Batlacit's stats
- Review count228
- Helpfulness votes918
- First reviewFebruary 13, 2016
- Last reviewJune 23, 2025
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.5
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- Answer count55
- Helpfulness votes100
- First answerSeptember 21, 2016
- Last answerJanuary 21, 2022
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Capture and share special moments with Google Clips. Engineered to recognize faces and expressions, this clever camera automatically takes several-second-long audio-free motion photos, leaving you free to focus on the occasion. Enhanced with Super Res mode, the Google Clips device syncs data with your phone and lets you save any frame as a high-resolution still photo.
Customer Rating
3
Interesting idea, but poor execution
on June 10, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
As someone with a dog who routinely does meme-worthy things and a nephew who you need to take at least 50 pictures of to get one where he's smiling, I REALLY wanted this camera to live up to the promise of a device capable of finding that perfect moment to hit the shutter so that you don't have to. But, after spending a week trying to train this thing up on what I'm interested in taking pictures of, I'm forced to conclude that Google's engineers have some work to do or that my own photos are so bad that it's learned the wrong thing.
It does do some things very well. The app and pairing experience are both pretty good, the hardware is a lot better than I was expecting in a unit this size, and the facial recognition system does seem to work. What I can't find is any indication that it's actually looking for optimal lighting, framing, or any of the other things it's supposedly considering when deciding when to take a snapshot. Rather it seems like it'll start snapping photos whenever it spots something it recognizes, producing a rather extensive slideshow of blurry photographs and animations of the back of my own head or the top two inches of my dog's scalp. Maybe one in every twenty shots is of something you'd actually want, and of those most aren't particularly good photos.
That said, I'm giving it three stars because I do think there's still room for it to get better. As I mentioned earlier, the hardware is quite decent. All the shortcomings of the device really have to do with software - and software can be updated. Given some more time for Google's dev team to refine it (or perhaps just more time for it to learn from my photos) the Clips might yet be able to live up to the lofty goal the marketing team has set for it. And, in its current form, there are still some use cases where it's nice to have. I was pretty pleased with the results when I clipped it onto my pack and took it on a hike, for instance (though I'd definitely recommend a battery bank for any prolonged outdoor use) and it did produce some pretty good photos of my nephew that probably wouldn't have been possible with my phone. I'm just not quite sold on the idea that the Clips as it currently stands is the smart camera for the masses the marketing materials make it out to be.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Listen to your favorite playlists with these Sony wireless noise-cancelling headphones. They're equipped with the Google Assistant for instant help with a range of tasks, and their silicon support fittings keep the headphones in place while you're active. Use these Sony wireless noise-cancelling headphones' Ambient Sound Mode when you need to stay aware of your environment.
Customer Rating
4
They really do mean sport in this case
on June 2, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
My feelings on these headphones ended up being a lot more complex than I was expecting. On paper, they seem to do just about everything I could want. They’re compact, wireless, offer both ambient audio passthrough and active noise cancellation, and have enough battery on board to easily last all day. Plus, they’re built by a brand known for quality audio hardware. But after using them for about a week, I’m not entirely sure that they'll end up being my new daily driver as I’d originally planned.
To make it clear, there's nothing really wrong with the headphones. In fact for the most part they're pretty great. The NFC pairing makes connecting it to your phone as close to effortless as possible, the earbuds are surprisingly comfortable to wear while still offering the kind of rock solid fit you need for a device ostensibly to be worn while jogging, and the battery is great. They even offer good bass response. If we just go by that, they’re some of the best wireless headphones I've ever tried.
The problem is that there are just a bunch of littler things in the design which make carrying them around with me all day a bit more of a hassle than I'd expected. To start, the charging case is very large and thick compared to most similar pod style headphones, making it somewhat uncomfortable to carry around in my pocket like I'm used to. My usual response would be to just throw it in a bag, but the swivel lid they use is very thin and a bit fragile. Just one day in my bag left it with a few dents and scratches which make me concerned that it might not be able to survive a week. It's also still using micro-usb for charging. While I know USB-C isn't the most common cable out there yet, the writing is on the wall at this point that it's going to be in a couple of years. Even Sony has it in their phones at this point, so I’ve got to carry a separate micro-usb cable around for charging.
