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- Review count38
- Helpfulness votes128
- First reviewJanuary 21, 2011
- Last reviewApril 1, 2024
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.1
- Review comment count3
- Helpfulness votes3
- First review commentNovember 3, 2014
- Last review commentJuly 18, 2016
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- Answer count4
- Helpfulness votes1
- First answerJuly 18, 2016
- Last answerApril 1, 2019
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Always know what’s happening at your door with the SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Pro. Its crystal-clear 1080p HD video and 162° field of view give you a clear shot of your property 24/7. Two-way audio lets you hear and speak to unwanted guests (and welcomed ones too) - even when you're not home. Have the SimpliSafe App? The Video Doorbell Pro will send instant alerts whenever someone approaches. And with Smart Person Detection, it can tell the difference between people, vehicles and animals. That means you only get the alerts that matter. Plus, when backed by 24/7 professional monitoring, you’ll have experts who are ready to request emergency dispatch when you need it most. This camera is designed for all weather extremes—so you're still protected in rain and snow. (Compatible with the SimpliSafe Gen 3 security system. Requires Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) and existing wired doorbell setup with mechanical chime and a transformer with 8-24 VAC, 30VA max. Not compatible with digital chimes.)
Posted by: darien87
from CA
It seems like these days you are always hearing about someone getting packages stolen off of their front porch. I decided I wanted to have one of the new video doorbell products to protect my home. So I decided to give the Simplesafe a try.
I initially had some difficulty getting it installed because when I removed my existing doorbell there were no wires behind it. I discovered that for some reason my house had a wireless doorbell. I didn't even know those existed. But once I got that situation taken care of getting the Simplisafe hooked up was a pretty simple operation. The supplied instructions make the process easy to follow. It took about a half hour.
Once the doorbell was installed completing the set up was easy. The camera takes clear pictures. The night vision also works well which I like as I do not leave my porch light on at night. The speaker on the device is a bit clumsy to use however. There is a couple of seconds lag between when you speak into your phone to talk to whomever is on your porch and when the sound actually comes out of the speaker.
One thing I wish the Simplisafe came with was an angled trim piece so that I could aim the camera more out towards our walk way instead of only looking directly across from the doorbell itself. I would like to be able to see someone as they walk up to the door. Also the device itself it pretty thick. I'd say it sticks out about 1-1/2" from the side of the house. Hopefully they will continue to improve on the device and future models can be made slimmer.
The bottom line is that the Simplisafe does what it is supposed to and does it well.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Listen to customized audio with these black JLab Fit Sport wireless fitness earbuds. Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost modes let you set sound quality preferences, and the adjustable tip placement and flexible memory wire provide a secure, comfortable fit. Recharge these JLab Fit Sport wireless fitness earbuds via the included microUSB cable to enjoy up to six hours of playback.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
I have tried quite a few pairs of earbuds and they just never seem to work for me. The sound is never very good and they never seem to want to stay in place. So when I saw that these ones came with hooks to go over your ears I was encouraged but not very optimistic.
When I first tried these headphones on I didn't think they fit very well. But after trying a few of the different ear pieces and tried with and without the ear cushions. After the 3rd or 4th try I found that the smallest set of ear pieces and without the cushions worked the best for me. Once you get the ear pieces really shoved into your ear canal and get a good seal on the headphones you can get a surprising amount of bass from these. The sound is quite good. Of course it isn't as good as a set of on or over the ear headphones with 40mm drivers but they do sound nice. You can customize the sound somewhat with 3 pre-programmed EQ settings that you can try out by pressing the up and down volume arrows to switch between them. I would prefer an app that would allow you greater control over the sound but the 3 selections are pretty good.
After trying them out at the gym I found that although they don't always stay tucked into your ears as much as you would like they do stay in place pretty well. You can bend the wires to mold the headphones to your ears a bit and this helps to hold them in place. Once I had them fitted I didn't really need to mess with them at all. And that is exactly what I want from a pair of gym headphones. I don't like having to constantly fiddle with my headphones.
