3Tcubed's stats
- Review count171
- Helpfulness votes1,528
- First reviewJanuary 3, 2014
- Last reviewJune 14, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.3
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- Helpfulness votes0
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- Answer count72
- Helpfulness votes45
- First answerJanuary 10, 2015
- Last answerJanuary 12, 2022
- Featured answers0
- Best answers11
Enjoy flavorful lattes, macchiatos and cappuccinos with this Ninja specialty coffee maker. Six brew sizes offer full coffee shop function and versatility, while the dishwasher-safe parts are easy to clean. This Ninja specialty coffee maker features a fold-away frother that turns milk into a silky-smooth froth, and the gold-tone permanent filter withstands daily use.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
I'm a coffee connoisseur, I've been ordering Coffee from Boca Java and getting specialty coffees from Starbucks for years (whole bean). I've been using a Cuisinart craftless (Coffee on demand) brewer for nearly 20 yrs (on 4th unit), Always been happy with quality brew and that it keeps coffee away from air and hot for hours.
Upon unpacking the Ninja I was impress with quality of the unit, it looks very nice and does not take up and unreasonable amount of counter space, just slightly larger than my Cuisinart, with so many more functions. So the Ninja says you should 2 run water through it twice before use (this takes just over 4 min per pot, make sure to completely fill (but not overfill reservoir) otherwise it will tell you you need to "Add Wtr". Learned something about the unit already. Now with that done I found the smart scoop a large and small size, probably 1tbsp and 2tbsp. The Ninja craft is 50oz my Cuisinart makes 60oz (10 vs 12 cups), I generally use about 6-8tbsp in my Cuisinart for 12 cups (~2.5 oz) so I use one less tbsp in the Ninja vs the Cuisinart. The Ninja has 2 brew strengths (Classic and Rich + Over Ice), I decided to start with Classic, and off we went. Both units finished within 5 minutes. The brewed temperature of the Ninja was clearly hotter than the Cuisinart. My instant read thermometer had the Ninja at 194 degrees and the Cuisinart coffee at 185. I let both sit a couple of minutes, as I don't drink my coffee that hot. The comparison... The Ninja was slightly bitter compared to the Cuisinart coffee, I'd say from brewing too hot. It was acceptable, I've had worse, but my first impression didn't impress. I looked through the manual to see if there was any way to change the brew temperature, and it said it was all automatic to yield the perfect brew. I did note there was a means to calibrate it for high altitudes (where water boils at a lower temperature (I'm in Phoenix at about 1600ft, I'd not expect much difference, but worth a try) - press and hold the Classic and Over Ice Button at the same time and the timer will say CAL. Much to my suprise it stopped after about 1 minute, probably only 12 oz of water used. So I repeated my test (after offering my wife and daughter coffee from both test brews - and there was a consensus the Ninja was slightly bitter, but maybe fuller also.) I brewed another Ninja pot it's initial temp was 191 degrees, so the calibration did do something. I let is cool a bit and it was improved, not as bitter, very close to the Cuisinart taste (which is good).
Now to try single (large 12oz) cup, I used 2 rounded small scoops (probably close to 2 total), I filled the reservoir full, but selected the XL cup size. The brewing started, paused and then resumed, finishing in under 2min. The temperature was 190 at the end of the brew. IT was more full bodied than the full pot, far more coffee flavor, more like the black coffee I get from Starbucks. So this it did very well, in fact excellent, very similar to the single serve k-cup machines. I can see my wife liking this for her Caramel Latte.
My biggest hope was for great Iced Coffee, about all I drink in the summer. I filled the carafe with ice, which seemed strange, but that's what it said to do, put the about 7 small scoops of coffee in, and hit the "Over Ice" button. It again started brewing, but paused longer, as I think the brew temp was lowered then more slowly it entered the pot of ice. It looked very quite dark, and after 10min it was not done, maybe just over 1/2 done. It finished after about 15m. the served ice coffee was cold, but much of the ice was gone. I added more ice to a vente cut and poured my brewed Iced Coffee over it, added a little cream. And not bad but not starbucks, just on the thin side, lacking the rich coffee taste; it was ok. it might save me some afternoon trips to SB, but might not stop me from going in the morning. I tried making a single travel mug with with 5 small scoops, not much difference, still a tad thin. I wish I could instruct the machine to let it brew longer, or use a slightly higher temp, not exactly sure but it's too watery, not the richness I'd hoped for.
This is a nice machine, it does a lot, mostly well. IMHO if it gave the user some more flexibility to better taylor the brew temp/time/strength for all beverages if might be more successful. But many might see this as making it too complicated (my wife would). So it does a good job for coffee and brewed beverages. It's not quite got Ice Coffee nailed yet. I've now tried adding an ounce of cooled specialty coffee to the ice coffee, and that does the trick, I now brew a cup of specialty coffee, put it in the fridge when I make Iced Coffee, then add some to each cup of IC served, it's more work but it get me closer to a great cup of IC from my Ninja (my tip to you).
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Secure your smartphone while driving with this iOttie iTap 2 Magnetic air vent mount. The metal plates and protective film support wireless and wired charging, and the twist lock ensures precise installation. Rare-earth magnets on this iOttie iTap 2 Magnetic air vent mount deliver a strong hold for your device, while the rotating ball joint offers customized viewing angles.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
My car's center console has 2 cup holders which are not really wide enough to hold my iPhone 8+, there is a place for "change but it's not quite wide enough to fully hold the phone, so if I take a sharp turn the phone can fall to the floor. I saw the iOttie magnetic phone holder and thought it a possible solution. My phone has a simple silicon case on it so "hiding" a thin metal plate on the back of the phone was very easy to do. The plate has a pull off adhesive back to "stick" in one place. I found that I did not need the adhesive back, that the plate stayed in place because this case was quite tight. This I saw as an advantage. The iOttie comes with a large and small plate, it seemed to have plenty of holding power, based on your case you may need the larger pad (good to know it's available (included)).
