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  • Review count
    209
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    739
  • First review
    November 5, 2010
  • Last review
    June 25, 2024
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    4.4
 
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    2
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  • First review comment
    October 14, 2011
  • Last review comment
    June 28, 2012
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  • Answer count
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  • Helpfulness votes
    39
  • First answer
    April 25, 2013
  • Last answer
    February 17, 2021
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psyclopps's Reviews
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Play music anywhere with this Sony EXTRA BASS portable Bluetooth speaker. The Party Booster feature makes a variety of sounds depending on where the speaker is touched, and the volume increases or decreases depending on the strength of force used when tapping. This Sony EXTRA BASS portable Bluetooth speaker has multicolor flashing lights that sync to the beat of the music for added style.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Well rounded, fun and sounds good!
on April 14, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
A great overall speaker. Fun to watch, great audio and works as a portable battery to boot!
Unboxing:
The product is in an informative box, it is straight forward what is inside. You will find the device (very portable size), some foam packaging, manuals, and a micro-USB cable. Pretty simple!
Product:
I love the quality of the speaker. I got the black model which looks pretty good overall. The grill is fabric, the body is a matte plastic rubberish feel to it. The connection ports in the back are covered by a flap made watertight with a rubber gasket so ensure to keep it closed when around water environments. The top has rubber buttons for power (doubles as pairing), volume, live audio (setting) and play stop button.
The device is water and dust/sand resistant. You are supposed to be able to wash it clean after getting too dirty, haven’t had a chance to test that yet. I will be a vendor at a spartan booth this weekend though and plan on taking it as it will be raining a lot expecting lots of mud. I look forward to seeing how tough it is.
It looks great, there is a light that goes around the speaker grill and around the sides of the frame, it is accented by strobe lights on the side. The default setting looks great and is bright in a multitude of colors when playing music. You can further adjust this in the “music center” app from Sony. Download the “Fiestable” app for even more color control, not necessary for either app though.
Connectivity / sound quality:
Pairing is easy, you can pair holding the power button or you can simply use NFC on android devices. Connections are great as it uses LDAC with Android for essentially lossless transmission. You can stream 24-bit audio at 96kHz transferring at 990kbps. This is so much better than SBC or AAC is you have any HD FLAC or ALAC files on your device at full resolution. Granted, the speaker is not high-end audiophile equipment so you might not get the full benefit, but is nice to know compression is not a factor in sound quality here.
The sound initially was a little flat to me, I pushed the button that says “live” on it and the audio filled the room. For indoor use it is amazing, for outdoor it is more than enough but it might not fill the area with huge sound. I recommend the larger model for that. I sampled a few artists to see how the held up using LDAC and Pandora on high quality…
-Michael Bublé: Great bass on the vocals, guitars and most acoustic instruments sounded crisp. Stereo separation was good but not too intense. Percussion instruments sounded a little muffled.
-Steve Aoki: Turn up the volume here! Bass is thumping. This type of music sounds great but might be a little too complex for a speaker in this size. Though bass is great, lots of the other sounds don’t seem to have too much separation and detail felt lost. The faster it got, the less clear. Again, the main part I felt lacking was percussion, I found that if you turn on “clear audio” in the Music center app, it seemed to do a little better across the board. You can also tune the EQ to your liking here.
Blink 182 – “I miss you” sounded pretty good across the board, vocals, guitars and percussion all stood out well. Bass was not too heavy and didn’t overpower the rest of the music. In “Aliens Exist”, I felt the general balance was similar. The speaker seems to do well with Pop-punk.
Travis Scott – People will very much enjoy the bass here. It is very heavy, and you can feel the vibrations in a room at high volume the vocals got a little distorted but the rest stayed coherent.
Overall, I feel people will enjoy this for pop music, rock and rap / R&B and acoustic. For Electronic or other music with lots of overlapping sounds it might get a little muffled. This is not to say it is bad, just not the clearest thing you will find. Keep in mind speaker size and number of woofers / tweeters will affect audio quality so make sure to demo the larger and smaller units as well to see what is to your liking.
Other features:
I did not get to try it out but you can hook this speaker up to other speakers of the same model (Not sure of other models). If you have more, you can hook it up in stereo or mono mode. The info on the site states you can hook up to 100 units as well. I am sure this is extremely cool, but I do not see many instances where 100 people have the same type of speaker unless you set up an event to ensure this is the case (and have a lot of money to spend).
Battery life is rated at 24 hours, this was hard to test as it seems to never run out! You can use the USB-A port on the back to charge your phone as it will function as a portable battery. If you turn on “Extra Bass” which I believe is activated when you turn on “live”, this goes down to 14 hours of battery life.
There is an audio in jack in the back as well. To charge you will use a micro USB port. This is annoying and I wish they used USB-C but at least you will not have to worry about any proprietary charging ports here adding to the portability.
Summary:
I felt this speaker is extremely well rounded. If you do a lot of outdoor activities, this is a great speaker as it is water, dust and shock resistant. It is appealing to look at and has a great build quality. Sound quality is great for its size and if you have any extra ones in the house you can make a crazy little sound setup with it. My only complaint is the micro-USB port but I still give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
User submitted photo
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
 
