Product review: Solomark Brass Pirate Monocular -10x50 High Magnification

I was excited about getting this Monocular to work with my smart phone. Unfortunately, I does not work well. I took about 50 photos, my video has the three best. They are not good.

1) Lining up the camera lens and the monocular view finder is quite difficult. There is a very small range where you get a full view rather than a sliver. The monocular can work with the phone that have a camera mounted in the center or to the side. It took me a while to figure out how to get it to line with a camera mounted off center. If you leave the screw slightly loose you can shift the camera in the holder (see video). Once you find the best position (i.e. when the camera shows something through the view finder) tighten the screw..

2) In order to line up the phone on the eye piece of the monocular the camera mount is attached to the ring that is used for focusing and the weight of the phone rotates it just from the weight it puts on the ring, so it is practically impossible to keep anything in focus because the phone always turns it to be in a certain position. I found that if I hold the camera in one hand and support monocular in the other hand (i.e. not using the tripod) I can control the focus better.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to take photos, unfortunately none of the result were worth the time I invested in them.

I received this monocular for testing and review. Overall, this is a neat idea, but as designed is at best difficult to use and it is difficult to take photos that are in focus and that show the entire image.

Ali Julia review

Product review: Hotder HT6399 Luxury 2-in-1 Cordless Wireless Bagless Stick Vacuum Dust Cleaner

I love this vacuum. I love everything about it except one thing - its battery life. It has excellent suction and it is so convenient not to have a cord. The only reason I am not giving it a 5 star rating because its battery life is about 9 minutes. I can't do the whole house on one charge. I can do the stairs and the bathrooms. Or I can do one floor. But because I like it so much I changed how I do cleaning so I can use it as my main vacuum. Now I don't vacuum the entire house at once. I chunk up my vacuuming into sections to give this vacuum time to recharge.

The thing I hate cleaning most are the stairs. I have to tangles with cord, unplug it half way up, plug it back to the second half of the stairs... This just got much easier with this cordless vacuum. It has just the right size head to handle the steps. It is pretty light weighing only 7.5". Its suction is good. It has two modes regular and "max". I use regular setting for wood floors and max on the carpets.

The construction of this vacuum is clever. It is a hand vacuum that plugs into an upright shell. The upright shell lets me vacuum without bending over, once I get to a spot that the upright can't reach I push a button and release the hand-held. Pretty nice!

I received this vacuum for evaluation and review. If you are skeptical about my review because of this I can only ask you to review my history. I am not shy about leaving critical reviews if the product deserves it. And even when a review is positive like this one, I always point out the weaknesses of the product. I really like this vacuum and It has become my primary vacuum, I just had to change my routine to accommodate its battery life. This vacuum made my least favorite chore less unpleasant. I did not think it was possible.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Homdox Day Clock, Memory Loss Digital Calendar Day Clock

I got this clock my elderly mother, who began loosing track of what day of the week it is. This clock display the day of the week (spelling out Monday, Tuesday, etc) as well as time and date.

The first thing that made a good impression was the fact that it showed the right time and date when I turned it on. I did not have to change anything. I unplugged and plugged it back in, it still shows the right time. Perfect for my mother, I don't want her to worry about resetting it if she has to unplug the clock to move it. There are several options of what the clock can display, I liked the default which shows everything.

The size of the clock is 8.5" x 7", 1.5", the size of tme is 1.5". The numbers and letters are large and clear. She will be able to see it from a distance. The face of the clock does not reflect light.

The clock runs from AC and comes with fairly long cord (69" inches). It has two mounting options: a stand to make it a table top and a key hole in the back so it can be hung on the wall.

If you have an elderly parent this clock is perfect. But it not only for elderly, I think it is nicer than just about any other digital clock I have because its visibility during the day and during the night is so good.

I received this clock for evaluation and review. Getting a product for review does not influence me in any way, I leave critical reviews every week when products deserve it. However, this clock exceeded my expectations.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Safemore Smart 8-Outlet with 4-USB Surge Protection Power Socket Tower Power Strip

This review is for two level power strip with 8 AC outlets and 4 USB ports.  This tower power strip has a 74" non-retractable power cord with a regular sized powe plug.