I'd probably be able to look past this all if not for the last thing on my list of things to look at: the active noise cancellation. Overall, this was the one thing I was most excited about with these earbuds and also the thing that left me most underwhelmed. It's not that it doesn’t work so much as that it can't. The earbuds simply aren't that effective at blocking exterior noise, so even with noise cancelling working you get a lot of sound filtering in.
Overall, I’d still recommend them for their intended purpose. The fit and pass-through quality alone would be enough for me to suggest them to anyone who wants really good wireless earbuds to use when exercising. But I'm not sure these are the ones I’d bring with me to block out the noise if the train or the engine roar of an airplane.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Keep track of your nutrition intake with this NutriBullet Balance smoothie blender. It calculates the nutritional data of the smoothie ingredients you’re using and sends the information to your smartphone via Bluetooth. This NutriBullet Balance smoothie blender comes with two 32-oz. blending cups with lip rings and to-go lids for versatility.
Customer Rating
3
Good hardware, bad software.
on May 8, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for smart devices of almost any type. But when I saw that NutriBullet Balance had produced a Bluetooth connected blender, I was dubious. The description they gave made it seem like the blender was essentially only serving to replace the equals sign on an app-based calculator. But, being a smart device sucker, I decided to try it anyway.
The first thing I discovered is that the product description does not do nearly a good enough job of selling this thing’s strengths. The best feature of the system is most definitely not the nutrition tracking (which I do find to be very dubious – more on that later) but rather the fact that they’ve built a highly precise digital scale into the thing. Which means that when you go to assemble a recipe, you can skip the measuring cups and simply add each ingredient to the cup until it tells you that you’ve reached the right amount.
I know it doesn’t seem like much, but the effects of this are huge. The Nutribullet parts, designed as they are for frequent use and small batches, are engineered for easy cleaning. When you don’t need to use two or three different measuring devices, the total time to clean everything up drops to just a couple of minutes. For someone like myself who isn’t always the greatest at staying on top of these things this alone makes me far more likely to use the Balance, which hopefully will translate to me eating healthier in the long run.
Speaking of, I also must give this thing serious points for build quality. In addition to being easy to clean (most of the parts are dishwasher safe) every single part has a satisfying heft and has been engineered to surprisingly tight tolerances. They’ve also thought of a lot of things that I’ll admit I wouldn’t have. For instance, the threaded tops of the cups can be covered over with a smooth plastic lip to make for easier drinking and easier cleanup, as the threads are protected from most things that might gum them up.
I only wish that I could say the same for the app that comes with it.
This, sadly, is ultimately the downfall of the Balance. Smart devices live and die on the quality of the app their paired with, and this one is only barely usable. It’s slow to run (even on my modern flagship smartphone) quick to crash and only marginally reliable when it comes to tracking your nutrition. The first day I had it, I used it for all three meals to test it out for this review. For two of them I used the built-in recipes (which are okay, but nothing too special) and for the third I created my own concoction out of the leftovers from earlier in the day.
The next day, all of that was gone. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but the app managed to delete everything I’d stored in it. I can’t say I was too surprised though, given that it had frequently failed to respond to basic button presses, aggressively demanded that I log back in multiple times even though I never logged out, and froze up at least half a dozen separate times when I attempted to search for recipes. Oh, and if you want to add some simple granulated sugar to your recipes without anyone knowing, the Balance has your back. Despite having an encyclopedic collection of ingredients that I’ve never even heard of in its database, “sugar” is apparently not one of them. I understand that this is intended primarily for healthy living, but I’d rather have an accurate accounting of my dietary sins all the same.
This leaves me in somewhat of a frustrating position. Overall, I like the Balance. And when they worked, I could see there was some real potential in the smart features which I feel could end up being more widely adopted to make cooking as well as blending easier. But with the app in the state that it is, you’re not getting all the features that you’re paying a premium for. In the state that it is now I could only recommend getting this over a regular non-smart version of the NutriBullet if you’re willing to play the early adopter game and wait however many months or years it takes for them to sort out the problems with the app.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Navigate your desktop precisely with this Corsair Dark Core gaming mouse. It uses low-latency Bluetooth for syncing with compatible devices, and its 16000 DPI optical sensor provides high accuracy performance during game play. This Corsair Dark Core gaming mouse has a contoured shape and interchangeable textured side grips for a comfortable feel in hand.
