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Rabu, 26 Agustus 2015

Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions MG7120 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer, Cloud Enabled, Black

Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions MG7120 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer, Cloud Enabled, Black..

Grab Now Canon PIXMA Printing Solutions MG7120 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One Printer, Cloud Enabled, Black By Canon

Most helpful customer reviews

347 of 347 people found the following review helpful.
Review: Canon PIXMA MG7120 Color Photo Printer, Scanner, Copier
By Neil E. Isenberg
Canon PIXMA MG7120 Black/White/Red/Brown Wireless Color Photo Printer with Scanner and Copier

OVERVIEW:
-----------

This is a new sweet spot for the Canon PIXMA line with a lot of bang for the buck. This is the replacement for the still produced MG6320. The MG7120 has only been available since August 2013.

PROS:
------

- One more color than the MG5420/MG5320 models, GRAY, just like its MG6320/MG6220 predecessors. GRAY is for improved black and white results and to better darken colors. I haven't seen the difference gray makes with color pages, but some reviewers can.

- Has an ETHERNET connection, allowing a solid, simple shared/network wired connection that stays up even when computers are down. Its predecessors MG6320/MG6220 have it too, the MG5420/MG5320 models do not.

- One of the few models that comes in WHITE (as well as BLACK, RED, and BROWN). The MG6320 before it started the white model option and it was a hit.

- Has a handy separate 4"x6" and 5"x7" PHOTO PAPER DRAWER at the front. The year old MG6320/MG5420 models have this too, the older MG6220/MG5320 models before that did not.

- Like the MG6320 before it, the MG7120 is a bit shorter/squatter than the earlier MG6220, which for some is a nicer form factor if on a desk and certainly if on a deep shelf, for example. The new design ditches the rear paper feed to help achieve its new shelf friendly size and form factor. Listed in a section below are some alternatives with rear/straight feed.

- The 250/251 ink tanks, a little over a year old now, for the MG7120/MG6320/MG5420 also come in an XL SIZE now which reduces the page cost significantly. The ink in the 250/251 tanks are the same formula as in the earlier 225/226 ink tanks according to Canon support.

- The touch screen content-sensitive interface of the MG7120 and MG6320 gets rave reviews, however, I find the old interface of the MG6220 just as easy, but the unanimity of positive reviews for it suggests it really is much better for many.

- For copying/scanning the top comes easily off just like the MG6320 (unlike the previous generation MG6220).

- The MG7120 (and MG6320 and MG5420 models) have 2x the number of black ink nozzles as their predecessors the MG6220/MG5320 models. This allows more efficient use of black ink and greater dot accuracy.

- See "vs. MG6320" section below for details on printing directly from mobile.

- With 10+ years of having a number of their products I have always found Canon to have great customer service, which for U.S. customers appears to be based out of Maryland and Virgina.

LESSER PROS:
-------------

- 5-15% faster printing for the MG7120/MG6320 than the older MG6220 depending on b&w vs. color, quality, etc.

- Can print directly from CF memory cards on the MG7120/MG6320 models, unlike the older MG6220, if that is important to you. In addition can print from most SD/MMC/Memory Stick/xD-Picture card types, as always.

- I am leaving out a laundry list of features and specifications you can read on the Canon site to keep the review focused on the big defining features/differences of this model.

CONS/WARNINGS:
-----------------

- This is new (Aug 2013) and as such can be expected to have more issues than after some time passes. On the other hand, this may just be an incremental modification to the MG6320 and so may not have this issue as much.

- These 250/251 ink tanks are different for these newer MG7120/MG6320/MG5420 models than for the previous generation and thus are at this time (late 2013), a little harder to find available at stores, especially in XL sizes.

- For copying/scanning, the lid telescopes up for books only to the thickness of around a cellphone, whereas the MG6220 telescoped up to around twice that. On the other hand the top COMES OFF easily now with the MG7120/MG6320.

- NO BUILT-IN FAX, if this is important to you in an all-in-one. Perhaps you want to get a dedicated fax machine of your choosing near a phone line anyways, however if you are looking for a built-in fax the MX922/MX892 printers have one.

- NO ADF (Automatic Document Feeder), if this is important to you in an all-in-one. The MX922/MX892 printers have an ADF.

- No straight paper path. If this is important to you, consider the rear-feeding models like the MX892 listed in a section below. Keep in mind that the certified paper weight for non-Canon paper is still 17#-30# for MX892 and 17#-28# for MG7120, so not that much difference. Even the old MG6220 rear feed recommendation maxed out at 28#. For Canon Genuine Paper the MG7120 is certified up to 78#.

vs. MG6320 (Its Predecessor):
-----------------------------

- NEW: The MG7120 will automatically turn on if it is off when a print request is sent.

- NEW: The grinding noise of the MG6320 a minute or so after startup appears to have been greatly lessened in the MG7120, it is much quieter during that process whether or not you are in quiet mode. It may have been resolved in newer MG6320's, too, I haven't heard.

- NEW: The MG6320 required a wireless router to print from a mobile device. The MG7120 has an Access Point Mode which allows direct printing to the printer without need for a wireless router.

- NEW: The MG6320 allowed you to print directly (no computer needed) from Picasa, Canon Image Gateway, and Google Cloud Print. The MG7120 now allows you to also download apps to the printer itself that allow printing directly also from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, DropBox, Evernote, and more.

- There is a specification error online suggesting some changes in the photo paper drawer and MMC card compatibility, but these are misprints, they are the same. The MG7120 and MG6320 are very similar feature-wise.

NEW MODEL NUMBERS CONFUSION
(as of late 2013):
---------------------------------

- The MG5520 you would think replaces the MG5420, however the MG5520 4x6 photo printing can be 110% slower, the copying can be 30% slower, has lower max color resolution, has lower max scanning resolution, and can't print on CDs/DVDs. Thus for 5 ink MG series solutions, MG5420 may still be the sweet spot.

