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lambda100's Reviews
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Immerse yourself in rich, vibrant sound with this 2.1-channel Sony sound bar. It has a two-way wireless subwoofer that delivers booming bass and an S-Force PRO front surround for a theater-like audio experience. This Sony sound bar uses Bluetooth connectivity to pair easily with home theater and other audio devices.
 
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Customer Rating
3 out of 5
3
Clear Audio, but Lukewarm Bass Response
on June 2, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
The Sony HTCT290 is an ideal entry level soundbar when all you want is a step up from the sound quality that your television speakers can deliver. The audio from the soundbar is balanced with respect to the mids and trebles and has excellent audio quality. The subwoofer is substantial in size, measuring 6.8” wide x 13.5" high x 14.4” deep and weighing nearly 14lbs, leading you to believe that the bass will be deep and powerful. However, the bass output belies its heft. The lows delivered by the subwoofer is rather weak. Even when turned up to its maximum setting, the bass just barely makes its presence known. It does not thump, it does not rumble, it does not rattle the windows and walls, and if I can give personality to it, I would describe the bass response as timid and restrained. Mids and trebles continue to dominate the sound spectrum as the volume is turned up, and the bass plays a minor supporting role. This is great for hearing the clarity in voices on your television shows or movies where dialogue is the predominant audio, but will leave much to be desired when trying to enjoy the explosive, rumbling action sequences in an action movie where the overall immersive cinematic experience demands strong bass response. The remote control has different pre-set audio sound effects for playing music or movies, but even after selecting the movie sound effect, the soundbar and subwoofer combination with Sony's touted 'S-Force Pro Surround Sound' fails to replicate a true surround sound experience.
I'm a Sony loyalist and have purchased a ton of Sony products from headphones, to televisions, to cameras, and even one of their other soundbar offerings and can highly recommend all of them. However, for the Sony HTCT290 soundbar, I find myself a bit on the fence. So here are my recommendations. If your current built-in speakers on your television sounds tinny and annoying, then purchasing this soundbar will be a huge improvement. It is a decent soundbar for listening to crisp, clear audio with a good balance of mids and trebles. On the other hand, for someone like myself who believes that a movie comes to life when you have the complete audio sound spectrum experience from the highs to the mids and down to the lows, then this soundbar will disappoint, and the cinematic experience cannot be expected from the HTCT290 at this price point. So to be fair, from a price-to-performance measurement, the audio from this soundbar is a good value. In the end, I would still recommend it as a decent entry level soundbar.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+120points
132of 144voted this as helpful.
 
Listen to music safely with these JLab JBuddies folding headphones, which have an integrated 85db volume leveler to safeguard sensitive ears. Equipped with soft cushions which stay comfortable for extended periods, these earphones and make a great addition to your kid’s travel kit. Use these versatile JLab JBuddies folding headphones with a range of devices.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Great first set of headphones for young children
on May 25, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
The Jbuddies headphone's big selling point is that it limits the sound volume below 85dB to ensure a safe listening experience for young children between the ages of 2-8 years. There is a volume regulator on the exterior of the right ear cup to control the maximum volume for the headphone. Despite being constructed entirely of plastic, the adjustable headband is very flexible. These are considered on-ear headphones since the earcups rest entirely on the ear. I was concerned at first that the on-ear headphone would be uncomfortable for my eight year old daughter, but the cushions were soft and she was able to wear them for over an hour without reporting any discomfort. The ear cups measure 2” in diameter. However, I would have preferred that Jlab designed the headphones with over-the-ear earcups to maximize comfort for children's ears.
My eight year old daughter really had fun with the headphones. She enjoyed sticking the monkey stickers and the Jlab logo stickers that came with the headphones onto the exteriors of the ear cups. As a parent I liked the fact that even at the maximum volume, I'm re-assured that the headphones really don't get that loud. I also liked that the headphones can be folded compactly to facilitate storage and transport.
In general children tend to be rough on things. I'm not sure how long these headphones will last. The weak link in any wired headphones is, well, the wires. When the wires go bad, you will either lose audio to one or both sides of the headphones. This is true for all wired headphones. It would have been nice if Jlab designed the headphones with a detachable 3.5mm audio cord. This way you can simply replace the wire and wouldn't have to toss out a perfectly good set of headphones just because the wire went bad.
In terms of audio quality, for this price range, you really cannot expect too much. They are average sounding, consisting mostly of mids, with a tad of bass. It is definitely lacking in clarity and crispness, but heck, these headphones are designed for kids, so they won't know the difference unless they are offsprings of audiophiles.
All in all, the Jbuddies headphones will appeal to young children and parents. It is comforting to know that the Jbuddies headphones will help keep the audio to a safe listening level.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
 
Perfect portability is assured with this Dell XPS two-in-one laptop. All the data is stored on a 256GB solid-state drive for everyday security, and the 13.3-inch screen produces high-quality images and text for easy use. An Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM keep this Dell XPS two-in-one laptop running smoothly.
 