Polished, professional Full HD video calls. The C920S HD Webcam delivers remarkably crisp, clear and detailed images in vibrant colors. HD autofocus and light correction adjust to provide consistently high definition, and the dual mics on either side of the lens capture natural sound. The privacy shutter puts you in control of what you show.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great overall desktop webcam!
on April 7, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
The webcam is great for desktop users. For laptop users it might be a good upgrade (for home or business use) but it is not very portable for on the go use. Overall, a very high rating.
Unboxing:
The box contains the camera, instructions, a plastic flip security cover, and that about it.
Design:
I am quite happy overall with the design and give it a 4 out of 5. The camera itself is a little bulky and best suited to desktop computer use. My gaming PC and monitor did not include a camera, so this is a great upgrade for me. The design is modern with stereo microphones on both sides of the lens. The lens is rather larger and likely will bring in much light. The device is all plastic with different feels on each side. Some are glossy, some are matte. On either side of the speakers is a great blue light indicator that shows when the camera is in use. It is rather soothing. The mount is a little confusing but if you want to you can place it on a flat surface in a stable fashion. Unless you have a mount though, it is probably best to mount it on the monitor. I ran into a snag with this though.
If your monitor has large bezels, this will probably be no issue to mount it on the monitor itself. If your monitor has minimal bezels, the mount might overlap an observable portion of the screen. It is a minor annoyance but an annoyance, nonetheless. It will make it look like your PC has a notch, lol.
Use:
It is highly recommended you install the Logitech Capture software from the website. It will work without it but to get all the features you will need the software. With the software you will gain access to multiple video sources, by default the camera and the display (to show what is on your screen, great for streamers). You can event do Picture in Picture with the two sources if walking someone through something or for gaming related activities.
You can set borders, interesting filters, prioritize frame rate and exposure, pan/tilt/zoom digitally, adjust auto focus, mirror, chroma key and more. The only bug I ran into is the “auto white balance” is really bad. Turn this off and adjust it yourself. Each time I turn it on, I find it tends to go very blue.
I tested with a few video calls with family and friends. All reported calls were clear and audio was great.
Summary:
I recommend this device to desktop PC users for casual use or maybe even gaming and professional use. Quality is outstanding. My only issues I ran into were some mount issues and the auto white balance feature. Go buy it!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
User submitted photo
User submitted photo
+19points
26of 33voted this as helpful.
 
Store data on this 128GB SanDisk Ultra Fit USB flash drive. The low-profile casing prevents damage by keeping it snug to the port, making it a great fit for use with tablets, laptops and game consoles. This SanDisk Ultra Fit USB flash drive uses USB 3.1 technology to deliver up to 10 times the transfer speed of older drives.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
A perfect thumbdrive
on March 16, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
Overall, I like this device. It has a few extra features that I am not sure how they fit into my life but it is not required. I will discuss more below.
Unboxing:
The device is pretty simple. It has the USB drive, a voucher for the flashback software and a voucher for RescuePRO software.
Build quality:
Pretty good! This is the 128 GB model. I went for this one since it has USB 3.1 support for higher speeds. The device is extremely tiny and will be great if you leave it plugged into a laptop as it does not protrude too much.
The design has a curved indentation that is functional at the end, for one it provides a little extra grip to grab it when pulling it out, second it has a hole in it so you can connect it to a lanyard / keychain.
Performance:
It has plenty of storage space at 128 GB (a little less available). I ran Crystal Disk benchmark on it and got read speeds of 134.6 MB/s read and 51.7 MB/a write. This speed is actually BETTER than what is advertised on the website (130 MB/s). In transferring a 3.3 GB file I got between 130 – 140 MB/s read and between 35 – 70 MB/s write. It looks like it had a burst speed for the first third then slowed down to the lower speeds.
Features:
It is mostly just a great performing small thumb drive! But... Sandisk tossed in a few goodies with it. First it has the usual
SanDiskSecureAccess software. This is pretty basic software but it allows you to password secure files on the thumb drive that are encrypted and unrecoverable if your drive is lost.
Second, it comes with a new software called SanDisk Flashback. To use this, you will need to install the software on your PC / Mac. It works very seamlessly and works similar to drop box/OneDrive/etc. When you log into the website, you will see any photos and files on your home screen. The interface is nice and seems to prioritize photos. There is a tab for “devices” which will let you see all of your drives that support the feature. Here is where it gets cool. If you uploaded a non-encrypted filed (not in the vault software) to the thumb drive, it will also upload a copy to Flashback which will allow you to download any files on your thumb drive / cloud to any computer that you access the website from. I have yet to fully integrate this into my work flow but I see a lot of potential for this. Similar to other cloud storage, you can also share links to your files.
At first I asked myself “why do I need this? I have Dropbox and upload things to the cloud already”. The advantage of this drive appears to me that you can leave your drive in your laptop permanently expanding storage and always having a local version installed and no longer needing to bring it with me when needed. I know Dropbox and other cloud drives can store local files but this one keeps the storage separate from the main drive. You also have the added ability to take the drive with you if you wish for faster transfers to computers that might not have download speeds needed for a file. In short, it gives you options.