- The MG6420 you would think replaces the MG6320, however the MG6420 is missing the gray tank, has no Ethernet, 4x6 photo printing can be 110% slower, copying can be 30% slower, has lower max color resolution, has lower max scanning resolution, and can't print on CDs/DVDs. Thus it is really the MG7120 that is replacing the MG6320 in my opinion.

SUGGESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
----------------------------

- See below consideration to select it not to automatically shut-off to reduce ink wastage.

- Consider choosing to print "Grayscale" when color isn't necessary, this can lessen the amount of color layering to get black (though the use of grey and colors is not necessarily eliminated). Canon feels the black is better with more color layering, you decide :).

- If the GRAY and ETHERNET (MG7120/MG6320/MG6220) is for sure useless to you and you'd like a SMALLER FORM FACTOR, you might consider looking into the MG5420/MG5320, which are otherwise somewhat similar.

- Use Canon paper when you need optimal results with their ink, and test matte vs. glossy. Matte is much less expensive and may meet most of your needs. Let me know in comments if anyone finds a comparable quality and yet significantly less costly photo paper for this printer, I'd like to test it out.

- When doing black & white, for example text, consider choosing the HIGH QUALITY setting (and perhaps set it as the default) in the printer page set-up, it really makes a difference (though it is slower and uses more ink).

- The Canon site has lots of easy to find product comparison information for these inkjets, you might consider reviewing it before committing on a model. There are errors of omission suggesting differences that are not there, if important you may want to double-check with Canon.

- In case of POWER OUTAGE, it is sometimes necessary to unplug it for A FEW MINUTES and then plug it back in. This allows capacitor discharge. Thanks to Karen for the heads up on this in a comment.

- As soon as you can after getting your printer, print samples of full color, b&w, borderless photos, print on a DVD if that's important to you, etc. Determine if you have a lemon before you get too busy with other things so you can exchange for a good one while it is easy to do. These are complicated machines with lots of parts.

INK USAGE:
-----------

Anyone researching Ink Jet Printers will likely be concerned about ink costs. Here are 6 things you can do to mitigate this with the MG7120:

- Buy the XL versions of the ink, this is supposed to reduce the cost per color page to a very competitive 13-14 cents per page (vs. 16-19 cents).

- As noted above, choose to print black and white or grey scale when that will do just fine. For some documents this can avoid black made from layers of colors. Canon says, for example, MS Word may print in black only with default text color but an Adobe graphics document not saved in a grey scale only format will likely use colors to try to faithfully reproduce the graphics.

- Turn off the automatic shut-off. Standby mode uses 1.0W, so on standby even all year uses around 9kWh/yr., so around $1/yr depending on where you live. This can help lessen the number of minute or so long cleaning routines as it runs around a minute after start-up and sometimes at shutdown. It runs the cleaning other times, too, which is good as it keeps ink from clogging.

- Avoid printing pages with solid or heavily colored background in color when possible.

- Some fonts use 20-40% less ink than others. According to a leading consumer magazine, Times uses much less than Arial which uses much less than Calibri, for example.

- Draft quality mode uses less ink than Standard (and is faster), and of course both use less ink than High quality mode. Note that text is much sharper at high quality.

NOTE #1: If there is no printing or cleaning routine at least once a month or so, select it to run a cleaning routine (easy to do) or turn it off and on to force it to once a month or so to keep the nozzles unclogged. If they clog talk to Canon support for what is often an easy solution.

NOTE #2: The MG6220, 2 quick generations back from the MG7120, had a low ink early warning bug. For example, when I take ink from a MG5320 and put it in a MG6220, the low ink warning bars show the ink as vastly lower. This helps exaggerate the appearance of high ink usage. Actual ink usage is high enough that this bug is pretty unwelcome. If it wasn't for a leading consumer magazine's highest photo quality rating for all-in-ones and their estimated page cost that wasn't crazy, and lots of other favorable reviews, I think this bug could have been much worse for MG6220 sales. This might make you feel better about MG7120's past lineage ink usage wise.

NOTE #3: Gray is supposed to go much faster than the rest, thus you wouldn't want to measure average speed of ink usage based on gray. I haven't tracked it in comparison to the other inks myself.

NOTE #4: Just an informative, probably not very useful factoid :). This model range of Canon inkjet doesn't do a big cleaning/purging after it prints, you are usually hearing head realignment. However, it does quietly "prime the head" to keep the heat from ink clogging the print head and this uses a little ink (even for B&W). This is much less ink than with the big cleaning/purging routine that is much rarer if you set the printer not to auto shut-off.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INK USAGE CANON DATASHEET:
------------------------------

As it is pretty difficult to find, here below is Canon's published Page Yield per Document numbers (I rounded a little) for MG7120. It is the same as for the MG6320.

I'm not sure how much of the difference between these numbers and users experience is due to the minute or so cleaning routine, difference between test and real world usage, etc.

Here at least you can see real world expected usage ratio between standard and XL cartridges and compare to costs to determine the better value.

----------

Mixed Text/Graphics, A4/Letter, Plain Paper, Adobe Reader 10
ISO/IEC24711 Test Method, ISO/IEC24712 Test Pattern:

PGI-250 __ 300 pages
CLI-251 BK 1100
CLI-251 GY 780
CLI-251 C_ 300
CLI-251 M_ 300
CLI-251 Y_ 300

PGI-250 XL __ 500 pages
CLI-251 XL BK 4,400
CLI-251 XL GY 3,300
CLI-251 XL C_ 650
CLI-251 XL M_ 650
CLI-251 XL Y_ 650

----------

Color Photos, 4"x6":

PGI-250 __ 3000 pages
CLI-251 BK 490
CLI-251 GY 120
CLI-251 C_ 160
CLI-251 M_ 160
CLI-251 Y_ 160

PGI-250 XL __ 3900 pages
CLI-251 XL BK 1120
CLI-251 XL GY 270
CLI-251 XL C_ 360
CLI-251 XL M_ 360
CLI-251 XL Y_ 360

----------

HOW MANY SHEETS DOES IT HOLD?:
-----------------------------------

- 80 sheets of standard 24# ink jet paper comfortably (tested).