When I first tried these headphones on I didn't think they fit very well. But after trying a few of the different ear pieces and tried with and without the ear cushions. After the 3rd or 4th try I found that the smallest set of ear pieces and without the cushions worked the best for me. Once you get the ear pieces really shoved into your ear canal and get a good seal on the headphones you can get a surprising amount of bass from these. The sound is quite good. Of course it isn't as good as a set of on or over the ear headphones with 40mm drivers but they do sound nice. You can customize the sound somewhat with 3 pre-programmed EQ settings that you can try out by pressing the up and down volume arrows to switch between them. I would prefer an app that would allow you greater control over the sound but the 3 selections are pretty good.
After trying them out at the gym I found that although they don't always stay tucked into your ears as much as you would like they do stay in place pretty well. You can bend the wires to mold the headphones to your ears a bit and this helps to hold them in place. Once I had them fitted I didn't really need to mess with them at all. And that is exactly what I want from a pair of gym headphones. I don't like having to constantly fiddle with my headphones.
Some of the drawbacks to these headphones are that to get the best sound you need to get a good seal in your ears. However this can be hard to maintain as moving around and chewing gum while working out, (as I do), can cause the ear pieces to come out of your ears a bit. Also you can hear yourself breathing or even your heartbeat if you are training very hard. But this is a drawback to ANY ear bud type of headphones and not specific to the Jlab's.
The bottom line on these headphones is that they fit well, stay in place and sound pretty good. This is the first set of earbuds that I have come across that I can live with.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Play party music with this three-box Sony audio system. Its Digital Sound Enhancement Engine and S-Force Front Surround technology produce high-quality sound, and the built-in microphone input lets you engage in karaoke-style singing. This Sony audio system offers wireless streaming from Bluetooth devices, and its USB port and CD player provide extra connectivity to music sources.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
I picked up this stereo system to use in the kitchen for listening to music while cooking. Unfortunately the physical size of the system is quite a bit larger than I thought and I will not be able to keep it on the kitchen counter as I had planned.
But enough about the size, how does this thing sound? Well........... it sounds OK. The speakers themselves are pretty big. I'd say about a good foot and a half tall and about 8 inches deep. But for their large size they don't put out very deep bass. They play loud and put out tons of midbass, (which is good for most music), but I was surprised that they couldn't go very deep. I'd say they only go down to about 50Hz. Also the tweeters don't play the nice crisp highs that I like. The speakers don't sound bad. They just don't sound great. Overall the speakers just sound a bit flat. But if you are not an audiophile or you are buying this as a bedroom system or just something for use during parties then this will probably suit you just fine.
The system includes a CD player and can connect via bluetooth so you will be able to play pretty much all of your music. There are about 10 pre-programmed soundfields included but most of them were not to my liking. The "Game" soundfield sound especially weird. Not sure what Sony was going for there. But there is also a custom EQ with about 7 frequencies that you can tweak to tailor the sound to your preference.
Ultimately this system does not play as loud or as clean as I would like. But at its' price point it does an OK job.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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+12points
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Power through workouts with these Jaybird Tarah wireless sport headphones. The sweat-proof construction is ideal for use during intense workout sessions, and the soft, flexible ear gels provide a comfortable fit. These headphones deliver up to eight hours of play time on a single charge, so you can use them throughout your workday. With push-button operation and hands-free calling capabilities, these Jaybird Tarah wireless sport headphones keep you connected wherever your workouts take you.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
To be honest, I've never been a big fan of ear buds. To me the sacrifice you make in sound quality is never outweighed by the small size. On ear headphones always sound much better. But wearing big headphones isn't very practical for the gym, (which is where I do most of my headphone listening).
I decided to give these as a shot mostly due to the reputation that Jaybird has for quality. The headphones certainly look good. The box that they come in definitely gives a feeling of quality and the color of the headphones themselves is visually striking.
Included in the box are 3 different sizes of ear inserts. I tried both the #2 (middle size) and the #1 (small size) inserts. I guess I must have odd sized ears because I found the #2's a bit too big and the #1's a bit too small. I even tried using a #2 on my right ear and a #1 on my left ear but nothing seemed to fit me perfectly. Unfortunately the #1 was too small and wanted to come out of my ear but the #1 was a little big.
