Product review: Cozy Products CT Cozy Toes Carpeted Foot Warming Heater for Under Desks

My feet get really cold in the winter and I purchased this heated mat as one more option to keep my feet warm. I like it! In about 4 minutes after turning on the carpet I can feel it through my slippers. It does not feel hot to touch yet there is enough heat to keep my feet warm. I like it better than Mastex electric booties which really get hot and I cannot keep them on for too long.

The color of the mat is gray. The stock photo looked a little greenish to me but I was happy to see it has no green in it at all. The mat is 17.5" x 17.5". It is okay to use on top of the carpet and on top of wood. It does not get hot enough to damage either surface. When I was shopping for a heated mat I considered another mat but it could only be used on concrete or tile floor as it gets warmer and over time can discolor other surfaces.
I have been using this mat for 2.5 months. It is placed on top of a silk area rug and I see no changes in the rug.

I am quite pleased overall. Would I like to see any changes? Yes. I wish it was available in more colors so I can match it to my carpet better. I would like it to have a light to indicate that pad is on as a reminder for me to turn off at night or when I am not using it to save electricity. Despite these two minor things my feet are definitely happy.

You can find "Cozy Carpeted Foot Warming Heater" on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: USB 3.1 Type C Cable Tenswall - USB 3.1 spec compliant cable

Tenswall type-C cable is a thick braided cable - it feels and looks well made. It is 40 inches long and easily plugged into a phone with a silicone skin on.
I originally thought it was a 3.1 complaint cable, but in-depth tests by Benson Leung show that it is not.

What is 3.1 compliant cable? USB 3.1 spec specifies that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current should be set at 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. Benson Leung has a series of excellent reviews of Type C cables. Benson works for Google's Pixel group and has pointed out that many type-C cables violate the USB 3.1 specification that states that the termination resistor that advertises the maximum available current has been set incorrectly at 10K which advertises 3A of current rather than the correct value of 22K which advertises 1.5A of current. The non-compliant cable could be harmful to devices that are not limited to 2.5A-2.6A such as the ones that Benson evaluated in his reviews. I had an interesting discussion with Benson about my observations of turning this bug into a feature for rapid charging with Nexus 6p, and in general he does not approve of non-compliant cables and said that at minimum people should label them to be sure they are not used as general purposes type-C cables for all devices. I have been using these non-compliant cable with my Nexus 6p with no ill effects with 2.4A car chargers but as they say "use at your own risk". If you do plug in the car charger side of the cable first and the phone second as Benson reported differences based on the order what side of the cable is plugged in first.

All test were done keeping all conditions the same: same level of charge for the phone, same apps running, keeping the screen on so I can see the results.

1) Using a car charger on a port rated 2.5A
Nexus 6p battery is at 39%, at this level it will use rapid charging if possible (i.e. up to 2.5A)
** Tenswall Type C to Type A cable (non 3.1 compliant) -- 1.3A
** Another Type C to Taype A cable (non 3.1 compliant) -- 2.5A

2) Using a wall charger on a port rated 2.4A
Nexus 6p battery is at 37%, at this level it will use rapid charging if possible (i.e. Nexus 6p is cable of drawing up to 2.5A, the port is cable of providing up to 2.4A)
** Tenswall cable ------ 1.27A

Attached are images from my tests that show the results with both cables.

I received this cable from Tenswall for testing and review.  It did not perform as well as other non-compliant cables.

YOu can find this "USB 3.1 Type C Cable" on Amazon via this link


Ali Julia review ★★

Product review: Hamer Water Drop Necklace with Earrings Geometric Jewelry

I like this funky asymmetric necklace and matching earrings. It has a unique look and I like its shape and color. I wore it to a Christmas party and I thought it worked quite well. Several people commented that they liked the necklace. It is a little heavy (the necklace is 3.5 oz, and each earring is 0.4 oz), I can feel it when I wear it but it not unpleasant. The largest rhinestone is 2.75" long, the earrings are 1.25" long.

I always wear it with the full length of the chain extended which makes it 21", which fits around my neck like a neckline of a crew neck sweater.

This set was provided to me by Hamer Jewelry as part of a new product introduction with a request for evaluation and review. The necklace is well made and the stock photos match what I received well in all respects. I am adding a few extra photos of my own including the ones that I hope will be useful for size reference.

You can find "Hamer Necklace with Earrings" on Amazon via this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: KARE AND KIND SUPER LARGE 3 LED Handheld Magnifier Reading Magnifying Glass Lens Kit

This is a pretty nice set of 3 magnifying glasses: the small one is the x20, the medium one is x10, and the large one is x5. Each of the loops fits into a the same handle. The magnifier loops are removed by squeezing two buttons on the sides at the same time.