- Supposed to hold 125 sheets of 20# (not tested). This is what most copier paper is. Some cheaper 20# has LOOSER FIBERS which is NOT AS INKJET FRIENDLY, I'd stick to paper with a surface designed for ink jets, which is usually also 24#. Of course, specialty Canon papers for photos or line art for inkjets are heavier (45#-93#).

- If using 28# paper, expect less than 80 sheets to fit, of course. Sheets whose surface is designed for laser writers are usually also 28#.

OTHER PRINTERS:
-----------------

For folks not as familiar with printers, I created this section to help delineate when you CLEARLY DON'T want a Canon ink jet printer in the popular 5320/5420/6210/6220/6320/7120/82XX model range at all. Perhaps it may help you find a good starting point to meet your needs.

YOU ARE ALL ABOUT PHOTOS, CAN
SPEND HUNDREDS MORE, AND DON'T
CARE ABOUT COPY, SCAN, ETC:

Consider checking these:
(per a leading consumer magazine and reviews)

- Canon Pixma Pro9500 Mark II
- Canon Pixma Pro1
- Canon Pixma Pro10
- Canon Pixma Pro100
- Epson Stylus R2000

YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT PHOTO QUALITY,
YOU WANT ETHERNET, SHARP B&W TEXT,
GREAT SPEED, AND LOWER PRINT COSTS

Consider checking out these lasers
as a starting point:
(per a leading consumer magazine or reviews)
Printers:
- Samsung Xpress M2825DW
- Brother HL-2270DW
- HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401n/M401dne
Multifunctions:
- Samsung Multifunction Xpress SL-M2875FW
- Canon imageCLASS MF4770n/4890dw

YOU CARE ABOUT PHOTO QUALITY, DON'T
CARE ABOUT GRAY, WANT ETHERNET, AND
MUST HAVE FAX BUILT-IN

Consider checking these:
- Canon MX922
- Canon MX892

YOU CARE ABOUT PHOTO QUALITY AND
CARE GREATLY ABOUT STRAIGHT/REAR
PAPER FEED BUT DON'T NEED TO
SPEND FOR A PRO-100/10/1

- Canon MX892 (released 2012)
- Canon MG6220/MG5320 (released 2011)
- Canon IP8720 (released 2014)
- Canon IX6820 (released 2014)

Hope that helps someone :).

141 of 143 people found the following review helpful.
Better than expected
By Alligator Jack
Had a Canon 4600 5 cartridge photo printer that printed beautiful photos exactly matching what I saw on my monitor. Also had a separate scanner that set on edge and was difficult to use. Decided to see if canon had an all-in-one that would take up less space on my desk and be able to scan easier. Checked Amazon as usual and found this wireless printer had just been released by Canon and was being carried by Amazon at a $35 promotion discount under their Prime free priority shipping program. Ordered one, put it on my desk in our bedroom, printed beautiful pictures and crisp email messages from my cell phone in the living room. Has one tray for 5x7 and 4x6 photo papers and another for letter, legal & envelopes. Tried everything. Everything works as well or better than advertised. Quality of photos and text exceptional. This may be due to the additional grey cartridge. Duplex printing quicker than my old printer. Also the printer has a quiet mode that I use. In fact, everything about this printer is better than any printer I have ever used. The installation instructions are precise, clear, easy to understand, and should be followed exactly. Do not try to wing it.
I liked this all-in-one printer so well I ordered and had one shipped free directly to each of 4 grandchildren as early Christmas presents. They love them too.
Just used printer for making a Hallmark birthday card for my wife. you only have to configure the printer once and it retains the configuration for future cards. Used Hallmark Program and Avery Card stock. Card printed beautifully. Colors accurate in colors and shading.

214 of 223 people found the following review helpful.
The Whole Truth on ink cost (please read & save lots of money). Ideal versatile printer. Does everything, installs itself.
By Mad Max
We have tested a LOT of printers - and at one point or another, we have owned every brand of printer.

I really wanted the MG7120 because I loved the last Canon PIXMA I owned. A fantastic versatile machine, great output, slim profile, and super cheap operating cost. But alas, but kids dropped the printer...TWICE! And it still worked!!!...but that second fall broke off the paper tray, so I ended up giving it away.

So the bottom line is, I love the MG7120 even more. This is the first printer that works exactly the way it should. It basically installs itself, maintains itself, does *everything*, beautiful print quality, extremely low operating cost, and versatile enough for home or office.

Yes it has some drawbacks but that doesn't prevent me from giving it 5 stars.

I could talk all day about this printer but here are some highlights:

CLOUD PRINT
If you haven't discovered the world of cloud printing, I strongly suggest downloading Google Cloud Print. You can cloud print with any printer, but this model comes cloud-ready (easier to install/use).

Basically, you can print from anywhere in the world (as long as your printer is turned on). You can also print from just about any modern phone (with the cloud print app). This makes life easier, and it takes about 30 seconds to install Google Cloud Print on your PC, phone, or tablet.

INK
The cartridges that came with the printer have got to be starter cartridges. This was annoying, they only lasted a few days. I recommend ordering ink right away.

The 6th ink cartridge (gray) seems to be a fairly new thing. I can only find this ink in 5-packs (not 6-packs - they are missing the gray), so the gray has to be purchased separately. Not a huge deal since ink is so cheap. This will probably change soon, but just be prepared.

