Tag Archives: Pros and Cons

Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine Review

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Concept2 Indoor Rowing Machines has remained to be the choice workout machine for most people of all ages and varying athletic abilities because of its unequaled functionality, durability, friendly customer service, and post-sale support. Concept2’s Model D Indoor Rowing Machine is known by competitive rowers as the standard for indoor training that provides an efficient cardiovascular workout that will increase your fitness level and tone your muscles. Know more about this workout machine through this Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine Review.

Click here to check product pricing and to read more user reviews.

This equipment delivers a solid, dependable performance at a suitably valuable cost being one of the best selling indoor rowing machines in the market. At a smaller fraction of the cost compared to other home fitness equipments or a yearly gym membership, having the luxury of working out in your home whenever you choose is definitely of great convenience.

What are the best features of this indoor rowing machine?

Rowing is a sport that can be applicable for all. It can be used as a training for a world championship, recovering from injury, cardiac rehabilitation, managing diabetes, keeping fit, losing weight,and etc. The Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine includes a PM3 or a PM4, that lets you choose the Performance Monitor that best fits your requirements and interests and at the same times gives you accurate, comparable data for every row. Each rowing stroke involves full compression and extension of the legs, working the muscles of
the calves, thighs, hamstrings, buttocks and hips, giving a great workout for the legs.

This indoor rower responds commendably to your exertion on every stroke, which makes it very effective because the user has full control of the exerted force and resistance all throughout the workout. Thanks to its spiral damper, you can readily adjust the airflow to the flywheel, hence changing the feel of the stroke to best match your preference. The flywheel is well designed to have very minimal noise when using it and also has a very nice and smooth feel.

PROS

  • PM3 or the PM4 yields accurate data
  • Durable construction with easy maintenance
  • The Performance Monitor provides distance, speed, pace, calories, and watts for each workout you do
  • Adjustable monitor arm lets you position the monitor where you prefer it
  • Easy to operate and install
  • 14” (35.6 cm) seat height (keeps a low profile)
  • Quick-release feature (no tools required) with frame lock mechanism easily separates the machine into two pieces for storage
  • Caster wheels on the front foot allow you to roll the fully-assembled machine into position
  • Has adjustable footrests and ergonomic handle
  • Nickel plating allows for longer periods between oiling
  • Stainless-steel track to ensure a smooth, gliding seat movement

CONS

  • Although this machine works-out a lot of body parts, this machine is only a single action/static movement rowing machine (not dual action like some rowing machines in the market)
  • The seat is hard, not contoured for those who have light to medium weight bodies
  • Resistance is inconvenient to adjust while rowing

There are indeed a lot of benefits with rowing. One of which is that because it involves so many muscle groups simultaneously, this activity puts a healthy demand on the cardiovascular system, thereby improving aerobic fitness. The Model D is a good choice for a rowing machine. It is efficiently engineered to last a lifetime. This machine can take the abuse of heavy training day after day.

Gallery

 

Click here for the best deals and secure shipping:
Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine with PM3 (Black)

ReadDesk Lite Plus Scanner-Reader-Magnifier Review

By | | ,
Leave a comment

The ReadDesk Lite Plus Scanner-Reader-Magnifier is another proof of how technology has once again made our life much easier. With this device, you will be able to listen to your books, newspapers, prescription labels, utility bills and all other texts and documents than can are read to you. And wait, there’s more! You can convert the texts into PDF or MP3 files for making the most of its flexibility and the ability to listen to them even when on the road. Read more of this device through this ReadDesk Lite Plus Scanner-Reader-Magnifier Review.

Click here to check product pricing and for more photos.

What exactly does this device do? The ReadDesk Plus is a simple scanning, reading and magnifying device with all the features needed to make would make your reading much more convenient and easy as it has an instant text to speech capabilities. This device allows you to just listening to your books while doing other stuff and multi-task.

What are the key features of this scanner / reader / magnifier?

With a weight of less than 1.5 lbs., the ReadDesk Lite Plus Scanner-Reader-Magnifier is very lightweight and can also be folded and become small enough to fit into your laptop bag. Its text to speech feature or more commonly known as Optical character recognition (OCR) makes your daily reading an even more delightful pastime. With this unit, you are able to scan, read, magnify, save and listen to any printed material in a natural sounding voice. Also, when connect it to your laptop/desktop you are able to view magnified text with crystal clear font.

