circle Smart Parental Controls runs on Orbi Routers for a smart way for families to manage content and time online, on any connected device. Provide internet access to guests without sharing your personal network password. Orbi is ready right out of the box and compatible with your ISP. Just use the Orbi app to get started with better WiFi, everywhere in minutes.
Q I am looking for1 Orbi router and 3 Orbi satellites for my big home, since Netgear is not giving the option to buy satellites individually ,will I be able to order two boxes of Orbi and be able to use one of Orbi router as a satellite ,? interchange
From what I can tell, no, you can't get the same seamless integration with two routers in the system. The satellite and router look mostly identical, but there are some differences. You might be able to configure the second one as an access point... but that might defeat the point a bit.
That said, they've stated they are going to release individual satellites eventually.
That said, they've stated they are going to release individual satellites eventually.
7 years, 9 months ago
by
Batlacit