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4 out of 5
4
Here's How to Fix the Glitches
on April 8, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
It is without a doubt that the Dell XPS 2-in-1 is is an attractive, state of the art ultra portable laptop. This laptop sells itself upon first touch as I was impressed with the sleek, all around smooth aluminum looking finish. It is a feather weight, weighing in at only 2lbs 11oz when I measured it on my well-calibrated scale. Build quality is superb. The frame of the laptop is very rigid, the hinges are sturdy, and all the exterior parts are finely mated together with tight tolerances.
The 1920x1080 HD Infinity Edge display is bright, vivid, sharp, and reproduces colors very well. I also like the fact that the display can be viewed from large viewing angles.
The keyboard is responsive and doesn't cause me any fatigue through long typing sessions. The backlit keyboard is a nice feature that is included in this laptop.
Along the left edge of the laptop you will find a USB Type-C interface, headphone jack, and battery charge status lights. Along the right edge is another USB Type-C interface, micro-sd card reader, power button, and security cable slot. There is a speaker grille on both the left and right edges. What I found interesting on the Dell XPS 2-in-1 is that the web camera and microphone are located on the bottom edge of the screen. In my experience with laptops, they have always been located at the top edge of the screen. However, I noticed that the location of the webcam at the bottom of the screen did not affect the view as I was able to see my entire face. I was concerned that only the lower half of my face would show up through the webcam on the screen with the camera located at the bottom.
Okay then, onto performance. Out of the box, it is really a 3 out of 5 star laptop at the start. Let me explain. The laptop is actually handicapped by glitchy software and outdated firmware. This is why you see some of the negative review comments. I had the same experience as those folks.
First, there is the adaptive brightness issue. The laptop screen will continually and automatically step up or step down the brightness on the screen. Going into the power options to turn off adaptive brightness does nothing. It continues to automatically make brightness adjustments and is just plain annoying.
The second issue is that there is a problem with the wifi driver firmware that comes with the laptop from the factory. The wifi signal is very spotty. The signal bars sometimes shows one or two strength bars or even drops wifi altogether when I know that it should be showing full wifi strength. I compared it to my other laptops and smartphones which were showing full strength at the same distance from my router, all with no physical obstructions from the device to the router.
The third issue is that I noticed that the battery was draining very fast. In a matter of twenty minutes, it drained down approximately 10% even when I was not doing any intensive operations, merely browsing the web.
The fourth issue is that the brightness adjustment which is made by pressing the combination of the Function key and either the up or down arrows, is extremely laggy. I would press the key for the brightness adjustment, and it would take a second or two to register in the computer to make the adjustment.
The fifth issue is that I hear an odd static, scratchy noise that can be heard in the machine, sounds like something is spinning inside the laptop. It is audible in a quiet environment and this is heard from a regular sitting position. It was not like I had to put my ear up to the machine to hear it.
I'm disappointed that Dell did not do a better job performing quality assurance and quality control before releasing this laptop to the consumer. After all, this is a premium machine that they should have spent a few minutes testing. I was able to identify these problems during my first twenty minutes of using the laptop.
However, the Dell XPS 2-in-1 does redeem itself, mostly. I'm going to now tell you how to fix the first four issues I mentioned above. You will need to open the Dell Support Assist software or go directly to the Dell product support Driver and Download webpage and download the updated BIOS, FirmwareUpdate Utility for Enabling/Disabling Dynamic Backlight Control software, a few Network Driver firmware updates, Chipset software updates, etc. If you are using the Dell support webpage, it will ask you for your Service Tag number. You can locate your service tag number for the XPS 2-in-1 underneath the laptop by opening the little rectangular flap with the XPS imprint. I would suggest you download the 'Urgent' and 'Recommended' files. After installing the updated drivers and software and re-booting the laptop, you will be amazed at how the first four issues have now disappeared. The Dell XPS 2-in-1 finally comes to life, rewarding you by being a responsive and blazing fast ultraportable laptop that it should have been right from the factory! The battery drain has been managed, the adaptive screen brightness issue is fixed, the brightness adjustment response well, and the wifi signal strength is strong and robust.
At this point I believe the XPS deserves an additional star, bringing my review to 4 out of 5 stars. The laptop is an excellent performer. I used Photoshop on it and adjustments were reflected on the photos instantaneously.
Here are some other things that I observed. I mentioned that the laptop has a USB Type-C connector on both the left and right edge. It turns out that you can charge your laptop from either connector. Next observation is that the laptop is screwed in from the bottom by security screws. For the tinkerers out there, it's not your standard Philips head screws, so you will need special security star-type screw drivers to open the bottom panel of the laptop to explore the hardware inside. Third observation is that since you won't be able to open up the bottom panel easily, this means that the battery is not user replaceable. You will need to purchase an external battery charge pack for those times you will be far away from a wall outlet. Another thing to take note is that the laptop comes with a USB Type C to USB Type A adapter. This means you will be able to connect peripherals to your laptop like flashdrives, external hardrives, or an external DVD/CD drive.
Overall, I think this is a solid laptop provided that the drivers and software are properly updated. It can definitely go toe to toe with its competitors in the ultraportable class.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+25points
26of 27voted this as helpful.
 
Enjoy immersive sound with these Bluetooth Sony EXTRA BASS over-ear headphones. The presets let you choose between arena, club, hall and outdoor stage sound, and the noise-canceling technology lets you block out the world while you listen to tunes. Listen wirelessly for up to 18 hours with these Sony EXTRA BASS over-ear headphones.
 