And here's the cost-saving tip for ink:

Modern generics are high-tech. Often, they use the exact same pigments (come off the same assembly line) & use the same chipsets, so the printer recognizes them (well, maybe 95% of the time).

Here's the catch: As I write this (November 2013) this is a fairly new Canon model, so there aren't that many generic inks available. Basically, right now there is one dependable company - Printronic (links below). But give just 2 months, and there will be LOTS more companies making these inks, and the cost will come down even more.

So today, these are the average prices I'm finding for ink replacement: $18.50 per 5-pack ($3.70 per cartridge) and/or $4.66 each per black cartridge (which are twice the capacity of the colors).

Here are two good deals for ink replacement: ASIN # B00DMGF2Z2 & B00EA55G1E. Again, just keep in mind, these prices will be dropping dramatically at the first of the year. And also keep in mind, prices on Amazon fluctuate almost daily.

Biggest Con:

This printer seems to take forever to do just about anything. It set itself up completely on its own...but it said it would take 6-7 minutes, and really took about 25 mins. Booting up takes several minutes. It self-cleans every so often, which interrupts printing & takes several minutes. Powering down takes almost a minute. I still think this is worth 5 stars, but be prepared for this minor annoyance.

Some other notes:

* Sheet capacity is only about 50 sheets, and since we're using in an office setting we're refilling frequently. But the paper tray is super easy to pull out & restock.

* Touch screen controls is super easy. We've never had to connect the printer to the computer via USB, and we've never had to tinker with drivers or settings - everything is on-board through the touch-screen control.

* Scans are quick & easy, scanner works exactly as it should.

* Copy mode is super easy. Just select "Copy" on the touch screen, then press the black/white or color button. One-touch copying for simple jobs, but it also has

* The "special" paper tray handles envelopes, photo paper, and a variety of other unique print jobs.

* With minor tinkering, you can get it to print legal size and also special jobs like CD/DVD printing (though I haven't tried this - you need a printable disc to do this).

* This is almost twice as heavy as the previous PIXMA, and the footprint is bigger. But the unit is still light enough to move around if needed, and the footprint isn't anything to complain about.

* A final note - I believe this unit is worth every penny, at around $150. But if you're not quite certain you need all the bells & whistles (like the cloud print, & the gray ink for quality black/white photos), there are some less expensive PIXMA printers that work just as well for most people. For a small step down, check out the MX922 (around $120). For a starter model, try the MG5420 (under $90).

Hope this helped you save some time & money. Good luck!

See all 208 customer reviews...More...

Jumat, 07 Agustus 2015

UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Large - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red

UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Large - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red..

Grab Now UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Large - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red By Jawbone

Most helpful customer reviews

711 of 735 people found the following review helpful.
UP24 -- the Holistic Wrist gets better!
By RST
Last November, I reviewed the Jawbone UP, and later compared it to the Fitbit Flex. A year later, Jawbone has now released the UP24. This review will primarily focus on making a choice between UP, UP24 and Fitbit Flex. When I originally reviewed the devices, I thought the main differences would be in the hardware appearance and fit/feel. I was a bit wrong-- the biggest functionality difference was in the quality, function and aesthetic value of the software that comes with it. With the UP24 now having bluetooth syncing, the biggest difference for me is now only the software. I'll let you make your own conclusions.

And now a year later, I will refresh my thoughts about the UP & Flex devices, and how the UP24 adds to the mix of options.

If you want to read my original in depth review of the UP, you can see it here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/RT0KPKVSQD0HI/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm (copy & paste if click isn't allowed)

If you want to read my original in depth review of the Fitbit Flex, you can see it here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CVXEEYIAIR0W/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm (copy & paste if click isn't allowed)

If you want to read my original review of the Fitbit One, you can see it here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/RU12ENFFFWD02/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm (copy & paste if click isn't allowed)

Hardware Comparison
UP24, UP and Flex are equally easy and comfortable for me to wear. The Flex requires a bit more work to latch, and the UPs both can get in the way when keyboarding on a laptop. Flex is charged by removing a horse pill sized module from the rubber arm band, and plugging it in to USB. UP is charged by plugging the band into an adapter and charging in USB.

In the UP vs Flex, I got about the same battery life in both, slightly leaning toward the Flex. In UP24, I get about 7 days of battery usage, and this includes it automatically bluetooth syncing. On both devices, if you have a bluetooth 4+ device, you should not see any noticeable drop in battery life by staying connected all the time, and I have not seen a difference.

I have worn the UP and Flex in extensive swimming, and while none are rated to track your swimming, none encountered any technical issues from the water. The Flex seemed to get a bit "funky/gross" in the portal where the horse pill goes. UP did not get gunky under its cap. Not a deal breaker on the Flex, but a bit more work to maintain.

From a physical and appearance perspective, the UP24 and UP are identical on the outside. The only difference is that the UP24 has a smaller sync jack inside the cap which is smaller than a standard headphone jack. The UP syncs through a headphone jack of your phone, while the UP24 and Flex use bluetooth.

Charging in both devices takes about at the same amount of time-- 30-60 minutes. I recommend for both that you only use a computer or PC-- not a USB wall charger. Some devices fail quickly when charged with more than 1.5V and while I don't have scientific proof to back it, this is my conclusion from what I've seen in discussions and on forums.

When you buy an UP or UP24, you are committing to a color. When you buy a Flex, you can change the band and can choose any color you can find in a replacement band.

Wearing each isn't terribly different. The UP/24 is more like a slap bracelet or a twisty metal that retains its original shape. You stretch it to put it on and it overlaps again to hold on. You can push it tighter if you want, as the rubber grips itself and lets you adjust the tension. The Flex is a thinner but wider band and feels more out of the way, but the clasp can be a bit difficult to operate. For absolute adherence I would say the Flex stays on better in most normal situations. The UP will stay on on roller coasters and probably even a NASA launch, but it can sometimes get entangled in backpack shoulder straps and pull itself from your arm to the strap. This is the only negative thing I have to say about the design of the UP.

