Product review: AIBI Black Dial Ultra-thin Waterproof Mens Stainless Steel Quartz Watch with Dat

This is a classy looking watch with a black face. Its design is very simple just the time and the date.

I measured the size of face and thickness with my digital caliper: The face is 1 7/64" inches wide, and 9/64" inches thick. In attached video you see it on my husband's hand and on 1/2" grid for size reference.

The watch has Japanese quartz movement. The band is made out real leather. It will fit wrists from 6.25" to 8.25" (measured from the buckle to the first and last hole). If needed extra holes can be made gaining another 1/4" if needed.

Because it shows only time and date the controls are simple: when the knob is all the way out you can adjust time, half way out you can adjust the date.

I received this watch for evaluation and review. If this makes you skeptical about what I say, please examine my history. You will see that getting a free product does not effect what I say, I leave critical reviews when the products deserve it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Weiyi 12V Digital Air Compressor,3 Minutes High Speed & Tire Pressure Preset

This is a very fast tire inflator. The first time I used it I was very surprised when it claimed it was done - but double checking with another air pressure gauge confirmed it. My favorite feature is that I can pre-set it to stop at the pressure I desire. I do not have to stop and measure the pressure until I get it right. There is a catch on how this pre-set value works. I have to set it about 2 PSI higher than I want. This is because this compressor uses a valve that rotates rather than snaps on like my other compressors. While I am rotating the valve (both putting it on and taking it off) a lot of air escapes and my calibrated gauge shows that the pressure is about 2 PSI less than what I set the value to. However this 2 PSI has been consistent, and it is easy enough for me to remember to set it higher.

The compressor can run from built-in battery, from car power ports, or from AC power. Cables for car port and AC power are included. The built-in battery can inflate two tires (Amazon description says three tires, but the manual says two tires) on one charge (from 0 to 35 PSI). This inflator's battery needs to be recharged every three months. It takes 2 to 3 hours to recharge it.

I really like how fast it inflates and that it stops on its own when it reaches the setting I selected. As long as the internal battery has a charge this pre-set value is remembered when the unit is powered off and then turned on again.

The compressor comes with a case. However, the case only fits the compressor itself (tightly), there is no room for the cables. It is very important to keep the cables and the unit together, so I consider the case size to be a flaw.

I received this compressor for evaluation and review. Overall, its main features are excellent. However, it does have some minor flaws which I covered in this my review.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Janico Inc Mop Bucket Side Press Wringer Combo

This is a large bucket with a removable manual wringer. The wringer just slides on top of the bucket, it is easy to remove to empty the bucket or to use the bucket by itself. The bucket has 3" wheels that rolls smoothly and easily. The bucket is thick and heavy, it feels well built.

The wringer is a side press which gets a lot of the water out of the mop, but I am not able to exert enough pressure on the handle to get it really dry. I tested that I can hand squeeze more water by twisting after the wringer did its job. I did not know what to expect from it, so I wanted to share my experience.

The bucket holds 35 quarts (quarts are marked on the inside of the bucket).
It is 18.5" long, 14.5" wide and 12" high (not counting 3" wheels).

I use it to speed up cleaning - floors, cars, any place I need a lot of water the wheels make it easy to get it there.

I received this bucket for evaluation and review.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Ecandy Universal Wireless Bluetooth FM Transmitter

I have been using FM transmitters in my car for many years as I like listening to audio books when I drive. The key to clear transmission is to find am empty radio station, static and noise will come from the stations that are not clear rather than from the FM transmitter itself. To find vacant FM stations in my area I used a web site "radio-locator (dot) com/cgi-bin/vacant" where you can enter your zip code and get a list of stations to try. It usually take me trying a few stations to find which station gives me the best sound (the least amount of noise or hiss).

This FM transmitter can either connect via Bluetooth to a smart phone, or play music from USB micro SD card, or connect to phone/mp3 player via an audio cable.

This FM transmitter has a couple of nice features that put above many others I have tried:

1) A nice large display which clearly shows the station and other messages
2) An easy way to scan the stations, if I press the forward button it quickly advances to station I want to tune to, I don't need to click one a time
3) I have complete control and can select any station (some base models give you a limited choice of stations which may or may not correspond to vacant stations in your area)
4) The display is on a goose neck so I can turn it to face me
5) The plug forms a very right connections with the car port so it does not loose connetion when I drive

The Bluetooth connected easily with my Nexus phone (device is show as BT20), and when it connected the status "Nexus 5 Bluetooth connection" is displayed on the screen.

This FM transmitter is missing some of the features my favorite FM transmitter has (Satechi) a remote control and ability to bookmark from the remote control. However, the Satechi unit is twice as expensive. This FM transmitter performed better than other FM transmitters I have tried at this price range

This fm transmitter is provided by Ecandy.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Littleadd Multi-functional Hidden Camera Spy Alarm Clock Motion Detection Nanny Camera 720P with Remote Control,

I like the idea of having a security camera that looks like a regular clock, however I ran into a number of problems with this camera. The main issue I have that the user interface is hard to use, you cannot tell when the camera is working or not (it communicates by turning on a subtle blue light which turns off quickly). The only way to control the video settings is using the remote control. Neither continuous video nor motion activated video works reliably. I managed to get a few videos but most of the time I find the micro SD card blank. I cannot trust it to do the job.