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5 out of 5
5
Incredible bass, but don't forget the mids & highs
on March 26, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
The Sony MDR-XB950B1 is the latest update to the company's Extra Bass headphones replacing the original MDR-XB950BT headphones. The XB950B1 looks nearly identical to the original XB950BT and both weigh the same. (I happen to also own the XB950BT). The left ear cup has the power button, micro usb power connection, audio cord input, microphone, and the bass button which on the current generation is re-labeled as “bass effect” to highlight the ability for the user to adjust the bass settings on a scale of -10 to +10 using Sony's Headphones Connect app. The right ear cup has the volume control +/- button and the skip forward/reverse, play/pause/answer phone button.
The MDR-XB950B1 is an over-the-ear headphone with very thick, soft, and comfortable earpads. I wear eyeglasses and the headphones do not press my frames unduly against my ears. I was able to wear the headphones for hours without discomfort. The metal headband is also well padded and did not feel heavy over my head. The headphones appear to have very good build quality and stretches well to accommodate various head sizes.
Now onto why you're really here... my thoughts on the highly subjective sound quality. These headphones by their very nature, were tuned by the Sony audio engineers to not only emphasize the bass at their default settings right out of the box, but to kick it up a notch to knock you senseless when it's turned up. Audiophiles will hate the sound signature for its total irreverence for how the song was meant to be heard in the studio. Those who own the original XB950BT will recall the nearly identical sound signature which is deep bass with some mids, and muffled highs which don't seem to break through. However, I noticed in my testing of the XB950B1 that the vocals/mids were a little cleaner and that some of the highs did come through ever so slightly better.
As I mentioned above, the way they are tuned from the factory, these headphones are not for the user who demands balance in the audio experience. They were clearly aimed at those who enjoy bass and a lot of it. Those who are seeking the well balanced sound spectrum with crisp highs and mids will be disappointed at first pass with these headphones, until they use an equalizer app to fine tune the higher end frequencies to bring out the highs which these headphones are very capable of and will reward you for doing so. I admit that I was initially dismayed by the lack of clear mids and clean trebles, but I started adjusting the equalizers and virtualizations that brought these headphones to life. Sony also acknowledges that some of us want more punchy bass and others want less by introducing the Sony Headphones Connect app which is available for free download from the Google or Apple app stores to allow users to adjust the level of bass to suit their musical tastes. The ability to adjust the bass from -10 to +10 is a welcome feature, and is the primary distinguishing feature between this second generation XB950B1 and the original XB950BT which only had a “bass boost” that went from extra bass to an insane amount of bass with no settings in between. Now that Sony has included the bass adjustment as an app, it should appease those on either side of the bass spectrum. The +10 bass setting will make the bass sound silly crazy out of this world, and the -10 setting will mellow the bass out a bit and bring you back down to earth. Additionally, the Headphone Connect app also allows users to select presets for outdoor stage, club, hall, or arena-style sound settings. I tried the different presets. They sounded okay, but I prefer to make my adjustments on a third party equalizer app.
Here are some other things to take note of. I really wished Sony included a case to store the headphones. The headphones are bulky and the earcups only turn so that the headphones lay flat. Sony should have also designed the earcups to be foldable (like for the MDR-XB950N1) so that they can be easier to store and transport. The battery life is very good, lasting 18 hrs, which is the same as the original XB950BT. This latest iteration (XB950B1) of the headphones does not suffer from the faint, but audible rumbling/hissing noise that can be heard at low volumes that was found in the first generation XB950BT. This is a great improvement as I found the hissing noise be to very annoying. Finally, these are neither noise canceling headphones nor noise isolating. Don't let the thick padded ear cushions fool you into believing that they will eliminate any ambient noise. With no music playing, you will still hear your surrounding, albeit a little bit muffled.
So in summary, for those looking to upgrade from the original XB950BT to the current XB950B1, the only real change is the freedom to make adjustments the bass via the Sony Headphone Connect app. The sound is very similar between the two. For those those who love bass, these headphones are for you! For those who are seeking their first purchase in the Sony Extra Bass line up, the XB950B1 is a superb choice since the bluetooth connection allows you to lose the wires and the app allows easy adjustment to the bass. And finally for those who are wary that the sound signature is too heavily tuned toward the low end frequencies will be reassured to know that the highs and mids will come through with proper tuning with an equalizer app. I highly recommend these headphones!
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+112points
133of 154voted this as helpful.
 
Bring bold color to your gaming hobby with this Razer Kraken analog headset. Thick padding and a lightweight construction make it ideal for extended wear, and the fully retractable microphone lets you adjust the device to meet your needs. This Razer Kraken analog headset has a long cable that provides flexibility of movement as you play.
 
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5 out of 5
5
Gaming Just Got Real! Just Ask Your Ears.
on March 22, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
This headset is a pure joy to use. First of all it is very comfortable. The over-the-ear cushions are thick and roomy. The headband has a layer of foam that makes the headset feel feathery light on the head. I also wear glasses and there were no comfort issues there either. I experienced no fatigue when wearing them for hours.
Next is build quality. It is constructed with a unibody aluminum frame. Feels very firm, no creaking noises. Adjustments along the headband are firm and precise. Pretty good build quality. The 3.5mm audio cord is made of woven fabric.
Audio quality is excellent. Very well balanced across the audio frequency spectrum with the 50mm drivers. The highs/trebles, mids, and lows/bass are all present and well reproduced. Gaming never sounded so good. I think I will also be using it as my daily driver for listening to music. Yes, the sound quality is that awesome!
The main 3.5mm cord is 4.3 feet long and the audio/mic splitter adapter cable is 6.6 feet long which should be of sufficient length for most applications. There is an inline audio controller along the cable with a switch to toggle on/off the microphone.
The microphone on the headset is fully retractable and adjustable. Audio through the mic is crystal clear.
I think the Razer Kraken Pro v2 headset truly creates the immersive experience and should be on any serious gamer's short list of headsets to consider.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Head from hardwood to carpet for quick-and-easy full-house cleanups with this Dyson V7 Motorhead vacuum in hand. The direct-drive cleaner head dives deep into your rugs, getting up dirt from even hard-to-reach spaces. Disconnect the handle of this Dyson V7 Motorhead vacuum, and you've got a cordless handheld vac for simple sweep-ups of spills.
 