Sleep Function
All three devices are equally accurate for day time walking for me and report almost identical steps. The UP and UP24 are equally good at sleep monitoring, both deep & shallow. The Fitbit didn't give nearly as much detail about sleep, and for that matter about activity, intensity, etc. throughout the day in such a clear simple beautiful presentation. The UP products now can auto add your sleep if you forgot to put it in sleep mode and you give it appropriate sleep and awake times. This is a really nice addition since all devices require you to tell them when you sleep, and sometimes it's easy to forget. Now, you don't lose that data. A great improvement.

One feature I like about the UP is the "power nap" function. It learns your sleep patterns, and lets you make it through one cycle of sleep and slowly begins to vibrate to wake you up. For me, this amount of time is about 26 minutes. It's so uncanny at waking you at the right time that you may almost feel like you didn't sleep-- until you realize you did. It can also use this technology to wake you in the morning.

Software Openness
For some months I wore both the Jawbone UP and Fitbit Flex on my arm, side by side, comparing their use, charging habits, syncing functionality, and software. There were a few reasons that some people would prefer the Fitbit product, and most of those focused on the Fitbit software's openness to sharing data to other third party applications for more intense food tracking (like MyFitness Pal, which now works with both UP/24 Flex), and other types of apps that help you focus on weight loss, etc. Last year, UP didn't have this functionality, but now it does. On the openness of software, there may be some caveats of what is available for each, but both now fully support third party software integration to your data.

Software Usage
Hands down, the UP software is more useful, intuitive, predictive and provides more insight. The software is downright beautiful. The design gets out of the way and lets you really interact with the data and configuration in a way that feels natural and intuitive. It's fun. The Fitbit Flex software is an adaptation of the software they've had for some time for their other devices, so in that I suspect that Fitbit didn't have the opportunity and timing to start with a fresh slate and rethink their software. I didn't like the software enough that I chose to stop using the Flex after a few months. I'm sure a total refresh will come soon from Fitbit, if it hasn't already subsequent to my testing of the Flex.

Social
When I did the original reviews linked above, I received (and welcomed!) a ton of questions. I might expect the same here. From my perspective the UP24 is an incremental upgrade to the UP, which was already neck to neck with the Fitbit Flex, and for me, the preferred choice. With the addition of Bluetooth to the UP, it's my clear and only choice. There may be reasons that you would prefer the Flex, and one reason that could sway you either way is the social aspect-- both support friends, which can provide encouragement both directly, and by your observance of their performance. Hey! My friend did 2x what I did all week, no wonder I am not dropping pounds! Etc. Wherever you have friends already using the platform, don't discredit this as a strong piece of encouragement if you're looking to make this an encouragement product.

In the beginning, Fibit sent weekly email summaries that were quite nice, and the UP strong point was providing real feedback about your data, and telling you in which percentage of performance you are in by all UP users. This area is also starting to commingle a bit with both products nearly covering the bases of each other.

Food Logging
I don't plan to compare some more of the discrete differences in software such as food logging, etc. I tried it originally in both and while I wasn't an expert, I stopped using it in both products. If I pick back up on the habit of food logging, I will update the review with that information. At the time, the UP had a beautiful software which even allowed you to scan bar codes, and Flex had less pretty but more in depth software food database. I would suspect that this is another area where this competition will become more intense and where they will equalize, and since 3rd party apps are supported in both, you could do this in another app if either software is lacking.

So to conclude, if you want me to choose a product for you as the average general interested customer, I would choose the UP24 for you. But if you know more about your needs or you have specific needs that you know the Flex meets and UP/24 does not, it's ok! I certainly wouldn't bash the flex and I think they could make it a quite powerful product again if they could get their software on par with Jawbone UP software app for iOS/Android.

I recommend the UP24 (which comes with bluetooth). I would only recommend the original UP (the one without bluetooth) to someone who doesn't have bluetooth, doesn't want to enable bluetooth, or is purely buying on price but likes the description of software or features of the UP/24. If you choose the UP and not the 24, make sure it is compatible with your phone or device.

I hope this has been long enough to be helpful, but short enough to not bore you. If you have specific
questions, I will do my best to answer them in the comments below. Happy fitness! FYI: I bought mine from jawbone. com.

UPDATE: In the mean time, the Fitbit Force has been released. I have not used this device. From what I can tell it adds an external display and altimeter to gauge stairs, otherwise, I don't have specific feedback on that device. I assume it uses the same software as the Flex.

UPDATE: A commentor pointed out that it would really have been optimal to compare the UP24 to the Fitbit Force. I can't disagree with that. I lost a little bit of steam with the Fitbit product due to their software being lacking at my last use of the Flex. If I can get my hands on a Force, I will add what I can in comparison if any differences are seen in my conclusions.

244 of 261 people found the following review helpful.
My favorite fitness band
By Charlie D
First off, I would like to point out that I own both the Jawbone UP24 and the Fitbit Force and will compare a few features in this review, but if you want a full review on the Fitbit Force I will be posting one on the actual product here soon.

Hardware:

The UP24 features new curved design on the top, has a smaller headphone jack that is only used for charging, and now syncs via Bluetooth. It has two green LED lights indicating day/night mode, a vibrating motor and a physical button for changing modes.
There is no clasp, you just twist it on and it fits fairly comfortably if you chose the right size. It is thin and bulky so it tends to get in the way and raise my wrist when I type or use a mouse and can get annoying, I prefer a wider, flatter design.

The Fitbit Force has a beautiful OLED Screen that shows you all of your stats without having to pull out your phone. The design is very minimalist, and to me is much more comfortable to wear vs the UP. It also does not snag on my jackets or long sleeve shirts and is very thin at the bottom so it is comfortable to type with it on where as the up can be very uncomfortable to type or use a mouse with it on.