Customer Rating
5
Quality hardware with tons of customization
on April 18, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I’ve long been a fan of Corsair’s hardware for my gaming PC builds, but I’ve never really checked out anything that goes outside of the case. I’m happy to say that their reputation for quality remains intact. The Dark Core RGB is a tastefully understated (by RGB standards) design which doesn’t boast overly aggressive styling or massive arrays of macro buttons, but still manages to squeeze everything that a gamer really needs into a highly versatile and extremely accurate optical mouse.
Your choice in mouse is ultimately going to come down to personal preference more than anything else though, and if you can’t try one out yourself it can be difficult to tell how much one person’s preferences line up with your own. So I’ve done my best to compile a list of pros and cons as I see them so you can hopefully figure out how it does in the areas you feel are most important.
Your choice in mouse is ultimately going to come down to personal preference more than anything else though, and if you can’t try one out yourself it can be difficult to tell how much one person’s preferences line up with your own. So I’ve done my best to compile a list of pros and cons as I see them so you can hopefully figure out how it does in the areas you feel are most important.
Pros:
The mouse manages to find that sweet spot between heft and lightness. You can zip this around your desk nearly effortlessly, but never feel like you don’t have control over it.
Tons of options to fine tune and customize the performance within the Cue software allows you to switch quickly between speed and precision modes, a boon not only for gamers, but also artists, designers, and anyone else who needs to engage in high precision work with their mouse.
The RGB effects are cool without being bright enough to light up a room, and very customizable.
The optical sensor really does seem to work on just about anything. Even dachshunds (though the wiener dog in my test case was less impressed by this feature than I was.)
Tons of options for connectivity and remarkably good wireless response with virtually no lag, even over Bluetooth.
The exchangeable side grips can be used to keep the mouse’s profile small or provide a more solid base for added control and comfort.
Overall build quality just feels solid and it’s very comfortable to hold.
The RF receiver comes with an adapter that allows you to plug it into the braided USB cord intended to be used for wireless mode. Not only does this help get the receiver out in the open where you’re least likely to get interference, but it makes it very convenient to switch between wireless and wired modes on the fly depending on what you need at the time.
Onboard memory allows you to store macros and settings within the mouse and bring it with you rather than needing to set things up on each computer.
Cons:
As far as I can tell, the only way to get the most advanced features out of the mouse is if you use it in wired or 2.4 ghz wireless modes. Which is somewhat disappointing if you’re planning to use this for a laptop and don’t want to bring the dongle with you.
In that vein, no internal storage space for the dongle like you get with some other models of mice. Again, very useful if you plan to use this with a gaming laptop.
Your hand ends up covering most of the RGB lighting effect areas during normal use, so there’s some question as to how much anyone’s ever going to see the cool lighting profile you whipped up for it.
The forward and back buttons are a little awkwardly placed around the sniper button. It’s very easy to miss the forward button thanks to the concave shape of the buttons, which leaves you only a small sliver to press down on.
No support for horizontal scrolling. I missed this feature very early on when using the mouse for non-gaming tasks.
While it does have 9 buttons, half of those go to controlling the mouse rather than being usable in game. While they can be remapped, you will end up losing some of those features.
The mouse manages to find that sweet spot between heft and lightness. You can zip this around your desk nearly effortlessly, but never feel like you don’t have control over it.
Tons of options to fine tune and customize the performance within the Cue software allows you to switch quickly between speed and precision modes, a boon not only for gamers, but also artists, designers, and anyone else who needs to engage in high precision work with their mouse.
The RGB effects are cool without being bright enough to light up a room, and very customizable.
The optical sensor really does seem to work on just about anything. Even dachshunds (though the wiener dog in my test case was less impressed by this feature than I was.)
Tons of options for connectivity and remarkably good wireless response with virtually no lag, even over Bluetooth.