Mounting the iOttie in the vent was pretty easy, with one catch, if you want to prevent it from moving, it's seems best for it to be mounted on the top or bottom horizontal deflector, now the catch, inside your vent there is a vertical deflector, you want the iOttie to be centered on one of these vertical deflectors. If you don't do this there is some wobble, if you properly "catch" the vertical deflector (hard to see w/o a flashlight (don't forget there is one on your phone)) you can tighten the ring on the back and the iOttie should stay stably secured.
Now you can magnetically secure your phone to the iOttie in your vent. It's easy to have your phone securely held while your driving. unless you phone's in a heavy case, folding case, or case with belt clip, you should have nop problem using the iOttie.
I found the iOttie was a better solution than leaving my phone "loose" on/my center console.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy movies and other streaming content with this Sony 4K Blu-ray disc player. Built-in Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity allow for media to be streamed in high quality, while a super quick start mode minimizes fuss during use. This Sony 4K Blu-ray disc player has two HDMI outputs for simultaneous use with multiple screens.
Customer Rating
2
Don't buy for Streaming Services
on May 10, 2019
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
First I'll start with the Bad/Disapointing/Hard to Explain.
Compared to the previous version of Sony UHD BluRay players this player only supports 3 Streaming Apps, so if you have an online Video Library, forget about accessing it from this player. I contacted Sony, to verify this was not part of a future release, and was told in no uncertain terms apps cannot be added to this player (in the future). So the only apps you get are: Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube (paid). No MoviesAnywhere, Vudu, Hulu, UV (going away anyway).... So if you've been collecting titles, and storing UHD in the cloud you wont be able to access them, even though the previous version of this player UBP-X800 had these capabilities. Be fore warned, there is no info in their manual to identify what apps are available (asked Sony about this; no real answers why).
Compared to the previous version of Sony UHD BluRay players this player only supports 3 Streaming Apps, so if you have an online Video Library, forget about accessing it from this player. I contacted Sony, to verify this was not part of a future release, and was told in no uncertain terms apps cannot be added to this player (in the future). So the only apps you get are: Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube (paid). No MoviesAnywhere, Vudu, Hulu, UV (going away anyway).... So if you've been collecting titles, and storing UHD in the cloud you wont be able to access them, even though the previous version of this player UBP-X800 had these capabilities. Be fore warned, there is no info in their manual to identify what apps are available (asked Sony about this; no real answers why).
So how does it work with UHD 4K discs, most excellent. This is is my second UHD BluRay player, the first with Dolby Vision & Atmos.
Now it hard to tell where HDR comes into play and where Dolby Vision come into play. I watched Jumanji (Welcome to the Jungle) on my old player and with the new Sony UBP-X800M2, and there were some "dark" seans that were much more vibrant/decernable on the M2 player. When lighting was bright things were pretty much equivalent with the M2 player having a bit more pop in the colors, but generally hard to differentiate. In the much darker ending it was much easier to see what was moving in the shadows and the shadows seemed to contain more color detail. To some extent this is hard to explain with words, and I tried photographing both to show the difference, but the camera could not capture the subtle differences. Suffice it to say that HDR10 with Dolby Vision does improve picture quality, offering a more real/lifelike picture. Dolby Atmos certainly has improved audio quality. The sound quality from Jumanji was spectacular.
Now it hard to tell where HDR comes into play and where Dolby Vision come into play. I watched Jumanji (Welcome to the Jungle) on my old player and with the new Sony UBP-X800M2, and there were some "dark" seans that were much more vibrant/decernable on the M2 player. When lighting was bright things were pretty much equivalent with the M2 player having a bit more pop in the colors, but generally hard to differentiate. In the much darker ending it was much easier to see what was moving in the shadows and the shadows seemed to contain more color detail. To some extent this is hard to explain with words, and I tried photographing both to show the difference, but the camera could not capture the subtle differences. Suffice it to say that HDR10 with Dolby Vision does improve picture quality, offering a more real/lifelike picture. Dolby Atmos certainly has improved audio quality. The sound quality from Jumanji was spectacular.
I've been collecting 4K UHD Blu-Ray's for a couple of years now (It's all I buy), I probably have 40+ discs, and their production quality does seem to keep improving (can say the same for all the movies). I've been upgrading many of my DVD's to UHD quality via Vudu. Having several hundred Digital Copies in the cloud, I very disappointed I can't access them with this player. The player has better output than anything else I've used/seen. If you don't store you video collection in the cloud, this may not matter to you. It does to me.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Enjoy major networks without paying a monthly fee with this Mohu Arc Pro indoor HDTV antenna. An integrated signal indicator helps you to find the optimal signal location, while the LED lights let you adjust antenna placement in real time for a more stable connection. This Mohu Arc Pro indoor HDTV antenna uses FirstStage amplifier technology which results in less distortion and stunning picture quality.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
I live in Phoenix, lots of OTA HD. But I live behind a mountain that blocks southern OTA HD reception. I have a 20' mast with a 120" Antenna on my roof (cost several hundred dollars), it can pull in 60+ stations. So I'm not comparing apples to apples with the MOHU Pro at less than $100.
I first mounted it in my upstairs office, pointing east; I scanned for DT channels, I "acquired" 10 but only 4 were watchable. I then changed to the adjecent wall pointing south; scanned and "acquired" 17 stations 9 were watchable (3 of these were Spanish). It's interesting to note none of the channels overlapped (they were all different). For me most of the channels acquired were SD broadcasts, only 1 (on my first scan) was true HD.