Summary:
Pros:
-Convenient
-Compact
-Very fast!
Cons:
-Features possibly redundant
-Easy to lose!
-No phone app as of yet, only PC and Mac
Some users will think this is redundant, especially since it costs a few bucks after the first-year trial (to be fair it is dirt cheap, my 128GB will cost $4.99 a YEAR, not month when my trial is over). For others, you might be able to find some very good use out of this ability. I personally think it is slightly redundant, but it is also extremely convenient and allows me to separate certain types of files for a much cheaper price than cloud options. For example, Google drive costs $19.99 per YEAR, this device will only charge $4.99 per YEAR for 128GB, you will save even more if you get a 256GB model.
I can’t really find any faults in this feature and in the thumb drive. Used properly, you might be able to replace your cloud storage!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
 
Upgrade your connectivity and entertainment with this Sony Xperia 10 plus smartphone. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.8GHz octa-core processor combines with the 4GB RAM to power the device for seamless running of programs and applications, while the 6.5-inch Full HD display provides crystal-clear images. This Sony Xperia 10 plus smartphone features dual 12MP and 8MP cameras for capturing high-quality pictures and videos.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Practical and innovative
on March 16, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
Overall, a very practical phone with lots of value in the mid-range category. It is a new design that most will be a little surprised by at first appearance but upon use will find it to be very practical and effective. As a Sony fanboy I both love this phone and find it a little lacking. Read on!
Unboxing:
The boxing is surprisingly minimal, most Sony phones in the past have felt high end with packaging and included options. This one is very bare bones. The Box is low quality materials and inside you will find the phone, a charger (more on that later), USB-c cable, and simple documentation. Nothing else.
Design:
The phone was rather shocking to hold upon first impression. This phone measures 6.5” diagonally with a 21:9 display. It is larger than most phones but is surprisingly easy to use even with one hand. The build quality is above average but with a few quarks. The body feels like it is a higher end poly-carbonate with some metal accents. It feels highly durable and after a few days of use is completely scuff and scratch free. The body does not gather fingerprints very easily. There is no wireless charging included but does support NFC near the top of the phone. The screen is Gorilla glass 5 and all the buttons are perfectly placed. Since the phone is very tall, the volume is on the lower half, finger print reader is on the middle of the right side in perfect thumb position and the power is just above that. I would have liked to see the power button combined with the fingerprint reader, but this is minor.
What I was annoyed by wit the design is twofold. First, the buttons are almost flush with the body making using the volume rocker a little difficult since there is little haptic feedback. This button should stick out a little further to make it easier to use. Second, there is no waterproofing. You can see this when you pull out the SIM tray, in there you will be able to place a single SIM (on the I3223 model sold by best buy) and a micro SD card slot supporting 512 GB. In the tray there are zero rubber gaskets so you would not want to drop this in a toilet. It feels solid enough that there would be little issue with rain and splashes but do not submerge this thing (I am not going to test it).
Wireless:
Wireless is pretty good. I was thinking that in stepping down to a mid-range phone I might be sacrificing wireless performance, but I have had zero issues. My home Wi-Fi is FIOS and supports 200 Mbps up and down, I get at best 169 Mbps down and 126 Mbps up. Using T-Mobile in the Seattle area I get about 79 mbps down and 10 Mbps up. The snapdragon 636 processor is cat x12 supporting up to 600 Mbps which isn’t too bad but not as amazing as the latest flagship phones. There is no 600 MHz support but does support 700 MHz.
I have had no Bluetooth issues as the phone supports Bluetooth 5.0 along with all the important codecs for audio (aac, aptx, aptx-HD, LDAC). NFC works well with google pay and for file transfers, no complaints here!
Display:
The display is average in overall quality. Black levels are pretty good for LCD (no AMOLED here) but colors just seem a little dull to me. You can change the level of saturation in the settings with three levels of but it just never seems to wow me. As the screen resolution is 21:9, the resolution should be 1080x2520. This is strange at first but once you try out multitasking with two apps such as twitter and a YouTube video, or turn it sideways to watch a movie, you will become a believer! Movies are shown in exactly the aspect ratio they were meant to be seen in. If your video is 4:3 or 16:9 you will side bars on the side but 21:9 is what most major movies are shot in. Multi-tasking is extremely efficient with a screen of this size and you will love being able to truly have two apps running side by side (in portrait or landscape) in what feels like two full sized phones. The screen feels durable with Gorilla glass 5 and should do will with time, I would still recommend a screen protector for scratches though (no issue after three days though)
Camera:
I want to get more out of the camera, but it is very hit or miss. I will upload a few sample photos in this review, one good one bad for examination and so you can see it’s limits. On the plus side, there are two lenses, one 12 MP main camera (27mm) and one 8 MP (53mm) 2 zoom camera. The main camera is not too bad but lacks HDR ability so check your lighting. Detail is good. Sony tends to not use a lot of noise reduction so you will see a lot of noise in your photos, this is somewhat unprocessed looking, but some people might prefer this. The 2x zoom camera is lacking in my opinion. It has issues with focusing in all but the best of lighting and should not be used often if you ask me. Both lenses lack OIS which is a huge issue for me as this could have taken the cameras far. Bokeh is pretty good using both lenses to determine depth. The bokeh photos are using the telephoto lens so you will need to stand a little farther back to get a good one. Edge detection seems pretty good to me so far.
The selfie camera is average. It is far superior to past Sony selfie cameras stepping up to a 8MP one this time. Again, there is no OIS and only one lens so bokeh can have a few edge issues from time to time. It is very poor in the dark but looks pretty good in the day. Detail isn’t too bad, but focus can sometimes be an issue. DO NOT take a photo with a bright light in the background in any of the cameras as you will have massive issues lighting.
Video is average and uses electronic image stabilization. It works well in 1080 but is not as effective in 4k. 4k is very interesting on this phone as it supports 21:9 aspect ratio. If you plan on filming in this cinema ratio this could be of good use. The same HDR limitations apply to video as well.
Audio:
If you like high resolution audio this is a great phone for you! There is a headphone jack!!! Very rare these days. The phone supports 24-bit/192 kHz audio and also has LDAC for wireless streaming. With micro SD card support, this phone might be a great option for anyone with a library of HD audio FLAC files (also supports other lossless formats).
On the downside of audio, there is only one speaker on the bottom. It is not the worst one I have heard but it isn’t the best either. It sounds kind of tiny but does have decent volume. There is little bass so if you are watching a movie, toss on some headphones. I am surprised they didn’t do stereo speakers or up the quality on the one speaker since video is a huge draw of this phone, a good speaker matched with 21:9 display would be amazing.
Everyday use:
I am overall happy with everyday use. First, battery life is not bad with a 3000 mAh battery, these is a good amount of optimization with the software that it will get you through the day just fine. I found games will drain the battery quick though.
Performance is pretty good using the Snapdragon 636 processor. It is no beast and provides a stutter every so often but in normal usage, it is snappy. 4GB of ram helps a lot too. The device uses Android 9 Pie so it feels pretty efficient on this device as it is mostly stock interface. There is little bloatware other than the Xperia Lounge app and AVG pre-installed. You can delete these though.
Gaming performance is pretty good. I mostly play C&C Rivals and Galaxy of Heroes and I have experienced no issues here. It might not be able to handle high end games like Asphalt 9 at max settings though.
The device fits into male jean pockets easily but I would be concerned if your outfit has female sized pockets since it will easily stick out of said pocket.
The form factor got a lot of questions on the street since most people have never seen a device of this form factor.
One huge concern I had that can be mitigated is the included charger. Since there is no wireless charging, you will rely heavily on your included charger. The problem is that it is 5V / 1500mA. This comes out to 7.5 Watts of charging. This phone supports quick charge 3.0 and PD 2.0 (I believe) so why they included a non-quick charge charger is beyond me other than cost savings. Throw this charger away and use an old quick charge capable charger. It takes forever to charge with this charger! I tried it with a LG charger I had lying around with 16.3 and 9 watts options and it charges at normal quick charge speeds. I also tried it with my 45-watt PD laptop charger and again got much better results than the included charger.
Benchmarks:
Memory / storage performance is pretty good. Past Sony phones have had limits on how fast the data speed is on external memory (was capped at around 35 MB per second I believe). No limitations on this phone. I tried benchmarks on Androbench receiving 81.77 MB/s read and 34.67 MB/s write on a 200 GB UHS-1 card. The internal storage of 64 GB eMMC obtains 287 MB/s and 192 MB/s write. Not too shabby!
Geekbench showed single core scores of 1348 and multi-core scores of 4818
Antutu scored 117279
Summary:
Good overall phone, great for video, high-res audio and multitasking. Do not use if you rely on a phone camera and speed.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
User submitted photo
User submitted photo
+10points
52of 94voted this as helpful.
 