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4 out of 5
4
A Pretty Good Cordless Stick Vac
on March 21, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
Here's what I like about the Dyson v7 Motorhead:
(1) Extremely easy to assemble. Just click and snap the attachments into the unit. That's all it takes. It took more time taking it out of the box.
(2) The vacuum is quiet. The Dyson engineers really dampened the noise. All my previous vacuums were so loud I could not hear my wife speaking to me. (That might be a good thing). Not with this vacuum, though. I could carry a normal conversation with it running.
(3) It has very good suction. It picked up dirt, dust, hair, paper, and food particles with no problems. I used it over carpet, rugs, tile floors, and laminate floors. There are two suction modes: a regular mode for normal vacuuming and a maximum mode for more demanding tasks.
(4) The vacuum head is compact. The width of the head measures less than 10” wide, allowing it to get into tight areas.
(5) The vacuum can be laid flat while vacuuming which allows you to easily clean underneath beds.
(6) It converts to a handheld vac to easily clean stairs. It comes with a crevice and combination tool to get into tight areas and corners.
(7) The vacuum is lightweight and can clean in high up spaces. For the first time, I was able to clean out my dusty a/c vents on my ceiling.
Here's what I didn't like about it:
(1) Wish it came in other colors. Fuscia/purple is not my favorite color.
(2) No user replaceable battery. If you have a large home, you will run out of juice before you finish the job. A user replaceable spare battery would have at least eased the range anxiety.
(3) You must keep your finger on the trigger otherwise the vacuum turns off. It would be nice if the Dyson v7 also had a trigger lock feature where you could keep the vacuum in the power-on position without having to keep your finger on the trigger.
(4) The vacuum does not support itself in the free standing position. It will fall over unless you prop it against a wall or mount it on the wall dock that comes with the vacuum.
Overall, I think I would recommend this vacuum to be on the short list of cordless stick vacuums to consider for someone who is thinking about their next purchase.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+35points
37of 39voted this as helpful.
 
Track your heart rate, listen to music or talk hands-free on these JBL in-ear headphones. The ergonomic ear tips twist into your ear and stay in place with TwistLock technology without causing discomfort. These durable, sweat-proof JBL in-ear headphones have a battery life of up to 5 hours and come with a one-year MapMyFitness premium membership.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Excellent Sound and Stays on Your Ears!
on January 23, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
Being an avid runner, I was eager to put the JBL Under Armour Sport Heart Rate Wireless In-Ear Headphones to the test.
The headphones come in a very nice looking red-colored premium box. The inside contents include:
-wireless headphones with sport clip
-4 sizes of eartips with the medium sized ones pre-installed on the headphones
-1 red-colored micro usb charging cable
-a carrying case
-a quick start guide
-warranty, safety, and FCC info pamphlets
-an access code for a one year membership to the MapMyRun app
There are no control buttons on the earbuds themselves. The on/off button and +/- buttons are located on the inline microphone on the right hand side of the connecting wire. The heart rate sensor is located inside the left ear bud and is illuminated with a green colored LED light when it is activated.
If you are not familiar with JBL headphones, they have a unique way of securing on the ears. First you insert the earbuds at a slight angle and then rotate or twist it into place on your ear sort of like a screw. Once secured, you simply wrap the over the ear hooks over the back of the ear. There is a sport clip that you can attach your shirt collar to help stabilize the wire.
There are four different sizes of silicone eartips which JBL calls “Enhancers.” They are large (size 8), medium (size 7, pre-installed), small (size 6), and extra small (size 5). It is very critical to get the correct fitment on your ears as this will affect the sound quality as I will describe later. It is best to try the different sizes and select the one that forms the best seal in your ear.
The twistlock method of securing the headphones really do keep the earbuds in the ear. I was impressed at how securely they managed to stay put. I had to really tug on the earbud to remove it from my ear. They are much more secure than the sport earbud offerings from competing companies that utilize a wingtip design to secure the earbuds. However, it did feel a little bit uncomfortable at first as the edge of the securing tip pressed on the bowl of my ear, but after a few adjustments and changing out to the correct eartip, I was used to it and the earbud felt more comfortable.
Connecting via bluetooth to my smartphone was quick. I did not experience any issues. I noticed that there is no NFC option available for the headphones. In my opinion, NFC pairing should be standard on headphones. The bluetooth range is standard. I managed to walk approximately 25-30 feet from my connected smartphone before the audio started cutting out.
If you have used other bluetooth headphones, you will notice that they have an audible hiss. Some manufacturers do a better job of masking the hissing noise. On this set of JBL headphones, the hissing noise is faint, but audible, though it quickly gets drowned out when the audio starts playing.
