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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Smart Wi-Fi LED Light Bulb in Tech
Sep 19, 2021
Easily turn on/off light bulb anywhere you have wi-fi through app. (2 more)
Control light bulb by voice using Alexa, Google assistant or Cortana.
Set light bulb to automatic conditions like weather, time, or device status.
Will sometimes go back to setup mode where it just keeps flashing and you have to connect or setup again. (2 more)
You have to have the switch turned on for it to be online or else you cannot turn the bulb on/off through app.
Confusing packaging.
Convenient, But How Convenient Really?
The Merkury Innovations Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb (Dimmable*White/A19 Bulb) is made to replace your traditional light bulb where you can now control, dim and schedule your lights by app (geeni app) from anywhere you have your smart phone. The one I purchased was the 9W=60W, brightness 800 lumens, A19 bulb. The smart wi-fi bulb can be controlled from anywhere with wi-fi access by the app, voice or can even be set to a pre-set schedule and can easily share access with other family members. The life of the bulb based on 3 hours a day is 22.8 years.
So the other day I was at my grandmother's house with my Dad. The family has been doing some renovations over there and I saw my Aunt messing with a lamp and her phone. She told me she had bought one of those smart light bulbs and that she could use an app on her phone to control it. I have seen commercials for different similar products like the smart A/C thermostat and thought it was pretty cool. So I decided next time I was at the store to have a look at them and see if there was something affordable and not too expensive to give it a try and that's how I found this product.
This is my first time buying a smart bulb so I didn't really know what to expect. Inside the box was just the light bulb and instructions. The instructions didn't seem to complicated, download the "geeni" app, create an account and password, login and then setup the bulb. There were 3 ways to setup the bulb, bluetooth, easy mode and backup AP mode. I was doing it by bluetooth but somehow wound up not being able to get it. So then I tried easy mode and still wasn't able to get it and that's when I saw the small print that says, "Note: Geeni can't connect to 5GHz networks." Once I connected to the right network everything went smoothly.
In the app on the "My Home" tab, it shows you which light bulbs you have connected. If they are off it will show a message that says "device offline". If on it will show an on/off button and will also show a "Quick Actions" link where you can control the brightness from 1% - 100%. via dimmer. The next tab in the app is the "Smart Scenes" tab, under the Tap-to-Run page you can control multiple devices with one tap or with voice assistance like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Microsoft Cortana. On the Automation page you can execute actions automatically, and setup them up by specifications based on weather conditions, device status or time. The next tab is the "Notification Center", and there are pages for Alarms, Home, and Alerts. The last tab is the "Profile" tab and is where you can set your name, find the help center, the settings tab and manage your home so you can organize your light bulbs by house hold.
Pro:
Easily turn on/off light bulb anywhere you have wi-fi through app.
Control light bulb by voice using Alexa, Google assistant or Cortana.
Set light bulb to automatic conditions like weather, time, or device status.
Con:
Will sometimes go back to setup mode where it just keeps flashing and you have to connect or setup again.
You have to have the switch turned on for it to be online or else you cannot turn the bulb on/off through app.
Confusing packaging.
Rating: 7/10
Conclusion:
I have to say that these light bulbs can be pretty convenient and an awesome way to setup some lights at home to turn on when it's dark to make people think you're home. It's also good for when you are getting home at night and want to turn on the lights so you don't walk into a pitch dark room. It's awesome to just use the app to dim the lights without having to get up or even turn them off when your sitting down about to watch a movie. When I purchased them there was a 3-pack that was more expensive then buying 3 bulbs separately and I couldn't understand why. In retrospect I think maybe those were non-dimmable which really doesn't make sense. So I would say shopping for light bulbs is already confusing enough and getting a smart bulb might just cause more headaches for some people. But if you're looking to try it out I got this bulb for under $10 at Wal-Mart and think they are pretty cool. I give the Merkury Innovations Smart Wi-Fi- LED bulb a 7/10.
So the other day I was at my grandmother's house with my Dad. The family has been doing some renovations over there and I saw my Aunt messing with a lamp and her phone. She told me she had bought one of those smart light bulbs and that she could use an app on her phone to control it. I have seen commercials for different similar products like the smart A/C thermostat and thought it was pretty cool. So I decided next time I was at the store to have a look at them and see if there was something affordable and not too expensive to give it a try and that's how I found this product.
