GE DECT 6.0 Advanced Silver Cordless Phone with Goog-411, CID, ITAD, and 1 Handset (28223EE1) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this product from another retailer at a great price, and was happy for only a short while.
The plus side: Great range, clear calls, excellent speakerphone, easy to use and set up, answering machine works fine.
The very bad: As other reviews on the internet have stated, this phone appears to have in inherent issue of losing connection with the base randomly and quite frequently. What does this mean? When you press the TALK button, it randomly might sound like a fax is transmitting, or there may be no dial tone at all. To fix, you must bring the phone to the base station, and use its menus to reestablish a connection. Not bad if the phone is near the base. A major pain if the phone is in a remote room. Also, when the phones are "disconnected" they will not ring, although the answering machine will pick up.
I had read the other reviews and figured it may be a random glitch that only happens to a few units. After my experience and troubleshooting, it seems the issue may affect all phones in this line.
BEWARE!!!!

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Dect 6.0 Duel Hs Premier Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this phone because I became tired of the terrible reception that 5.8GHz phones have provided. I live in a small single-story condo (800sq ft). Many times the 5.8GHz models wouldn't even work around the corner in the hallway. I have your normal drywall on wood stud construction, so nothing seriously blocking the signal. I bought a new Uniden 5.8GHz setup (since it was advertised to have extended range) and the reception was only slightly better. There was no way to take the phone into a bedroom or outside for a private conversation. 5.8GHz just doesn't penetrate drywall, wood and other building materials the same way lower frequencies do. 2.4GHz provides acceptable range but you are competing with everything else in that spectrum, including your microwave oven and wifi, the neighbor's baby monitor, etc. 900MHz phones work very well, and the digital models are quite secure, but you can't find them anymore. I found these DECT phones and they run in the 'unlicensed personal communications' 1.9GHz spectrum. There are far fewer signals in this band to crowd and interfere with your phone's signal, and they are to be used only for voice per the FCC-so there aren't other services like wireless networks or pagers in the same band. Since it's a lower frequency, the signal cuts though walls much better. This is the same technology that is used in commercial $500 cordless headsets that are used in call centers and offices.
With that, this phone has great clarity and signal. I have have conversations on the other side of my condo and they have the same voice fidelity as they do 10ft from the base. I would give it five stars, but there are a few little issues that bother me. First of all, although it says so on the box and in the description, there is NO ANSWERING MACHINE WITH THIS PHONE. I don't know why it would be described as having a Digital Answering System when all it does is integrate with your landline provider's voicemail system. If you have voicemail and it supports Message Waiting Indicator, the phone will blink to alert you to a waiting voicemail message. This works well, but I really wanted an answering machine since it allows me to screen my calls and allows for a few more seconds to pick up the phone as opposed to dropping everything and running to an available handset. I would return it simply because of this, but the price was right and the call quality has sold me on this phone, anyway. There is no 'hotkey' method of assigning phonebook entries, such as holding down the '1' key to dial your voicemail like a cell phone. You can add it to the address book, but it is nearly as many key presses to find it in the address book as it is just to dial the voicemail (*123 on Vonage).
Why oh why did they assign the normal cell-phone style pick-up key to the speakerphone? If you want to answer the phone and speak on the handset, you press the middle round button, not the button you would expect to press. This made calling my father-in-law entertaining when he was house-sitting for us. Speaking of which, the speakerphone is acceptable quality and there are some pleasant ringtones in there to choose from. If you place the remote charging base or the base station in a bedroom, be sure to put something in front of it or put a piece of tape over the eye-searing blue charging indicator on the base. It lights up the whole room. If you have a message waiting, it blinks and you may as well have a police cruiser parked outside your window.
I would recommend this phone since as a phone, it works very well. The little things are simply annoyances and don't affect the usability of the phone, itself.