I was able to wear my headphones for over four hours without any major discomfort. I did have some minor discomfort from the edge of the securing eartip that was pressing on the bowl of my ear as I described earlier that left some red spots on my ear. However, after selecting the correct enhancer tip size, the earbud felt very comfortable.
My headphones came pre-charged from the factory. They live up to their promised 5 hours of battery life. I got a little over 5 hours during my initial test of the headphones. Once fully discharged, it took approximately 1.5 hours to fully re-charge the battery.
Now onto sound quality. If you select the correct eartip, you will get pretty dynamically balanced, bass rich sounds. Initially, I had the incorrect ear tip size on my ear. It did not form a proper seal around the bowl of my ear. As a result there was a gap between my ear and the earbud that made the audio sound like it was mostly treble with a slight hint of bass. Once I had the correct eartip twistlocked onto my ear and a tight seal was formed, the audio really opened up to reveal a strong base response, with mids and trebles present. If the factory tuned, pre-set sound signature is not to your liking, you can adjust the frequency response with an equalizer app on your phone. I adjusted the equalizers on my phone to emphasize a little more treble, and the headphones responded with more highs and crispness in sound without compromising the rich bass tones.
Sound is well contained in the earbud. I turned up the volume and asked my wife to sit next to me and listen for sound leakage. She was unable to hear my music even when I turned the volume up to a level that was unbearable for my liking.
Sport headphones such as these are not designed to isolate sound. With the headphones secured on your ears, you will still hear ambient noise, although a little muffled depending on how securely you twist locked the ear bud to your ears. This is by design as you will want to be able to hear your environment (e.g. oncoming traffic) if you are running outdoors. However, the outside world is drowned away once you turn up the volume on the headphones.
The heart rate monitor is easy to use. With the earbuds secured on your ears, you simply tap the right ear bud to turn on the heart rate monitor which is indicated by a green colored LED light on the left earbud. If the monitor cannot detect your heart rate, it will ask you to adjust the left ear bud until it detects the heart rate. Once detected, you simply tap the right earbud again and the heart rate will be announced through the audio in the headphones.
I tried the headphones while I ran on the treadmill and put up a good soaking, sweaty run. The earbuds stayed securely on my ears, not even loosening up a bit during my entire workout. My sweat soaked the earbuds and made them slippery, but again the earbuds stayed put. I also secured the clip to my shirt collar to prevent the wire from swinging around. Time will tell if the earbuds hold up to sweat resistance.
The inline microphone also works well. The person at the other end of the phone heard my voice clearly. The inline mic has three buttons. The center button is used for powering on/off, pausing the music, answering and disconnecting a phone call, and connecting to a bluetooth device. The + and – buttons are used to increase/decrease volume and skip music tracks. Also located on the inline mic is the LED status light indicator. Two quick blue flashes indicates that it is connected; single blue flashes mean that the power is on, but there is no device connected; alternating blue/red flash indicates that it is pairing; red flashes mean that the battery is low and needs a re-charge; and a constant red light indicates the battery is re-charging.
A very nice looking, premium pouch is included to store the headphones. I'm not sure what material the exterior of the pouch is made out of, but it appears to be some type of moisture resistant silicone, rubber, or neoprene material. There is a very premium feel to it.
The headphone can be connected to Under Armour's Record app which is a fitness app with a dashboard that tracks your exercise activities and progress. Additionally there is an access code for a one year membership to the MapMyRun app.
Finally, although not its intended use, these headphones do very well for the audio-visual experience as well. What I mean here is that if you wanted to watch a movie using these headphones, you will experience pretty much perfect syncing of the sound to the visual movement of the lips. In other words, I could not discern any audio lag when watching a movie.
In summary, I think the JBL Under Armour Sport Wireless Heart Rate headphones should be on any serious athlete's short list of wireless sport headphones. The twistlock method of attaching the headphones really make them stay securely on your ears. With deep, rich bass and sound performance that JBL is known for and coupled with a heart rate monitor that connects with Under Armour's fitness apps, this pair of headphones really tries to outrun the competition. However, all these features come at a premium price. JBL also manufactures wireless sport headphones without the heart rate monitor at a lower price point, so it will be up to you to decide if the heart rate monitor is worth the price premium.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Make your home an internet haven with this versatile Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system. Three identical tri-band dual-stream AC2200 routers, each equipped with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, deliver lightning-fast internet. Equipped with Bluetooth 4.0/LE, this Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system is simple to set up and pairs easily with computers, tablets and smart devices.
 