This is my first time buying a smart bulb so I didn't really know what to expect. Inside the box was just the light bulb and instructions. The instructions didn't seem to complicated, download the "geeni" app, create an account and password, login and then setup the bulb. There were 3 ways to setup the bulb, bluetooth, easy mode and backup AP mode. I was doing it by bluetooth but somehow wound up not being able to get it. So then I tried easy mode and still wasn't able to get it and that's when I saw the small print that says, "Note: Geeni can't connect to 5GHz networks." Once I connected to the right network everything went smoothly.
In the app on the "My Home" tab, it shows you which light bulbs you have connected. If they are off it will show a message that says "device offline". If on it will show an on/off button and will also show a "Quick Actions" link where you can control the brightness from 1% - 100%. via dimmer. The next tab in the app is the "Smart Scenes" tab, under the Tap-to-Run page you can control multiple devices with one tap or with voice assistance like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Microsoft Cortana. On the Automation page you can execute actions automatically, and setup them up by specifications based on weather conditions, device status or time. The next tab is the "Notification Center", and there are pages for Alarms, Home, and Alerts. The last tab is the "Profile" tab and is where you can set your name, find the help center, the settings tab and manage your home so you can organize your light bulbs by house hold.
Pro:
Easily turn on/off light bulb anywhere you have wi-fi through app.
Control light bulb by voice using Alexa, Google assistant or Cortana.
Set light bulb to automatic conditions like weather, time, or device status.
Con:
Will sometimes go back to setup mode where it just keeps flashing and you have to connect or setup again.
You have to have the switch turned on for it to be online or else you cannot turn the bulb on/off through app.
Confusing packaging.
Rating: 7/10
Conclusion:
I have to say that these light bulbs can be pretty convenient and an awesome way to setup some lights at home to turn on when it's dark to make people think you're home. It's also good for when you are getting home at night and want to turn on the lights so you don't walk into a pitch dark room. It's awesome to just use the app to dim the lights without having to get up or even turn them off when your sitting down about to watch a movie. When I purchased them there was a 3-pack that was more expensive then buying 3 bulbs separately and I couldn't understand why. In retrospect I think maybe those were non-dimmable which really doesn't make sense. So I would say shopping for light bulbs is already confusing enough and getting a smart bulb might just cause more headaches for some people. But if you're looking to try it out I got this bulb for under $10 at Wal-Mart and think they are pretty cool. I give the Merkury Innovations Smart Wi-Fi- LED bulb a 7/10.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Samsung Galaxy Buds in Tech
Apr 13, 2019
Virtually flawless
I need to start off by saying that prior to owning these, I have never used any sort of wireless headphones and neither do I claim to be a headphone connoisseur. I usually just use the free ones you get with phones. All I will say is that I really hope that all other wireless bluetooth headphones are as brilliant as these are.
They look fantastic. From the small pill box shaped container to the headphone, they look sleek and stylish and are fairly small too. They're simple to set up - as soon as I opened them, my phone recognised them and linked them straight away, so quickly done. And the even recognise when you've put them in your ears! The Samsung Wearables app is a great tool to be able to check the battery on the headphones and change the equaliser and what actions the touch controls make. Sound quality is brilliant and they really do block out surrounding sound so well - I wore them at a busy gym (which had loud music on in the background), and couldn't hear anything other than myself. The ambient sound feature is a nice touch too for those occasions when you want to be able to hear things around you.
The fit of the headphones is surprisingly good. They come with 3 different sizes of rubber wings & tips so you can easily find a size to fit you, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that once these are in my ear, I didn't have to keep pushing them in to stop them from falling out. In fact I used these at the gym and whilst out and about, and I never once had them fall out like standard headphones do. And if they do fall out or you lose one, theres a 'find my bud' feature that will help locate them (assuming they havent got too far!).
They aren't perfect though. The touch pad controls are a little temperamental. This could be due to a novice user, or just how it is. Also the positioning of the headphones and touchpads means if you like to lie on your side and listen to music in bed, it could be difficult. And the other slight issue is the battery life. Combined charge between the headphones & pod is around 13 hours, which isn't a lot. Although I'm probably only moaning because it means it's another piece of tech that I have to remember to charge.
These are only very slight niggles though. These are by far the best headphones I've ever owned - great sound quality, intuitive, great size and very functional. I'll never go back to wearing wired headphones again.
They look fantastic. From the small pill box shaped container to the headphone, they look sleek and stylish and are fairly small too. They're simple to set up - as soon as I opened them, my phone recognised them and linked them straight away, so quickly done. And the even recognise when you've put them in your ears! The Samsung Wearables app is a great tool to be able to check the battery on the headphones and change the equaliser and what actions the touch controls make. Sound quality is brilliant and they really do block out surrounding sound so well - I wore them at a busy gym (which had loud music on in the background), and couldn't hear anything other than myself. The ambient sound feature is a nice touch too for those occasions when you want to be able to hear things around you.