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The Hot Shoe Diaries: Big Light from Small Flashes Review

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(More customer reviews)SPOILER:
'Hot Shoe Diaries' is pure McNally and the best book I've ever read on flash photography. Two words: "buy it."
LONG VERSION:
Joe McNally's photo secrets were kicked out of the closet by the skeletons a long time ago. That's great news for those of us who have become infatuated (and infuriated) with the use of small flash units. Joe's latest book 'The Hot Shoe Diaries' is an exposé that tells all. There's never been a book on flash photography that covers the subject so thoroughly, so beautifully and so humorously. I'm certain that 'HSD' will reign as the undisputed champion on flash photography for a long time.
The first thing to know about 'HSD' is that even Joe has a hard time taking himself seriously. Joe repeatedly demonstrates his understanding of where he stands in the universe by filling 'HSD' with memorable photos - such as the self-portrait where he uses a chicken as a lightstand. Joe's humor is what sets 'HSD' apart from other photo books. It is what protects us from mind-numbing concepts, such as the "Inverse Square Law" (when did Congress pass that one anyway?).
Joe starts with the basics: gear, the fundamentals of digital photography and simple flash. He moves on to talk about one light shots. And two light shots. And lots-a-lights shots. He talks about where to put the lights and what to put between the lights and the subject. He shares a lifetime of stories. He inspires and encourages. Like I said, "pure McNally."
As with his first book, 'The Moment It Clicks', Joe fills the covers of 'HSD' with amazing and beautiful photos. These are the heart of 'HSD.' It's one thing to talk about flash photography. It's entirely another to demonstrate it again and again with stunning images. [Thanks also to the book designer who ran a good number of photos as double-trucks, aka: two-page spreads.]
'HSD' is for photographers of all levels - novice to expert. If you read 'Clicks' and were among the few disappointed because it wasn't a "how-to" book with lighting diagrams and such, 'HSD' is the book you were looking for. Plan on reading it again and again. I guarantee that every time you do, you'll pick up something new.
SPECIAL NOTE To Non-Nikon Shooters - 'HSD' Is Non-Denominational
It's no secret that Joe is a Nikon guy. Nikon terminology is used throughout the book. If you shoot something other than Nikon, think of it like an American talking to a Brit [if "elevator" = "lift", then "Auto FP" = "High-Speed Sync" and "Rear Curtain" = "2nd Curtain"]. Does this mean that 'HSD' is Nikon-specific? Absolutely not. As a lifelong Canon shooter, I've no hesitation in recommending this book to shooters of all denominations. The ideas and illustrations are universal.


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When it comes to photography, it's all about the light.After spending more than thirty years behind the lens—working for National Geographic, Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated—Joe McNally knows about light. He knows how to talk about it, shape it, color it, control it, and direct it. Most importantly, he knows how to create it...using small hot shoe flashes.In The Hot Shoe Diaries, Joe brings you behind the scenes to candidly share his lighting solutions for a ton of great images. Using Nikon Speedlights, Joe lets you in on his uncensored thought process—often funny, sometimes serious, always fascinating—to demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flashes. Whether he's photographing a gymnast on the Great Wall, an alligator in a swamp, or a fire truck careening through Times Square, Joe uses these flashes to create great light that makes his pictures sing.

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GE 28821FE3 Dect 6.0 Digital 3-Handset Cordless Phone with Google Free Directory Assistance Goog-411 and Digital Answering System Review

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(More customer reviews)This GE Cordless Phone seemed just what I wanted. I checked the look and feel at a couple stores vs other phones. The specs sounded just right and though I only needed 2 handsets, the one with 3 from Outlet on Amazon seemed to be a great deal and gave me an extra handset and cradle for a spare. The 2 poor reviews gave me great concern, but I finally decided to buy it. I am glad I did. The phone is great, and everything it was advertised to be. No complaints, very clear and noise free, and I love the speakerphone feature in the handsets. Kent GE 28821FE3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone with Answering System and Caller ID

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GE 28213EE2 Dect 6.0 Advanced Cordless Phone with Google Free Directory Assistance Goog-411, CID, and 2 Handsets Review

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(More customer reviews)This phone is the worst I have ever purchased, and that is saying a lot because I have horrible luck with cordless phones. The sound quality is fine when it works. Do not ever count on it working when you want it too, though. At least half the time I pick it up to make a call, I either get static instead of a dial tone or it will not even turn on at all. It just beeps. It does not matter how far or how close I am to the base. The only way to fix this is to unplug the battery for a couple seconds and then put the phone back on its base. This could be a disaster if there was an emergency and, god forbid, I had to call 911.
The other problem is that sometimes this issue rears its head when receiving calls too. No ring or peep or signal to tell you a call is coming in. My answering machine turns on out of the blue with someone leaving me a message. This no signal/no ring when receiving is not any more consistent then when trying to get a dial tone.
The menu/functions are neither too complicated nor especially simple. I want to be able to program my phones intuitively, and it took a little while to figure some things out on this phone. I have not wasted much time on this sort of thing though because I will be getting a new phone as soon as possible. I haven't even tried the Google 411.
Do NOT buy this phone if you are looking for something that you can make and receive calls on.

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Olympus WS-100 64 MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Interface Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm part of an Irish/Celtic musical duo, and so many times I've wished I had a recorder to capture those spur of the moment and fleeting "inspirations" when we come up with some good musical ideas that we can't remember at the next rehearsal session. "Let's see....what was that cool guitar part you did last week....?" "I don't know....can't remember." So I bought the WS 100 to record our sessions and it does an excellent job. We usually sit about 6' apart, facing each other, and with the WS 100 placed between us on the LO mic setting, it clearly captures every nuance, note and vocal. Best of all, after the session, I can plug it into my USB hub, download the files to my computer and burn a CD for my partner to take with him for practice or to listen to in the car. No, it's not CD quality, but for the purpose intended, we don't need it. We can go into a recording studio for that. But the audio quality is surprisingly good when played through my computer's Altec-Lansing speaker system (the WS 100's internal speaker is pretty lame). I've run a few of the live musical tracks through Gold Wave editing software, adding effects and EQ, and come up with some surprisingly good sounding material.
I say the internal speaker is lame, but actually, it's ok if you adjust the volume and place the speaker against your ear. Obviously, music played back on the small internal speaker won't have the bass and treble spectrum it'd have when played back through a better speaker, but it's still respectable when the speaker is right against your ear. If you're simply listening to the spoken voice, it's very clear. The included ear buds work pretty well, but I don't particularly like sticking things in my ears. When I want to listen to something closely using just the WS 100, I use a set of Sony headphones.
I've gotten to the point where I take it with me when I leave the house. Often I'll be in a store looking at various products that I'd like to check out online, and with the WS 100, I can verbally record the product information for reference instead of walking around the store looking for something to write on.
The tiny size, quality, versatility, direct USB, features, and price make this a real winner for me.

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Slim, attractive, and highly functional, the Olympus WS-100 digital voice recorder packs 64 MB of internal flash memory into its lightweight housing, letting you record up to 27 hours of audio in WMA format. It's ideal for recording notes or long lectures, interviewing sources for an upcoming article, or capturing spur-of-the-moment song ideas before they disappear into the recesses of your memory. As an added bonus, the recorder also serves as an all-purpose USB mass storage device, meaning it can store documents and images along with audio. Simply plug it into a digital camera through its USB interface and you can transfer several dozen images (depending on their size) to the flash memory, freeing up space in your camera's memory card. Then, when you return home, you can plug the recorder into a PC and switch the images to your hard drive. All this in a tiny body that measures 1.57 inches wide by 3.7 inches tall--roughly the size of a pack of gum.File organization is straightforward and intuitive. The WS-100 boasts five separate folders capable of holding 199 files each, so you can organize nearly 1,000 files by subject, theme, or other categories. Users also have the choice of three recording modes: HQ, which minimizes background noise and is great for capturing people with low speaking voices (it offers 4 hours and 20 minutes of recording time); SP mode, which still sounds good but isn't quite as crisp (ensures 8 hours and 40 minutes of time); and LP mode, which is designed to maximize recording (27 hours and 20 minutes). And thanks to the voice activation option, users don't need to press a single button to start recording. The WS-100 will instead record as soon as the built-in microphone picks up sound.
Perhaps the most convenient feature, however, is the built-in USB connector. To transfer information to or from the WS-100 from a PC or Mac, all you need to do is remove one end of the recorder's body, which reveals a male USB plug. This USB Direct design eliminates the need for a USB cable (the male plug connects directly to your computer), making the device even more portable. Once connected, it's easy to download images, documents, and other files.
Every bit as important are the playback functions, which include fast (50 percent) and slow (25 percent) playback. And should you need to identify and quickly retrieve important sound bites, all you need to do is insert an index mark and refer to it later. Additional features include adjustable microphone sensitivity, which lets you adjust the recording level to meet your needs; an easy-to-read LCD display; the ability to erase single or entire files; and a pair of stereo earphones.
The WS-100 runs for approximately 13 hours on a single AAA battery and weighs a mere 1.9 ounces. It's also backed by a one-year warranty on parts and labor.
What's in the Box WS-100 digital voice recorder, stereo earphones, neck strap, USB cable, one AAA battery, user's manual.

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