Battery Life - Battery lasts me about 7-8 days and takes about an hour to charge. The manual says to charge it only on a USB port on your computer, but I have charged it using my iPhone wall charger and car charger just fine.

Pedometer - The UP seems fairly accurate for tracks your steps. If I wave my arm around or if I'm driving, the UP does not count steps whereas the Fitbit Force seems to count steps for any slight movement I make.

Software:

The App is just plain beautiful and intuitive. It is indeed what makes this product what it is. This is where this product shines over the Fitbit Force in my opinion, and is the reason I chose the UP24 even though it lacks a screen.

Activity Logging - Made extreme simple. You double tap + hold the physical button and it will start logging your work out. Once you are done, do it again and it will add an "activity" to your timeline in which you go to the iOS app and choose what type of activity it was from a preset list [walk, weights, run, cross train, hike, cardio, bike, yoga, stationary bike, pilates, elliptical, basketball, video games, tennis, dance, soccer, ski, other).
Once you choose your workout, you can choose what the intensity was and it will adjust the calorie burn accordingly. What I also like is that if you forget to log your activity, or remember half way through your workout, after your stop logging the workout you can edit what time you began the workout and it will analyze those prior movements and add them to your logged activity.
You can also calibrate your UP to your stride, by logging a known walking/running distance (track preferred) and going into your settings and choosing that activity and it will calculate your future walks/runs more accurately.

The Fitbit Force lacks in this department, it seems very finicky to me, especially after having used the UP. When I log an activity it only shows up on the web app but not on my iOS app (not sure why) and it only lets me name the workout but does not let me choose what type of exercise it was or the intensity level. The only way I have found to do this is to manually add your activity every time which is annoying and not as accurate.

Sleep tracking - The UP does this very well, you hold the button before you go to sleep until you see the LED moon, and feel it vibrate and press it again when you wake up. If you forget to put it in sleep mode, hit manually add sleep and it will automatically fill in your sleep and estimate what times you slept and woke up based on your movements. I've tried purposely sleeping without logging it to test this feature out and it has been very accurate. It also has a power nap mode (double tap 3 times + hold) and you can record your naps throughout the day and it will automatically wake you up based off your sleep cycle.
It will show you a pretty graph with your deep sleep/light sleep cycle, and how many times you woke up based off your movements throughout the night.

The Fitbit Force does at pretty good job at tracking sleep also, but doesn't break down your stats as well as the UP.

Alarms - One of my favorite features, you can set smart vibration alarms that wake you up slowly based off your sleep cycle, I much prefer this over a loud obnoxious cellphone alarm. There is also an idle alarm that will vibrate after you have been inactive for a preset amount of time to remind you to get off your butt (Something the Fitbit Force does not have).

Social - I loove the social aspect of the UP (Something the Fitbit Force also lacks) you have the ability to add your friends or random people (which I did because none of my friends own an UP) and cheer each other on and comment on each other's workouts and statuses. You can set your mood for the day with a status to go with it, you can view people's UP profiles and view their logged activities and goal progress. It makes it feel like a game and really motivates you to get off your butt and compete.

App Support - The UP has plenty of supporting Apps, although the only ones I use are runkeeper and withings. Every time you log a run on runkeeper it will automatically add it to your timeline with a picture of your route and your running stats. Every time you weigh yourself on a withings scale or manually add your weight to the withings app, it will add it to your time line with a picture of a bar graph showing your weight history.

Food Logging - UP has vast database of foods, I was even able to find items off certain restaurant menus. You can also take a picture of your food and type in the nutrition facts manually or use bar code scanner built into the app (what I mostly use). I really like this feature but am lazy at times to log everything I eat so I don't use it as much as id like to.

As for the Fitbit... I'd recommend linking it to MyFitnessPal and use their food database.

In conclusion:
I absolutely love everything about the UP except the hardware itself. Although I do really like the design, it is slightly bulky, lacks a screen, and has no clasp. But the UP software is so well made and fun to use that I am happily willing to overlook that. I don't carry my computer with me everywhere so it is awesome to be able have all my detailed stats available to me. Although I do hope they make a windows metro app for it next! Fitbit already has one!

The Fitbit band itself I actually prefer to wear, love the design, fit, screen, and color, but can't bring myself to like it as much as I'd like to because the steps always seem over counted and the app is way too basic for me. Also the fact that you have to pay 50$ a year for more in depth stats. Should be free in my opinion. Also don't like having to log on to the web app to see more details of my activities.

- UPDATE [5 JAN 2014]-

After extensive testing wearing both the Jawbone UP24 and Fitbit Force on my non dominant hand (left) I have found the Fitbit force to be grossly inaccurate. More so than I had originally thought. On a 10 minute drive to work the Fitbit recorded 126 steps while the UP recorded none. On a road trip back from NY to MD, the Fitbit counted over 400 steps while the UP24 constantly gave me my hourly idle alerts so I knew that no activity was being recorded. By end of each day, the Fitbit force counted 1,000 - 3,000 steps more than then UP24! Now I have also compared this data to the Moves App and the Runtastic Pedometer app for the iPhone 5S that both utilize its M7 motion processor. I started recording an activity on all four apps/devices before I stepped out of my door, and went to the mall with my wife for a typical day of following her around while she shops. I stopped recording when we arrived home and I stepped back inside my house (I was out for about 4 hours). Here are the results of my comparison test:

iPhone 5S: Moves App - 3,106 Steps
iPhone 5S: Runtastic Pedometer App - 3,313 Steps
Jawbone UP24 - 3,269 Steps
Fitbit Force - 3,886 Steps

As you can see, the UP24 fell right in between the iPhone Apps, while the Fitbit Force had counted 500+ steps more. This is due to the high sensitivity of the Fitbit Force as it counts steps for any slight movement (as I mentioned earlier). To test this further, I had my wife wear the Fitbit force while she did her hair and when she gave it back it had counted over 1,000 steps...