The exchangeable side grips can be used to keep the mouse’s profile small or provide a more solid base for added control and comfort.
Overall build quality just feels solid and it’s very comfortable to hold.
The RF receiver comes with an adapter that allows you to plug it into the braided USB cord intended to be used for wireless mode. Not only does this help get the receiver out in the open where you’re least likely to get interference, but it makes it very convenient to switch between wireless and wired modes on the fly depending on what you need at the time.
Onboard memory allows you to store macros and settings within the mouse and bring it with you rather than needing to set things up on each computer.
Cons:
As far as I can tell, the only way to get the most advanced features out of the mouse is if you use it in wired or 2.4 ghz wireless modes. Which is somewhat disappointing if you’re planning to use this for a laptop and don’t want to bring the dongle with you.
In that vein, no internal storage space for the dongle like you get with some other models of mice. Again, very useful if you plan to use this with a gaming laptop.
Your hand ends up covering most of the RGB lighting effect areas during normal use, so there’s some question as to how much anyone’s ever going to see the cool lighting profile you whipped up for it.
The forward and back buttons are a little awkwardly placed around the sniper button. It’s very easy to miss the forward button thanks to the concave shape of the buttons, which leaves you only a small sliver to press down on.
No support for horizontal scrolling. I missed this feature very early on when using the mouse for non-gaming tasks.
While it does have 9 buttons, half of those go to controlling the mouse rather than being usable in game. While they can be remapped, you will end up losing some of those features.
One final note: I’ve seen a lot of other reviews for this product mention bad experiences with the Cue software. I kind of lucked out in this regard, as just a day before I got the mouse they released an updated version on their website. While I wouldn’t call it perfect, it does seem to be a noticeable improvement and I haven’t run across problems with stability or adjusting the settings. It still does require some basic knowledge about what you’re adjusting, but I didn’t see anything in the latest revision that I’d call a deal breaker.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Turtle Beach Stream Mic is the first professional desktop microphone created for gamers streaming directly from their Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as from a PC or Mac. The Stream Mic features Adaptive Mic Patterns, customizable software, a dual-capsule mic array with advanced digital processing, and a zero-latency headphone output so anyone can stream like a pro.
Customer Rating
4
Great product marred by poor software
on April 15, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
For the longest time, I've really only wanted one thing from a desktop microphone. The ability to sound good while also filtering out the sound of a dachshund frantically alerting me to the fact that he's spotted a neighbor.
A pipe dream? Probably. But this mic came closer than anything else to actually living up to it.
While most of my recording is a little more casual these days, a few years ago I did a lot of VO work and narrated a few audio books. As a result, I happened to have a reference for what I sound like using a high end condenser mic in a recording studio handy when I sat down to see how this mic measured up. It's not quite up to par with that, but I have to say it came astonishingly close to it. The audio quality in cardioid mode is phenomenal, and while it might not perfectly emulate my voice or block out all the fan noises from my computer it makes it sound pretty fantastic all the same.
The only thing that keeps me from giving it the full five stars is the software which comes with it. As great as the hardware is, the software is just a chore to use. To start, it refuses to even recognize the mic is present unless it's been switched to XBox mode. But in XBox mode, Windows refuses to properly recognize it and I can't get anything at all out of most of my recording software. Perhaps I was just using the wrong software combination, but even so it seems rather ridiculous to require this. Fortunately I didn't miss it too much, as there isn't much in the software that's any good. The hypercardioid and supercardioid modes are the only things that really look useful - the rest is a somewhat over the top echo effect and a few equalizer presets. Personally I'd recommend that you skip the software and just run it straight out of the box. It's much easier.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Xperia XZ2 Compact is designed to be the ultimate entertainment device. Whether you're recording breathtaking videos in 4K HDR, or watching films in HDR, the Xperia XZ2 Compact delivers big screen entertainment in the palm of your hand.
Customer Rating
5
Flagship performance in a tiny package
on April 15, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
For the past few years, phones have been getting harder and harder to tell apart. Sony, apparently, found this to be a problem and set out to fix it with the XZ2 Compact.