Even if it worked more reliably recording videos the video camera has one other design flaw that would have caused me not to like this camera. It cannot run while the battery is charging. Recording running on a battery only lasts less then 2 day while the battery is new (so it will get shorter as the battery ages). I own a good number of video cameras and all of them can record while charging, this video camera cannot. For a video camera that is meant to run continuously to catch some unknown event the fact that it needs to be turned off to be charged is a problem from a practical point of view. It is easy to forget to do it. Another alternative is to have a spare battery and then instead of charging the battery flip to pre-charged battery. However having to change the battery every day is something that is inconvenient and would not work at all if one wants the camera to record while they are on vacation.

The video quality is not great, but it is certainly enough to see what is going. I include video recorded by the video camera so you can see the recordings yourself. My video has sections recorded under bright light, in low light, and in the complete darkness. The camera is able to record in each situation although the quality of the video decreases as the amount of light decreases. The infra-red video taken in the darkness is black and white, so you can tell the difference with the regular video.

I received this video camera from Littleadd at no cost with a request to test and review this clock camera. Getting a free product does not influence what I say. This camera has a number of short comings which I did my best to show and describe.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★☆☆☆☆

Product review: Lemfo Bluetooth Smart Watch Phone GSM Pedometer Fitness Tracker

There are a number of things about this watch that I like and a number of things that I do not like. I will try to go through pluses and minuses systematically.

PROS:

1. Easy to read screen - bright colors, large numbers and letters
2. Touch screen - touch screen makes the user interface more intuitive
3. A large number of applications pre-installed on the phone
4. The app that controls the app is available from GoogPlay (no request to load the app directly from untrusted manufacture's web site)
5. Two options for user interface: "Smart" user interface which has one screen with all the apps is the default but is optional. With all apps one screen it is hard to pick the right one even with my small fingers. However, this interface can be changed to 4 per page which is easy to select and get what you want

CONS:
1. "Smart" interface is not good. Even with my small fingers I often touch something else and a wrong app starts executing
2. The pedometer does not seem to be accurate, it does not detect all steps and shows a lower number when compared to another pedometer and just counting a small number of steps out-loud for test purposes
3. The app on the phone has a lot of rough edges, it is not untuitive to use, and needs more work
4. The synch with my phone does not work (I tried on Nexus 5 and Nexus 6p)
5. I was not able to change the face of the watch. I do not like the looks of the default face.
6. The level of the battery is not easy to tell
6. The battery of the watch ran out of juice in 2.5 days. My other watch with similar colorful face and touch screen runs 5 days without needing a recharge. The other has watch face which include battery level - a very good feature which this watch does not have.
7. Every time I use the band I wish I had three hands. I find it fairly difficult to put on and remove.
8. The button cover of the watch (towards my hands) pops off accidentally when I don't expect it.
9. Information is displayed in metric units
10. The charging port has a proprietary connector. If you lose it you will not be able to recharge the watch.

I received this watch for evaluation and review. Getting a free product does not influence what I say, I honestly describe pluses and minuses of every product I review. This watch still needs work to bring in on par with the best of the breed.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: LED Desk Lamp and Grow Light

In attached video you can see a 10 day dairy of four pea seedlings - one was growing in a sunny window, one under a 12W grow bulb, and finally one using the 6W grow lamp offered in this listing. I have been using grow lamps for a couple of seasons and how well the plants do compared to the sunny window depends on how late in the grow season I am doing the comparison. In April the grow lamps win as April sun in New England is not that strong (or frequent). In May a plant in a sunny windows did better than the plants under the grow lamps. Never the less the plants under the grow lamp are healthy, robust, and only somewhat smaller.

Both grow lamps were turned on for 14 hours a day using a timer (off at night). You might think that a plant under 6W lamp would get less light and be smaller than a the plants under the stronger 12W lamp but as you see in the photos that is not the case. The plant under the 6W plant did as well as the plant under 12W. The difference is how many plants can fit under one light. 6W lamp generates a small spot light, just right for one plant. 12W grow bulb in a goose neck lamp can light 6 small pots with seedlings.

To satisfy my curiosity I measured the light generated by 6W bulb of this lamp and the light light generated by the 12W bulb with a lux meter (which measures light intensity) and the measurements were similar.

As a final thought I want to share a tip I learned from several years of experience of using grow bulbs: having a fixture with a goose neck is very important. If the plant gets too close to the bulb it can be burned, so I adjust the neck as the plant grows.

This grow lamp has an excellent pliable neck. Howeverm it is not very long, it is 14.5" and my other goose neck lamps are longer. Because it has a clip it might be possible to clip it to something else to gain extra height. The clip of the lamp opens easily and the jaws open 2.5" wide. The cord has in-line on/off switch and a regular plug.

This grow lamp is provided by Aceple. As you see in the photo diary, the plant under this lamp did well although not quite as well as the plant under natural sunlight.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★