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5 out of 5
5
Lightning Speed Whole Home Wi-Fi
on January 12, 2017
Posted by: lambda100
My six year old wireless router was beginning to show its technological age. It could not keep up with my family's growing consumption of online content. To make matters worse, I live in a three level condo where I had to use a wi-fi range extender to receive a wi-fi signal up to the third floor. Needless to say, I was quite interested to see how the Linksys Velop Whole Home Wi-fi would perform.
The system I received has three identical rectangular columns each measuring 7.25” in height and 3”x3” at its base. The three little towers, or nodes as Linksys calls them, resemble scale model white colored skyscrapers, much like how you would see in architectural models. This sleek, stylish, and contemporary look can easily blend in as a decorative piece in your home.
But enough about how it looks. Inside the nodes are actually wireless routers with three bands – a 2.4GHz band, and two 5GHz bands. There are six vertical antennas. The system will automatically select the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band for your device for optimum wi-fi performance. On the underside of each node there are two ethernet ports, a power switch, a reset button, and connector for power. The nodes communicate with each other to create a wireless wi-fi mesh to provide the entire home with a strong, full strength wi-fi network. The wi-fi throughput does not degrade, which is a limitation of wi-fi range extenders which cuts the wi-fi throughput by one-half each time the signal is extended. Depending on the size of your home and your coverage needs, Linksys offers single node, two node, and three node options.
Linksys makes the set-up very easy. The box does not come with a detailed user guide. Instead, there is a set up card that directs you to go to the Google Play or Apple Store to download the Linksys app to your smartphone or tablet which will guide you through the entire set up process. When I went to the Google Play store to select the Linksys app, I noticed there were two apps – a “Linksys Smart Wi-fi” app and a “Linksys Connect” app. Which one to install? I'll save you the trouble of trying to figure out which one is the correct app. Download and install the “Linksys Smart Wi-fi” app. The Linksys app holds your hand through each step, making it one of the easiest wi-fi set ups I have ever experienced. They should win an award just for being so consumer/user friendly. Please note that you will need to turn on your phone or tablet's bluetooth in order for the app to communicate with the node.
It's a simple five step connection process. Step 1 – Disconnect your existing router, Step 2 – Connect the base node (they're all identical, so just choose one of the three nodes to be your base node) to your modem via the supplied ethernet cable, or you can use an existing ethernet cable, Step 3 – Let the app search for the node and make the automatic wireless connection, Step 4 – Personalize the Wi-fi network by creating a name and password, and Step 5 – Add additional nodes or exit if you have no other nodes to set up. As additional nodes are added, the app analyzes the location of the node to determine if the placement is adequate to create the wi-fi mesh.
I placed a node at each of my three floors and was good to go. Perfomance wise, I noticed the improvement immediately. It was like I just came out of the wi-fi stone age and sprinted to the 21st century. No more buffering of video content while multiple devices were connected to the wi-fi network. Web pages load smoothly. My household has over a dozen devices connected via wi-fi, and there were no hiccups downloading and uploading content. This has everything to do with the multi-user, multi-input, multi-output (MU-MIMO) that Linksys has built into its whole home wi-fi. It is a robust system allowing multiple devices to simultaneously receive content. Furthermore, I could walk up the three flights of my condo and the wi-fi signal remained at full strength, and there was no longer a need to connect to a separate wi-fi network like I had to when I used the range extender.
The app is also easy to use. You are able to personalize the names of each node such as naming them “kitchen”, “living room”, etc. whatever will make it easy for me to remember which node was which.
There are also Parental Controls to allow you to manage internet access to your kids, Guest Access to share your internet without having to expose the rest of your wi-fi network, and Device Prioritization to allow up to three devices for priority usage of the internet. For advance users, there are Advanced Settings to allow customizations for Internet Settings, Port Settings, and Wi-Fi MAC Filters.
There is only one negative that I see. There is no usb connection on the node for connections to hard drives.
In summary, here are the Pros and Cons:
Pros
-Easy to set up
-Stylish looking nodes
-Fast full strength wi-fi for each node
-Expandable
-Eliminates the need for range extenders
Cons
-No USB port
The Linksys Velop Whole Home Wi-fi impressed me with the quality packaging, aesthically looking nodes, seamless set up, and blazing MU-MIMO wi-fi performance that is able to create a wi-fi mesh to provide full strength internet. I have no hesitation recommending this system as an upgrade to an existing router and range extenders. The Linksys Velop has the advantage of enabling a uniform and continuous wi-fi network for the whole house without degradation of the wi-fi signal. For those looking to create a wireless whole home network but aren't confident in their abilities to set one up themselves, the Linksys Velop is the perfect solution as the app virtually holds your hand through the set up.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+8points
9of 10voted this as helpful.
 