To get good bass response out of these headphones you have to get the inserts deep into your ear to form a seal. But I found that I constantly had to readjust my headphones to keep them sounding good. The EQ that is included with the app is a nice touch but I found it to be a bit clunky to use. When you adjust one part of the range, (lows, mids or highs) it will often affect the other ranges next to it. I would prefer just a simple slider at different frequencies. Also I use my Samsung Gear for listening to music at the gym, not my phone. I don't want to have to carry my phone around when I'm working out. So I don't even know if the settings I set up in the app apply to my Gear.
But the real deal breaker for me is the design of the headphones themselves. The volume controller on the right side tends to pull the right cable down all the time so that the cable won't sit evenly across the back of your neck. What I ended up doing to combat this was making the rubber cable fairly tight against the back of my neck so that the controller stayed on my neck and didn't slide around. The problem with this is that when I get sweaty the rubber cable will stick to the back of my neck and every time I turn my head to the side it will have a tendency to pull the buds out of my ears. Also I can't get to the volume controls this way as the controller is on the back of my head. Further complicating things is that when I would feel around for the controller to adjust the volume it would invariably pull the right bud out of my ear so I would have to readjust it.
The design of these headphones it totally impractical for the purpose to which they were designed for. If I have to constantly be thinking about and adjusting my headphones then I don't want to wear them. I want to just put my headphones on and forget about them. I would think that running in these headphones would be even worse.
I'm giving these 2 stars. 1 star because I think the design is horrible with another star added because they actually sound pretty good for an ear bud. I have attached a pic of the headphones I usually wear at the gym. I think these ones have a much better design. They have a hard "wire" that holds the headphones in place so they don't move around and they are a decent size so that they give solid bass response.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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-8points
31of 70voted this as helpful.
Experience a new dimension of music with this Zound Industries smart speaker. The built-in Amazon Alexa feature lets you change songs without lifting a finger. This Zound Industries smart speaker has two 15W amplifiers for powerful, clear sound and a far-field microphone array to recognize commands from across the room.
Customer Rating
3
Plays fairly loud but sound is a bit muddy.
on October 23, 2018
Posted by: darien87
from CA
My wife when she is in the kitchen cooking or doing the dishes likes to listen to music. Unfortunately she likes to do this through her crappy little phone speaker. Drives me nuts. So I decided to buy her a wireless speaker so that she could listen to better quality sound. I'm a stickler for good sound. My home theater is a 7.2 system with multiple amps. I like my music and movies to sound good.
The first speaker I bought her was by Sonos. I don't remember the model number but it was the biggest one they had and sold for about $500. I thought it sounded pretty good but the speaker didn't work with the one app that my wife uses to listen to music so back to the store it went.
Enter the Marshall Stanmore II. This speaker is a nice size, (a little smaller than the toaster oven we have it next to on our kitchen counter). It is not heavy at all, probably weighs about 5 pounds. I downloaded the Marshall app, paired the speaker with my phone and I was up and running in about 5 minutes. If you want to stream via Wi-Fi unfortunately your options are a bit limited. You need a Premium Spotify account to use their service via Wi-Fi. Otherwise your only option is to use an app that works with Chromecast. I do not have a Chromecast or Alexa mainly because I don't like the idea of my electronics constantly spying on me.
But you can certainly use Bluetooth and just play your music through whatever app you want. I used Pandora, Tunein Radio and Spotify as well as the native music playing app on my phone. All worked fine.
But how does it sound? Not bad, but not great. For a relatively small speaker it puts out a decent amount of bass. It won't vibrate the wally or anything but if you're just playing some pop music or rock or anything that doesn't have a deep bass line it does pretty well. Unfortunately the highs are lacking. Everything sounds a bit muddy. I'm not sure what the Stanmore uses for tweeters but they aren't very good. Even with the highs turned up all the way on the Marshall app I still found the highs missing.
The speaker does play pretty loud. The wife was working in the kitchen and at one point I was out in the backyard with the sliding glass door open and I could hear the music clearly from where I was.
If you're not a discriminating audiophile like I am then this speaker might work just fine for you. And honestly as a device to just play some music in the background while you do housework or as noise for a party the Stanmore does pretty well. Just don't expect it to play as clean as a set of high quality speakers.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+1point
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Shark APEX combines DuoClean, self-cleaning brushroll and Powered Lift-Away technologies to deliver our ultimate full-sized cleaning experience.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
I will preface this review by saying that I am a fan of Shark vacuum cleaners. I bought my first one about 3 years ago and I really like it. It seems to do a good job on our carpets even though we had to have our carpets cleaned a few months ago after living in our house for about 3 years.