Another thing I have discovered about the Jawbone UP24 is that it can indeed be used for cycling/elliptical, although there is a catch. You have to wear it on your ankle (which its coil design somewhat allows, depending on your band/ankle size). Mine is a little stretched when I have it on as the ends don't touch, but it still feels comfortable over the sock and works just the same. I tried it on a stationary bike and it counted two steps/revolution, it also counts steps walking around very accurately as well. So that's something you can experiment with if you do decide to get one and you frequently go on bike rides or if for whatever reason you can't wear it on your wrist.

_______________________________

If there is anything else you guys would like me to add to this review that I may have missed, please let me know and I will update my review.

161 of 173 people found the following review helpful.
Its good buts its bulky.
By kolimit
I was initially given the Up24 as a Christmas Gift. My fiancé saw that I had been searching for weeks trying to decide the right one. She did some research on her own and decided to get me this product. But after a week, I returned it and brought the Nike Fuelband SE. BUT here is my product review.
Pros:
1. Software: The Jawbone’s software is FAR ahead of Fitbit and Nike Fuelband. It was very comprehensive and easy to understand. The Software integrated with all the popular Fitness tracking apps, i.e. Myfitness Pal. Fitbit does too. Nike Fuelband does NOT! That’s a huge negative for me. I digress. The software automatically synced with Myfitness Pal. What I would offer as a suggestion to Jawbone is to improve the software would allow for the individual to put in Calories manually. It allows it, sort of. But you have to do some playing around. ALL, I REPEAT ALL, Fitness trackers are horrible at recording Weight Training and Static Exercise Machines (treadmills). BUT jawbone does better than all to help the user put the actually calories that they think may have burned and sync with MyFitnessPal.

2. Sleep tracking: Another good one. Their sleep tracking and integration was awesome and provided me an insight into how I sleep. I noticed that I do my heavy sleeping early and light sleep as the night wears on. I think that is military training. I digress.

3. Battery Life: 7 days is great. Before I decided to switch, my plan was to wear the device Monday-Saturday and take it off on Sundays for charging. I personally believe that too much tracking and syncing will derail your fitness plans. Need to give it a rest. No matter. This is still a plus.

4. Ease of use. Very easy to remove and expands. This was useful for weight training when I had to put on my gloves (w/ wrist support). My Fuelband, I must replace the links.

5. The Silent wakeup. Great idea. TOO bad the Nike FB DOES NOT have this feature .

Cons: Ultimately, I decided I had to return this product because it did not integrate into my routine smooth enough

1. Software: Jawbone needs to have a desktop app.

2. Feels Cumbersome: I could never find the right position to wear this thing around my wrist. I initially have the thicker piece facing up. Then I switched to it being down. Jawbone needs to be on board and design the next Up24 as something you strap to your wrist, not wrap around. This was the main reason (if not, the only) I returned the product.

3. Need to allow the user to manually input his/her calories burned after a workout. Why does Jawbone care if people cheat. They are only cheating themselves.

4. Need to thin it out. It is too thick and gets in the way. It came off while I was sleep. I believe it’s too easy to lose this item. Por Que $150 es mucho dinero (Because $150 is a lot of money).

5. Where the heck is the heart rate monitor? If it’s too much to put into the product, an idea would be to team up with a popular heart rate tracking company to integrate a HR monitor to link in with the UP to give accurate calories burned. Just a thought.
If Jawbone Up was similar in design to Nike FB SE, I would return the Nike FB SE in a heartbeat.

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Selasa, 14 April 2015

Belkin WeMo Switch, Control Your Electronics From Anywhere with the Home Automation App for Smartphones and Tablets, Wi-Fi Enabled

Belkin WeMo Switch, Control Your Electronics From Anywhere with the Home Automation App for Smartphones and Tablets, Wi-Fi Enabled..

GET Belkin WeMo Switch, Control Your Electronics From Anywhere with the Home Automation App for Smartphones and Tablets, Wi-Fi Enabled By WeMo

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359 of 386 people found the following review helpful.
Firmware and App needs a lot of work.
By Gaucho
Installed the Wemo Light Switch easily enough. As other reviewers have stated, a neutral wire is required. Also, the size of the front of the switch is the same as your regular Leviton switches, so if you are replacing one of those your face plates (including a double face plate for 2 different switches which is what I have), it will fit. The rear of the switch, is definitely bigger than the rear of a normal light switch so it does make a tight fit inside the wall box. Overall, I think it is a decent device but Belkin has some updating to do, per the rest of my review.

Pluses:
* Design looks good
* When light switch is on, there is small power light to show it is "on"
* Once it is connected to your network, the remote access via the App is a nice feature

Cons:
* When connecting to your wi-fi router, you cannot have any special characters (like: !?*&) or any spaces, in your typically already set up router password; Example: your password cannot be "john doe" and instead has to be "johndoe" without a space. If you have these, it will not connect to your router!!! Belkin needs a firmware / App update to fix this ASAP.
* When you are loading a rule to your Wemo Switch, let the App completely finish before doing anything. This means waiting...don't try and rush anything because you can bork your device. My first Wemo light switch died because of this (after just 1 day of use!), as I tried to change its name from "Wemo Light Switch" to something like "Porch Light" and it did not load right, and killed the switch where I could not access it at all from the App (after 4 + hours of troubleshooting, resetting, restarting, re-installing the App, etc.); ultimately I had to just replace it with a new Wemo light switch that is working for now.
* Timer based rules do not always work; Example - I tried to create a rule where the switch turns on at 8:30 p.m. and turns off at 2:30 a.m. Saved the rule and the rule loaded to the device. After saving, etc., the rule mistakenly says to turn off at 2:30 p.m. = it got the a.m. and p.m. reversed for the turn off setting. Tried this several times and it would not save correctly, no matter what. Instead I am just using the "sunset" to "sunrise" settings which did save correctly. Again, a future firmware update should fix this.
* On Android, the WeMo App is slow, very slow (even if on a strong wi-fi or on a strong LTE signal which I have). The Android WeMo "Beta" App has the same exact functionality, but it is a little bit faster. So if you are on Android, use the "Beta" App.
* Belkin needs to allow a computer browser interface, not just by an IOS or Android App. I am comparing this to my Nest thermostat, which does have a computer browser interface plus an App, and is generally a much more polished device.

Conclusion - for now it's just a decent device. Even though it is not the first in the Wemo line, I would consider it a first generation device. I would rate it 2.5 stars for now, and if my second switch does not fail then maybe 3.5 stars. If Belkin improves firmware and the App, then it has the potential to be a 4+ star device but it is not there yet.

See, [...] for a Wemo community forum where you can see a wide variety of issues for troubleshooting this and other Wemo devices.

277 of 299 people found the following review helpful.
Worked well for ~2 months
By Erick
I bought 4 of these light switches about a month after they were released. I had been adding motion detector lights, dusk-to-dawn lights, etc., to both improve energy efficiency and safety in my house. My purchase was designed to move further toward both of these issues, along with a new Kwikset lock and some security cameras.

Installation was relatively simple, even for someone who is not an electrician. As long as you have the proper wires and follow instructions, as other reviewers have mentioned, installation should not be too difficult (check before ordering though). Connecting to the WiFi was also not difficult for me. I have a Linksys router in the basement with a Linksys range extender upstairs and WeMo did not have any problems connecting when I followed instructions. The initial firmware update took quite a long time and the initial iPhone app version that I downloaded was *very* slow to detect the switches each time I loaded the app, but they seem to have fixed the latter issue.

Once it was all setup, I LOVED it. I used IFTTT to automatically make sure lights were turned off at night and on in the morning, among other things. I really like the look of them and changed out many of my fan switches and other switches to the decorator-style to make it look even nicer. Really, really like the look of them, although I could see it not fitting as well in certain instances (I am definitely not an interior decorator). I do wish that these would work with 3-way lights (where you have two light switches that control the same light) or as dimmers, but unfortunately they don't.

Here's the problem: two days ago, the power to the router went out for about 30 seconds, then turned back on. The internet and WiFi loaded fine and all of my devices worked fine - except two of the 4 light switches could no longer connect to WiFi! They would both just blink orange non-stop. I tried all of their support instructions on their website, which was minimal, and included resetting and restarting the device. Of course, now one of the switches started blinking green and I could no longer even turn the lights on manually. So I caved and called their support number (difficult to find, but calling the corporate headquarters 800-number routed me to support).

Here is where it got really frustrating because, among other things, the person on the line spoke very poor English. It took about 35 minutes to get through the initial questions around model number, what lights were blinking, when I purchased the product, etc. In between each question, she would tell me to "hold on a second" and mute her line, before often (at least 10 times, no exaggeration) returning and asking me a question I had already answered. Multiple times, she forgot to mute her line and I heard her joking with her friends. But, OK, I only hold Belkin partially accountable for that. After over an hour, and having me try everything I already tried, she finally said she would send me a new one. For now, I have two switches that cannot connect to WiFi and one that cannot even turn the lights on.

It is simply not worth all of this hassle just to be able to remotely turn some lights on and off. To make it worse: they only provide (poor) customer service for free for 90 days! After that, you have to pay to talk to someone. Luckily (unluckily?), mine broke after 60 days so I could get someone on the phone.

I really wanted to like the product, and I would have if there was some quality control or better customer support, but unfortunately for me it didn't work out.

195 of 213 people found the following review helpful.
A great starter pack- a demo of how it's useful for me.
By RST
I am a little bit obsessed with the WeMo world. I have a ton of them in my house, on most lights, and a few of the motion sensors. I could go through the technical specs of the device, but others have done that. I'd rather give you an example of why it is useful to me, and how I use it. I have my kit and other WeMo switches set to:

Turn one living room light on from "dusk" (definable in the iPhone/Android app) until 10:30 p.m.
From 10:30 to 11, a different light stays on
From 11 through "sunrise" if I walk out of the bedroom door, and the motion sensor senses me, it turns on two lights in the living room
If motion is detected from 10:30 p.m. through Sunrise at my front door, it turns on "ALL OF THE LIGHTS!"

I also use one of these in the winter to turn on my Christmas lights (they plug in indoors), my Christmas tree at night, and other Christmas lights on by motion if I'm around.

The kit is incredibly flexible, and once you get one set up and on your wifi, it can be controlled while you are AWAY FROM HOME! The best part.

You can drive up to your house and turn the lights on before you go inside!

That all being said, I did have a couple of them be a little difficult to get on the wifi the first time. As soon as you connect them, they want to update their firmware/software. Once that's done, they work great. Be patient if you have a little difficulty on the first go, it will work and then be 100% reliable after that.

I hope this has helped you understand how and why to use the device and how it might help you.

UPDATE:

There is now a newer or different model of the wemo outlet control that can also track energy consumption. It is smaller overall, and has a touch sensor for the wifi. If you think you might be interested in that, you can find it here: Belkin WeMo Insight Switch, Control Your Electronics and Monitor Energy Usage From Anywhere with the Home Automation App for Smartphones and Tablets, Wi-Fi Enabled

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Sabtu, 11 April 2015

UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Small - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red

UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Small - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red..

Special Price UP 24 by Jawbone - Bluetooth Enabled - Small - Retail Packaging - Persimmon Red By Jawbone

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