The Nanit Plus Camera & Floor Stand gives an unbeatable birds-eye view of your baby with HD video & audio from anywhere–no mounting needed. Plus, with personalized sleep guidance included in your app, you and the baby can sleep more soundly.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Great overall baby monitoring and sleep tracking
on March 4, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
I recently had a kid, so this product came along at a great time. We were using a wall mounted one before that we had some gripes with, so I was excited to try out the Nanit Plus with floor stand.
Unboxing:
The product is neatly packed in the box. Each piece of the actual stand and cable routing is neatly segmented, and the cable routing tubes can be discarded if not needed. My electrical plus was relatively close to the camera location, so I skipped that tubing. The rest of it snaps together well with the floor stand having an option to use three legs or two legs. I opted for two legs since I mostly plan to keep the camera in one place behind the crib. If you plan on moving the camera to other locations in the house, opt for the three-leg setup so you can just unplug it and relocate it easily. It is nice to have both options. For safety, I attached it to the wall with the included adhesive / screw mounted wall mount to affix it to the wall.
Setup:
After putting it together, I downloaded the app and went through the setup. Make sure you click on the correction version, there is a Nanit and Nanit plus option. I accidentally clicked Nanit a few times and it wouldn’t set up, I then realized I was hitting the wrong one and it gave me no issues after that. It will connect via Bluetooth and then let you set up wi-fi followed by any updates required. You will set up an account and have the option to invite family and caregivers to access the camera.
Use:
I am used to baby monitors, so I was excited to see what this brings to the table. Aside from its not-obtrusive mounting on the wall, it is a high-quality looking product with a high-quality app. First and foremost, there is very little lag from the actual sounds and video to what you see on your screen, this is huge since many competitors have lag. When you open the app, the video displays very quickly. The display shows temperature and humidity at the top with your options on the bottom. Zooming in the video is a little choppy but no real issues there.
The activity tab will show you each time there is an important name, baby is taken out of bed, put to bed, falls asleep, etc. You get a few days of video out of the box (more on that later).
The dashboard tab will show you a summary of your baby’s sleep and quality of sleep. It mainly measures this through movement detection within the crib. I have no way of knowing how accurate it is but it is pretty cool. There is also an inbox with tips that come in to improve your child’s sleep as more data is gathered.
The product comes with one year of “Nanit Insights” which is normally $50 a year or $5 a month. It comes with 7 days of sleep tracking, night time-lapse (fun to watch the next day), activity feeds and video history. I never saw any prompts to upgrade during setup which is nice so it doesn’t seem to bug you too much. There is a $100 a year tier and more if you want to add more history to your tracking.
Extras:
There is a nice white light on the top you can turn on, you can send sound, take pictures and play some static noises. No music included on this one so far as I can tell. Your options are birds, waves, white noise and wind. I would have liked to have seen some music included or ability to stream music to the device.