This Shark vacuum is very similar to the one I previously had. So much so that I didn't even need to use the manual for how to put the vacuum together. But assembling the vacuum is a very simple process. You just have to connect the canister to the base and then a couple of hoses. It only takes a couple of minutes.
But how does it clean? Well after using it to vacuum my living room I thought that the floor actually felt a little cleaner than what I was used to with the older Shark. I wasn't sure if this was just placebo but my wife commented that she thought the floor felt better as well. The vacuum is a little harder to maneuver than my previous Shark, (probably due to the roller on the front of the vacuum). But it isn't too difficult.
I'm sure the Duo roller makes this vacuum great for cleaning kitchen or hardwood floors but I mainly use it for carpets. I did try vacuuming some of the laminate flooring that we have downstairs but again I thought that maneuvering the vacuum made it a bit problematic. I don't think I will use this machine for anything other than carpets.
One of the great things about these Shark vacuums is that the base can be separated from the canister. This allows you to vacuum under furniture like beds and dressers. The vacuum is also pretty light so taking it up and down stairs is not difficult.
I will say that I am not very happy with the attachments that come with the vacuum. My previous Shark has a small brush roller attachment that I use to vacuum the stairs in my house. This Shark has a similar tool that is designated as a pet hair tool. This one is not good at vacuuming stairs at all. I tried using the roller attachment from my other Shark and it worked with the new one. So I think I will actually use the attachments that came with the old Shark instead of the ones that came with this one.
Overall I think this is a great vacuum. If you have combination hardwood, vinyl, tile and carpet floors, this one can do it all.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+4points
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The Brother MFC-J995DW INKvestment Tank all-in-one inkjet printer with tank technology is the optimal choice for your home or small office needs. The MFC-J995DW features reengineered INKvestment Tank cartridges along with an internal ink storage tank to deliver uninterrupted printing for up to 1 year without the need to purchase ink. Business-capable features include mobile device printing, Near Field Communication (NFC) print and scan capabilities, flexible paper handling options, automatic two-sided printing and easy on-screen navigation using a 2.7" color touch screen. With the ink included in-box, the Brother INKvestment Tank all-inclusive solution delivers truly uninterrupted printing, exceptional features, super convenience, large page yields and low-cost printing. Includes a two-year limited warranty with free online, call, or live chat support for the life of your printer. Prints up to 12 ISO ppm*, up to 10 ppm* in color.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
Prior to getting this printer we were using an HP laser jet that worked just fine for us. It's just my wife and I so we don't do a whole lot of printing. Just basic stuff like forms mostly. We don't print things with a whole lot of color like photo books or anything like that.
The Brother MFC-J955DW is an all-in-one printer that can print, scan and fax. If you are running a small business out of your home I'm sure this printer would be very convenient. Initial set up was relatively painless. I simply plugged in the printers power cord and popped the installation CD that came with it into my PC and installed the drivers. I loaded the ink cartridges and some paper and I was pretty much ready to go. The printer did take about 5 minutes to load the ink which was a bit annoying but that is just a one time thing. Also there were numerous extra programs and firmware updates that the installer wanted me to install. So all in all the printer probably took about 30 minutes to get completely up and running.
One good thing about this printer is that it is fast. I would say that 8-1/2" x 11" sheets in full color print out in about 10 seconds. However the print quality isn't all that great. On standard, uncoated paper fine detail gets lost. This can probably be improved by using better quality, coated papers. But the few photos I printed out to test the printer left something to be desired.
But if you are using this printer as an all-in-one solution and you don't need high quality prints then this will probably work fine for you. One other note is that this printer should probably be installed on a desktop. I had it on a wooden TV tray next to my computer and the stand was shaking back and forth. I guess the print head on this machine moves fast enough that it causes the printer to shake if it is not on a very stable surface. Who knows, maybe this had an effect on the quality of the color prints that I made.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+1point
3of 5voted this as helpful.