But that being said the content that I acquired proves the Antenna works, and can pull in signals. I know I'm not the perfect test case, due to my "Mountain". I can say that the antenna is highly directional which depending what direction your stations come from may be a good or a bad thing. But they offer no way to mount it that it can easily be moved. If the mount had some sort of sliding device that would allow adjustment it would be a MUCH better product.
I was a little surprised to get any stations at all. When DTV was just getting started I tried 2 different indoor antennas - got nothing That's how I ended up with the big roof antenna. I did try the antenna on a downstairs TV and got no digital channels. So depending on your location this antenna may work out for you, but you might have to move it to get different channels.
But with BB, you can always try to see if it works for you!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+10points
10of 10voted this as helpful.
Capture and share memories quickly with this Canon IVY Cliq Plus instant camera. The 8MP camera and built-in printer take and print snapshots in 50 seconds or less, while Bluetooth connectivity facilitates sharing your favorite pictures with compatible devices. Use the Mini Print app to edit photographs before printing with this Canon IVY Cliq Plus instant camera.
Customer Rating
4
A modern throwback to Polaroid days
on April 23, 2019
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
If you have the need for the immediate gratification of a small (wallet size print) this is for you. But the cost of prints is pretty significant ($0.50 each) and the quality is pretty good. But it's kind of like the dancing bear, you don't judge based on the quality of the bears dance, rather your amazed that the bears trying to dance, and is a bear!
This tiny camera/printer is the dancing bear. Much as we were amazed by the instant prints of Polaroids in the 60's and 70's. This version does not use any smeary chemicals, rather the paper uses tiny crystals that change color when exposed to heat. The camera/printer holds 10 sheets of this special photo paper, which has a peel off adheasive back. Each is 2"x3", and suprisingly not easy to damage.
But this digital camera is unlike most digital cameras you have used (recently), there is no way to review what pictures you've taken on it. It can only store 3 images, unless you add a SD card, in which case the card will store your images. But you really have to look at this camera more as a printer which can take a picture too. The Canon mini print app allows you to print any image on your phone, or to take a new image with your phone, it can also pull images from your FaceBook, Instagram, DropBox, iDrive or Google Photo account. So you can see why the camera is mor of a printer than a Camera.
But I got it to take to a wedding, I thought it would be a lot of fun to collect photos for the bride and groom, and to pass the camera around for guests to take their own selfies.
I also think that my grandson might have some fun taking pictures of his own. The camera has a special led illuminator ring for taking selfies, it should prevent red eye. the back of the camara has some texture on it, the front it very smooth. When printing the led on the top provides some entertainment by cycling throught many colors. It takes about 30s before the picture starts printing and another 20 to complete printing. The app can queue several prints while waiting for previous prints to finish, well thought out. The app also allows you to add borders, edit images, add text and "stamps" to images. It also allows you to save these editied images.
A couple of things I wish they supported, if you plug the camera into your PC with the supplied cable it allows you to charge the camera, but the camera and it's media is not seen by your computer (the documentation says this should work but I could not get it to work, on multiple computers). There is no easy way to tell how much charge the camera has, their is a icon that shows the connection status to your phone, but no charging % charged status information. There is no screw hole to allow you to use the camera with a tripod. The app has a remote camera trigger, I wish it would warn you, your about to take a picture ok? The timer 3/5/10 works much better.
Given the camera weight in at 7oz with paper loaded, its pretty amazing. I'm not sure how often I need a 2"x"3" photo, or how often I'll spend 50c for one, we'll see how much fun it is at a wedding, or other special events. I suspect I'm make a lot of new friends with it, just wish the paper was not so expensive (on price break as you buy more either).
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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5of 6voted this as helpful.
Delight in effortless connectivity for your mobile devices with this Belkin DuraTek Plus Lightning to USB-A cable. A double-braided nylon forms a flexible, durable cable jacket, while the 4-foot length provides convenience when charging. This Belkin DuraTek Plus Lightning to USB-A cable features an aluminum casing that protects the circuit board within the connector.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
Ok I've now been using iPhones for 10+yrs; my how time files once your caught in the Apples Eco system. I now own a 256GB iPhone 8+ and have two 9.7" iPads, one that I keep in my camera bag, that I mostly use for photo editing. I must say I like the lightning connector much more then the original 32 pin apple connector. That being said, I have at least 6 Lightning to USB cables I can quickly put my hands on (probably more if I looked). I've never bought a repleacement cable from Apple, as their cables just don't last, they kink up and the wires break loose at the joints. So finding third party cables that are well make, and are available in various lenghts is important to me. It's great that their phones and I pads have battery life over 12h, but they still all need to be charged.
In my car I have Car Play, which requires my phone to be connected/disconnected whenever I get in/out of the car. This where I'll now be using this Belkin DuraTek cable. I've had 2 other cables (one a the original Apple cable and another 1' cable). The Apple cable cracked in the middle and exposed wires in under a year, it might have been kicked or tangled by a passanger, I plead innocent in it's abuse, but it didn't last, and it's damage concerned me. I replace it with a short cable (that would not get tangled) a silicon covered cable, it solved the tangleing problem but made it hard to keep my phone where I wanted it (about 2' from the console plug).
The Belkin DuraTek Plus cable has much stronger anchors at each base/end of the cable and the cable is much thicker (see picture). Instead if a plastic cable cover the Belkin cable has a woven fabric which bends less easily, but slides more smoothly. The difference in cable quality it noticable. And the list price of Belkin's DuraTek Plus matches the Apple's Lightning cable of the same length. With a 5 year warranty, and a convnient cable strap, the decision is easy. On Apple's web site their Apple branded cables get 2 stars.