The handle takes three AAA batteries (not included) which turns on two small but bright LED lights which shine exactly where the magnifier is pointing. Also included are cloth pouches for all three loops and a cleaning cloth.

All magnifiers have pretty good quality glass and make it easy to read tiny font or examine stamps on jewelry. I hope attached photos give you a better idea of what to expect.

You can find "KARE AND KIND Magnifiers" on Amazon via this link


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: GGMM M4 Leather Wireless Digital Wi-Fi

This is a hell of a speaker! GGMM can be made quite loud and the sound remains distortion free even at max volume. To test various speakers I use Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I like using because it has several passages in the beginning of the fugue which many speakers cannot handle - some speakers crackles others generate distortions, but this speaker handled it very well. In my video I included two small snippets of music so you can hear it for yourself.

The speaker connected to my phone's bluetooth smoothly. In the video you can see me turn off the speaker and then it back on again - it remembered the connection and automatically reconnected to the phone. However it did not remember my old settings neither the volume to the fact that I had the bass button pressed.

The speaker is 13.75"L x 4 3/8"W x 6"H. Its weight is 6 pounds 1.5 oz.

The speaker comes with an optional leather strap for carrying the speaker. And the sides had permanent metal posts for attaching the straps. I would have preferred that the permanent metal posts were not there, so I had an option to stand the speaker on its side. The speaker has no mounting holes.

I am very impressed with this speaker. I hope the video gives you a good idea of what to expect.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: btoto H9 2.0 Inch 170 Degree 6g Ultra-wide Angle Lens 4k Sports Action Camera

I received this camera for evaluation and review as part of a new product introduction. Getting a free product does not effect what I say, I always give a rating purely based on how the product performs. A few months ago I reviewed another camera from the same vendor and gave it a 2 stars rating. Despite knowing that I am reviewer who gives critical reviews when the product deserves it he sent me this camera for testing anyway. That's a sign of a good seller and a good product.

Btoto H9 is my first 4K camera and I can really tell the difference. The colors and clarity is excellent. The 170° lens provides a very wide view, but as any lens with such wide angle causes barrel distortion.

The camera produces very good video during the day and at dusk. The only time during the day when the video was not excellent was when the sun was directly into the camera, which is a challenge for any camera. The night time video is not as good. The camera has an intuitive interface, it also has WI FI that allows me to see what the camera sees on phone. The camera is exactly the same size as GoPro camera and accessories designed for GoPro fit it.

Live video via WI FI works very well: it was easy to connect the phone to the camera and the delay between action and live video is minimal (you can see it in my video). When you are using live mode the video is not recorded to the micro SD. The app for live product is called Ez iCam (I show the install and how the app works in the video). The name of a hot spot you need to connect to is ICAM-H9 (note that the name is slightly different from documentation - at least on Android phone).

Btoto H9 supports micro SD cards up to 32GB (the micro SD card is not included).

The camera produces video in the following resolutions (recorded in .mov format) using degree HD wide angle lens.
4K 10fps, 2.7K 15fps, 1080p 60/30fps, 720 120/60 fps. Amazon compresses video submitted in the reviews plus has a limit of videos size so I have to compress it before submitting as well, so what you see in the review video is much worse than what the camera produces.

To recharge the camera takes about 3 hours from empty, I am getting about 2 hours of video on one charge.

The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case. The manual is okay, it does not have instructions for every button but it was enough for me to find the right app and to figure out how to use the camera.

In attached video you can see video of the camera and video taken by the camera.

If you have questions on something I did not cover post a comment and I'll do my best to answer it.

You can find "btoto H9 2.0 Inch sports camear" via this link


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: reNeu Manuka Honey Cream Healing Moisturizer Skin Care with UMF 16+ and Aloe Vera

I really like this cream. It is really rich and smooth and it is an excellent moisturizer. I used it on a stubborn patch of dry skin on my face and it did a better job than other moisturizers I have used. I also used it on a minor burn and it felt better right away and healed overnight. I like how it feels - totally non greasy. It is almost unscented, I detect a light scent up close. To me it smells like a light vanilla scent.

It comes in a tub, so it will be easy to get every last bit of it. This has become my "go to" moisturizer for my face, dry heels, and anything else that gets dry in the winter.

I was received a tub of cream for testing a review. reNeu does not test their products on animals so I was recruited as one the human subjects. It is very effective and my skin reacted very well to it.

You can find "reNeu Manuka Honey Cream" via this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★