Listen and talk in comfort with these Jabra Evolve stereo headphones. Dual Bluetooth capability lets you connect to multiple devices simultaneously, and its integrated busy light provides a signal to others when you are busy. Enjoy amazing sound without background noise interference thanks to the passive noise cancellation of these Jabra Evolve stereo headphones.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
This has got to be probably the worst sounding pair of headphones I have ever owned. The sound quality is terrible. These headphones put out almost no bass. All you get is mids and treble.
When pairing these with my Playstation 4 I kept getting weird digital noises along with the sound of the games I was playing. It was very annoying. They give you no sense of surround either.
There is no volume button on the headphones so that you have to change the volume on the device you have it connected to. Unfortunately just like a set of Alien headphones I recently reviewed, these headphones have to be connected to your device via a USB dongle. For me this means that I cannot charge a controller while using these headphones as my external hard drive is connected to the other USB port on my PS4.
The headphones are comfortable and fit my head well but who cares. I would never want to use these things because they sound like garbage.
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Dive into your favorite games with this Alienware wireless gaming headset. A noise-cancelling microphone keeps your voice clear as you call out commands to teammates, and 7.1 virtual surround sound enhances the audio quality so you never miss a whisper. Featuring two custom lighting zones and 6.8 million colors, this Alienware wireless gaming headset lets you create a custom look that accents your signature gaming style.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
These headphones sound great and are very well built, but what else would you expect from Alien.
They are pretty comfortable but fit a little snug on to my head. The surround sound is pretty good but can't replace a true surround sound system for replicating sounds in a 360 degree space. But if you're trying to get some nice loud explosions and music in your games without disturbing your significant other, these headphones are a good compromise. Bass response is pretty good.
I did have an issue with setting them up for the first time as there seems to be 2 sets of volume buttons, a regular + and - roller and another one that looks like a person and some other shape. At first I couldn't figure out why I had no sound until I turned the roller with this other symbol up.
Also I wish the headphones could connect to a Bluetooth gaming system without a dongle. On my PS4 I only have 2 USB ports and one is being used by my external hard drive. This means that I cannot charge one of my controllers while using these headphones. That is a significant drawback in my opinion.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
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Clean your carpet, hardwood and tile floors remotely with this self-navigating Neato Botvac D4 robotic vacuum. Customize its path through an app on your phone so it avoids certain areas while it expertly cleans others. This Neato Botvac D4 robotic vacuum operates for up to 75 minutes on a single charge.
Posted by: darien87
from CA
This is my first robot vacuum. I always thought the devices like Roomba would be nice to check out but always thought they were overpriced. While the Neato D4 isn't cheap it does a surprisingly good job.
We have a combination of hardwood and vinyl floors downstairs in our house. The dining room and walkway from the kitchen to the living room are wood and the kitchen area is vinyl. It is always a struggle to keep the kitchen floor clean so my hope was that the D4 would be able to help me out with this.
Out of the box the D4 is fairly easy to set up. You plug the base into a wall outlet and connect the D4 to the charging ports. You download the Neato app and it takes you through the setup process, (connect to Wi-Fi, name the robot, etc.) Then the D4 starts by cruising around whatever room you put it in to map out the layout. The program for how it does this is a little strange as it doesn't just travel in straight lines until it bumps into something as you would think, it kind of zig zags all over the place. The first time I went through this process the D4 got confused by the wooden transition strip between the dining room wood and kitchen vinyl and stopped at the dining room so it only cleaned about 1/4 of the surface I wanted it to. The wife and I had to go grocery shopping so I left the D4 charging until we got back. About an hour later we returned and for some reason the D4 had gotten disconnected from my network so I had to go through the whole pairing process again.
I called Neato customer service to ask about why the D4 didn't travel into the kitchen as I wanted it to. The Neato rep asked me if the wood on the strip was shiny. I said, "Not really". This gave me an idea so I decided to try the mapping process again, this time with the lights turned off in the kitchen, (it was day time). This seemed to alleviate the problem as the D4 had no trouble getting over the strip this time. But unfortunately this time when it turned down the wood walkway that leads into the living room it made a right and went on to the carpeted area of the living room where I didn't want it to go. After it got back to the wood walkway area I put a barrier down where the D4 had travelled on to the carpet before to stop it from going there. I think this freaked the robot out because it kept trying to go back there. I swear it wasted about 10 minutes bumping into the barrier I had put up. It eventually started to run out of battery and went back to its base without finishing the mapping process.