If you going to spend the money on a good cable, get a great cable from Belkin, it's Apple certified, and it will last. If you have a fast, smart charger (2.1a or 2.5a) it will probably charge you product faster (I could not prove this, but I don't doubt it).
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
The MR8300 Max Stream™ AC2200 is a high-performance Tri-Band router. Perfect for households that thrive on entertainment, it delivers up to 2.2 Gbps of superior speed throughout your entire home. The Tri-Band and MU-MIMO technology make it ideal for simultaneous streaming of HD movies, online gaming, video calling and supporting all of your smart home devices. MR8300 also grows as your needs do. With its built-in mesh Wi-Fi, instead of investing in a new router, you can expand coverage by simply adding Linksys Velop™ Mesh Wi-Fi nodes for seamless Wi-Fi everywhere.The MR8300 serves as the master router and must connect directly to your modem to create your network. Sets up in minutes with the Linksys app.
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from PHOENIX
I will review the MR8300 Max-Stream AC2200 Tri Band Router with one Velop Wi-Fi extender and with 3 Velop Tri Band Nodes (Model WHW0303). I had previously installed the Velop Tri Band system, but had discontinued it's used (but still had it). It had improved my coverage but it's speed was not as fast as my existing router. So I'd opted to install 2 separate Routers and a separate extender to get the speed and coverage I desired. Well it's been well over a year since I'd used the Velop tri-band nodes. I was hoping that the new Linksys MR8300 with mesh networking was the answer to my desired high speed coverage.
To start with I have Cox-Gigablast, I just moved from their 600mb service to their 1gb service just after Christmas (I can't tell you that I've seen that much difference). I have a smart house (50+ blubs, 10 switches from various vendors). I have several Google voice and Amazon Alexa products, several stereo systems all with BT and Google Audio casting (7 chrome cast devices) and 6 smart 4K televisions + 2 projectors. At last check I think I has just over 100 devices on my home network about 30 hard wired, the rest using wi-fi. I consume about 1.2gb/mo, and I don't think I stream, and I don't crypto mine. Don't know where it all goes, but I want to keep it fast. With my previous configuration I could get between 120-150mb wi-fi service in all but the far corners of my approx. 3000sq ft mid-80's house.
As I'm familiar Linksys products, having used various versions for years, and having previously set up a Velop network, I didn't expect any difficulties is getting the MR8300 set up. I had not used their updated iPhone app for some time, it much better than what I recalled from last use. The app used both BT and Wi-Fi for setup and configuration. This combination makes setup much easier to accomplish. Their installation wizard is so much better now that it was last time I used it, I was very impressed. I basic installation was a breeze, when I got to registering my new router with the other equipment I had registered with Linksys, I found difficulties, I don't think they expected 4 complete systems. I found no easy way to register, turns out after completing the install from my phone everything was done automatically, that I did not need to go to their web site (as I previous registered a Velop network with them). So in under 10 min the base network installed and operational. I then installed a Velop Wi-Fi extender, in my down stairs guest bedroom, which was downstairs about 50' from the base station. The installation app asks is you want to add another Velop node to your primary network, The app explains how the multi-color LED on the top should be blinking or be on solid, which makes set up very easy. Getting this set up took about 5 minutes, most of time waiting for the status lights to change.
So I was now in an area that I previously could not get 50mb Wi-Fi speed with speed test on my iPhone. My first test: 145down 30up, the 145 number being double what I'd seen before. Can you see the smile in my face, I'm ecstatic. Well having three faster tri-band nodes it's was time to space them out for optimal coverage. Give I can easily connect at least one ot them to hard wired 1Gb Ethernet connection, but to get started thought I'd just connect them all wirelessly and then hardwire after testing.
Just using the app failed to set up the node properly, it found it but the setup failed. But it thoughtfully walked me through the "resetting" of a node, which solved the problem, this was probably because they were previously connected to a different wi-fi name. With the reset it took a little longer, but I had the other 3 nodes set up in under 30 minutes. Now my app could see each of my nodes and tell me what node it was communicating directly with. Now I have 5 bars throughout my house, no (known) dropout areas, and the coverage in my back yard is far better than it's ever been. So my next speed test, in the corner that was previously the worst (where my wife frequently sits and complains about lost network connections). Well: 201down and 40up. Awesome! But I know it can be better, I've done nothing with the 4 antennas, just point straight up and sitting on my desktop, I know if I move it toward my ceiling, away from other electronics (and other routers it will get better. Which brings me to feature of their app to scan vicinity to find the best channels to use. this took almost 10 minutes to runs, and it doesn’t not tell you what it found, but it does say it's optimized the network. I know that I can see more than a dozen networks from my phone (neighbors, and a FBIvan, always wonderd about that one). After getting all 5 nodes installed, I noticed that there were 3 different firmware upgrades available, their app made the upgrades easy, and all were up-to-date in about 5 minutes
A couple of other notes, unlike older 2.4G & 5G routers that needed to have different wi-fi names, the Max-Stream only have a single name for both networks, it automatically combines how how it uses the the separate networks and hides this complexity from you, this is a good thing. And the linksys web app is so much better than it was previously. It supports VPN connectivity, NAT and Dynamic Routing (RIP) as well as Static routing, MAC Filtering, IPv4 & IPv6, SPI firewall protection, DMZ support, DDNS supports as well as port forwarding (single & range) and Port Range triggering. The only thing I could not figure out how to do was to give the Velop nodes a fixed IP address. Other than that the app and the web interface is brilliantly easy to use. They’ve made a lot of progress. I streamed a 2hr 4K movie and saw no buffering, no break ups. That what I was hoping for. Direct connects to the modem are over 300mb down and close to 50 up. Very good, color me impressed.