The biggest thing you’ll notice when taking it out of the box is how big it isn’t. Rather than going the usual route of a large screen on a thin glass slab, the phone is trying its hardest to keep its footprint as small as possible. The result is a phone that’s very easy to use one-handed (even if you have somewhat smallish hands.) For some, small still sells, and I don’t think that you’re going to find another phone of this size with modern hardware anywhere on the market. What’s even more impressive is how little they’ve had to compromise to achieve this. Yes, it’s a fair bit chunkier than a lot of phones, but the curved case still fits easily in your hand and looks suitably flashy.
And I imagine that some people will stop right there, but there’s quite a bit more to see in this phone than that. In addition to being small, this phone has more unusual features and gimmicks than I think I’ve ever seen in an Android device. This is probably the best and worst part of the device. One example is a physical button specifically for the camera. This is one of the better quality of life features on the thing – as it makes using the very nice camera much faster and more natural than most phones. Unfortunately, it’s also placed in such a way that you can very easily hit it by accident. Likewise with the back-mounted fingerprint scanner. It’s very accurate and fast to respond. But placed almost in the center of the backplate it doesn’t feel very natural to use. Usually when I go to try and unlock it I end up jamming my finger up against the camera lens instead. I wouldn’t call it a deal breaker, but it’s definitely something I hope that Sony can improve on in future models.
A lot of the other key features are nice, but really do fall more in the line of gimmicks. The camera has a variety of special modes that let you record video at 960fps, take 4K HDR videos, or videos where you shoot fire out of your mouth. And these are fun, but not the kind of thing that you’re likely to use frequently. The sensor isn’t really good enough to get great results from the HDR mode, and the extreme high speed mode can only record at that speed for a fraction of a second, making it very difficult to use effectively. The 3D scanning feature is cool, if you can manage to get the ideal light conditions and have VERY steady hands. If you’re looking to pick it up specifically for these features, you might want to keep in mind that they’re really intended more for playing around with than anything else.
Fortunately once you get past the gimmicks, the fundamentals are very solid. Sony made a wise choice of keeping their version of Android very close to stock, producing a highly responsive interface with very little in the way of visual clutter. The build quality might not quite match what some people define as “premium” seeing as much of it is plastic, but I’d wager that this is a phone that could survive a lot of hardships that your average glass and metal device couldn’t. They even included expandable storage – a feature I had sorely missed in the last few generations of devices. It’s also got what might be the best sounding set of stereo speakers I’ve heard on a cell phone (though, sadly, no audio jack.)
It’s not a phone for everyone. Rather it’s a phone for a very specific type of customer who cares more about size and quirkiness than they do having the biggest screen space or the thinnest profile. And for once, you won't have to sacrifice having flagship performance or durability to get it.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Clear dry and wet dirt off the floor with this ECOVACS DEEBOT OZMO robot vacuum. Its automatic mopping system uses an electronically controlled water pump to dampen and clean hard floors, and its Smart Navi technology ensures precise mapping for an efficient cleaning path. This ECOVACS DEEBOT OZMO robot vacuum automatically switches modes to clean carpets.
Customer Rating
4
Smarter than the average puck, but not perfect
on April 12, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I’ve been an avid fan of robotic vacuums for a long time, having started with one of the earliest Roombas and upgraded every few generations from there. And for a long time no matter what manufacturer you went with, the basic premise behind how they work has stayed the same. The robot will keep moving until it hits something, then turn around and go off in a random direction from there. Eventually, it covers the entirety of your floor.
The most recent designs from several manufacturers have been starting to change that though. While random navigation worked well enough, it was slow and meant that you tended to get uneven coverage over the floor. Now, people are starting to use advances in tracking technology to create robots that can intelligently map out and navigate through their surroundings. The Deebot Ozmo 930 (or Ozmo, as I’ve named mine) does this using a LIDAR system on the top of its standard hockey puck shaped body to help it build a complete map of the area you want it to clean so that it goes over every area twice using the same kind of pattern you’d use yourself with an upright. And if that isn’t enough, it also features the ability to tell what kind of floor it’s on and use a wet mop to clean it.
With all that it seems like it would be the perfect robotic vacuum. Unfortunately, I have to say that while I do like the product overall, it’s got a lot of rough edges that keep it from being everything that it’s advertised to be.