I let it charge some more and then gave it another shot this time with the barriers already in place. Third time was the charm as the D4 mapped my downstairs properly just as I wanted it to.
This think actually does a pretty good job of picking stuff up off the floor. Much better than I expected it to. Buy unfortunately it will not replace manual sweeping and mopping as it doesn't do a very good job of getting into the corners, (see my pic of the dead bug in one corner that I was hoping it would get) but I guess it will help to keep your floors a little more clean so that when you do sweep and mop there won't be as much to pick up.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+11points
12of 13voted this as helpful.
darien87's Review Comments
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you woke up one day to find the world transformed to one full of horrors? Lots of people have apocalypse survival plans, but do they really ask themselves how they would cope? It's hard to gauge how well you would deal with a life that consists of nothing but fear, because you've never really experienced it. But one thing is for certain — if you let the fear win then you don't survive. If you don't keep the evil within chained up under lock and key, then the horror will overtake you and drag you under.Dive into a world crafted by the father of survival horror, Shinji Mikami in The Evil Within. In a game that embodies the meaning of terror, you have no choice but to gather your courage, shut down the fear and let your adrenaline carry you away. Explore highly crafted environments full of the stuff of nightmares and contend with the horrifying anxiety of constantly fighting to survive. An intricate storyline weaves together to build an engrossing experience that will make your palms sweat and your heart race. Do you have what it takes to overcome the tension and withstand the deadly terror?
Overall
4 out of 5
4 out of 5a mind-bending and keep you on your toes style gam
By Jerome2679
a kind of game that'll keep you on your toes, death and mystery around every corner. must decide whether to go for the extra experience or save your and my own parts to get through the game. boss battles at challenger mind
darien87
CA
Huh?
November 3, 2014
This review makes no sense.
0points
0of 0voted this comment as helpful.
Polar Loop Activity Tracker: With a custom-fit bracelet, this tracker can be worn comfortably on your wrist, allowing you to monitor your activity levels and receive helpful guidance and motivation. The rechargeable battery offers up to 5 days of continuous use.
Overall3 out of 5
3 out of 5Pretty good but lacking a couple of features
By darien87
from CA
This is my 5th fitness tracker now. The others I have used are the:
Withings 02 Pulse
Adidas Fit
Garmin Vivosmart
Samsung Gear Fit
Adidas Fit
Garmin Vivosmart
Samsung Gear Fit
I think this is the one I will be sticking with. It does just about everything I want my fitness tracker to do but it lacks a couple of features I liked in others. Of all the ones I've tried so far I think the Garmin Vivosmart is the best. But I ended up returning that one because it would constantly lose sync with my phone and had to be manually re-paired. It would happen multiple times a day and I just got tired of having to go through the pairing process again every time. It was very frustrating.
The Polar Loop has quite a few things going for it:
* Looks good - I originally had the basic black model but exchanged it for the purple, (Black Currant).
* Comfortable to wear - I wear the band loose enough that it slides around a bit on my wrist so I barely know it's there.
* Connects easily to the HR6 or HR7 Polar heart rate strap. I wanted a tracker with heart rate function because I do more weight lifting than cardio so I wanted a device that would give me accurate calories burned while lifting.
* No problems pairing with my phone.
For the cons:
* Wrist band must be cut to size - I found this process to be very tedious. I'm not a watch maker. Using the tiny tool to remove and reinstall the retaining pins was very frustrating. I actually lost one of the pins because it immediately shot across the room when I took it out of the buckle. Luckily Polar provides you with a spare pin just for this issue.
* App is still in Beta and is pretty basic.
* Proprietary charging cable - I don't know why all of these tracker manufacturers can't just use a standard USB charging cable like on Android phones. I've had 3 or 4 different brands of phone in the last couple of years and every one of them had the same charging cable. The Polar one connects to the back of the device and it is a bit of a pain feeding it around the buckle to connect it.
Overall I like this tracker but if not for the pairing issue with the Garmin Vivosmart I would have stayed with that one.
darien87
CA
More info
January 9, 2015
EDIT - 1-9-15
So I've had the Loop for a few weeks now and it's still pretty decent. I wish that you could see how much battery life is left other than by plugging the Loop in to charge. It would be nice if you could see it on the display.
Also, there have been a few network outages where I have not been able to sync my Loop with their site. This is pretty frustrating. Polar's customer service is horrible!!! I have called them 3 times and each time eventually hung up after waiting on hold for about 10 minutes. The 3rd time I got my questions by using their online chat so I guess they don't completely suck. But with Garmin I got a live person on the phone right away every time. I really wished the Vivosmart had worked better with my phone because that seems to be the best of all the trackers I've tried.
+2points
2of 2voted this comment as helpful.
Accomplish fitness goals with this Samsung fitness watch. IIts smart notifications let you receive alerts and respond to calls from compatible Android and iOS smartphones¹ and a curved display makes it easy to view activity progress. Featuring a music player with access to countless songs, this Samsung fitness watch lets you jam to your favorite tunes.
Overall3 out of 5
3 out of 5Great fitness tracker, but limited...
By Nicolly05
After owning this device for about 10 days I decided to return it. Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice device. I like the fitness features, and there are so many exercise choices to choose from. I like that you can add music to the device and listen to your tracks with out having your phone on you. (However it does require Bluetooth headphones) The screen is vivid and I never had to turn the brightness up to 10 even when outdoors. Step counter seemed to work fine (although sometimes I noticed it stopped counting steps randomly through out the day).
I really only have 2 major complaints about it. While you can pair this device with any Android smartphone, you are severely limited in the apps/watch faces that show up in the Samsung store. With my Nexus 6P I had only 8 watch faces to choose from. When I paired it with the Samsung S7, there were over 30. Apps were the same way, about 4 showed up in the store for the Nexus, but many more appeared once it was connected to a Samsung phone.
Most importantly: (my major reason for returning the device) The band design on this thing is clearly flawed. I cannot tell you how many times the band popped out of place almost causing the device to fall off. Sometimes I noticed when it happened, but other times I just noticed something felt off and looked down to see the device hanging off my wrist. Thankfully the band has a built in loop or this thing would have dropped a ton (and I only wore it for 10 days!). Until Samsung makes an option to replace the band I really cannot recommend this product.
This device really is an improvement over the original Gear Fit but the band and limited app/watch face options on non Samsung phones outweighed all the positive things that I liked about this device,
darien87
CA
July 18, 2016
Mine popped off numerous times also, (about 4 times in a week). I returned mine for the same reasons you noted as well as the atrocious battery life. I could barely get a day and a half out of mine and that was with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned off.
+1point
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darien87's Answers
Enhance your exercise sessions with this Samsung Active smartwatch. Advanced auto workout tracking detects up to seven exercises and tracks up to 40 more, while proactive health monitoring sends real-time alerts in case of irregular heartbeat. This Samsung Active smartwatch can pair with your smartphone, Android tablet and select iOS devices.
Can you change the watch faces like you can with the "Gear" watches? Also...is this watch smaller than the Gear S2?
Yes and Yes.
5 years ago
by
darien87
Play party music with this three-box Sony audio system. Its Digital Sound Enhancement Engine and S-Force Front Surround technology produce high-quality sound, and the built-in microphone input lets you engage in karaoke-style singing. This Sony audio system offers wireless streaming from Bluetooth devices, and its USB port and CD player provide extra connectivity to music sources.
Are the included Speakers hardwired? Or Bluetooth?
Hardwired. Very thin wiring.
5 years, 5 months ago
by
darien87
Accomplish fitness goals with this Samsung fitness watch. IIts smart notifications let you receive alerts and respond to calls from compatible Android and iOS smartphones¹ and a curved display makes it easy to view activity progress. Featuring a music player with access to countless songs, this Samsung fitness watch lets you jam to your favorite tunes.
Can you get text messages and play music on it.
Yes you can.
7 years, 9 months ago
by
darien87
Accomplish fitness goals with this Samsung fitness watch. IIts smart notifications let you receive alerts and respond to calls from compatible Android and iOS smartphones¹ and a curved display makes it easy to view activity progress. Featuring a music player with access to countless songs, this Samsung fitness watch lets you jam to your favorite tunes.
Is it only compatible with Samsung phones or can it be used with any Android phone?
Worked just fine with my LG G4.
7 years, 9 months ago
by
darien87