Arlo Pro takes the worrying out of life with the 100% Wire-Free indoor/outdoor home monitoring system. Arlo Pro includes rechargeable batteries, motion and sound-activated alerts, 2-way audio, a 100+ decibel siren, and 7 days of free cloud HD video recordings. Arlo covers every angle to help keep you safe and protected.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
One of the Best Home Survellience Systems
on December 21, 2016
Posted by: lambda100
I have been using the Arlo Pro wireless security camera system for some time now and I can say that it is arguably one of the best home survellience devices available in the market today. The fact that it is a wireless system that can be mounted up to 300' away from the base station makes this system worth it. Just imagine the hassle, time, and money spent on running conduit, creating wall and ceiling penetrations, and wiring of a traditional hard-wired system. The cameras can be mounted virtually anywhere imaginable around your home or the outside of your home. The package I have comes with two wireless cameras and the base station. I simply installed one camera at the top of my front porch and another at the rear of the home facing out toward the back porch and rear yard. The cameras are also weatherproof so installing them outdoors shouldn't be an issue.
I won't go into the details of the initial set up of the system, but what I will say is that it is easy to set up that even a non-tech savvy person can do it in less than 10 minutes. It's simply a matter of powering up the base station, inserting the batteries into the cameras, syncing the cameras, downloading the free Arlo app, and signing up for a free account and cloud service. The basic free service allows for the inclusion of up to 5 cameras and for a rolling 7 days of cloud recordings for up to 1GB of cloud storage. Anything more than this will require a monthly subscription service fee plan.
I set the cameras to respond to motion and they have been working very well. With notification alerts set up, I am alerted whenever the camera detects motion and begins recording. Video recordings can be set up for a fixed length from 5 second to 120 second durations. As of the writing of my review, the Arlo app was also updated with the option to automatically “record until activity stops up” to a maximum recording time of 300 seconds. However, this option was not functioning, but I expect that the firmware and app will be updated in the near future to ensure that this option will be fully functioning.
Setting up rules on the Arlo app and arming the system allows the cameras to record video automatically when they sense motion or sound. Motion and sound sensitivities can be adjusted to trigger the cameras when they detect more/less motion or louder/quieter sounds.
When viewing a live stream of video on the Arlo app, you can also manually record the live stream video or take an instantaneous snapshot photo. The manual video recording is not limited to the120 second duration as it is for the automatically triggered recordings. I was able to manually record for 29 minutes with a video file size of 122MB until my video recording stopped.
Each camera is equipped with a speaker and microphone to allow two-way communication. I could hear clearly through the speaker and it is loud enough that people several feet away from the camera can hear it well. Similarly, the microphone works very well. It picked up on very faint noises in the background with no issues.
One of the features I find to be really cool is the night vision capability of the camera. When the camera detects insufficient ambient lighting, it will automatically switch on the infrared lights and you will be able to see the video recording in virtual darkness!
Another useful feature is that you can set a rule to trigger the high pitched siren. The siren can be set for 1 min, 3 min, and 5 min durations and also has three different volume levels from loud, very loud, and extremely loud. At the loudest setting, it actually hurts my ears when I get close to the base station. According to the specs, the siren is rated at over 100dB. This is a great deterrent as the sound of the siren will scare away an intruder.
Video quality is average to good. It is definitely not very sharp especially when zoomed in on an image. Things get blurry pretty quickly when zoomed in. Maximum digital zoom is 8x magnification. Keep in mind that the zoom is a digital and not an optical zoom.
I like that the base station has two usb ports to connect external storage devices to locally store the videos. The videos will simultaneously stream to the cloud and saved onto the local usb storage such as a flash drive. However, one important thing to note is that the local storage drive must be formatted to FAT32. No other format types (e.g. NTFS) for the external storage are allowed.
The batteries can be charged with the supplied usb cable and charger or via a batter charge station that can be purchase separately. Battery life according to the specs is supposed to last 4-6 months. I have been putting the cameras through their paces and testing them over the course of one week now, with constant continuous motion detection monitoring triggering several hundred 2 minute recording durations, and have managed to drain the batteries down to 50%. That's pretty impressive battery life considering the testing I put the cameras through. I have no doubt that they will last the 4-6 months especially for much less rigorous recording intervals and much less motion detect activities that will be experienced in every day real life situations.
Finally, I want to point out one particular use of this system other than for the obvious security survellience benefit that it offers. I wish I had this system when my kids were babies. A wireless system such as this can be used as a baby monitor. For new parents, this is the perfect device to purchase. Why buy a dedicated baby monitor that is only useful for the short infancy period, when you can set up one of these Arlo Pro cameras as a baby monitor. You can have one camera set up as a baby monitor, and your remaining cameras serve as your home survellience. With a dedicated baby monitor, you'll probably need to get rid of it once you no longer need it, but you will find other uses for that Arlo Pro camera that you once used for a baby monitor.
In summary, I think the Arlo Pros are a top contender in the home survellience market. I would recommend that anyone looking to purchase a home survellience system give the Arlo Pro serious consideration. Although it enters the market at a higher price point, it affords great value with a feature rich wireless system that can be expanded as your home monitoring needs grow.
Pros
-ability to view live video feed anywhere on your connected mobile device, tablet, or computer
-wireless camera system can be installed anywhere inside or outside the home
-rolling 7 days of free cloud recordings
-no subscription fees, contracts, or monthly fees
-rechargeable batteries lasts 4-6 months between charges
-battery indicators to indicate remaining battery life for each camera
-very loud, piercing sounding siren
-excellent infrared night vision
-notification alerts or e-mail alerts if motion or sound is detected
-weatherproof
-videos can be backed up locally to a usb connected device
-excellent motion detection
-two way communication via on-camera speaker and microphone
-feature rich customizations
Cons
-approximately 3-5 second lag in the video image
-no optical zoom, purely digital zoom of the image resulting in blurry to grainy zoomed video
-video quality is average, not that sharp; images begin to lose detail about 10-15 feet away from the camera
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
Make hands-free calls and listen to music with these Sony wireless in-ear sport headphones. The wireless design frees your range of motion, and the microphone makes conversations more convenient. Listen to music for over 8 hours on a single charge with these Sony wireless in-ear sport headphones, which are moisture-resistant for use during strenuous workouts.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Good bass, but lacking in the highs
on November 24, 2016
Posted by: lambda100
Let's get right to the sound quality of the Sony MDR-XB50BS. The big selling feature is the extra bass. The bass is deep, tight, and powerful. This is a great in-ear headphone for those who want to get to the lower end of the audio frequency spectrum. I get that the headphones are designed to pump the bass into your ears to give you that extra motivation and energy during your workout routine. However, I believe Sony has tuned the sound too much toward the mids and the lows, neglecting the highs. Treble response is clearly missing, and sometimes you need to hear the crisp highs to help you finish off the workout routine. Don't get me wrong, sound quality is still very good, but it certainly doesn't have the full dynamic range that this headphone should be capable of.
It is a very comfortable headphone to wear. It comes with three different sizes of wings and earbuds so that you can find the one that fits your ears. The wing design is very secure and works really well at preventing the ear buds from falling out during movement. I was able to run, tilt my head in every direction, and even tug gently at the headphones, and it stayed in place in my ears. Even when the ear buds and wings were wet from sweat, they stayed securely on my ears with no problem.
The headphones are very easy to pair via bluetooth and NFC. My headphones came with the battery factory pre-charged. Battery life is excellent. The specs state that it can last up to 8.5 hours on a charge. I've had them on for nearly 8 hours now, and they're still going strong. It will take 2.5 hours to re-charge a fully depleted battery.
I own several different bluetooth headphones, and in my experience they all have a characteristic hissing noise that can be heard at low volumes and in between audio tracks. These headphones are no different.
Volume control, track skipping, play/pause, call answering, and the power button are all managed from the right side of the headphone. The microphone is very good as callers on the other end said my voice came through very clearly. Also, the volume can get very loud on the headphones in case some of you are wondering whether or not you can drown out noise by turning up the volume. Keep in mind that these headphones are not designed to reduce ambient noise. Sport headphones such as these are designed to allow ambient noise to come through so you remain aware of your surroundings.
The headphones do not come with a case or storage pouch so you're going to have to jam the headphones in your bag or pockets. I recommend purchasing some type of protective, padded pouch.
In summary, I think these are good sounding headphones, although the highs/treble is missing. They are strategically value priced between the cheapo low end bluetooth headphones and the more premium sport offerings at the higher price range. They stay securely on your ears and get the job done if you need to hear the extra bass to energize you through your workouts.
My Best Buy number: 3451666665
I would recommend this to a friend!
+38points
47of 56voted this as helpful.
 