If you have a fairly large area to cover or if you just have too many wi-fi black holes, it certainly appears to me that LinkSys Max-Stream AC2200 might be a great solution to explore, but keep in mind that you may need to buy additional Velop nodes to get adequate coverage.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy engaging simulations and immersive visuals with this Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop. The Radeon graphics card offers 4GB of dedicated video memory for efficient rendering performance, and the 2.GHz AMD Ryzen processor and 8GB of RAM provide ample computing power. This Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop has a 1TB hard drive for your collection.
Customer Rating
3
Good for the price, a couple of glitches
on November 21, 2018
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from Phoenix.AZ
The Nitro 5 case is brushed plastic, kind of looks like the matte finish on a Grand Piano, pretty classy and it comes with a Folio case to prevent the case from getting scratched. The build quite firm (non-ultrabook), the lid (screen) has hardly any give and the base is very solid, making it a firm typing platform. The screen is a IPS HD (1920x1080) panel, with what Acer calls ComfyView, which to me is a matte finish a which is not exactly crisp, but very bright. Viewing from any angle is excellent, from extreem angles a slight amount of light bleed can be seen at the edges (acceptable). It include the latest AMD Ryzen™ 5 with 4 cores and 8 logical processors. This version comes with 8GB memory and a 1TB HDD (7200 RPM). Now I have to say I'm spolied, as I've upgraded all my notebooks to have SSD drives. Once set up, the Nitro took 1 minute 10 seconds to completely boot up. Not what I'm used to, after turning off Norton, the boot time was still 1 minute. But once running the speed did not see that bad , the Ryzen CPU certanly seemed snappy. Opening multiple brower windows was a breeze (after 10 tabs it started to studder). This notebook is built for gaming, it includes the AMD Radeon RX 560X graphics processor with 4GB GDDR5 RAM, I loaded my photoshop app and did some edititng, it felt very snappy even with multiple photos open and appling effects across multiple images. Played some video clips they were very smooth, I transcoded some videos I had stored in the cloud to a more compact format, here I could tell the CPU was really working as the fans kicked in, not too loud, but quite noticable, but it took a fraction of the it takes on my notebook without a dedicated graphics procesor (like 1/10th the time). A good start. Now for some games.
The first game I tried was Fortnite, something was wrong, I was only seeing about 8 FPS. The problem, the computer was using the integrated GPU instead of the discrete RX 560X GPU. I tried several things to fix the problem but only disabling the onboard graphics adapter did the trick. The frame rate then jumped to over 60 fps, and the game play was very smooth, But the sound was somewhat muffled, this was due to the computer setting a soft surface (placemat). Once I put it on a hard surface the sound was much improved, but not great (but pretty loud). All the sound output is from downward firing speakers, the red bar at the bottom of the screen is cosmetic, it would be better if some sound came out (forward) from here. But I usually play games with headphones (jack is on right side) or external speakers so I just note this in passing. I did try to load a newer graphics driver to see it if would correct the detection problem, but I failed and went back to the original. Frustrating. I hope Acer get a new drivers posted to correct this problem.
The notebook has a nice assortment of output ports, 3 USB-A (2*USB 2.0 & 1*USB 3.0), 1*USB C 3.1 (No Thunderbolt), 1*HDMI, 1*Gigabit Ethernet, 1*Headphones/mic, 1*Kensington Lock and Wireless support for 802.11a/b/n/ac and a SD card slot. The keyboard is backlighted with a red glow (with the WASD keys highlighted). It has a really with a nice feeling to the keyboard, the trackpad is fairly large and works well, supporting all the multi-touch gestures I threw at it. The screen is not a touch screen.
I then decided that I was pretty happy with what I'd found, and thought I'd investigate increasing the memory and adding a M.2 SSD (the maching has a open M.2 slot (that requires removing 17 screws). The memory update was a breeze, a added another 8GB DDR4, single Channel (DDR4 PC4-21300) no problems. The M.2 slot is M keyed, which would lead one to believe it supports a PCIE NVMe drive, I looked at Acer Specs online and found conflicting information, one place said NVMe was supported, another said SATA (M+K key). I called their tech support and was told NVMe was supported. So I tried a EVO 970 Pro 1TB drive...it was not recognised by the Bios, talked to their tech support again and they said they had a Nitro 5 with the EVO 970 1TB in front of them working, So I exchanged the 970 Pro or the 970 and tried again, Still not recognised, more calls to their tech support, more inconsiatant information, eventually saying that I should a use SATA drive <500MB. I still doubt the size limitation, but ended up replacing the HD with a Samsung 860 1TB SATA drive (cheaper than M.2 SATA which would have performed the same). All good now, still waiting to hear back from their tech support on what exactly is supported (I did mentioned the graphics driver problem to them and was told a new version would be posted soon (like they knew about the problem)). But now system boots in about 20 seconds. Wish I could have used M.2 but only had so much time to get it running as I wanted it. BTW: adding the additional memory allowed me to open many more browser tabs without any noticabe difference.
Now it really flies, and total cost still under $1K, tought to beat if all worked properly. If Acer gets their BIOS/drivers updated to correctly recognise games and properly documents the avaliable m.2 slot this is a great buy, Having owned other Acer notebooks I have no doubt the probelms will get resolved.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+26points
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Lighten household chores with this SHARK® ION™ vacuum system. The lithium-ion battery supplies a long-lasting charge, and the 0.66-quart dust cup and HEPA filter collect dirt, hair, and dander to prevent allergen buildup. This SHARK® ION™ vacuum system comes with a built-in power vacuum to help with those extra cleaning jobs.