To start with the good, the mapping system does mostly work. It constructs a very detailed map (which you can see on the Ecovacs app) which you can use to designate where it should and shouldn’t clean as well as setting up a schedule that allows it to tackle large areas in several attempts rather than running out of battery half way through. What’s even better is that the robot is very good at updating the map to account for minor changes to the positioning of certain landmarks such as chairs or pets.
The only problem here is that while the map works great, I can’t really give it full marks because of one serious flaw in the design. Whenever the robot becomes confused about its location (which seems to happen whenever I go to clean the brushes) it will happily delete the map, along with any instructions you’ve given about where not to clean, what certain areas are called, or what schedule it should use to clean those areas.
Next, we have the cleaning performance. The Ozmo has two vacuuming options: a standard beater brush and a direct suction mode intended for homes where hair can be a problem. Since I live in a home with two pets and a long-haired woman and have had brushes literally shredded by tightly wound hair before, I started out with the direct suction option which the instructions said were best for daily cleaning. It worked well enough in that it didn’t produce any tangles. But as anyone who’s used these vacuums can tell you, there’s a world of difference between the suction that you can get with an upright and the suction you can get in a tiny robot. Overall I found that the direct suction wasn’t very good at picking up hair or much else. Switching to the brush produced far better cleaning performance, and it would generally fill up the bin and leave the floors looking visibly cleaner. The mop was a little harder to judge. Admittedly I don’t have a ton of hard floors that need wet mopping in my environment, but my kitchen floors are usually always in need of some attention. On the default setting it didn’t do much at all, but when I raised the water output to high it did a decent job of picking up small messes. Only thing I really noticed here was that it’s best to run through multiple cycles, as it takes a little while for the robot to dispense enough water to the cleaning pad to do anything.
Finally, there’s the overall build. I’m mostly happy with this except for one thing: the height. For whatever reason, this robot sits a little higher off the ground than most, which makes it adept at climbing on top of things. At one point it managed to climb on top of a plate and rode around the living room on top of it, thinking that it was cleaning a ceramic tile floor. It’s far from the only robot that can do things like this, but it’s worth mentioning as you’ll want to watch out for it. It’s also unfortunately quite easy for the robot to become stuck on its own charging base if it moves too far forward for some reason, in which case it’ll simply spin its little wheels trying to disengage until eventually giving up.
Finally, there’s the overall build. I’m mostly happy with this except for one thing: the height. For whatever reason, this robot sits a little higher off the ground than most, which makes it adept at climbing on top of things. At one point it managed to climb on top of a plate and rode around the living room on top of it, thinking that it was cleaning a ceramic tile floor. It’s far from the only robot that can do things like this, but it’s worth mentioning as you’ll want to watch out for it. It’s also unfortunately quite easy for the robot to become stuck on its own charging base if it moves too far forward for some reason, in which case it’ll simply spin its little wheels trying to disengage until eventually giving up.
There are a few other features that I haven’t been able to try out yet, such as the integration with Alexa and Google Home which is apparently coming in an upcoming software update. Hopefully that update will also address the map issue and give it a warm-up period for the wet mop to help it do a better job on its first pass. But I’m anticipating liking them if the implementation is in line with the rest of the features.
Overall, my impression of the vacuum is positive. It’s quieter and faster than any of the previous models I’ve owned, and its cleaning performance is satisfactory. But I think that a lot of the most ambitious features such as the smart navigation and wet mopping might take a few more tries to perfect. It’s more a glimpse of where the tech is going rather than a fully functional example of it. Just understand that you’ll still need to provide some oversight to keep it running at its best, and you should find that it greatly cuts down on the amount of day to day cleaning you need to do!
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Improve your dental care routine with this Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean electric toothbrush. It has three modes for a customized brushing experience and a pressure sensor to protect your gums from over-brushing. This Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean electric toothbrush has a built-in timer to encourage you to meet the recommended brushing time.