Another great feature of this device is that it has the capability to convert your printed texts into PDF or MP3 files, which makes you able to access it anytime and anywhere.  You can also have the MP3 files played in your car while driving. Its color enhancement feature can manipulate the colors on the computer screen in dozens of ways so it doesn’t strain your eyes. Say for example, you may choose to view text as with a combination that your eyes would prefer like: yellow on black; black on yellow; black on green; green on black; blue on yellow; yellow on blue etc.

PROS

  • Light weight and can be folded
  • Crystal clear font at any zoom level
  • Easy to install and use
  • User friendly interface
  • Captures magnifies and reads entire page
  • Talking menu makes it easy to navigate into the settings
  • Auto start feature when the camera is plugged into your computer
  • Saves printed material in the form of a PDF file
  • Converts your printed material into a MP3 file

CONS

  • Features such as magnification is done not on the device but on your computer
  • Works with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8  (No Mac compatibility as of the writing of this review yet)

Gallery

 

Click here for the best deals and secure shipping:
ReadDesk Lite Plus Scanner-Reader-Magnifier

Polar FT60 Heart Rate Monitor Review

By | | ,
Leave a comment

A fitness watch that will be perfect for committed exercisers, the Polar FT60 Heart Rate Monitor will be the perfect choice for an ideal training companion, which is a training device that is super easy to setup and use. This fitness watch has inbuilt training programs that are carefully tailored to to fit your individual stats; age, weight, fitness level. It even performs a test to determine your fitness. Know more about this device through this Polar FT60 Heart Rate Monitor Review.

Click here to check product pricing and to read more user reviews.

As mentioned earlier, this watch will be best for those who are serious about their workouts as it functions more than just a a simple heart-rate monitor. It has the capability to build a specified training program for you based on your personal objectives and also changes and sets new weekly training goals which transforms your fitness goals into a training routine, keep track of your progress and give you the enthusiasm to stay on track.

What are the best features of this heart rate monitor?

The Star Training Program included in the Polar FT60 provides the ability to select your goals and have the monitor make a suitable workout routine for you. You can either improve fitness, boost your performance or lose weight. And with the collected stats based on your profile including age, weight and etc., this monitor creates weekly plans with training time as well as calorie targets.It can save weekly progress of up to 100 files which you can upload to your PC or even better, you can manage it on PolarPersonalTrainer.com.

While you are on your training you can view up to 8 different displays. This monitor has large numbers which makes it easy to quickly view the data you need. The different views on the Polar FT60 are heart rate, calories or time in zone, time of day, Week target which will be displayed if training program is active, Weekly target for each zone and the actual training time. In addition to this, the Zone lock can also be seen on the display if it has been activated. If you have an additional foot pod or GPS sensor, the speed and distance are also activated.

PROS

  • Compatibility with optional speed/distance sensors and downloads to free online training diary
  • Great coaching program
  • Offers hands-free operation
  • Sexy unisex design with silicone wrist band that wipes clean
  • Great to start with and achieve goals with unique Smart Coaching features such as Fitness Test
  • Displays calories, fat burn percentage, stores 100 training files and has backlight
  • Includes comfortable fabric transmitter strap and coded heart rate transmission to avoid cross-talk
  • Syncronizes with most gym equipments
  • Has guides to help you train at the right intensity
  • Dual time zone feature
  • Has a low battery indicator
  • Easy to replace batteries (user can do it)
  • Water resistant to up to 30m

CONS

  •  No interval timer or stopwatch function
  • Data uplink will cost extra dollars

A good reason to choose Polar for your fitness monitor is its better accuracy of their calorie counting algorithms. The units allows the user to enter more personal data than other brands available in the market, hence they are theoretically able to get that higher rate of accuracy.

Gallery

 

Click here for the best deals and secure shipping:
Polar FT60 Heart Rate Monitor, White

TaoTronics TT-DS004 Handheld Scanner Review

By | | ,
Leave a comment

Those who have their businesses on the go (i.e. those who always go on business trips or those who would need to digitize their documents even when not at home) might really want to take hold of the TaoTronics TT-DS004 Handheld Scanner. The detachable scanner as well as the feeder can be powered directly from a plug and also works on standard AAA batteries which makes it very convenient to be brought anywhere. Read more from this TaoTronics TT-DS004 Handheld Scanner Review to know more about this scanning device.

Click here to check product pricing and for more user reviews.

This scanner has a color display to show an image of the document you are scanning in order to ensure efficiency (image will is not as big but allows you to see the outlines of the scanned image). Its 1.4 inch colored Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display technology allows you to browse through the menu and settings and also let’s you check on the images you have scanned on the microSD card.

What are the best features of this handy document scanner?

The TaoTronics TT-DS004 Handheld Scanner can work both handheld as well as through a feeder. That being said, it can scan both bounded and unbounded documents. This scanner has a varying resolution of 300/600/900 DPIs depending on your choice and can be done in either JPG or PDF file format, also depends upon the option you have selected from the settings.

The included software in this scanner also comes very helpful and advantageous. The included Picture Direct scanning software allows you to directly insert the scanned the scanned picture or PDF directly to your software directly (i.e. MS office, or even MSN or Skype). It is also able to directly saved the scanned document to text format so as to edit yourself instantly.

PROS

  • Great scanning resolutions available
  • Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software included
  • Directly inserts scanned file to opened software and converts and exports scanned files to computer for editing
  • Batteries in scanner and feeder allows portable scanning
  • Comes with 8 Gig MicroSD
  • Scanner and feeder can be plugged in using a USB cable and won’t need batteries when doing so
  • TaoTronics has excellent customer service for assistance needed on their products
  • Adjustable feeder that can feed through a business card, photo or 8.5 x 11 sized paper
  • Great scanning speeds

CONS

  • Must have steady hands to get a nice scan when using hand held scanner
  • Included software does not support Mac (it will only be to grab images but will not insert them into documents or to run OCR)
  • Does not have Auto-Document Feeder so you would have to feed one sheet at a time
  • Included software does not have photo-stitcher that can patch or weave together multiple images (for bigger image sizes)

Gallery

 

Click here for the best deals and secure shipping:
TaoTronics TT-DS004 2-in-1 900 DPI 1.4′ TFT Color Display Colour & Mono Handyscan Handheld Scanner for Document, Photo, Reciepts, Books + JPG/PDF Format Selection Black

Fujitsu fi-7260 PA03670-B555 Document Scanner with Flatbed Review

By | | ,
Leave a comment

The Fujitsu fi-7260 is a fast, reliable scanner and one of the first desktop scanners in the market that has paper protection by detecting irregular noise, preventing disruption in work flow, making it perfect for everyday tasks. This scanner has been specifically designed to reinforce increasingly diverse business related document scanning routines at the desktop of each workers or small work groups. Read more from this Fujitsu fi-7260 PA03670-B555 Document Scanner with Flatbed Review to know how this scanning device with advanced hardware and software can heighten your productivity.

Click here to check product pricing and availability.

This sheet-fed/flatbed scanner is ideal for all office environments (small or big offices) as it has a compact design and small footprint. It is convenient and easy to use and has an LCD screen to display necessary information (scanning profile choice, maintenance operation, etc.) to aid the user in the scanning process.

What are the key features of this document scanner?

Incresed productivity and versatility would be two of the best features of Fujitsu fi-7260 PA03670-B555 Document Scanner. It’s A4 plate makes it able to do flat-scanning for bound documents. The paper handling feature is greatly improved as its independent driving rollers makes a better alignment of documents before scanning. Also the iSOP (Intelligent Sonic Paper Protection) audio system detects stapled or non-aligned documents thereby protecting the documents from being damaged and likewise prevent paper jams.

This scanner offers two software packages that can both be useful for regular or occasional use. These are the PaperStream Capture and ScanSnap Manager. The PaperStream IP driver makes an even better image quality, optimizing it upon capture. PaperStream Capture batch scans, manages scan profiles, indexes and sorts documents – all functions lead to a better way in organizing your digital documents.

PROS

  • New PaperStream IP driver makes great quality images
  • Has two bundled softwares: PaperStream Capture and ScanSnap Manager
  • Great speed of 60 ppm / ADF capacity of 80 A4 sheets
  • Impressive productivity and versatility
  • Has 80-sheet automatic document feeder
  • Handy ultrasonic double feed detection feature
  • Includes a remote administration tool for managing several scanners
  • Prevents damage of documents and paper jams
  • Intelligent Multi-Feed Function (iMFF) automatically bypass documents containing sticky notes, taped receipts, and labels
  • Ultra-bright LED lamp technology helps significantly decrease its power consumption

CONS

  • Scanning limitations caused by scanning mode, document size and available memory may occur when scanning at high resolutions (600dpi or higher) however this scanner generally still brings great quality scanned images
  • Does not support multi-embossed card feeding and only can scan to up to 3 cards at a time

This scanner will indeed be a great purchase whether the workplace is fixed or expanding as managing digital documents through it will be very easy and efficient. This scanner gives system administrators advanced software tools that enables them to centrally manage the scanner more productively and cost effectively.

Gallery

 

Click here for the best deals and secure shipping:
Fujitsu PA03670-B555 Document Scanner