Customer Rating
4
Cleans carpets/rugs well, App needs some work
on November 18, 2018
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from Phoenix.AZ
I have more than one Shark vacuum, they are excellent, which is one of the reasons I wanted to try the Shark Ion Robot. Unpackaging and set up was very easy, included instructions were very clear. Everything was clearly labeled with removable stickers walking you through the set up process. Having set up smart devices before I kind know what to expect. Find the app in the store, using the 2D bar code (QR-Code); this took me to the iPhone app required to set up the robot with the app (Andriod also availble). This all went well. You need to set up an account with Shark and then register seperately, this should be combined to save effort, but no big deal. You can then start the robot from your phone, pause it, change the power setting or send it back to it's dock. You also set the name to be used for your Shark (like: "SharkRobot"). To use voice commands from Alexa or Google (I use both) you still have to link the app to your Shark account. This is far more complicated than getting the Shark app set up and running. For Alexa you have to enable the Shark Skill (search for 'shark' under skills). For google you need it to find your device and then link your account. When I first tried to use Alexa it indicated the Shark suction had an error. From Google I initially got a status of stuck (both when it was still charging, in its dock, before intial use). I then got an error indicating the side brush was stuck (it was not). I decided to move on for now.
So, after failing to launch the robot by voice, I used the button on the Shark App to start cleaning, this went smoothly. I ran the robot for about an hour and asked it to return to the dock. About 5 minutes later it was still trying to find it's way back. It got confused under a table with 6 legs; I moved it manually, it then got stuck under astep ladder. It had no problems with these with these objects while cleaning, but it did returning to the dock (when returning it is more quite and the side brushes don't spin). After recharging emptying the dust bin (which is very easy to do, and it's quite large, a lot larger than some other robots) I decided to try the voice commands again. This time both Alexa and Google were able to issue commands to the robot(? maybe it takes some time to get set up ?) but from either device I could pause, it, check it's status, change it's suction etc. Here what's kind of odd, when using voice commands you refer to your device as Shark, not what you named it, What happens it you have more than one, I don't know, doubt you could tell them apart. Also the voice commands your use and counter intutitive, some places you say my robot, others you don't. And it's like you asking google, or Alexa to tell the Shark App what to do, not haveing them tell the robot what to do. This needs work, especially with the naming. And this time the robot returned to it's dock without assistance.
Now the wand on the stand is a nice touch, but it limits where you can place the dock, it really needs to be out in the open (3' to right and left, and 5' in front, according to instructions). Because of the wand you can't place the dock under some piece of furniture, as it needs to be accessible. That being said, the wand is convenient, it's fairy powerful and it comes with 2 tools (crevice and wide). They claim it will hold a charge for 2.5 hrs. It works well, and has a pretty large capacity. And it's very easy to empty. Unlke a lot of cheap hand vacs, it has a decent filter to prevent it from just blowing dist around. It is well designed.
Now onto some other comparisons, the Shark Ion Robot does a great job on carpets. It climbed up and down several oriental rugs I have and some other throw rugs. It also managed not to fight with the fringe on a couple of my orientals. I've not been able to use other robots on these orientals, and the shark was fine with them (yea). It did not do as good of job on my wood and tile floors as my other Shark uprights, it's beater bar lacks the ability to get as close to the floor, and the beater bar is only 6" wide, it must pass over the same area many more times to clean it throughty. Like I said I have had other robots, with them I thought I could detect a cleaning method or pattern by observing it. With the shark I've got no idea wher it will go next after it has cleaned a long, unobstructed strip, it's not like it goes back and forth evenly. The robot comes with some magentic tape that allows you to set up "no go" zones, I did not test the use of this, but the robot does not need ths to avoid stairs, it won't fall down stairs, it has a fall sensor that works well.
With some other robots you can look at the pattern that the robot moved; the shark software does not support this (today). It's a great feature to review what areas/pattern has been cleaned. Now some real positives, the Shark is MUCH more quite than the most popular robot, and it's dust bin is a lot larger and easier to empty than any other I've tried. The scheduling is pretty straight forward, and works well, but it will let you schedule cleanings to close together (not leaving enought recharge time), so you need to plan accordingly. It also had a neat function that forces it into quite mode during certain hours, this is missing with most other robots. But the app is still immature compared to several others, fortunatly this can easily be fixed with software updates. Shark is catching up, the current App is good start, but the rough edges show. This can be fixed/improved fairly easily. Not using the name that you assign to the robot is just hard to explain. Especially when compared to naming of other smart devices used within home automation. The integration with Google and Alexa works most of the time, I can't expalin the glitches I saw, but I'm confident it will only improve. I would still recommend the product, it is better in many ways than some of the other robots out there, and it's priced competively for the features it offers (keep in mind that every part is easily user replacable/cleanable - no one else can say this).
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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-1point
0of 1voted this as helpful.
Make media more fun with this HP Spectre Folio convertible laptop. Three possible screen positions let you watch videos or edit photos in comfort, and its powerful Intel Core i7 processor is ideal for gaming. This HP Spectre Folio convertible laptop has a 256GB M.2 solid-state drive, ensuring speed and ample storage.
Customer Rating
4
Beautiful with a few compromises
on November 16, 2018
Posted by: 3Tcubed
from Phoenix.AZ
HP has made sure that the first impression of the Spectre Folio is one of exceptional quality. The packaging is first rate. The notebook is packed on top of the box with a black tissue paper wrapper, Upon pulling back the black paper, the high quality full grain leather wrapped around the notebook is revealed. It's soft and screams luxury. Upon lifting the notebook out of the box the smoothness of the leather is felt (mine was Cognac Brown); very nice. As you open the case you feel a nice balance between the top and the bottom of the notebook, both are about the same thickness and weight. On the right side are 2 USB C, thunderbolt 3 ports, on the left there is one USB C port. Any of the ports can be used to connect the USB C charger. HP claims the i7 version will get 15 hours on a charge and the i5 version will get 17 hours. During setup you are introduced to Microsoft's Hello, it's facial recognition technology that can be be used to login. It is similar to Apple's Face Id, except it also uses IR to iluminate the subject, so it can be used effectively in the dark. This was the first time I'd used Hello and it worked extermely well, you see some flashing red led's and your logged on very quickly (after you've registered your face).