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PowerCore III 20K is a slim and powerful portable 20000mAh battery. With two USB-A port outputs and one USB-C PD input, this is all you need as your charging companion.
 

Is this battery allowed on an airplane?

The Anker PowerCore III 20K is rated at 72 Whr, which is within the FAA limit of 100 Whr. It is allowed on an airplane. I took it on an airplane without issue.
3 years, 7 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Make the most of every day with the sleek style, performance, and all-day battery life² you need in the lightest Surface Laptop, all at an exceptional value. Ultra-light and portable profile, the apps* you use every day, premium materials, and a choice of must-have colors will make this your go-to laptop. ²Up to 13 hours of battery life based on typical Surface device usage. Testing conducted by Microsoft in September 2020 using preproduction software and preproduction configurations of Surface Laptop Go Testing consisted of full battery discharge with a mixture of active use and modern standby. The active use portion consists of (1) a web browsing test accessing 8 popular websites over multiple open tabs, (2) a productivity test utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, and (3) a portion of time with the device in use with idle applications. All settings were default except screen brightness was set to 150nits with Auto-Brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.
 

What version of Windows does Surface Laptop Go ship with?

It ships with Windows 10 in S mode.
4 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Make the most of every day with the sleek style, performance, and all-day battery life² you need in the lightest Surface Laptop, all at an exceptional value. Ultra-light and portable profile, the apps* you use every day, premium materials, and a choice of must-have colors will make this your go-to laptop. ²Up to 13 hours of battery life based on typical Surface device usage. Testing conducted by Microsoft in September 2020 using preproduction software and preproduction configurations of Surface Laptop Go Testing consisted of full battery discharge with a mixture of active use and modern standby. The active use portion consists of (1) a web browsing test accessing 8 popular websites over multiple open tabs, (2) a productivity test utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, and (3) a portion of time with the device in use with idle applications. All settings were default except screen brightness was set to 150nits with Auto-Brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.
 

Does this computer have USB ports

The Surface Laptop Go has 1 usb-c port and 1 usb-a port.
4 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Make the most of every day with the sleek style, performance, and all-day battery life² you need in the lightest Surface Laptop, all at an exceptional value. Ultra-light and portable profile, the apps* you use every day, premium materials, and a choice of must-have colors will make this your go-to laptop. ²Up to 13 hours of battery life based on typical Surface device usage. Testing conducted by Microsoft in September 2020 using preproduction software and preproduction configurations of Surface Laptop Go Testing consisted of full battery discharge with a mixture of active use and modern standby. The active use portion consists of (1) a web browsing test accessing 8 popular websites over multiple open tabs, (2) a productivity test utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, and (3) a portion of time with the device in use with idle applications. All settings were default except screen brightness was set to 150nits with Auto-Brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.
 

Does the screen detach

The screen does not detach on the Surface Laptop Go.
4 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Make the most of every day with the sleek style, performance, and all-day battery life² you need in the lightest Surface Laptop, all at an exceptional value. Ultra-light and portable profile, the apps* you use every day, premium materials, and a choice of must-have colors will make this your go-to laptop. ²Up to 13 hours of battery life based on typical Surface device usage. Testing conducted by Microsoft in September 2020 using preproduction software and preproduction configurations of Surface Laptop Go Testing consisted of full battery discharge with a mixture of active use and modern standby. The active use portion consists of (1) a web browsing test accessing 8 popular websites over multiple open tabs, (2) a productivity test utilizing Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, and (3) a portion of time with the device in use with idle applications. All settings were default except screen brightness was set to 150nits with Auto-Brightness disabled. Wi-Fi was connected to a network. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.
 

Can you switch out of S mode on Surface Laptop Go?

Yes, Microsoft allows you to switch out of S mode to Windows 10 Home. Once you switch out, it is permanent and you will not be able to revert back to Windows in S Mode.
4 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Get work done with this Dell Inspiron Chromebook laptop. The 14-inch Ultra HD touch screen supports EMR pens, and the Intel Core i3 processor powers system tasks smoothly with the 4GB of RAM. The 128GB of eMMC storage lets you store documents and media files on this Dell Inspiron Chromebook laptop.
 

I know this thing isn't light. But how much does it weigh? I don't see that in specs

4 lbs.
6 years, 7 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Toshiba 4K UHD Fire TV Edition is a new generation of smart TVs featuring the Fire TV experience built-in and including a Voice Remote with Alexa. With true-to-life 4K Ultra HD picture quality and access to all the movies and TV shows you love, Toshiba Fire TV Edition delivers a superior TV experience that gets smarter every day. The Voice Remote with Alexa lets you do everything you'd expect from a remote—plus, easily launch apps, search for TV shows, play music, switch inputs, control smart home devices and more, using just your voice.
 

Can it be wall mounted? I don't see any mounting screw holes from the back picture.

Yes, the Toshiba Fire TV Edition can be wall mounted.
Here are the VESA Mounting Patterns for the different size Toshiba Fire TVs:

43" 200 x 300 - M6 x25mm type screws
50" 400 x 200 - M6 x25mm type screws
55" 200 x 300 - M6 x20mm type screws
7 years ago
by
lambda100
 
Toshiba 4K UHD Fire TV Edition is a new generation of smart TVs featuring the Fire TV experience built-in and including a Voice Remote with Alexa. With true-to-life 4K Ultra HD picture quality and access to all the movies and TV shows you love, Toshiba Fire TV Edition delivers a superior TV experience that gets smarter every day. The Voice Remote with Alexa lets you do everything you'd expect from a remote—plus, easily launch apps, search for TV shows, play music, switch inputs, control smart home devices and more, using just your voice.
 

Can you mira cast or screen cast from your phone/tablet/laptop wirelessly?

No. The Toshiba Fire TV Edition is not equipped with the wireless screen casting feature.
7 years ago
by
lambda100
 
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
 

Can anyone who has used these AND the Bose QC35 comment on the overall comfort for long trips? The QC35s are good, but I can't wear them for more than 3-4 hours before my outer ears start to hurt from the pressure from the cups.

I have both the QC35 and the 1000XM2. The QC35 is more comfortable on long trips. The 1000XM2 headband forces the earcups to press more firmly against my ears and is less comfortable.
7 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100
 
Listen to your playlist in peace with these Sony headphones. They have a 40mm dome driver to deliver the full depth of audio, and the noise cancelling feature minimizes outside disturbances for a better listening experience. These Sony headphones have a battery life of up to 30 hours for extended jam sessions.
 

Does the cable come with a built in remote? This includes, volume, play pause and microphone.

The audio cable does NOT have a built in remote with in-line mic.
7 years, 8 months ago
by
lambda100