Customer Rating
5
My dentist will be pleased.
on March 22, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I've been using an electric toothbrush since sometime around high school. It worked well enough and was definitely more effective at getting me to brush the recommended two minutes than any manual brush, but it was definitely starting to show signs of its age for a while before it finally gave up the ghost and refused to charge anymore. When I saw the Philips Sonicare brush I figured that it would be a worthy replacement just for the fact that it not only made sure you brushed long enough, but also made sure that you'd devote the correct amount of time to each area of your mouth.
And my first impression is that wow, they've changed these A LOT since I was in high school.
I had heard of ultrasonic toothbrushes before, but I had never really tried one. My first impression was, admittedly, shock. The thing buzzed so strongly that I splattered toothpaste all over the mirror and made my lips go numb. But then I went back, read the instructions very carefully, and tried again. And this thing is so much better than my old toothbrush that I'm kind of regretting that I didn't upgrade sooner!
The hardest thing to get used to really is the experience of brushing your teeth with the thing. Unlike older brushes which had bristles that spun or brushed over your teeth, this one simply vibrates at a speed that I could only begin to imagine. While this can feel a little harsh on your lips, it's actually remarkably gentle on your teeth and gums. That part especially is worth the price of entry to me - my old toothbrush was thorough, but did have a tendency to leave my gums sore and bleeding from time to time. This one, so long as you use it with the light touch recommended in the operating manual, can go straight up to the gum line without irritating them at all, and that's with the brush head specifically designed for whitening your teeth. It's also got just about the right number of smart features for me. It doesn't have the ability to interface with an app, like some of the more expensive Philips brushes, but honestly I can't say that I think I need that. It does monitor the pressure you use when brushing (giving you a slight buzz if you're pressing down too hard) and uses that information to track the wear you're putting on the brush head so that it can advise you when you need to replace it. It also features an option to help you get used to the harsh vibrations if you've never used a brush like this before, where for the first fourteen uses it'll slowly scale up the intensity. I admittedly opted not to use that feature since I was more interested in getting the "clinical efficiency" boasted on the cover which promised to whiten your teeth within a week, but it's appreciated all the same.
Unfortunately, I can't really speak to if the claim about it whitening your teeth holds up. They do certainly feel cleaner having been regularly using the brush for about a week, and there are a few spots that might have gotten a bit brighter than they were, but frankly it's hard to tell if that's actually the result of the brush or just the result of me looking for signs that it worked. I also have to say that I don't really care. This thing works so much better and is so much easier on my gums and sensitive teeth than the electric brush I was using before that I'm completely sold on it. If you're looking to establish a more enjoyable working relationship with your dentist, I don't think there's any way you can go wrong with this one!
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Add music to your day with these Sony wireless headphones. Their noise cancelling technology uses artificial intelligence to adapt to your environment and reduce background sounds for enjoyable listening. The Quick Charging battery on these over-ear Sony wireless headphones provides up to 35 hours of playback for convenience.
Customer Rating
5
Hard to beat active noise cancellation
on March 22, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Sony is a brand that's pretty well known for both high quality audio products and adding in way more bells and whistles than most other manufacturers. And I have to say these headphones follow both traditions.
The headphones have pretty much everything you'd expect from high quality over the ear bluetooth headphones these days. A variety of bluetooth codecs, a jack to allow you to plug in a wired connection, impressively long battery life, built in controls, and so on. And they're all just as good as you'd expect from a premium brand. The headphones are lightweight and very comfortable to wear, though albeit they don't block out quite as much external noise as some when you're just wearing them on your head. They've also got support for NFC pairing, which allows you to just tap the headphones to a phone or other NFC enabled device to quickly pair them without needing to go through the usual menus.
But let's face it, you probably already know all of this. The big feature is the active noise cancellation. And these headphones are exemplary in that department.