I love tower power strips because they have a small footprint and because they outlets are so well spaced out. This tower power strip has no problems fitting my eneloop charger next to each, where as in many regular shaped power strips each of the battery chargers can cover up 2 or 3 outlets.

I own several power strips and this power strip fell a bit short in a couple of areas.  First, the fit and finish if power strip is bad.  The USB panel sticks out 1/8" away from the body at the top of the strip. When I looked at the stock photo the panel appears to be flush with the other panel, so mine just has sloppy workmanship that was not caught by quality control.   The second issue, is that my phone only gets USB power on all 4 ports, none of then provided AC power.  This is not an issue that I have encourtered in other tower strips.


This power strip is provided by Safemore.  Getting a free product for testing does not make me like any better than if I purchased it with my own hard earned money. I still love the shape of this power strip, but workmanship and slow charging rates detract from my overall satisfaction and I thought the product was OK - works but not the best of the breed.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Finether Folding Side Table with Mesh Drink Holders

I'll start with the thing I wanted to know and could not find in the Amazon description. How tall is this table? 22 inches tall. The table area is 14.5" x 14.5 square. The cup holders are 2 5/8" wide and 4" deep. They hold a Styrofoam cup tightly. They are not wide enough to hold a mug or any of my stainless steel water bottles. The table weight 5 pounds and 5 oz. The top is tightly weaved and does not sag. This table is very sturdy, it does not wobble at all.

Overall: light weight and sturdy. I wish it was a little taller, but in all other respects I like it.

I received this folding table at no cost for testing and review. Getting a sample does effect what I say. I have a history of leaving critical reviews when the product deserves it. Whether I had a good experience or bad experience you will hear exactly what happened.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: BroadLink SP3 Wi-Fi Remote Control Mini Size Smart Timing Plug

The smart works well, it was easy to pair with the phone and it has not failed to turn on or off the plug in the last two weeks I have been using it. I used it both within the house using WI FI as well as while being away from home using a external network.

However, I had some security concerns with the app used for the plug. The documentation leads to get the app from an untrusted website located in China. I am software engineer with a lot of experience in web security. Downloading apps from untrusted web site is not safe, such app can comprise your entire home network. I contacted the seller and told them that this smart plug is not ready to be sold in USA until the app is available in Googlplay. The seller was very responsive, not only provided answers but asked questions on how best to provide this information to those who already purchased the product. It showed me the level of concern for the customers that I liked.

The seller told me that the app is now available in GooglePlay and told me that its name of the app is e-Control. I installed e-Control app from Googleplay however as soon as I installed the software recommended that I download an updated from the vendor's web site. The update prompt warned me that without the update I may not be able to control my devices from external networks. For security reasons, I did not perform this upgrade and again notified the vendor that all updates need to come directly from GooglePlay.

On the positive side, even though I am running a version without the update I have not encountered any problems turning on the plug while I an on a remote network.

Bottom line - use e-Control app from Googleplay, do not get any apps or updates from other websites.

This smart outlet was provided to me by Broadlink for beta testing and review. I always honestly describe pluses and minuses of my experience with the product. I have a long history of leaving critical reviews when the product deserves it. I also post updates when I have new information to share, and I will do so for this smart plug.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: ZETOLL Circular Sprayer Rotary Three Arm Water Sprinkler

This is an OK sprinkler. It works. But it is not the best sprinkler I have used. This sprinkler is very light weight and feels a bit on the flimsy side. It weights 5.8 oz and has all plastic constructions. It has no built-in controls for shape or size of the circle, however you can control the size of the area it is watering by changing the water pressure that goes into it. In two weeks since I began using it is working without a problem, but because it is so sensitive to water pressure I have to make that no timers start during the time when I am using it.

Note that the weight measurement I got is different from Amazon description. My digital scale is calibrated so I am not quite sure how to explain 1.2 oz difference in weight, perhaps Amazon description states the weight of the sprinkler in the box (the shipping weight).

I received this sprinkler for testing and evaluation. Getting a sample does effect what I say. I have a history of leaving critical reviews when the product deserves it. Whether I had a good experience or bad experience you will hear exactly what happened. Bottom line on this one? If you need need to water a small to medium area this sprinkler will do the job, but it is not as good as my old sprinkler by Gilmore.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