The fit of the headphones is surprisingly good. They come with 3 different sizes of rubber wings & tips so you can easily find a size to fit you, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that once these are in my ear, I didn't have to keep pushing them in to stop them from falling out. In fact I used these at the gym and whilst out and about, and I never once had them fall out like standard headphones do. And if they do fall out or you lose one, theres a 'find my bud' feature that will help locate them (assuming they havent got too far!).
They aren't perfect though. The touch pad controls are a little temperamental. This could be due to a novice user, or just how it is. Also the positioning of the headphones and touchpads means if you like to lie on your side and listen to music in bed, it could be difficult. And the other slight issue is the battery life. Combined charge between the headphones & pod is around 13 hours, which isn't a lot. Although I'm probably only moaning because it means it's another piece of tech that I have to remember to charge.
These are only very slight niggles though. These are by far the best headphones I've ever owned - great sound quality, intuitive, great size and very functional. I'll never go back to wearing wired headphones again.
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Amazon Fire TV Stick in Tech
Aug 16, 2018
Perfect if you have an amazing prime subscription (3 more)
Can sideload many apps not in store
Good price, there are often discounts if you look around
Easy to use remote and the device itself is easy
OS can feel clunky and slow at times (1 more)
Lack of ports
Great for the price
I have had this device for a while now and it's a decent little piece of tech. I say little because it is.
It's portable and is just a dongle that plugs into your HDMI port. It has 1 port for the plug and that's it and that's where I found myself a little disappointed almost immediately. There are no usb ports whatsoever. If you want usb your going to have to find an accessory somewhere to add them. This means no external hard drive, no mouse or keyboard and I was disappointed in that considering the stick has very small storage space.
The stick uses Amazon's fire OS and if you don't have Amazon prime the home screen will be just pointless as it advertises all the movies and TV you can watch through it. I don't have a subscription so it all just felt in the way. I'd have loved the Android TV OS more which is a lot more snappier but can't blame Amazon for using their own. It's just a shame their OS feels clunk and slow and times when trying to navigate.
This has all the apps you need for your streaming wether it be Netflix or prime. However I didn't see a good YouTube app on the Amazon store which was weird. But if you download the downloader app you can sideload different apps not in the store like Kodi.
The remote feels good. It's Bluetooth so doesn't need to be pointed at the device. It is easy to use, it's simple and I have the 2nd gen which includes voice control but without prime I find no use for this.
I do complain about the clunkiness of the OS and I've had a few apps restart but streaming feels smooth. For the money which I paid about £25 for in a sale, i can't really argue. This isn't the best device you can get. In no way does it compete with a device like Nvidia Shield but it is worth getting if you just want a couple of simple apps to stream. I basically mainly use 1 which makes the whole thing worthwhile.
If you want a capable device for good price then I can recommend this. Don't expect the greatest thing ever. There are loads of better devices out there but if you get this cheap in a sale then pick it up especially if your not too bothered about 4k.
It's portable and is just a dongle that plugs into your HDMI port. It has 1 port for the plug and that's it and that's where I found myself a little disappointed almost immediately. There are no usb ports whatsoever. If you want usb your going to have to find an accessory somewhere to add them. This means no external hard drive, no mouse or keyboard and I was disappointed in that considering the stick has very small storage space.
The stick uses Amazon's fire OS and if you don't have Amazon prime the home screen will be just pointless as it advertises all the movies and TV you can watch through it. I don't have a subscription so it all just felt in the way. I'd have loved the Android TV OS more which is a lot more snappier but can't blame Amazon for using their own. It's just a shame their OS feels clunk and slow and times when trying to navigate.
This has all the apps you need for your streaming wether it be Netflix or prime. However I didn't see a good YouTube app on the Amazon store which was weird. But if you download the downloader app you can sideload different apps not in the store like Kodi.
The remote feels good. It's Bluetooth so doesn't need to be pointed at the device. It is easy to use, it's simple and I have the 2nd gen which includes voice control but without prime I find no use for this.
I do complain about the clunkiness of the OS and I've had a few apps restart but streaming feels smooth. For the money which I paid about £25 for in a sale, i can't really argue. This isn't the best device you can get. In no way does it compete with a device like Nvidia Shield but it is worth getting if you just want a couple of simple apps to stream. I basically mainly use 1 which makes the whole thing worthwhile.
If you want a capable device for good price then I can recommend this. Don't expect the greatest thing ever. There are loads of better devices out there but if you get this cheap in a sale then pick it up especially if your not too bothered about 4k.
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