Overall:
I am very impressed with how well this app and camera work together. It seems the company has got it right and it feels like a decent substitute for a traditional dedicated baby monitor. It has all you most likely will want and provides great insights to your baby’s sleep patterns. It is a great looking device and can be used in multiple settings. There is also a wall mounted version that is a little cheaper, but I prefer the floor stand model for stability and the ability to relocate it if needed.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
User submitted photo
0points
0of 0voted 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.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Great for most users
on February 2, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
My initial impression of this router is great overall. Here is a breakdown review to help with your purchase.
Unboxing:
The box is average quality and inside you will find the router neatly packed, a CAT 5e cable (a little short in my opinion), the AC adaptor and simple documentation.
Set up:
I went the android app route to set this up. Setting up the router itself was extremely seamless. You turn it on, plug in the internet, when it is steady purple you set it up on the app. Name your network and give it a password and it does the rest. You can set it up online via your Linksys account or locally if you wish. The only snag I had in set up was when pairing it with a Linksys Velop plug in node. It just took a few tries since it wasn’t having much luck finding the device. When it did it was solid though.
Performance:
I have had hit or miss issues with routers in my house in the past. Most will give great performance but can’t reach certain parts of my house, mainly the master bedroom. My location for the router is not ideal, in the basement but until I wire the connection upstairs, I am stuck with the location. Mesh seemed like the ideal solution here. I set up the router in the downstairs office and put the plug-in node upstairs. In most areas I get close to max internet speeds on my network about 130-150 mbps down and 130-150 mbps up (Frontier FiOS). My bedroom used to get about 1-2 mbps both ways with old routers, this one is giving me between 20-50 mbps in there with the mesh set up. I am not sure what is causing the slow down in that room whether it be interference or materials near the room, but this eliminates any dead zones in my house.
4k streaming in my house was perfect on all devices that support it on both floors. My ping averages 4 ms downstairs and 6 ms upstairs. I was able to stream and play games on devices via Steam and a Nvidia Shield with no hiccups anywhere in my house where there is a TV. Great performance overall!
Design:
In short, it is simplistic. It doesn’t look great or bad, just average. This is a single indicator on board that changes colors and four antennae. It doesn’t offend and it doesn’t start conversations.
Ports/connectivity:
Overall good. There are four gigabit ethernet connections, a USB 3.0 (type A) connector, the WAN ethernet port, and the wireless allows for AC 2200 via tri band connectivity. The frequencies are 2x 5ghz and 1 2.4 ghz at 2x2. Each band supports x2 AC 867 and 1x N 400. The website also states is uses BT 4.1 LE for purpose of app-based setup.
Interface:
The app is pretty good overall allowing control of most major things including wifi, DNS, devices, guest access, parental controls, prioritization (only 3 devices), internet stings, port settings, mac filtering and LAN settings. I would say 90% of things can be done through the app. For anything else, you can use your browser for setup.
Overall:
Great for most users. My only change would be a little more of an exciting design on the hardware. The device works great, has great expandability through the Velop ecosystem, is very stable and easy to use!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
 