Included in the box is a USB C to USB A adapter, a HP Stylus (Tilt Pen which uses 1*AAA battery) with 4096 pressure levels and a 65W power adapter. When getting the notebook set up, one of the first things I noticed was the wonderful keyboard, given the thinness of the base, the keys still have a decent amount of travel and a great feel. The keyboard is very nicely backlit, with light around the key as well as some light thought the keys. The keys are nicely spread out with the feel of a nice full size keyboard (less the numeric pad).
The next think I noticed the georgous, bright screen (400 nits), I adjusted the screen up and down and did not see any color shift, even at very wide viewing angle. Now about the screen it's quite diferent from most laptops, instead of being hinged at the bottom of the screen it's hinged in the middle, allowing the bottom to rest infront of the keyboard or to be pulled out so the bottom rests covering the keyboard with the trackpad visible (Tent mode). This would certainly be useful for watching a video or for giving a presentation. If you pull the screen further, it slides down flat over the keyboard, making the the notebook into a 13" tablet that's less than 1" thick at the spine, and less than 1/2" at the front. But it's very solid, there are magnets that guide and keep the screen in its normal, tented and flat positions. It takes a a little pull to release the screen from it's laptop position, but it's not an unreasonable tug.
After having it up and running, you notice how quite, it is, no fans. But it has either a Intel i5-8200Y or i7-8500Y processor in it, these are Intel's latest, top of the line, low power processors they support turboboost up to 3.9Ghz or 4.2Ghz, but they only ramp up when necessary. This is suspose to greatly increase battery life. I did some testing, browsing, streaming video and watching video locally (at all times connected via wi-fi). All videos were very smooth (<10% CPU utilization), I ran for just over 10 hrs and the battery life had dropped to 20%, so I doubt it would have been 15 hours, but not that far off. Getting over 10 hours I consider impressive. Now this computer is suspose to have a fast charge function, and charge to 50% in under 30m. I did not see this speed in my initial testing (on any of the ports) - keep reading.
The next thing I went to do was edit some photos, I looked long and hard for a micro SD card slot,some HP specs said it existed, others did not; my unit did not have one. I was dispointed there was no microSD card card slot. So I attached a handy multifunction USB C device with a SD and microSD card reader (and multiple USB 3 ports + HDMI & LAN) and it was promptly recognised, and I could easily move photos to the notebook (guess I could have also gotten them from one of my cloud accounts, but since the camera was handy it was the first thing to come to mind). All the editing was smooth, I used the pencil (tilt) to mark up a photo, it worked well, allowing different thickness of lines based on the pressure on the stylus, It allowed me to outline objects with great accuracy; one function I really wanted to see/use. At first I was editing like a laptop, I then "tented" the screen, I found this much more easy to do and more accurate. Pretty happy about the pen's usefullness.
Now having used the system for sometime (on a table) I reclined to my couch, and used it in my lap. I found a new use for it, a leg warmer (not a heater). The base of the unit does get warm, but not really hot; the leather feels nice warm. The leather really feels nice in you lap compared to the usual hard plastic or metal. I then streamed some music throught the onboard speakers.... kind of tinny; I then played with the audio controls and the sound was greatly improved, but still lacked any low end. I streamed to an external BT speaker and I was impressed, very impressed. So the B&O speakers did not impress me, they could get loud, but they did not sound great. The HP Audio Boost with them works pretty well, especially with better speakers. I was pleased with the enhancements for music and for video.
I also connected a HD monitor to the USB C Multi-function adapter (mine not supplied) to insure the notebook could drive a second HD monitor, No problem! I then tried attaching a 4K monitor, it was promptly recognised and I extended my diplay to have the HP Folio notebook + a 4K monitor as a second display. Yea, it worked as I'd hoped. I then connected a Ethenet cable and it was up and running on my LAN, again just I'd expected. This is one of the big advantages of USB C and Thunderbolt 3, the ability to attach multiple high speed peripherials, this notebook has 2*Thunderbolt 3 ports + one USB 3.1 C port; really a lot of expansion functionalty.
After some more testing I found there was a HP Bios update (throught the HP Update utility); after applying it I re-tested the fast charging and it now seemed to work, the BIOS update said it fixed a issues where the "system incorrectly reports the status of the battery as fully charged", that must have been it. Another note, I have the 256GB unit without WAN support; after the system is fully installed there is only 194GB available after cleaning up the system install/update files. So plan your purchase accordingly, this notebook cannot have it's memory or storage upgraded, what you purchase is is what you get. HP's web site says it will ship with SSDs of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB & 2TB. Given what the base price of this unit is, I'd suggest starting with more than the 256GB SSD. Especially since you can't just insert a microSD card to update the storage available (this disapointed me the most about this machine - loose 1 star).
But it you choose wisely it's a beautiful notebook, which will surely get a second look wherever you take it. And whereever you take it it feels good in your hands, just over 3.2 lbs with possibly 15 hrs battery life, it is still a powerful notebook. Especially if your looking for something different or just want to show off a little, it is pretty (and nice).
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+48points
59of 70voted this as helpful.
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Enjoy your favorite podcasts and music on the go with these Skullcandy Indy Evo true wireless earbuds. The sweat-resistant and water-resistant design is ideal for workouts, while the Tile technology lets you track and find them when lost. These Skullcandy Indy Evo true wireless earbuds offer up to 30 hours of battery life for continuous entertainment.