The key thing that sets this apart is that unlike most noise cancelling headphones which merely have an on/off switch, there are a lot of different ways to configure the noise cancellation system on these. Holding down the noise cancellation button will switch it between the standard mode and an AI assisted version which will listen to the sounds around you try to pick out which ones it should focus on to achieve the best results. I can't say that the difference between the two is hugely noticeable, but there is a difference and the tech does seem to work pretty well. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to test it on an airplane yet, but I have tried it out in environments such as a busy hospital, the backseat of a car, and a datacenter filled with very noisy server racks. And while it did seem that it took the AI mode a little time to acclimate to the environment, the difference between having the headphones on and having them off was really quite striking. Not only that, but I was still able to clearly hear the voices of people trying to talk to me through the noise cancellation, something that immediately makes me like these a lot more than some of the headphones I've tried which block out audio through less high tech means. And if that's not enough, the headphones come with an app which will let you fine-tune the performance of the headphones yourself to get the exact settings you want. While I'll freely admit that I'm nowhere near knowledgeable to use this particular feature fully, the app is fairly easy to work with and even I was able to work out roughly how to tweak the settings to optimize my listening experience for music or movies. I think the best example of how good this can work is when I let a friend of mine with some issues hearing try them out, as she hadn't ever really seen the point in investing in noise cancelling headphones. Not only did she discover that the noise cancelling was a lot more effective than she'd expected, but she was able to get it set to the point where she was actually able to clearly watch a TV show without needing to have the subtitles on!
It's frankly a little hard to say more than that. Yes, there are a few flaws associated with the tech. Noise cancellation does tend to produce a slight but noticeable background static, for instance, which can have a noticeable effect on the overall clarity of the audio you're listening to. The maximum volume was a bit lower than I expected and I'm a little disappointed that the headphones didn't come with some kind of carrying case or longer cables for charging or using a cabled connection. But I can't say that these are issues that are in any way dealbreakers. Quite simply, these headphones work so well that I'd be willing to overlook far greater flaws if I could find any!
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Equip your screening room with this Epson home cinema projector. It lets you enjoy movies, games and online content at an image size of up to 300 inches, and it has a built-in 10W speaker for a complete audio and video setup. This Epson home cinema projector has two HDMI ports for connecting a Blu-ray player and video game console.
Customer Rating
5
Great colors even in daylight
on March 15, 2018
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
The Epson 2100 Home Cinema projector offers vibrant colors, a clear image, and great performance in a compact and affordable package. While there are a few downsides to it that you might not find in a more expensive unit, it makes up for it with impressive figures for bulb life and ease of use.
The first thing I noticed when unpacking the projector was the size. Admittedly it's been a while since I worked with a new projector for home theater use, but I was still pleasantly surprised to see that they've reached a point where you can get a unit of this quality that's barely any bigger than a portable data projector. This made the process of getting it mounted on the ceiling much easier than I'd anticipated. Once it was up, getting the image adjusted to fill the screen was the work of just a few minutes.
Out of the box, I have to say the thing looks gorgeous. There's plenty of customization settings that let you tune the image to exactly what you want, but even in the middle of the day in a living room filled with windows the colors were popping and the contrast between light and dark areas was crisp. Even when setting it to Eco mode (which I'd recommend given that it cuts down greatly on fan noise and helps extend the life of the bulb) it was still bright enough to watch during the day. I'm very curious to see how it handles 3D content (which requires the purchase of separate RF shutterglasses that were not included in the box) given its ability to produce such a bright image even in a well lit room.
There are a few downsides to be had here, but they're not particularly grievous. The biggest problem I noticed is that while the low weight makes it fairly easy to mount, the three screws it uses don't seem to be centered around the unit's center of gravity. As a result the projector kept wanting to pitch down when mounted overhead, which required several additional trips up the ladder to fine-tune it to get the image centered. There is a handy dial which allows you to shift the lens vertically a bit to deal with this, but I can't help but feel that a better solution might have been to improve the mounting solution to balance it better.
Another thing I noticed is that the tricks it uses to make the image look much brighter than it is in a well lit room do make the image look a worse in low lighting. Essentially, its pumps up the saturation on the colors to prevent the image from looking washed out. So long as you remember to switch it out of dynamic mode it's not too big of a problem, but seemed worth mentioning. The throw range is also just a little smaller than the unit it was replacing thanks to the more compact lens assembly, so I'd definitely make sure that you measure the room you're thinking of using this in to make sure you're placing the mount a suitable distance away from the screen.
My Best Buy number: 2187428738
Mobile Submission: False
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.
8 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.
8 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.
8 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.
8 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.
8 years, 9 months ago
by
Batlacit