Prepare delicious espresso drinks with this Brim 19 bar espresso maker. Die-cast construction delivers enduring quality along with a sleek look, and the thermal coil system provides reliable temperatures when preparing beverages. A hot water dispenser lets you prepare tea and hot cocoa for added versatility. Boasting a commercial-style steam wand, this Brim 19 bar espresso maker creates a perfect layer of foam for barista-style espresso creations.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
This thing is amazing! Perfect espresso drinks!
on January 25, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
This is probably the best espresso maker I have even seen, used, and enjoyed.
Unboxing is a simple affair. It was delivered with a estimated weight of 22 pounds it is obvious this is one heavy duty unit! The boxing is tightly packed so you will need to either rip the box to shreds to get it out or use the help of another to remove it from the box.
Inside the box you will find (in non-coffee technical terms), the makers, the water jug, four filters both pressurized and non-pressurized and two shot / one shot. The filter holder thingie (not an expert on coffee terms), a tamper, a milk frother cup, and a measuring cup.
There are no samples in the box which is fine, I went to the closest grocery store and ground up some beans in the espresso setting and ran home to play with the new toy. The instructions are thorough, and I recommend one or two read throughs unless you are already familiar with making espresso based drinks.
When you first use it, you will want to clean it. Obviously wash out the important parts and the instructions will have you use the steam function, hot water function, and go through a few cups of water. This also gets you familiar with all the features.
My first drink I tried making was an Americano. I was very much impressed by the quality of all the parts involved. The machine is heavy and stable, it is loud as expected but not too loud. The water jug is in the back which can be an issue if you have a shelf above it since you will lift it relatively high to remove it. Placing a cup on top to warm up the cup (love this feature), you turn on the machine, make an empty shot to warm it up. I found the filters to be an extremely tight fit and you will need some effort to push it in which I was not expecting. Not an issue once you know. I then made a shot and added it to a cup with along with hot water from the hot water spout. It came out perfect.
My second try was a latte. This took more effort and I am still working on this, but practice will make perfect. After brewing the espresso, there is a steam spout on the right side. You will preheat the steam and shoot some out to get rid of the water until it becomes steam. After applying the steam to the milk just below the surface it makes a great deal of micro foam and works as advertised. My only hiccup is I haven’t found the right angle and position to ensure the milk is heated enough, I am getting better at it though after a few attempts.
Like any espresso machine, expect to warm it up before use and clean it after each use to ensure it doesn’t get clogged. This one takes a lot of time and maintenance, but it is well worth it for the high-quality espresso, americano’s and lattes it produces. It looks amazing in the kitchen as well! My only complaints are the water tray being in the back and the difficulty to remove the filters as it takes some effort.
Now, I am going to make a shot of espresso and pour it over some ice cream. Affogato time!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The V-MODA BassFit Wireless sport headphones have the juice to power you through the most demanding work outs. With over 11 hours of playback time, these lightweight, wireless headphones deliver heart‑pumping bass and unparalleled clarity in a featherweight, sweat-proof package. The patent-pending TriFit design gives you the choice of 3 different fits, using sport fins, ear hooks or a combination of both to create the perfect fit for you and your active routine.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Overall good, a few issues though
on January 19, 2019
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
Summary: The design is great, the sound is great, the connectivity is great, the comfort is so so.
Package: The box has an interesting design in a hexagon shape. There a LOTS of ear inserts for these headphones which is great for finding the right fit. Inside you will find the headphones (I got the white, great look on these), a thick cloth carrying case, ear fins of various sizes, ear tips of various sizes, a micro USB charger (not USB C unfortunately), and the ear hooks. You will also find some booklets in multiple languages for registration and quick start.
Setup and connectivity:
The setup is pretty seamless. I tried it on my One-plus One 6t and my Xperia XZ2 Compact. I did not encounter any issues in pairing with either device. Both devices instantly defaulted to APT-X codec for improved sound quality. For info, these also support good old fashioned SBC and also AAC for iPhones. AAC and APT-X are relatively rare I have found in headphones of this size so it is great to see!
Comfort:
I experimented a bit with the different combinations as you can use it with just the ear tips, with a fin, with a hook or any combination. So I was not one bit concerned about these headphones falling out at the gym! Everyone will be different here but I found the fin / hook combo they advertise to be overkill since I get great stability with either one. I tend to prefer the ear fin only option though as it is comfortable for me.
One downside I found is that I highly recommend you be careful when removing the different sizes of earbud tips. The ones that came on by default easily ripped when removing them or if you snag them with a finger nail while adjusting. I am not 100% certain of the durability of these and I would expect tears if you change them out a lot for some reason. Luckily the one that ripped was not the size I needed so it did not cause any real issues for me. You can buy replacements on the website for $5 but I would actually expect to need these at some point with these headphones unfortunately.
The device is also mostly hard materials. The ear fins and earbud tips are soft but the ear hooks are hard and not very mold-able for your ear. I found the hooks are best for stability but also the most uncomfortable option. The Base of the earbuds is larger than most headphones I have tried so if you have small ears this might be painful as I got some discomfort for long periods of wear. Do not wear them to bed as it hurts quite a bit at some point as I found out.
Sound quality:
Great overall for their size! As mentioned earlier, APT-X is a great addition. I am not sure what version of Bluetooth it is using but I am thinking it is not 5.0 since range is limited to 30 feet like previous versions of bluetooth. Bass is as advertised and sounds more like Beats to me. There are 10mm drivers which sound clear, punchy and lively. I switched to SBC mode and I noticed there is more static so I highly recommend you use it with APT-X or AAC since I experienced no issues under those codecs. The only side of sound quality I found to be lacking was on the highs. The bass and mids sound outstanding but I have to pay extra attention to notice highs, mainly percussion
Gym use:
I am not a huge runner but I spend a lot of time on bikes, weights, stairs and rowing. I had zero issues for comfort in the gym once I found a good combination. I felt great about the water resistance of these headphones. The ear tips can block a decent amount of sound if they fit properly but just remember these are not designed to be fully noise cancelling so you will still get some outside noises bleeding in. The controls on the device are nicely placed on the right side and do not weight the headphones down at all. Battery life is outstanding! I really wish they put USB-C into it though so I can downsize the number of cords needed in my life.
Great value to be found here, great sound quality. My only down check is for overall comfort and durability. People love the looks of these btw!
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
 
Keep gadgets powered and your vehicle in check with this dual-port ROAV SmartCharge Spectrum car charger. Its built-in car locator and engine battery monitor functions relay important vehicle information on the ROAV app, and the 30W Quick Charge 3.0 and PowerIQ 2.0 USB ports provide efficient performance. Personalize this ROAV SmartCharge Spectrum car charger via its LED lighting.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
A perfect device
on December 24, 2018
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
I didn’t see this one coming but this might be my highest rated device of the year!
When I first received it I figured it would just be an nice looking charger for my car. I drive around constantly for work so can always use one of these babies. I was excited to see the support for Quick Charge 3.0 for my Android device. It also supports PowerIQ 2.0 for other devices such as iPhone.
Unboxing is pretty simple, the device is neatly nested in the orange packaging. Installation is as simple as can be with a plug in and a download of the app for full functionality. The app is where this thing blew me away!
On the more trivial side of things you can change the color of the lights on the device, this is amusing and aesthetically pleasing. Then you notice the power features. Of most importance to me is the ability to monitor the battery charge of the car over time. I pulled it up and it showed 14v on the battery. I could have used this a few weeks back when I had a dead battery I had to replace. With this device I might have been able to see the drain taking place which could have been a warning sign.
Second, it connects to your phone via bluetooth allowing you to use the GPS on your car to determine the last known location of your car when you park. In busy parking lots this can be extremely useful.
Charging my wifes iPhone XS Max and my Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact simultaneously with fast charging enabled on both devices is simply amazing.
The device works perfectly, has power features, looks cool and is highly useful. Buy one these immediately. Anker has a hit on their hands in this little toy.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Create digital copies of paper documents with this Epson WorkForce wireless scanner. It provides fast operation to effortlessly handle a large volume of forms or receipts, and the LCD screen displays the connection and battery level status. Nuance OCR converts outputs from this Epson WorkForce wireless scanner into searchable, editable versions for efficient file management.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great for road warriors
on December 22, 2018
Posted by: psyclopps
from Everett, WA
The unboxing experience is pretty basic with your standard EPSON packaging. There is documentation inside, the scanner and a USB cable.
The hardware looks great and is the perfect size for travel. As advertised, it utilized a wireless scanning feature in conjunction with the drivers on PC or the Epson DocumentScan app on mobile. This is extremely handy since my job keeps me on the road most days. With my old device I had to connect it to the laptop and scan it in in a very unwieldy way. With this new one, I can scan wirelessly straight to my cell phone and then upload straight to the cloud. The device will scan on mobile to JPEG or PDF format and allows you to preview your scan before saving. This is probably the most convenient work device I have came across yet.
The device itself has a small LCD screen telling you battery status and connection status. It has a built-in battery so there is no need to plug it in to anything. I have been testing it with heavy use for three days and have had zero need to charge so far. The documents scan in at a very high quality 600 DPI and scans at a good speed. My only complaint is that there is no duplex scanning. In order to scan a two-sided document, you must flip it over. This is a minor inconvenience, but it can be an issue for some.
The scanner will detect if you are connected via USB so it will not utilize the Wi-Fi in that situation. If you are a road warrior or travel around the country often, this is the scanner for you.
If you are in an office or for home, use there might be better options for you that have a duplex option.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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psyclopps's Review Comments
 