Does this have USB C charging?
The case has a USB C charging interface, the provided cable is USB-A to USB-C; but it should provide FAST changing if a USB-C charger is used.
4 years ago
by
3Tcubed
Enjoy your favorite podcasts and music on the go with these Skullcandy Indy Evo true wireless earbuds. The sweat-resistant and water-resistant design is ideal for workouts, while the Tile technology lets you track and find them when lost. These Skullcandy Indy Evo true wireless earbuds offer up to 30 hours of battery life for continuous entertainment.
Will these pair with two cell phones at the same time? I have to carry two cell phones, one for work (Android) and one is my personal phone (iPhone). I want these to pair with both so I can receive calls on either phone.
No, they will only pair to one device at a time
4 years ago
by
3Tcubed
Nighthawk AC2600 Smart Wi-Fi Router accelerates your Wi-Fi for Ultra HD 4K streaming to multiple devices. It offers extreme Wi-Fi speed for gaming - up to 2600 Mbps and uninterrupted video streaming with advanced QoS for applications such as YouTube, Netflix and others. High-power amplifiers and external antennas deliver range throughout very large homes. Implicit beamforming improves Wi-Fi speed and range on all mobile devices such as iPhone, iPad, and Android. The Nighthawk app lets you get the most out of your router performance with customized settings.
Is it true there is an annoying blue light that flashes constantly on this unit? Can you turn it off?
If your network is working correctly it should stay a solid light blue. If it bothers you you could put some white tape over the LED, attached you can see the led.
4 years, 6 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Drive safely with this Cobra super HD dash cam. Its 1296p recording resolution captures high-quality video footage in any lighting condition, while the extreme temperature protection is tested to withstand sudden fluctuations. This Cobra super HD dash cam provides iRadar route tracking and live police alerts when connected to the iRadar app, so you never miss a thing.
How long does the cobra dash cam hold the footage does it erase it over how can you look back a week to see the footage
It holds 3,5 or 10 min segments; the number of segments depends on the resolution (1296P or 1080p) and the SD card size (mine came with a 32gb card) which will hold about 90m of 1080P video. I believe you can use cards up to 256Gb.
4 years, 9 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Voice clarity
The main reason for purchasing this sound bar is to hear the dialogue above the background music. Just turning the sound up doesn't do it. Is there a specific button to turn up the voice and not just the whole sound?
No, but I find the DTS Virtual does good job of bringing the voices to the center and balancing the rest of the content on it's own. The standard mode works best with Sports/news and the DTS works much better with movies.
5 years ago
by
3Tcubed
Realize immersive room-filling sound from your TV with this LG 3.1-channel high-resolution audio soundbar. DTS technology creates a thrilling surround sound experience, while high-resolution audio support ensures a stunning reproduction of sound and music. This LG 3.1-channel high-resolution audio soundbar features optical, USB, HDMI and Bluetooth for convenient connections to all compatible equipment and TVs.
Page 23 of the manual says you must use a high speed HDMI cable WITH ETHERNET in order for ARC functions to work. Is this true? I don't understand why the Ethernet would be needed.
The "ethernet" part is really a speed qualification (18Gb I think), it is the same speed that necessary to pass DTS/Dolby 7.1 or Atmos surround signals
5 years ago
by
3Tcubed
Start using this unlocked Apple iPhone 8 with your choice of carrier right away. Its 64GB of internal memory stores your favorite games, apps, photos and videos, and a fingerprint scanner prevents unauthorized entry. The 4.7-inch retina HD display on this pre-owned Apple iPhone 8 is ideal for video and FaceTime chats.
will this phone work with verizon
It will work with any carrier.
Only of you phone has heavy case/folding case of belt clip will it not work easily
Only of you phone has heavy case/folding case of belt clip will it not work easily
5 years ago
by
3Tcubed
Lighten household chores with this SHARK® ION™ vacuum system. The lithium-ion battery supplies a long-lasting charge, and the 0.66-quart dust cup and HEPA filter collect dirt, hair, and dander to prevent allergen buildup. This SHARK® ION™ vacuum system comes with a built-in power vacuum to help with those extra cleaning jobs.
Does this one map a grid to use each time like the robot one? Thanks
No it seems to move around randomly, the softwre doe not currently show you the pattern it has traveled.
5 years, 6 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Make media more fun with this HP Spectre Folio convertible laptop. Three possible screen positions let you watch videos or edit photos in comfort, and its powerful Intel Core i7 processor is ideal for gaming. This HP Spectre Folio convertible laptop has a 256GB M.2 solid-state drive, ensuring speed and ample storage.
How cumbersome is to service this laptop at home..e.g. if needs to be opened, would it be easy to detach from the leather cover? where I am trying to reach is to know the complexity of having this leather cover over benefits.
You can find the HP service manual online. I did and it VERY cumbersome, to get to the internal memory or M.2 SSD you have to use a heat gun to remove the screen (carefully) and again unglue the leather (60-90C heat gun). This is beyond the normal DIY upgrade. I was interested in upgrading the SSD; way to much effort, decided to get a SanDisk extreme 1TB, tested with system and it's still 1/2 the speed of the internal M.2 NVMe drive. Samsung X5 would be faster, but I could not justify the 3x+ cost.
5 years, 6 months ago
by
3Tcubed
Google Home Mini is a smart speaker powered by the Google Assistant, so you can ask it questions and tell it to do things. Just start with "Ok Google" to enjoy your entertainment, get answers from Google, tackle your day, and control your smart home. Google Home Mini works on its own or you can have a few around the house, giving you the power of Google anywhere."
can you connect it to speakers with Bluetooth or with a cord?
Yes,you can use it as a BT speaker, or cast audio to it via casting. You can't wire directly to it.
5 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed