Thursday 21 January 2010

Glass Container - blenders, pretty in pink


This is a high quality blender that is made to last. I have had many blenders over the past decade and this is by far the best. Whether it is smoothies, pancake batter, shakes etc....it does a great job. Highly recommended. Cuisinart SPB-7PK SmartPower 40-Ounce 7-Speed Electronic Blender, Pink

Bought this blender after the last one died. I didn't realize how wimpy the old one was until I got this one. My smoothies are no longer lumpy! Plastic lid, glass pitcher,plastic bottom ring. The only thing I'm not thrilled with is the the plastic fitting at the bottom. It's a large piece of rigid plastic that I'm afraid will crack or discolor. And, since the color is 1/2 the reason I chose this one, I would hate to see the pink fade.

I admit, I primarily got it because it was pink...however, the second reason I chose it, over the Kitchenaid Blender, was because it had a glass carafe that won't crack, discolor or dull. I suppose the glass carafe COULD crack, but I'd probably need to take a sledge hammer to it, LOL.



It also crushes ice like nobody's business, which was the final deciding factor. A couple other reviews mentioned issues with the button labels peeling off (under warranty, I'd have gotten an immediate replacement - could have missed QC), dripping into the blade housing (no clue how that could happen unless the user held a glass directly over the blade seat) and the motor burning out after "only" 2 years (no mention whether the use was extremely heavy, or not). Those really didn't concern me since there were only a few of those. The more predominant reviews were fairly glowing, and those I paid attention to.



Mine won't get daily ice crushing duties...only occasional...and I have no plans to try and crush seeds/nuts/cinnamon sticks (that's what my spice grinder and food processor are for), so that doesn't really concern me. The only thing that I would have wished for is a metal motor housing, instead of plastic. I'll just have to be a little extra careful with it. It's the sole reason I took off 1 star, but this is probably normal for modern, small appliances. Unfortunately, almost nothing is made to last, any longer. Planned obsolesence/replacement, so they can keep seling them, LOL.



I'm more than pleased with my choice.

Cuisinart usually makes pretty good quality stuff, and this blender is excellent. I bought it to make smoothies with, my last blender didn't crush ice (or frozen fruit) very well and ended up leaking out of the bottom within a few uses (must have been a faulty seal or something).....so I wanted a better blender and didn't mind paying a little extra. I got the pink one because it was way cheaper than the white or chrome one that day (must have been a sale!) and it goes in the cabinet when not in use so I don't care what color it is.



Makes excellent smoothies, very fast, and very easy to clean. It is a bit louder than my previous blenders, but works so much better! A great buy!

I have had this blender for close to a decade. My old one just died on me, so I bought a new cuisine art blender, the SPB-10Ch. It sucks. The shakes I make come out icy and the spout it worthless on it. I have to turn it on the side just for the shake to pour out properly. I like this one so much better. It lasts long the shakes come out as smooth as ice cream and it is pink!

I use this blender nearly everyday to make protein shakes and smoothies. It handles ice chunks, fresh and frozen fruit, and blends everything I throw at it. I purchased mine Christmas 2010 and noticed that Cuisinart has changed to steel blades vs. the plastic blades that earlier consumers had negative comments about. I like that it is thick glass, not plastic. The plastic base below the glass unscrews for easy cleaning. I purchased the pink because it was cheaper and I store it in my cupboard anyway.

I got this as a wedding present and boy do I owe my guest! I LOVE this sturdy blender. I made margaritas with a lot of ice and it made the perfect batch. The blades are nice and thick and the blade turner on the actual dock is nice and thick/sturdy too. It's totally built to last, and it's so cute in pink! It pours very well and it holds a lot of whatever you want to put into it. It's not a quiet appliance... but duh! it's a blender. It's great!

For this money I didn't expect the glue under the button names to peel up within a week. and I certainly didn't expect the base to cause messy leaks despite repeatedly replacing the gaskets. And now, after less than two years the motor has burned out! Shame on you Cuisinart! - Blender - Pink Kitchen - Blenders - Pretty In Pink'


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Ryobi 12 Volt Battery Charger


My old charger died on me so I looked to Amazon for a replacement. Not only did the item arrive much faster than I expected, the replacement charger weighs next to nothing compared to the old one with the same model number. They have somehow eliminated the bulky transformer. One of the best features of this charger is that it actually tests each battery before charging it. There is an LED lighting system that shows if the battery is too hot to charge, in too poor a condition for further use, or ready to accept a quick charge. It then shows a green LED to let you know it is fully charged and in maintenance mode. (trickle charging) All in all a great charging system for anybody as addicted to their Ryobi products as I am. Ryobi 140237023 18-Volt Class 2 Single Port Battery Charger

This battery charger works well, but there may be a bit of a design flaw. If you don't push the battery in just right, it might bend one or more of the contacts in the bottom of the receptacle. I would recommend the product, but be careful when you insert the battery.

MY HUSBAND AND I LOVE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON.COM.WE HAVENT PURCHASED ANY THING WE HAVENT BEEN PLEASED WITH.AND IT IS PACKAGED RIGHT AND WE GET IT SO FAST.WE FIND THINGS THAT YOU CAN,T FIND IN STORES.AND IF YOU DO FIND THEM THEY ARE USUALLY HIGHER.WE HAD LOOKED FOR A PORT BATTERY AND COULD NOT FIND ONE.HE LOVES IT.WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH AMAZON.COM'


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Dive Watches - tag heuer, tag


I have contemplated purchasing a high end watch such as a Tag Heuer for several years. I was just hesitant to spend the money. I own several other watches from manufacturers such as Pulsar, Fossil and Swatch. So, for my birthday this year, I decided to splurge. This watch is notably more well designed and built than any other watch I own. When picked up, the first thing you notice is the weight of it. The stainless steel and titanium promise durability and it's sapphire crystal face is impervious to scratches. Like other reviewers, I noticed the accuracy of the chronograph and the precision in the construction of the bezel, dial and buttons. All in all, it is a beautiful, sporty and classy watch.



Update - 3/24/10

Woke up in the morning to find watch had stopped during the night. Seemed to work again after resetting the correct time. But, the large second hand used for the chronograph function was not aligned any more with the default 12 o'clock position. I contacted Amazon's customer service about this and was advised to send to their authorized service center (Swinford Jewelers in KY). I shipped it out on my own dime and am supposed to receive back in 4-6 weeks. I am hoping it was simply a case of a low battery and not a quality problem. I will further update this review after I get the watch back.



4/12/10

Received repaired watch back today. It seems to be in good working order. I have no idea what the repair was. I had asked the jewelers to email me with what was wrong but didn't get anything from them. I am guessing that they replaced the battery and reset the chronograph. At least it took much shorter than the estimated 4-6 weeks.



Update

Less than two weeks after this last entry, this watch stopped working again (stopped dead sometime overnight). Once again, it started working again after resetting the time. The response from warranty service was to send it back to Swinford AGAIN. This raised a red flag as far as I am concerned and I believe the watch that I received was a "lemon". This shouldn't happen with a $700.00 watch (breaking down twice in the first two months of ownership). I contacted Amazon Customer Service and stated I wanted to send it back for a refund and they obliged me. I sent it back and had my credit card reimbursed the full refund. TAG Heuer Men's CAH1110.BT0714 Formula 1 Chronograph Quartz Watch

The watch was just what I wanted. I reseached many sites and felt Amazon presented the best value and would, and did, support the customer in the event of a problem. I own another TAG watch and wanted to add to my collection. As I was adjusting time and date I was not able to adjust the date function. I had absolutely no technical issues with my other TAG which is 10 yrs old. I was disappointed to have to return a TAG watch for a technical issue. Of course this would never have happened with a jewerler and it's just the risk one has when ordering on-line for significant less money. The return process was relatively painless but lengthy. Amazon only issues credit versus just swapping out for another identical watch. I had to get a refund then repurchase the same model.

If you're going to invest in a great watch like a Tag, spend a little more and get much more for your money.... I purchased this watch but, exchanged it for an Aquaracer which I feel is a much more attractive watch...

I just purchased this tag heuer formula 1 chronograph quartz watch, black face w/ rubber band. So far I love it! Get compliments wherever I go, and it feels very comfortable on my wrist. It really is the perfect size at 41mm, not to big, but yet not too small. A great starter Tag, for only $7h. Highly recommend!

How do I start?, Well, I must say I love watches, I'm not a rich person but I have a collection of some watches like Swatch, Seiko, Stuhrling (some of them bought from Amazon); so I decided to buy a luxury watch this time, I mean a really "luxury" watch. I was thinking in a Rolex, maybe a used one, but then I went to a jewerly and watched all the watches: Rolex, Omega, Tissot, Cartier and so. They were all very good looking watches but for some reason they were old very classic looking (made for an older person like my dad as I'm only 23), often looking gold or silver. Then I went to the Tag Heuer section, without knowing too much about the brand, and like a thunder from the sky I immediately fell in love with all those watches, they were so fashion, inspired in beautiful cars, the colors, the form, beautiful, there's no comparision with the picture you see in Amazon and having the real watch in your hand like I did in that jewerly. Also I watched an add in that jewerly where president Obama also uses this watches. After falling in love with this watch and realizing that one of my favorite persons (Obama) also likes this watches I decided to buy this watch, had a lot of problems with my dad to get the money (borrow some from mom, asked for my birthday gift earlier than expected :)

but finally he agreed and I bought it from Amazon. I bought the model with the rubber black strap because I'm so bored with the omnipresent common silver strap/band. Also the strap goes perfect with the black dial and bezel color! They're made for each other.

After some days of impatience I received the watch, packed in a huge box (it is a very expensive delicate piece), opened the Amazon box and after digging in the protecting bubbles I found a beautiful box, with the Tag Heuer logo printed above, every border of the box is sewed, every detail of the box is just perfect, this guys payed so much attention even to small details. I opened the box and found a leather case for the instructions guide (man, a wonderful leather case just for the instructions manual!), the instruction manual is perfectly written in many languages (my other watch has a manual but the other languages are just "computer translations"), well, this is not the case, I speak english, spanish and some german and I checked the spanish translation and is greatly done. This guys didn't miss a single detail. A single ortographic mistake in the manuals, Wow!

After opening the smaller box there is the watch: beautiful, it has a wonderful unidirectional bezel that moves very softly but accurately and makes a clicking sound when you move it, the case is also wonderful with Tag Heuer printed on one side, but the dial gets the first prize, so wonderfully planned, even the date is placed lower so you can see it when it's 3 o'clock. I have delicately unscrewed the crown and it's so smooth, unbelievable, you move the crown counter-clockwise and the date changes very-very slowly unlike any of my other watches. The same with the hour, it moves so slowly, so fine...

The chrono is perfect, I mean "perfect", when the 1/10 second marker stops at half second 1/10, the red second hand stops just in the middle of one second and the next one. Wow, that's precission, I've never seen this details in other watches.

Forget to mention that the crown is also beautifully designed with the Tag logo, and that the chrono buttons make a smooth pleasant click sound when you press them...

Overall guys, this watch looks beautiful in my wrist, I LOVE the black color (it combines perfectly with my black car, my black iPhone hehehe), the strap is beautiful with a big TAG HEUER logo printed so everyone can see you have ONE.

I really recommend this watch, in a regular jewerly it costs more than 1,200 $ so Amazon's price is really a bargain for such a beauty! - Tag Heuer - Tag - Automatic - Tag Hauer'


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Home Entertainment - led projector, projector


This is the first projector I bought so I can't compare it with the other Projectors in the market.



I love it. For the price its worth it.



Before I bought this I did a little research and this is what I found out and my primary concerns.

I compared it with newsky-health led-2 and alanson led-2 and a bunch of projectors with the same input and shape. Are they all the same just with different names? all are made from china..

The brand PMC has the same shape but different inputs and usb so its not the same..



It has 1300 lumens brightness and to US standards 400 ansi only..



-> What is its life span?

Favi website and other website says 20,000 hours of life span while some and amazon say its 30,000..

Who cares five years from now this will be obsolete and its life is good for more than 10 years if you use it 5-6 hours a day..

With all the different information out there I really don't know what is the real specs of this thing..



-> Is it bright enough?

It is good enough to watch with the lights or windows open if you are projecting it around 3ft(25"screen) ft to around 5ft(42"screen) away from the wall. The reason I started with 3ft is because that is the nearest distance you can watch from it. This is because the projectors manual focus limit is only up to there anything nearer than that will be blurry. Yes this projector's focus is manual, by turning the lens to the right for near distance, to the left for far distance. Farther than that I think a dim light is required. The more distance the bigger the screen it projects the darker the room should be. Of course the darker the room the better.



-> Does it heat up?

Nope it remains cool. The built in fan is good enough to do this.



-> How loud is the noise fan?

Hmm I would say it makes the same noise as a desktop pc fan would or any 7 inch normal fan would make..



-> Image display?

More than satisfactory. I would say great..

I have only tried it using hdmi connecting it to my laptop and watching movies using kmplayer w/ 720p and it works great and also tried playing psp 480p using a component cable works great also.

With a dark room I have tried watchin with 120" screen more than 12ft away and no complaints w/ the image quality.

I dont advice it to be use for your laptops though for browsing or typing. In order for you to atleast read the characters clearly the resolution should only be 800 by 600(standard resolution nowadays is 1200x800)which really is annoying because you have to adjust you computer screen resolution and see a lot less on your screen.

Also the 16:9 option is not applicable using the hdmi/component.

keystone works great also for adjusting the angle image found at the bottom I didnt even know what a keystone was haha..

There is also a TV input with lots of channels in this projector. I haven't tried it though don't have an antenna cant put a cable, it needs an adaptor. I find it weird that It has a tv input when it doesnt say it has one.. I have the white one I think the black one doesnt have any..



-> Built in stereo sound?

umm next question.. Let's skip this..

yeah it has stereo sounds but my laptops built in speaker sounds better.. I use my altec lansing expressionist instead and viola good quality sound..

You are not buying this for the sound quality so c'est pas grave..



What I don't like about this projector is that inorder for you to access the menu and choose which output to choose hdmi/component/tv/video/etc you need the remote control so if you lose it then this projector is useless..



Overall I'd say I gambled on buying this product since there is no reviews out there yet on this and so far I am happy about this purchase.. :)

Hope this review is useful to you guys.. FAVI RioHD-LED-2 Mini Projector

Beware that this is a Budget projector with lot of connectivity including HDMI and has ok speakers!



I bought it for my parents outside US and they needed a big screen to watch movies. The reasons for picking this model are

1. COST (single most important factor ... compromised on the resolution)

2. LED lamp

3. Voltage regulations (220-240V).



As compared to non LED lamps, there is no issue of changing the lamp for this model. The manufacturer states 20,000 hrs of lamp life.



Tested the following inputs: VGA with laptop, A/V with DVD player, HDMI with upconverting DVD as well as xbox 360.



Pros:

- Budget

- LED lamp

- Built in speakers works through HDMI port and have decent sound

- Power brick indicates 110~240V input



Cons:

- Please bear in mind that the native resolution is 640X480 .... downgrades resolution from laptop, or any input device connected. If you are looking for a higher quality image then this is NOT the product!!

- Requires some dark room ... just depends on how the light source (background or external) is located and the intensity

- Power brick looks and feels a little cheap

- All functions works through the remote (if you loose the remote then you are doomed! therefore -2 stars)

- Product quality (i.e. the construction material, plastic materials etc) feel very cheap (You get what you pay for :( )

- The cooling fan produces noise (same level of noise as some of the bright lamp projectors). Don't expect this product to be quiet!



Other thoughts:

- Purchased at $250. Our target is that this projector lasts for watching at least 100 movies (~ $2.5 projector cost per movie). Already watched 10 movies so far and clocked around 10 hrs of Xbox gameplay.

- If you can afford to spend a little bit more ... then try to go for at least 1024x768 NATIVE resolution in projectors!

- I will not recommend any projectors below 640x480 resolution even for those who have very stringent budget! - Projector - Home Theater - Led Projector - Favi'


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Fein Multimaster


I'm really pleased with the operation of this tool.

It is true that the blades don't last a long time, however when you take into account the difficult job the blade is performing you realize what a time saver the tool is.



Whether it is better or worse than the Fein Multimaster is debatable. The Fein upper models do have a quick blade change mechanism. If you use the tool every day in a production environment this could be beneficial, however most people only use a tool like this occasionally so blade changes don't really matter that much.



The plastic storage box is adequate in size for the tool and a large assortment of extra blades. Would I prefer a metal case? as a matter of fact I would if it were available.



For my money the Bosch is a better value and excellent quality. Bosch MX25EK-33 120-Volt Oscillating Tool Kit

When my last multi-fx oscillating tool gave up the ghost, i thought of ordering a Fein. However, as near as I could tell from the online reviews, the Bosch was nearly as good @ half the price. I'm satisfied. There aren't as many attachments available as the Fein, but those that are available seem to work fine. Bosch has also attempted to standardize the attachments with their OIS 12-pin system, and has a few major tool developers (e.g., Milwaukee, Dremel) on board, so i predict that additional mfgrs will be producing Bosch-compatible, OIS attachments over time. b.t.w., there are several OIS 3rd-party mfgrs (multitoolblade.com) that have a wide selection of blades built to conform with Bosch's OIS standard. The ones I have work very well. (some of the better 3rd-party blades seem better to me than the Bosch blades).



Two things to note: the few Fein attachments that i have work with Bosch, but not the other way around. Also, the Bosch uses the old-school hex-wrench approach to attachments, which may be important consideration in a production environment. (P-C has a quick-release system in their new MFOT released in 2011, but the attachments were few and far between when i looked into it. If you're considering the Fein, there are a lot of Fein/Bosch comparisons and reviews on the Internet. All-in-all, I'm satisfied with the Bosch. (b.t.w., the plastic box it comes in is well-designed and useful, which really surprised me). If it had quick-release, this tool would be perfect.

Originally I purchase the Dremel oscillating tool - it is nice and light weight but didn't have the power for cutting the copper pipe I needed. The Bosch is a larger, more powerful tool and cut the same pipe with relative ease. It seems very well built and is in a different class from the Dremel - heavier etc. - if you are a hobbyist the Dremel may be a better choice - otherwise the Bosch is the way to go.

I recently decided to remodel my kitchen. To save some money I decided to do a fair amount of the work myself. I'm pretty well equipped in the tool department, but after seeing some demonstrations of oscillating multi-tools, I decided this was a useful addition to my toolbox. Boy was I ever right! I used this tool probably more than all the others combined! Very easy to handle and very powerful as well. I used it to cut the pipe under the sink shorter, make a perfectly rectangular hole under a cabinet for the vent, trim the last 1/16 of an inch under a cabinet to fit a full piece of tile (try that with any other tool!), open the back of a cabinet without touching the wall 1/4 of an inch behind it. Also used it to scrape up the old felt backing that stayed stuck to the subfloor when removing the original vinyl flooring, I even trimmed some screws that were too long for the cabinet handles. I could go on; but I digress, the Bosch handled every task I put it through with ease. It's so easy to handle and control, I was amazed at how easily it was able to do tasks that would have been incredibly difficult otherwise or require some expensive custom tool. The only negative I could find about this particular model was that I was not able to find replacement attachments at the local hardware store, though I realized somewhat after-the-fact that there is an included adapted that allows other attachments to be connected to the Bosch - its just not clear as to what competing bits can be used. Still, it came with a wide assortments of attachments, and I used nearly all of them at one time or another over the remodel. I generally buy Bosch tools because, unlike some of the budget brands, they never lose power and are incredibly durable. I'd like to believe this multi-tool will perform the same way. I'm so happy about this purchase, my wife's been teasing me because I've been telling everyone I know about how cool it's been to use. Highly recommended.

This is a great tool - Smooth, precise and very powerful. Well balanced, and feels good in the hands. Reassuringly expensive :) For grout removal, however, I found the diamond grout removal blade from harbor freight to be better (faster, longer lasting and cheaper) than the supplied blade. I had an initial inclination to always mount the blades symmetrically - but that's not necessary, and you can sometimes get into tighter corners if you mount them more to the left or the right.'


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