SynopsisThe last time the earth was ravaged, animals were saved two by two in a massive ark, peacefully sailing to a new beginning, or so the story goes. This time, we're not so lucky. With a massive asteroid hurtling toward the planet, a select few were chosen to inhabit modern-day arks — pods buried deep within the earth's core. You were chosen. You were buried alive. And you rose from the ground to face your worst nightmare. Hordes of mutants killing without a thought, bandit gangs wreaking havoc throughout the already defunct wasteland, a looming Authority seizing maniacal power and holding secrets — this is what remains of humanity. The world as you know it is gone, but if any world is to stand in its place, there's only one person left who can raise it up from the ashes — you. That is, if you can survive the Rage.Step up to the challenge and climb into the wasteland in the first-person shooter that flings you to the edge of the earth and the brink of extinction. Rage pits you against the odds in a desolate world in which you were selected for survival — just to face death at every turn. To redeem humanity, you must master a massive arsenal of exotic wingsticks, sentry bots, bomb cars and other powerful weapons and fearlessly wage war against the evil forces overtaking your planet. Fire through heart-pounding first-player shooting action, rip through the wasteland in high-octane vehicle chases and turn your car into your most deadly weapon — you have to play dirty if you want to live. Experience the mass decay with every painfully realistic detail with the id Tech 5 engine and Megatexture technology, firing at 60 frames per second to make you feel as if the world has crumbled around you. And when you take the battle online, the devastating action really does stretch around the world. You've survived the apocalypse. Now comes the real battle.
 
Overall1 out of 51 out of 5
Game was not tested properly
By skullboy88 from Los Angeles, CA
First of all the reason for such a low rating is that the game is not playable. Right out the box. Now, I have been building pc's for over 10 years and have sunk hundreds of dollars into my rig to play the most demanding games. And I do. The problem is that ID software sent out a game to the public that is not finished. Google, rage graphics problems and you will find a magnitude of arcticles about poor graphics bad drivers and other issues. AMD and Nvidia have been working for a driver patch but reports from many say they do not work to fix the tearing and poor rendering . People are paying $60.00 for a pc game. Dont you think it should work right away without having to wait for a patch?
Customer Avatar
psyclopps
San Diego, CO
Updates
October 14, 2011
To be fair, a patch has since been release which fixes many of these PC problems including better support for video cards and settings.
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Rock out during your workout with these Sony Balanced Armature Sports XBAS65 earbud headphones that feature water-resistant housing with a waterproof film to stand up to sweat, rain and rinsing. Balanced Armature drivers deliver clear, detailed audio.
 
Overall2 out of 52 out of 5
Horrid Sound
By DELienz from Delaware
I had pair of Sony Headphones that I bought a few years ago for approx. $50 dollars... Sounded Amazing, but I recently ran then over with my car... Anyway bought these assuming the sound would be similar and also compensate for my only complaint with my other heardphones which was falling constantly out of my ear during workouts. Turns out these are more expensive but that sound terrible. Tried changing the setting on my IPOD and there is no overcoming the lack of bass. I am a auidiophile and I do listen to music a lot of double bass and drums so bass is something I must have in a headphone. If that's what you looking for don't buy these. I'm confident cheaper headphones with the same quality sound can be obtained so I would not recommend these to anyone...
Customer Avatar
psyclopps
San Diego, CO
Balanced Armature
June 28, 2012
Balanced Armature headphones are designed to sound like the original recording. Most headphones these days are "dynamic armature" which are designed kind of like a hardware equilizer where bass is usually most important. Any of these balanced armature headphones are aimed specifically at audiophiles as they repoduce very true to original sound with detailed mid ranges and highs.
+2points
2of 2voted this comment as helpful.
 
psyclopps's Questions
 
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psyclopps's Answers
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ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop. Enjoy everyday gaming with this ASUS notebook PC. The Intel i7 processor and 16GB of RAM let you run graphics-heavy games smoothly, while the potent NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics produce high-quality visuals on the fast 15.6-inch 240hz FHD display. This ASUS notebook PC has 1TB SSD that shortens load times and offers ample storage.
 

How many FPS I can get in fortnite?

Well, I didn't benchmark Fortnite but in Overwatch I was getting 150-170 FPS regularly
3 years, 4 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
eero Pro 6 delivers premium Wi-Fi 6 performance. The 3-pack Wi-Fi 6 system supports speeds up to a gigabit and coverage up to 6,000 square feet. So you can say goodbye to dead spots and buffering. Work, play, video conference, and stream from anywhere in your home—even when the whole family is online. Set up eero in minutes and get automatic updates, a built-in Zigbee smart home hub, and more. Powered by TrueMesh, eero optimizes your wifi to work for your space and supports 75+ devices.
 

Will every unit come with two ethernet ports? Can they be used for wired backhaul or direct ethernet?

Yes, each unit comes with two ethernet. I haven't tried wired backhaul but you can indeed plug them all directly to the router for direct ethernet.
User submitted photo
3 years, 7 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Get peace and quiet anywhere with these Sony truly wireless noise-cancelling earbuds. An advanced HD noise-cancelling processor blocks distracting background noise so you can focus in noisy environments, and Bluetooth connectivity ensures easy use with smartphones and other devices. These Sony truly wireless noise-cancelling earbuds include a convenient charging case that offers up to 24 hours of use per charge.
 

Can they work independently? Is there a microphone in each piece so you can just switch between the 2 to gain the most amount of battery time?

Yes they do! Each earbud gets its own independent stream so you can use them exactly as you describe.
4 years, 11 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Capture up to 1440p video with this Nextbase 522GW dash camera. Alexa enables hands-free control through voice commands, and Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi technologies sync with compatible smartphones for quick access to important footage. This Nextbase 522GW dash camera has ports for connecting compatible camera modules for easy expansion.
 

How does Alexa give you directions to your desired destination? Do they show up on the screen, or is this Alexa feature not available on this dash cam?

Alexa is present but it does not integrate into any build in GPS as far as I can tell. There are other devices such as the Garmin speak which combines a dash cam with Garmin + Alexa navigation via a skill but there is no screen on that device.
4 years, 11 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Enjoy your favorite music through these Sony Sports wireless noise-cancelling headphones. The in-ear design ensures a snug fit, so you can jog or walk without missing a beat, and the wireless format eliminates the need for cumbersome cords. The Ambient Sound Mode on these Sony Sports wireless noise-cancelling headphones keeps you alert to your environment.
 

Two questions: First, 6 hours battery life for listening time? Second, Can you turn off the noise canceling to increase battery life in-between charges?

Yes to all!
6 years, 1 month ago
by
psyclopps
 
Count on crystal-clear voice communication with these Jabra Elite wireless neckband headphones. Three-microphone call technology and professional-grade active noise cancellation block ambient sounds, and they come with different-sized EarGels for a customizable fit. These Jabra Elite wireless neckband headphones support Amazon Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant for voice-activated control.
 

What is the distance from mobile device?

I'm getting around 30 feet on mine. Their website states 33 ft.
6 years, 1 month ago
by
psyclopps
 
Garmin Speak™ Plus with Amazon Alexa is what you love about Amazon Alexa, now in your vehicle. Use voice control for hands-free access to music, news, navigation and more. Plus, a built-in dash cam gives you forward collision and lane departure warnings.
 

Can you please tell me more about the dash cam. Can it be controlled by voice or a remote button? Where does it store the videos and how can I get them? Through wifi or only sd card?

It is simply always recording. There is a separate app you must download if you want to view on your phone. It will connect to your phone via wi-fi but you can take out the Micro SD card if you want to plug the videos in to your computer. There is an overlay option which tells the drivers speed and a little more info as well. It also records in car audio.
6 years, 4 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Garmin Speak™ Plus with Amazon Alexa is what you love about Amazon Alexa, now in your vehicle. Use voice control for hands-free access to music, news, navigation and more. Plus, a built-in dash cam gives you forward collision and lane departure warnings.
 

If maps stay up to date , is the system using my data plan ? Garmin & TomTom use satellites , what does this system use ? Does this system in any way use my data plan and if so , how ?

I did a trip to a national park using this device. It appears there are no downloaded maps as the moment I lost my data connection the device didn't know what to do. It seems it is always using your data plan as long as you are using pretty much any of its features other than dashcam.
6 years, 4 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Garmin Speak™ Plus with Amazon Alexa is what you love about Amazon Alexa, now in your vehicle. Use voice control for hands-free access to music, news, navigation and more. Plus, a built-in dash cam gives you forward collision and lane departure warnings.
 

With all these features, Does it scan the road and next to the road for objects such as DEER ? If so will it alert you ?

From my experience, no. There is only lane detection warning and collision detection warning as added safety features.
6 years, 4 months ago
by
psyclopps
 
Simplify tasks with this 15.6-inch HP ENVY convertible laptop. Its Full HD touch screen lets you navigate the intuitive Windows 10 interface, and its Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM ensure demanding programs run smoothly. This HP ENVY convertible laptop has a 1TB hard drive for storing photos, videos and documents.Learn more.
 

Is there any way to do talk to text in tablet mode? Or make the keyboard swype at least?

There is no dictation function but there is a few keyboard settings that could help. You could configure the touch keyboard in split layout so you can use only your thumbs on each side of the screen to type. It takes a little practice but is useable when you get used to it. There is a also a "Scribble" mode where you can write on the screen and it will turn it into text.
6 years, 6 months ago
by
psyclopps